PRINCESS GIVES PASSENGERS 'WHAT THEY WANT' WITH 2004 GULF OF ALASKA CRUISE AND TOUR PROGRAM - MORE OF DENALI NATIONAL PARK
Company's Two Denali Area Wilderness Lodges Expand to Offer "Maximum McKinley" Denali Tour Capacity Increases 75 Percent in 2004
Princess' just-released 2004 Gulf of Alaska cruisetour program will feature more of what visitors to Alaska really want, according to the line -- more time at Denali National Park.
With an expansion of both the company's area wilderness lodges, Princess will increase the opportunity for passengers to visit Denali by 75 percent, satisfying the growing demand for the interior's top attraction.
Both the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge and Mt. McKinley Wilderness Lodge will undergo significant expansion and renovation to offer guests a greater option, through multiple night stays, to spend time in the land of "The Great One," Mt. McKinley -- the largest mountain in North America.
Princess' 2004 cruisetour program features four ships sailing across the Gulf of Alaska, and these cruises can be combined with one of 42 land tour options that bring visitors to some of the state's most spectacular natural settings, including the company's five exclusive wilderness lodges. Not only will Princess offer the greatest number of land tours to Mt. McKinley, but it is the only company that offers Alaska's two most popular attractions -- Mt. McKinley and Glacier Bay -- on every cruisetour.
"Never before has any cruise line offered so many ways to experience Mt. McKinley, which we know is what visitors really come to the interior of Alaska to see," said Dean Brown, Princess' executive vice president of customer service and sales and CEO/chairman of Princess Tours. "Princess is giving our passengers what they really want, and with our new availability in tour capacity, made possible by our lodge expansion, we'll have the ability to accommodate this demand."
Brown added that the lodge expansion is a further example of Princess' ongoing commitment to invest in the Alaska experience for its passengers. "No other cruise company in Alaska has put the resources we have behind designing an Alaska experience that showcases the very best of the destination. Our magnificent wilderness lodges, and our commitment to include both Glacier Bay and Mt. McKinley on every single cruisetour, clearly demonstrates this."
Lodge Expansion
To facilitate the increasing popularity of its "Maximum McKinley" tours, both of Princess' luxury Denali-area wilderness lodges will be expanded. The Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge, located near the park entrance, will offer 80 additional guest rooms in 2004, plus will feature a newly built main lodge building with reception, tour desk, gift shop, espresso bar and deli and a vaulted ceiling great room. A new restaurant, "Base Camp" will add to the property's dining choices. Enhancement to the natural landscaping will give the lodge grounds a complete wilderness feel, and a main street walking village with additional retail outlets in cabins throughout the property will also add to the atmosphere.
At Princess' other prime Denali property, the Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge, an expansion will allow more guests to enjoy the lodge's spectacular views of the mountain and will also offer a new dining option. The renovation will add 96 guest rooms, plus a revamped main lodge building and a new dining venue set in a spectacular McKinley-view setting.
Maximum McKinley
The expansion of the two lodges will increase the amount of "Maximum McKinley" product, which is designed to give passengers extra time in this prime Alaska location. These exclusive tours offer two- or three-night stays in the Denali area, to give vacationers additional time in Alaska's most popular inland attraction, Denali National Park. "It's our most popular tour," said Brown, "and now we can give passengers even more of what they truly want in an vacation to the 'last great frontier'."
In 2004, Princess will offer 28 Maximum McKinley tours that not only feature the Heart of Alaska, but also options to enjoy other parts of the 49th state, such as the Kenai Peninsula or Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, the nation's largest.
Voyage of the Glaciers
Princess' 2004 Alaska cruise season will feature four ships offering 72 Gulf sailings from May 8 to September 13, on the seven-night "Voyage of the Glaciers" itinerary between Vancouver and Whittier. All sailings can be conveniently combined with one of Princess' 42 cruisetour options.
The 2004 Gulf of Alaska cruise season will once again feature new sister ships Coral Princess and Island Princess, returning for their second Alaska season, on alternating Saturday departures. They will be joined by the Sun Princess and Dawn Princess, which set sail each Monday on either a northbound or southbound cruise. Together the four ships form the most modern fleet sailing the Gulf of Alaska. The ships will sail on a favorite Princess itinerary that offers passengers the opportunity to explore the ports of Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan, plus cruising through the spectacular scenery of College Fjord, the Inside Passage and Alaska's number one attraction, Glacier Bay National Park.
Gulf of Alaska cruises and cruisetours for 2004 are now available for reservations, with special early-booking fares beginning at $799 for a seven-day voyage, and $1,499 for cruisetours. Princess' full 2004 Inside Passage cruise schedule will be released shortly.
To learn more about visiting Alaska with Princess, log on to the line's comprehensive resource, Destination Alaska, at: www.princess.com/destination/Alaska.
