Princess Cruises Adjusts Future Deployments in Response to Customer Research

As part of his overview of the cruise line, Princess Cruises’ president Gus Antorcha – who reaches one year as president this month – commissioned research into the Princess customer.

“We really want to understand the guest, the target, and what that means for where we want to take the brand,” Antorcha said at a media briefing onboard Star Princess earlier this week.

What they found was “the Voyager,” a 50+, down-to-earth global traveler who seeks a care-free but elevated and lively cruise experience built on discovery, connection, and enrichment.

The findings reflected exactly what Star Princess (and sister ship Sun Princess) were built to be.

“Star really embodies that direction we’re going. It’s elegant and beautiful, but it’s approachable. It’s comfortable. We’re not trying to be edgy, not trying to be hip. That’s not us. We don’t want to be that.”

The research also found that the Princess guest cares about discovery, both on land and onboard with enrichment programs.

“There is a lot of focus on enrichment but in a lively atmosphere,” he added.

Growing Net Promoter Scores (NPS) indicate the brand is already delivering on what “the Voyager” wants.

“Our NPS has been climbing since 2023. It’s at a record across the entire fleet, a 23% increase since 2023.”

When broken down into segments, the NPS Princess for Princess’ dining experience is up 28% and for its onboard entertainment is up 24%.

To build on this success, the line plans to lean into these findings moving forward.

“This is an evolution of who we are as a brand,” Antorcha said.

Much of this evolution will center on the line’s deployment. Starting in 2027, Princess will increase its European deployment, including more 10- and 11-night itineraries, representing about 19% of its overall deployment. Alaska will also go up – to 18% of its overall deployment. The line’s Japan deployment is doubling, with the addition of a second ship sailing year-round.

Alternatively, the line’s deployment will be going down slightly in the Caribbean – to about 20% of the line’s overall deployment.

“Overall, a 5%-point shift in capacity and I suspect that we’ll lean in this direction as we go forward,” Antorcha said.

Guest Experience Tweaks

Deployment isn’t the only area of operations that Princess is making changes to in response to the survey findings.

“As we learn more and more about the Voyager, I think we will continue to fine tune and evolve the experience,” he said. “We’ll look for ways to improve. As we gain a richer understanding of our guest and that will lead to continued innovation and evolution within our onboard experience.

On the dining side of the experience, Princess will add more tableside moments, including tableside prep, special desserts, and more engagement with servers.

Princess will also build on it seafood offering, responding to growing demand, which Antorcha said he attributes to the Voyager’s desire to be more health conscious.

“Our guests are eating more and more seafood… so we’re thinking about how to do more around seafood and Mediterranean concepts.”

Other onboard tweaks will include an expanded zero-proof bar menu, a growing roster of artists and celebrity collaborations, more participatory entertainment, an expansion of live music options, more new shows, and a reboot of youth programming.

Renewed Focus on Celebrations

“Roughly half of our guests are celebrating something, so we’re thinking about how we make those more special,” Antorcha said, adding that the Princess Medallion gives the line an advantage. By knowing where the guest is at all times, it enables crew to create “special surprises.”

“Our goal is, we want to be the best cruise line to celebrate a birthday, an anniversary, a family reunion.”