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Princess Cruises, the fastest growing global premium cruise line, welcomed the beautiful Majestic Princess back to Taiwan at the Port of Keelung on April 15. Last year, Majestic Princess was a talk of the town in the cruise vacation industry. To mark this occasion, Princess Cruises also officially announced the beginning of 2019 homeport season in Taiwan. According to internal surveys of Majestic Princess passengers in 2018, 90% were highly satisfied, and 97% would like to take Majestic Princess again. “Taiwan has become Princess Cruises’ largest sourcing market in Asia, and our third largest market in the world,” said Ryan Barton, Director, Marketing, International Markets, Princess Cruise. “With the upgraded services on the 2019 voyages, we look forward to triggering even higher popularity of cruise vacations!”

Princess Cruises favorite mascot, Stanley the Bear, welcomed the arrival of Majestic Princess in the Port of Keelung

At the beginning of 2019 season, Peter Chen, Princess Cruises Taiwan Region Director, also announced another great news. “Since the establishment of Princess Cruises Taiwan branch office in 2013,” said Chen, “not only did Princess Cruises score high customer satisfaction but we also created a record of local purchasing of USD20 million in 2018, including food and beverage (local vegetables, fruits and rice grown in Taiwan) raw materials of roughly USD9 million. In 2019, it’s estimated the purchase will exceed 20 million US dollars. As itinerary and passenger numbers have steadily increased over the past six years, in 2019, Princess Cruises will welcome the one millionth passenger traffic in Taiwan! We hope to see more and more Taiwanese guests onboard to experience complete and comfortable services on international premium cruise ships, as cruising becomes the fastest-growing vacation choice in Taiwan.”

Princess Cruises executives and Government officers celebrated the 1M passenger traffic of Princess Cruise Taiwan from 2014 to 2019 with a symbolic ice sculpture

“In 2018, Princess Cruises deployed three premium ships to Port of Keelung as home port for the first time,” said Taiwan International Ports Corporation President Chungrung Wu. “Majestic Princess carried over 4,000 passengers in one voyage, the highest record in Port of Keelung. We are excited to welcome Majestic Princess back to Keelung. In response to three to four thousand customers in one call, we have redesigned the arrival and departure routes in Port of Keelung. E-Gate system will be available in the near future, and we will continue to upgrade the infrastructure to serve more cruise guests.”

The monumental moment of Majestic Princess arriving in Keelung kicking off 2019 Princess Cruises Taiwan homeport season

“In 2018, Princess Cruises, for the first time, carried three premium ships homeporting at the Port of Keelung, and today I am very pleased to witness Majestic Princess’ arrival for the second Spring/Summer Voyage,” said Taiwan International Ports Corporation President Chungrung Wu.

Majestic Princess recorded a groundbreaking number of more than 200 thousand passengers in 2018. Also, the Port of Keelung‘s cruise passenger growth rate is expected to peak at 14%, rounding up to 740 thousand passenger traffic this year.

Therefore, to host 3,000-4,000 passengers per trip, Taiwan International Ports Corporation invested more than NTD $50 million on the advanced E-Gate system, and simultaneously upgraded its infrastructure to provide a more convenient immigration inspection for every passenger.

Three Upgraded Services: Exclusive Menu by Chef Richard Chen, Spirit of Okinawa, and Japan & Korea Itineraries

In 2019, Princess Cruises will offer 54 calls across 214 days, which are expected to carry over 150,000 passengers with Majestic Princess (from April to July) and Sun Princess (from July to September). Services onboard have upgraded as well.

  • Firstly, Chinese-dish menu in the main dining room is redesigned by Michelin-star-rated Chef Richard Chen in Taiwan, the Executive Chef of Majestic Princess’ “Harmony” restaurant.
  • Secondly, as the global travel master, Princess Cruises is committed to delivering authentic destination experiences to our guests. We provide the “North to Alaska” experiences in Alaskathe “Across the Ditch” onboard activities in Australia and New Zealand, and most recently the “Rhythm of the Caribbean.” Now, for the first time in Asia, we are proud to introduce “Spirit of Okinawa” onboard programming which features traditional dance activities, awamori tastings, regional culinary dishes, yukatas, and other immersive guest activities.
  • Thirdly, in 2019, we will offer a longer voyage each month that covers both Japan and Korea, so passengers can enjoy cities in Kyushu (FukuokaNagasakiKagoshima) and Korea (Busan, Yeosu, Jeju).

Mascot Stanley the Bear Balloon on Rooftop

Starting on April 15, 2019, an adorable six-meter-tall mascot of Princess Cruises, Stanley the Bear, will be placed on top of Keelung terminal building for one month.

Starting on April 15, 2019an adorable six-meter-tall mascot of Princess Cruises, Stanley the Bear, will be placed on top of Keelung terminal building for one month. It will welcome all cruise passengers traveling to Keelung with a big smile. Exclusive to our guests and for a limited time onlyphoto ops with Princess Cruises and Stanley the Bear will for sure be popular on social media.