Carnival Cruise Line

Carnival Corporation & plc Meets Growing Demand for Alaska Cruises with 103 Roundtrip Offerings on Six Ships from Port of Seattle

By John Shallo

May 02, 2015

Holland America Line, Carnival Cruise Line and Princess Cruises – three of the nine global brands from Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world’s largest travel and leisure company – will begin the highly anticipated Seattle-to-Alaska summertime cruising season with the first ship departing Saturday, May 2. Cruise passengers in Seattle are expected to increase by 11 percent this year to 895,055 passengers, and the Carnival Corporation brands are positioned to meet the surge in demand.

Together, the three brands will offer a total of 103 roundtrip cruises on six ships sailing between Seattle and Alaska, providing plenty of options for enjoying a vacation in one of the world’s most breath-taking regions. More than 208,200 guests are expected to sail with Carnival Corporation brands from Seattle to Alaska in 2015. According to the Port of Seattle, the cruise industry overall will bring more than $400 million in economic activity to Seattle this cruise season based on a combination of supplying the vessels, money that travelers spend in the city and nearby region, and the fact that 80 percent of guests arrive through Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

In response to increasing demand, Holland America Line added a third ship for the 2015 summer season, ms Statendam, which arrives on Monday, May 18. The line’s ms Westerdam will officially begin the season on Saturday, May 2, as the first cruise ship to arrive in Seattle. ms Amsterdam arrives on Sunday, May 31. Holland America Line offers 47 roundtrip cruises from Seattle this season.

Additionally, Princess Cruises is increasing its capacity by introducing two larger ships – Crown Princess arrives on Saturday, May 16, and Ruby Princess arrives on Sunday, May 3. They replace the Grand Princess and Golden Princess. Each of the new ships provides room for 500 additional guests. Princess Cruises offers 40 roundtrip cruises from Seattle this season.

Carnival Cruise Line’s Legend will arrive at the Seattle port on Tuesday, June 2. This season Carnival Cruises Line offers 16 roundtrip cruises.

“We are excited to begin another great cruise season in Alaska, taking our guests on an unforgettable vacation to the Great Land where they can experience lush forests, ice-blue glaciers, whales, puffins, orcas, and frontier towns filled with Gold Rush history, native culture, wildlife and thrilling adventures – all while only having to unpack once,” said Arnold Donald, CEO and president of Carnival Corporation.

“The goal for all 120,000 of our employees is to consistently exceed our guests’ expectations, and these cruises to such an awe-inspiring part of the world are sure to do just that.”

Carnival Corporation’s roundtrip vacation options for the Seattle cruise season to Alaska are:

Additional Carnival Corporation Sailings to Alaska Carnival Corporation brands also offer additional roundtrip cruises to Alaska from Vancouver, British Columbia. Holland America Line offers 7-day cruises on the ms Noordam, ms Oosterdam and ms Volendam, as well as 14-day cruises on ms Oosterdam and ms Zaandam. Princess Cruises offers a 7-day cruise on the Crown Princess and Star Princess in 2016. The following Holland America Line ships offer one-way 7-day cruises departing from Anchorage, Alaska, to Vancouver, British Columbia: ms Oosterdam and ms Zaandam. Carnival Cruise Line will offer a special one-way 7-day cruise from Seattle to Vancouver Sept. 8-15.