Princess Cruises announced it will host the largest ever slot tournament after signing a deal with American gaming machine and systems innovator Scientific Games Corporation. The cruise line introduced its Monopoly Cruise for Cash campaign with hundreds of cruises this year before the main event in December with a $200,777 slot tournament aboard Regal Princess.

During the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020, Princess cruise ship will serve as a floating hotel to ease a shortage of accommodations. The 260 meters long vessel Sun Princess, with a maximum capacity of 2272 guests, plus crew will be docked at Yokohama Port during 2020 Olympic Games. Sun Princess will be chartered by the Japanese Travel conglomerate - JTB during a period of 19 days.

The cruise ship Crown Princess in Kotor, Montenegro has been blown close to the wharf while it was being battered by strong gusts of wind. The giant 113.000 tons vessel which was anchored in Boka Kotorska Bay found itself driven close to the pier at the coast of Kotor, today. Luckily an experienced local pilot Captain Tihomir Andric, boarded Crown Princess and took the ship to safety.

Tom Franek, musical comedian and rising star entertainer onboard Regal Princess has received the annual Princess Cruises award "2018 Entertainer of the Year." 

Princess Cruises has announced that their Director of Guest Culinary Experience, Chef Pierre-Marie Leprince, has been honored with the title Master Chef of France by the prestigious culinary organization, the Association of the Master Chefs of France (L ‘Association des Maîtres Cuisiniers de France). Chef Leprince was inducted into the association at the organization’s 63rd International Congress of Macau on March 12.

Princess Cruises, Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruise Line have canceled all shore excursions involving ferries in Cozumel, following the U.S. State Department warning.

Princess Cruises and the Italian shipyard Fincantieri held a ceremony to mark the completion of the bow of Sky Princess. This ship will be the fourth unit belonging to the Royal class and will debut in October 2019 in a series of itineraries in the Mediterranean.

The cruise ship Island Princess arrived today at its home port Fort Lauderdale, Florida with 78 people stricken with norovirus symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the code red was implemented when 3.26% of the total passengers onboard were affected and 0.78% of the crew personnel.

Sapphire Princess officer was airlifted off the cruise ship in the early morning hours today after suffering serious head injury. The Master of Sapphire Princess Paolo Ravera made an announcement on the PA system that there has been an officer that is in serious medical condition and needs medical evacuation.

As a former crewmember that has worked for several cruise lines, I can relate to the constant high stress situations that crewmembers must endure on a daily basis. There are so many foreseeable challenges that crewmembers must face when starting a life at sea on the other side of the planet, but there are also some unforeseen ones that can really disrupt what could’ve been a great contract.