Rising from modest beginnings in 1965 with one ship cruising to Mexico, Princess Cruises has grown to one of the three largest cruise lines in the world. Its fleet of nine ships carries more than 600,000 passengers each year to more worldwide destinations than any other major line.

Princess first gained acclaim as the star of The Love Boat television series, which introduced millions of viewers to the then-unique concept of a sea-going vacation. The company name and famous "seawitch" logo have remained synonymous with cruising and The Love Boat ever since.

The company's now famous fleet includes Crown Princess, Dawn Princess, Pacific Princess, Regal Princess, Royal Princess, Sun Princess, Grand Princess, Sea Princess and Ocean Princess. Six new ships will join Princess' fleet by 2004, bringing the total fleet capacity to nearly 30,000 berths.

Princess ships offer the line's innovative Personal Choice Cruising program, which emphasizes a "what you want, when you want" atmosphere of onboard choice and flexibility, together with an innovative approach to public room layout and scale designed to give passengers the opportunity to customize their cruise experience to fit their individual interests and needs. This emphasis on choice - of affordable private balconies, multiple dining locations, and flexible entertainment - has established customized cruising as the touchstone of new ship design for the entire industry.

Princess has also distinguished itself by sailing to more worldwide cruise destinations than any other major line. Offering more than 150 itineraries ranging from seven to 72 days, Princess sails to six continents and calls at more than 230 ports around the world. Destinations include the Caribbean, Alaska, Panama Canal, Europe, Mexico, South America, South Pacific, Hawaii/Tahiti, Orient/Asia, India, Africa, Holy Land, Canada/New England, Bermuda and world voyages.

Princess is a pioneer and leader in Alaska, where it operates a wide variety of cruisetours through its Seattle-based Princess Tours division, giving visitors spectacular land and sea experiences in the majestic "Land of the Midnight Sun." Princess is the largest cruise and tour operator in the state with five cruise ships, four riverside lodges, a fleet of deluxe motorcoaches and luxury Midnight Sun Express rail cars. A fifth purpose-built wilderness lodge - Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge - will open near Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in summer 2002.

The Los Angeles-based cruise line offers a premium-style cruise experience which appeals to a wide variety of travelers. Committed to giving passengers the best possible cruise vacation, Princess has introduced some of the industry's most innovative onboard programs. For instance Personal Choice Dining offers a choice of both "restaurant style" seating and traditional cruise ship dining. In addition, Planet Princess, the line's environmental program, has won several prestigious awards and has been named "the best waste management program in the business" by a number of environmental groups; its fleetwide Love Boat Access program makes cruising accessible for passengers with disabilities by offering one of the largest number of wheelchair accessible staterooms in industry; Love Boat Kids entertains children ages two to 17 years with age-specific activities supervised by a staff of professional youth counselors; New Waves Scuba and Snorkel serves as the first onboard scuba certification program available on a major cruise line; Love Boat Loan, the line's breakthrough financing program, offers consumers the opportunity to finance their entire cruise vacation with an immediate and convenient bank loan; and Love Boat Care provides some of the most comprehensive emergency medical coverage and cancellation protection available in the travel industry today.

On land, the company's Adventures Ashore program features more than 1,000 in-port tours and activities worldwide, and the line's expanding cruisetour offerings allow passengers to combine their cruise with a full land tour in such places as Europe, China, Africa, India, Australia, Alaska and the northeastern U.S. In other areas, Princess' Cruise Plus pre- and post-cruise land tour program enables passengers to extend their vacation with hotel stays and tours in some of the world's most cosmopolitan cities.