Inspired to Cruise

September 11, 2012
by Brian Rohloff

When you travel for work 80 percent of the year, where exactly is home? My wife, Alanna, and I are on the move so much of the time that it makes no sense to buy a house or rent a condo. Who would cut the grass and feed the proverbial cat?

As work puts us on the horizonless road for months at time, we have decided to set up house at sea. Princess Cruises is our domicile of choice, our home sweet home.

Alanna and I help produce some of the world’s most incredible events. The Olympics, the Super Bowl, World Cup soccer and Formula 1 racing. It’s an adrenaline-packed life, filled with late hours and bursts of extreme pressure, but it also rewards with up-close access to newsworthy events.

In the past, we’d fill our occasional downtime with a land-based vacation. Or we would couch surf with Alanna’s family in Winnipeg or mine in Jackson, Minn. After a week of that, we’d feel like we were taking advantage of our families. We also feel a bit old to be relying on our parents since I’m in my 40s and Alanna is in her 30s. Read More

September 4, 2012
by Mary Director

As I boarded Pacific Princess back in 1986, I was looking for my first, big adventure. Well I found it, along with my true love, my husband Hal. I should have figured—after all, the Pacific Princess’ primetime alter ego was “The Love Boat.”

I was 34 at the time and had yet to venture far from my Tacoma home. But back then, the local news was full of stories of cruise ships coming to the Seattle piers and the exciting Canadian Expo, featuring the King Tut exhibit, coming to nearby Vancouver. That unlocked my wanderlust.

I asked Rosie, my close friend, if she would join me on an eight-day cruise to Vancouver and Alaska. Her husband, David, urged us to go. Even my boyfriend at the time, a colleague I’d been casually dating, encouraged me to get out there and see something of the world.

We booked our passage nine months in advance, giving us plenty of time to prepare. All through the summer, my travel agent called saying she could get us on an earlier sailing, but Rosie and I were set on going in September. And thank goodness for that because I would never have met Hal if I took her advice.    Read More

August 28, 2012
by Lorena Jordan

I’m a lucky gal. Ten years ago I married my best friend, who just happened to be one of Princess Cruises’ youngest most-traveled passengers. When I first began dating Justin, I hadn’t been on a cruise. The thought of cruising never crossed my mind, really. But, at the tender age of 27, my new suitor had already been on more than 20 cruises with Princess alone.

Growing up, my family had traveled a lot around the country but we never ventured aboard a boat. Justin’s family, however, had many generations of cruisers. His paternal grandmother helped launch his love of cruising at a very young age. As he grew up, he was very fortunate to see many countries, cultures and ports through his many voyages with Princess over the years. Cruising was in his blood,
and he wanted to share that love with me. Read More

August 21, 2012
by Linda Dodds

My husband, Brian, was one of the lucky few who found out what he loved to do at a young age. Part prodigy, part rebel, Brian graduated from high school at 16 then headed straight from his family home in Los Angeles to the shores of Hawaii, where he became an early player in the surfing movement that would shape popular culture for decades to come.

Brian was one of the few who earned the right to be called a “waterman.” He was part of the elite migration of surfers who went to Honolulu in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s to catch waves and perfect the art of big wave surfing.

Not only was Brian a poet of the longboard, he could sail and swim with powerful ease and read the waves and atmospheric conditions with the accuracy of a seasoned oceanographer.  The sea was such a part of him that you could show Brian random footage of some waves and he could tell you where it was taken by how the surf broke. Read More

August 14, 2012
by Mark Ferres

It sounded like a great idea. Buy engagement ring, fly to Auckland and cruise back to Australia on Diamond Princess … and somewhere on the ocean propose to Barb, the girl of my dreams.

Problem 1: Smuggling ring out of the country without Barb knowing. Where to hide the ring so Barb does not find it? Well it’s only a ring, it’s not like I’m trying to hide an elephant! After hours of contemplating I decide to hide it in my money belt. All packed, taxi arrives and off we go to…

Problem 2: Airport security. We check in and pass through security. “Excuse me sir, is that a ring in your money belt?” My heart rate goes up 100%, I turn bright red and Barb standing next to me wonders what is going on. I tremble opening up the bag in front of Barb and wonder what to say — should I drop on my knees and propose now at airport security? Well, it would be original but not exactly what I had in mind. My romantic plan seemed to be blown on day one. I peer in the bag and see my house keys on a key ring. I hopefully pull them out of the bag and show them to the security officer. “Do you mean this ring?” I say to the officer. He did and I’m free to go. I breathe a huge sigh of relief. Read More