US company Princess Cruises was established in 1965 and is headquartered in Santa Clarita, California. The company currently operates 17 ships which cruise across the world and targets both American and international passengers.
The company is typically best known for its role in The Love Boat TV series, in which one of the company’s ships, the Pacific Princess, was featured.
The company was founded when Stanley McDonald decided to charter the Canadian Pacific Limited’s Alaska cruise ship, the Princess Patricia, for use in cruises along the Mexican Ri
viera, departing from Los Angeles, at a time when the ship would usually not have been in use during the winter months. The first cruise was not necessarily a success, as the ship had not been designed for use in tropical climates and had no air-conditioning on board, which was not a problem when the ship was being used in colder northern climates. The ship was replaced by a purpose-built ship that was called Italia. The second cruise line the company operated was ultimately unsuccessful and led to the ship being return to Europe under charter to the Costa Cruise Line, although the company now outright own their own ships.