A Royal Invitation from A Princess

19 years ago new ships didn't come out every week

OK, my plans are finally taking shape . . . as I have received a Royal invitation from a Princess. 

When we had travel agencies . . . for 15 years . . . we were top producers for Carnival, Holland America, Princess and Sitmar.  When Princess merged with Sitmar, suddenly Princess represented 70% of our business.  Since we were the top producers in our area, we got invited to a lot of Princess events and ship christenings.  Back in those days, before 27 new ships a month were being christened, the christening of a ship was a big event.  Godmother’s were people of
note, not just someone who entered a “Be A Godmother” contest on the Internet.  The biggest, and most memorable of these events was the christening of the CROWN PRINCESS (the one before the current one, something like rich guys trophy wives) in New York harbor.

The Godmother of CROWN PRINCESS was a Godmother worth noting, and seeing . . . the movie actress of my adolescent dreams . . . Sophia Loren!

It was a fantastic ceremony with bells, the P&O Silver Collection on display, and the Queen’s Guard, all flown in from London just for the occassion.  Sophia christened the ship, Tony Bennet provided the entertainment, and that evening as we sailed by the Statue of Liberty the harbor exploded with fireworks.

They just don’t do ship christenings like that anymore!  I guess it is that the “bean counters” and MBAs are running the show now.

Carlo Ponti and Sophia Loren at dinner

At any rate I have this long association and love for Princess.  When we were in the cruise travel biz we did a lot of trips on Princess and we were big producers for Princess in Alaska.  When my kids were in grade school we went on the old ROYAL PRINCESS with a group to Alaska and my kids fell in love with Alaska.  When my oldest daughter, Noelle, graduated from the University of Puget Sound she went to Fairbanks to drive a bus for Princess.  She ended up falling in love with her boss, now my son-in-law, and staying in Fairbanks for two years.  So, if it wasn’t for

Tony and I on CROWN PRINCESS: we were both younger

Princess, I might not have my grandson Rian!

Princess is of course part of the Carnival family, and a sister company to Holland America.   And in the cruise biz it’s OK to be in love with two sisters.  I hope to continue with Holland America, but I needed a break from the Panama Canal, and so when an invitation arrived to be Port Lecturer on the ROYAL PRINCESS, I couldn’t say no!

Tomorrow I’ll tell you more about the ROYAL PRINCESS and the exciting places I will be going . . . Stay tuned!