Meet Our Destination Expert:
5 Revealing Questions
Crystal Morgan
Director of Market Planning, Itineraries and Deployments
Number of Years with Princess:
I feel like I was born here. . . . almost 17 total, including time served onboard our ships.
Number of Countries Visited:
Well, it depends on how you count! According to the Travelers Century Club, there are 320 countries, (although some are not actually countries in their own right; they’re removed from their parent country either politically, geographically or ethnographically). To be a member of the club, you have to have visited 100 countries. According to their list, I have visited 95!!! Five more to go! This year, I’ll be adding Colombia and the Dominican Republic to my list. . . . leaving three more to reach 100!!! 
Hometown:
The Biggest Littlest City in the World – Reno, Nevada.
A little about my job:
I’m responsible for the worldwide itinerary and deployment planning for Princess’ 17 ships.
What item is in your suitcase that you couldn’t travel without?
My noise cancelling headphones (for the plane); my iPod of course – not only for the plane but for long bus rides or for down-time; Aveda hand lotion; a language guidebook for the place I’m visiting; my Canon Rebel digital camera; and my journal.
What’s your most treasured travel souvenir?
An antique ring that I bought on New Year’s day at the Piccadilly Market in London. It reminds me of starting off that year with great friends in one of my favorite cities.
What’s the most memorable dish you’ve eaten during your travels?
Food to me is an essential part of travelling – no McDonald’s for me when travelling!! To eat the local dishes and specialties to me is embodying the entire experience. I don’t eat meat (well, things with four legs anyway) but often when I travel I will lift my “no four legs” ban just so I can sample the local favorites.
I’ve been fortunate to travel through great food destinations such as Italy, France and Spain and have had many memorable meals. However one of my favorite meal memory is when I was travelling (as a passenger) on our Grand Mediterranean itinerary, and I visited the small walled town of Monteriggioni. I arrived early in the morning and, longing for a coffee, went inside to the only café open in the main square. They had just prepared fresh bruschetta with fresh tomatoes — it looked (and tasted!) so good. The coffee was so delicious, and the setting so divine, that we stayed sitting at a table outside the café in the square enjoying more bruschetta and more coffee for a least three more hours!
What’s your travel motto?
My favorite is the quote: “Tourists don’t know where they have been; travelers don’t know where they are going.” I like to be a traveler not a tourist. And I love jet-lag! Feeling jet-lagged means that you’ve arrived at a destination and have days or weeks ahead of you to explore!
Where haven’t you been that’s on your travel bucket list?
Peru. I would like to hike the Incan Trail to Machu Picchu.
Australia for two reasons:
- The Great Barrier Reef. I’m a diver . . . that’s how I started with Princess – as on onboard scuba instructor! The Great Barrier Reef is the mecca for all divers.
- Melbourne, Australia, for the Australian Open. I’m also a tennis fanatic and want to collect seeing the Grand Slam events while Nadal and Federer are still playing! I’ve been to Wimbledon and to the U.S. Open, and next is the Australian Open.
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Thank you all for sharing your comments and valuable feedback with us.
In order to best assist you with customer service concerns and booking support, please call us at the Princess Cruises office that is closest to you:
1-800-Princess (US)
13 24 88 (Australia)
0843 374 4444 (UK)
Ms. Morgan;
My husband and I just love Princess Cruises. We especially love the small Ocean and Pacific Princess ships. I was wondering if and when the itineraries for these 2 wonderful ships will change a little. I keep looking and looking for something just a little different and don’t find it. I really don’t want to go onto another line so I am hoping that some new itineraries will be created for the Ocean and Pacific Princess ships.
Dear Ms. Morgan,
My husband and I were scheduled for the Swiss Splendors Pre-Cruise tour starting 09/14/12. Unfortunately, we had to cancel (literally) at the last minute as I became very sick and was forbidden to fly by my Doctor.
In any case, we purposely booked this tour for 2012 so as to avoid the tour’s 2013 pairings with the Royal Princess since we already sailed that itinerary on the Ruby in 05/11.
As such, will Princess be adding/offering the Swiss Splendors Pre-Cruise tour in conjunction with the Greek Isles itinerary of Venice to Rome in 2013 or 2014?
Thank You,
Andrea Stefanich
Hi Andrea,
I am sorry to hear the reason for your cancellation and wish you a speedy recovery.
Our Europe cruisetours are currently available through November 2013 and unfortunately the Swiss Splendors cruisetour is not available in conjunction with the 2013 Greek Isles itineraries. The Swiss Splendors tour is available in conjunction with the Royal Princess 2013 cruises: http://bit.ly/SDEk5h
Dear Ms. Morgan,
Thank you for your response regarding the 2013 Swiss Splendors itineraries with the Royal. Unfortunately, we are not considering this tour in 2013, as we have already completed the itinerary that the Royal will observe. Will Princess be offering the Swiss Splendors Tour in conjunction with the Greek Isles itinereary in the late summer / early fall of 2014? (As of now, only Jan – May are reflected for 2014 cruises on the Princess webpage)
Also, thank you for your kind wishes for my recovery. After 3 weeks of recuperation, we are now posting to this blog from the Emerald Princess In Quebec, CA! We just can’t get enough of a good thing!
Thank you,
Andrea Stefanich
I hope you are having a wonderful cruise on Emerald Princess!
Our 2014 Europe cruisetours have not yet been released. We are schedule to release these itineraries in spring of 2013.
Any idea when the schedule for Baltic Heritage cruise for 2014 will be released?
Hi Ellen,
We expect these to be available spring 2013. Stay tuned!
My post of June 9 th. wasn’t answered. I’m requesting information on possible cruise itinaries for Antarctica any time in the future.
Hi Ron,
We have not released any information on any cruises past spring of 2014. However we do often offer a shore excursion to Antarctica when we call at Punta Arenas, Chile: http://bit.ly/LxnF0u
To view our cruises which is scheduled to visit Punta Arenas please use the following link:
http://www.princess.com/find/searchResults.do?itinPort=PUQ
Acapulco has just been eliminated from our cruise schedule next March. Will Princess be able to schedule another port in its place?
Hi Amy,
Currently there has not been a port added to your itinerary in place of Acapulco. We will be sure to let you know of any updates.
Ms. Morgan,
Will Princess be offering cruises into Antarctica again? I noticed that through 03/2014, the itineraries are limted to South America, only, and do not include the Antarctic Sound. My research shows that HAL and Azamara still go there, but I do not wish to switch cruise lines.
Thank you.
Ron
Hi Ron,
As you mentioned currently we are not offering cruises which Antarctica, but we often do offer a shore excursion to Antarctica when we call at Punta Arenas, Chile: http://bit.ly/LxnF0u
To view our cruises which is scheduled to visit Punta Arenas please use the following link:
http://www.princess.com/find/searchResults.do?itinPort=PUQ
Does princess plan on releasing more round trip cruises to Caribbean out of thanks
Hi Tonian,
We are scheduled to release more of our itineraries around the end of April beginning of May.
When will the Europe and Northern Europe itineraries be released for summer 2013??
Hi Chawn,
We are scheduled to release the rest of our 2013 itineraries this spring. Stay tuned!
We have just previewed the new Royal Princess on your web site and she sure is a beauty. When will her ports of call be published?? And when can we make reservations?? Amy
Hi Amy,
Thank you! We are very excited about the Royal Princess debut in June 2013. The Royal Princess maiden season cruises will open for sale on March 15, 2012. The itineraries that we have released can be found by using the following link: http://www.princess.com/news/article.jsp?newsArticleId=na1213
Hi Debbie,
We are booked on the 29 day Star Princess South America cruise in 2013. We are scheduled to stop at Acapulco but I have noticed several of your other ships are going to Manzanillo instead. We sure would love to have this be our port stop instead of the worry about safety in the larger city. Is there any possibility to this??
Hi Amy,
We look forward to welcoming you onboard! Thank you very much for your feedback. As you know currently the itinerary you have booked has not been changed. We have in the past, and will continue to, cancel any ports if we have any security or safety concerns. If there are any changes to your itinerary we will be sure to communicate them.
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Oops. I meant to say that tour 4D begins on Dec 9, 2011, and NOT the 6th as originally specified. The cruise leaves 12/16/11 out of Sydney on the Diamond.
Thank you,
Ron
My wife and I are taking the Ultimate Australia Cruise Tour 4D, departing on Dec. 6, 2011. On Dec. 14th. the land portion of tour is in Port Douglas with the afternoon at leisure. We are interested in scheduling a tour , on our own, that must be attended before 2:00p.m. While we understand that our arrival time cannot be accurately predicted we were hoping to find out an approximate time of arrival in Port Douglas so we may consider our options. Any information you can provide will be appreciated. Thank You
Hi Ron,
I apologize we are unable to guarantee the time you will arrive into Port Douglas. The approximate timeframe of arrival to Port Douglas is from 1:30pm to 3:30pm. For any further information please call us at 1-800-Princess.
Have a wonderful cruisetour!
Are there any plans for Princess sailing out of Baltimore, Md.?
Hi Andrea,
Our itineraries have been released for our cruises through spring of 2013 and these cruises do not include embarkation or disembarkation from Baltimore, Maryland. However, we will certainly keep this request in mind for the future!
My wife and I are taking the Australia/New Zealand Cruise Tour aboard the Diamond 12/9-12/29/11. On Christmas Day the ship visits Akoroa. Our research indicates that many interesting tours will be closed Christmas Day (senic railway tour to Arthurs Pass for one) . Although I realize the complexity of scheduling 17 ships sailing around the world, I would like to suggest that consideration be givin to having at sea days on major holidays. This would allow passangers greater opportunity to take advantage of the sights on exotic cruises.
Thank you for including a sector from Brisbane to Hong Kong on Sun Princess,(S115 21 Sep 2011) unfortunately due to a family emergency we were unable to take this cruise.
Please can you consider including this sector again in your future itineraries.
Kind Regards
Hi Robyn,
We are very sorry to hear about your family emergency. We hope everything is okay.
Thank you for your interest in a similar cruise which you had planned on going on. Through Spring 2013 we do not have roundtrip Brisbane cruises to Hong Kong. We do have roundtrip Sydney cruises which are scheduled to visit Hong Kong: Sea Princess March 4, 2012 & March 6, 2013, Dawn Princess June 27, 2012, Sun Princess September 12, 2012. To view these cruises, please use the following link: http://bit.ly/nDo6Qb
Please check back with us in the spring of 2012 for more information on our cruises which will sail after spring 2013.
Hi, Back in April of 2008 the Grand Princess had a great 20 day cruise from Ft Lauderdale down to Devils Island over to Dakar ending in Rome. Will you ever repeat this cruise. It appears that most cruises that stop on the Western coast of Africa are out of Cape Town; a very long flight. Along with the Canary Islands wouldn’t Western Africa be a popular cruise? John
Hi John,
As you know we are not offering the itinerary you mention from through the spring of 2013. We will keep it in mind for future planning. Thank you for your feedback!
I love the itinerary you have in the fall from Quebec City to Ft Lauderdale, but I think you should also do this one in the spring when the weather is usually better on the Atlantic. In the fall you have the worry of hurricanes and you can’t enjoy the ship as much because the weather is much cooler.
Have you thought of doing a reposition cruise from Ft auderdale to Quebec and start that way? I would love to see the East Coast that way!!
Hi Ruth,
Thank you for your valuable feedback. We will certainly keep this request in mind for the future!
We were on the 65th Midway Island Anniversary Cruise. We are wondering if there are any plans for a upcoming 70th Anniversary cruise planned ? It was such a treat to visit this remote Island and learn about the Flora and Fauna. The old Military base was still incredible to see, I’ll never forget how to Bowling Alley was still intact.
Hi Debbie,
Thank you very much for your feedback. We are very happy to hear that you enjoyed your cruise with us! Unfortunately, we do not have any similar routes planned through to Spring of 2013.
We will cruise the Mediterranean on the Ruby in July. We are Mexicans. Do we need a visa for Turkey? My travel Agent says it´s not necessary since we´re not staying overnight and that the ship “authorities” arrange permits to disembark for certain hours. I have reserved shore excursions with princess. Is this true? Do you think there will be any problem?
Hi Karen,
Our recommendation to all our passengers is to use a visa service or to check with your consulate to verify visa requirements.