
Princess Cruises is presently owned by Carnival Company & plc, one of many world’s largest leisure journey corporations. Along with Princess Cruises, Carnival owns and operates a number of different cruise traces and journey corporations.
John Padgett acted because the president of Princess Cruises since October 2021. On this position, he oversaw the cruise line’s strategic operations, together with all the pieces visitors expertise to the corporate’s total course. Nevertheless, in November 2024 it was introduced that Gus Antorcha would develop into the brand new Princess Cruises president ranging from December 2, 2024.
Who Is the CEO/President of Princess Cruises?
From December 2, 2024, Gus Antorcha, beforehand president of sister line Holland America, will take over the position because the president of Princess Cruises. He takes over from John Padgett, who’s leaving the corporate in February 2025.

American businessman John Padgett was the president when he assumed the position in early October of 2021 after taking up from the earlier president, Jan Swartz.
On this position, he experiences on to Josh Weinstein, the chief government officer (CEO) of Carnival Company & plc, the mother or father firm of Princess Cruises. The position additionally entails common contact with the opposite government management staff members and the corporate’s board of administrators.
Previous to assuming the position, John Padgett gained recognition for his management expertise and experience in creating transformative experiences for cruise ship passengers by introducing new applied sciences.
That is unsurprising once you uncover that John Padgett is definitely an completed inventor and creator in his private life, with over 30 patents and 100 emblems for applied sciences and processes, most of that are associated to the cruise trade.
John Padgett was promoted to the place of president from inside. He beforehand led Carnival Company’s innovation staff and had over 18 years of management expertise from working with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.
In his position with Carnival’s innovation staff, he created and applied quite a few award-winning applied sciences and even produced a profitable TV sequence highlighting trip experiences visitors may get pleasure from by touring with the corporate.


Previous to being promoted to the position of president of certainly one of Carnival Company’s largest and most recognizable cruise traces, Padgett held the place of Chief Expertise and Innovation Officer, the place he labored in direction of enhancing visitor experiences by driving the creation of the “Ocean Medallion” wearable tech gadget.
This know-how was launched on Princess Cruises vessels to reinforce cruise experiences for all visitors by enabling a clean transition from onboard leisure to on-shore actions, excursions, and lodge companies.
Right this moment, visitors aboard any ship within the Princess Cruises fleet will nearly instantly discover John Padgett’s affect, and it appears the cruise line will proceed to maneuver in a optimistic course below his management.
The Historical past of Princess Cruises
Earlier than we dive into the current day possession of Princess Cruises, let’s have a look again and discover the historical past of the cruise line.
The Founder
Princess Cruises was based in 1965 by Canadian-born businessman and former United States Navy Air Corps member Stanley McDonald. At first, Stanley McDonald leased a single ship, the Princess Patricia, from Canadian Pacific Restricted.
Whereas the ship was initially used to supply passenger companies from locations alongside Canada’s West Coast to coastal cities in Alaska, McDonald had the thought to repurpose it to supply cruise-style voyages from Los Angeles, USA, to locations alongside the Mexican Riviera.
The choice to develop into concerned within the cruise trade originated from McDonald’s experiences in the course of the 1962 World’s Honest in Seattle, the place there was an absence of viable resorts for guests.
Stanley McDonald envisioned docking a ship within the harbor that might present snug transportation for these residing alongside North America’s Western Coast and double as a luxurious lodge whereas it was within the harbor.
This concerned retrofitting the Princess Patricia for extra luxurious journey and voyages in additional tropical climates. From putting in air-conditioning programs to renovating the cabins and introducing fits, this was a significant venture.
Rising Recognition and New Routes
Nevertheless, beginning with its first voyage from Los Angeles to Mexico, the newly shaped Princess Cruises Cruise Line rapidly gained reputation, turning into well-known alongside the western shoreline of america for offering luxurious cruises to enjoyable and unique areas.
By the early Nineteen Seventies, Princess Cruises had expanded its fleet and the sorts of routes its ships would run, together with offering common journeys to and from Alaska.
Promoting the Firm to P&O


Then, in 1974, the corporate was offered to a British transport conglomerate, the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Firm, or P&O, as it’s extra generally identified.
This represented a significant possession change for the model, nevertheless it continued to function and develop in reputation by constructing on Stanley McDonald’s authentic imaginative and prescient. Beneath the steerage and possession of the passenger division of P&O, referred to as P&O Cruises, Princess Cruises continued to develop, including extra ships to its fleet and increasing its international attain.
Turning into a Family Identify


Within the Nineteen Eighties, Princess Cruises grew to become a family identify all through North America after certainly one of its ships grew to become the central focus of the internationally broadcast present The Love Boat.
Not solely did the present function the Princess Cruises model and several other of its ships, nevertheless it additionally introduced cruising into the general public eye, serving to to make the cruise line synonymous with glamorous cruises, even to those that had by no means stepped foot on a cruise ship.
Rising the Fleet


All through the Nineteen Eighties and Nineteen Nineties, Princess moved from working repurposed vessels to incorporating purpose-built, modernized cruise ships into its fleet. The ‘90s noticed the cruise line introduce its Solar-class vessels and later its Grand-class ships, which had been each amongst the biggest and costliest cruise ships ever constructed once they had been launched.
In March 1998, the Grand Princess set sail as the biggest passenger ship ever constructed. It was then joined by Golden Princess and Star Princess, which equaled their sister ship in measurement.
Regardless of Princess Cruises’ success, the possession firm’s transport division was starting to wrestle financially on the flip of the century, which helped push their determination to kind an impartial firm referred to as P&O Princess Cruises.
This transfer was adopted up by the introduction of two new courses within the Princess fleet, the Coral-class and the R-class, which had been each optimized to journey by means of the Panama Canal, opening up new and thrilling routes.
Carnival Company Acquires Princess Cruises


Whereas Princess Cruises continued to have a major presence within the cruise trade, its profitability mirrored that the cruise line grew to become a part of the Carnival Company on April 17, 2003.
This transfer resulted from a significant merger between P&O Princess Cruises plc and Carnival Company. This acquisition positioned Princess as certainly one of Carnival Company’s premium cruise line manufacturers, serving to them increase their choices to cruise passengers looking for luxurious and a extra customized onboard expertise.
On account of this merger, the 2 former cruise rivals now had a mixed web value of $5.4 billion, making them the biggest and most precious cruise firm on the planet.
From the attitude of Carnival Cruise Line, the acquisition of the internationally-known Princess Cruises model helped them solidify their standing because the world’s high cruise firm.
Following this merger, Princess Cruises has continued to develop, considerably benefiting from the Carnival Company’s monetary backing and international attain. That mentioned, they continue to be a definite id inside the portfolio, persevering with to be identified for luxurious, distinctive customer support, and providing prolonged voyages and distinctive itineraries.
Right this moment, they’re one of many best-known names within the trade, they usually supply cruises worldwide, together with locations that different cruise traces are inclined to neglect, like Alaska, Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand, South America, Europe, and Asia.
In reality, their upcoming Australian summer time itineraries embrace quite a few voyages all through the Pacific, with some slated to develop into the lengthiest voyages of any ships in the complete Carnival Company fleet.
Princess Cruises’ Web Value


Right this moment, Princess Cruises stays a major model inside the portfolio of Carnival Company & plc. Provided that the Carnival Company has an estimated web value of almost $28 billion, it’s no shock that Princess Cruises is a particularly beneficial firm.
In reality, in income alone, Princess Cruises experiences an annual revenue of almost $4 billion. The cruise line additionally has a fleet of 16 full-sized cruise ships, with one other on the best way in 2025, and a everlasting employees of almost 30,000 full-time workers.
Whereas it’s presently listed as a subsidiary of the Carnival Company, so realizing the model’s actual web value is considerably tough, monetary specialists estimate that it may very well be value as a lot as $10 billion to the Carnival Company.
Regardless of the monetary setbacks and challenges that Princess Cruises confronted throughout and after the COVID-19 Pandemic, it recovered extremely nicely, remaining probably the most beneficial cruise traces in the complete trade.
Proudly owning a Share of Princess Cruises


When you can not personal a share of Princess Cruises, because the Carnival Company owns the cruise line, you may put money into that mother or father firm. Should you resolve to put money into Carnival Company & plc shares, you should buy them on the New York Inventory Change (NYSE) below the ticker NYSE: CCL. Shares will also be bought on the London Inventory Change below the ticker LSE: CCL.
Carnival Company is a significant firm, however its inventory value has not absolutely recovered to the heights of 2017, which was when it loved its most precious interval. Nevertheless, the inventory value has continued to rise following the cruise line’s restoration after the COVID-19 Pandemic, so it may very well be a very good buy.
That mentioned, we don’t wish to supply anybody any monetary recommendation that doesn’t pertain on to reserving and having fun with a cruise, so we’d not wish to affect your determination to buy or promote Carnival Company inventory.
Shareholders can typically profit from perks like onboard credit once they sail with Princess Cruises or different Carnival manufacturers, relying on the variety of shares they maintain.
For instance, shareholders may obtain an onboard credit score of $250 in the event that they e book a stateroom on a voyage of 14 days or longer whereas touring with certainly one of Carnival’s North American manufacturers, together with Princess Cruises.
For a extra detailed breakdown of shareholder advantages, Carnival Company & plc gives a web page on “Carnival Inventory Perks” and directions on declare them by means of the Carnival App.
Princess Cruises’ Fleet of Ships


As talked about, Princess Cruises presently operates a fleet of 16 trendy cruise ships, with one other (Star Princess) set to be put into service in early 2025. These ships sail to over 300 distinctive locations all over the world.
From the biggest vessels, just like the Solar Princess and Star Princess, which supply an in depth vary of onboard facilities, to smaller cruise ships, like Coral Princess and Island Princess, which deal with visiting extra area of interest locations and smaller ports of name, the fleet is extremely various, however each ship adheres to the manufacturers deal with sustaining world-class passenger companies.
This deal with providing the most effective companies to their visitors is mirrored of their world-renowned “Princess Medallion Class” expertise, which, as talked about earlier, is a kind of wearable know-how that permits passengers aboard any Princess Cruises vessel to get pleasure from a extremely customized service.
From ordering meals and drinks together with a pool to having fun with simplified keyless entry to cabins and suites, this technique ensures visitors get pleasure from an opulent expertise regardless of the place their Princess Cruises trip leads them.
Breakdown of Ships within the Princess Cruises Fleet
That will help you achieve an appreciation for simply how spectacular the Princess Cruises fleet is, right here’s a primary breakdown of their present vessels:
Solar Princess: 175,500 GT, 4,310 visitor capability
Discovery Princess: 145,000 GT, 3,660 visitor capability
Sky Princess: 144,650 GT, 3,660 visitor capability
Enchanted Princess: 144,650 GT, 3,660 visitor capability
Majestic Princess: 142,229 GT, 3,560 visitor capability
Regal Princess: 142,229 GT, 3,560 visitor capability
Royal Princess: 142,229 GT, 3,560 visitor capability
Ruby Princess: 113,561 GT, 3,080 visitor capability
Emerald Princess: 113,561 GT, 3,090 visitor capability
Crown Princess: 113,561 GT, 3,090 visitor capability
Caribbean Princess: 112,894 GT, 3,140 visitor capability
Sapphire Princess: 115,875 GT, 2,680 visitor capability
Diamond Princess: 115,875 GT, 2,710 visitor capability
Island Princess: 92,822 GT, 2,210 visitor capability
Coral Princess: 91,627 GT, 2,000 visitor capability
Grand Princess: 107,517 GT, 2,610 visitor capability
Last Ideas on Princess Cruises
Now below the possession umbrella of Carnival Company & plc, Princess Cruises is likely one of the largest and most recognizable cruise traces within the trade. With Gus Antorcha taking up as president, the model continues to innovate and increase its ever-growing fleet of luxurious cruise ships.
Learn Additionally: What Cruise Traces Does Carnival Personal? Record of Carnival Company Manufacturers
From its humble beginnings as a small firm consisting of a single retrofitted Alaskan passenger ferry, Princess Cruises has develop into one of many world leaders in providing luxurious and memorable cruise voyages.
Stanley McDonald’s authentic imaginative and prescient of making a luxurious cruise line that might present visitors with snug lodging, entertaining facilities, and thrilling voyages to thrilling locations has been absolutely realized, however Princess Cruises is exhibiting no indicators of slowing down.
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