LIVE! FROM THE ROYAL PRINCESS

Princess Live! (Credit: Princess Cruises)

If you want to find out what's going on around the ship, you normally have to check the daily bulletin in your stateroom or tune the TV to your friendly cruise director channel.

Now Princess Cruises is going that one better. How about a live show in TV-styled studio? That's what guests will find on the new Royal Princess, set to launch in June, 2013.

Called, appropriately enough, Princess Live!, it's both a talk show and an entertainment venue, where, according to Princess:

'Taking the audience behind the scenes to share the excitement of a working television studio, the high-tech Princess Live! will showcase live television broadcasts, intimate performances from musicians, and special events such as cooking shows, plus will feature an adjacent café.

"Located on Royal Princess’ deck 7 just aft of the Piazza, Princess Live! will be a flexible, 280-seat venue based on a television broadcast studio. When the ship debuts in June 2013, Princess Live! will serve as a venue for daily broadcasts of “The Wake Show” with a new twist -- a daily live audience. This popular daily show staring the cruise director and special guests from around the ship is a staple across the Princess fleet, but is rarely staged live.

"The colorful Princess Live! studio will also host a variety of events, including game shows, interactive cooking shows, art house films, enrichment classes, murder mysteries, trivia, and 'Meet the Experts' presentations from the crew. Additionally, Princess Live! will serve as a more intimate performance venue for onboard musicians who will offer 'unplugged' and 'in-the-round' shows, providing an opportunity for entertainers to connect with the audience in a unique environment.

"The adjacent Princess Live! Café will surround passengers with interactive, wall-mounted screens showing the ship’s position, ports of call, points of interest and even international newspapers. The café will serve up specialty coffees, teas and freshly squeezed citrus juice, plus will offer a selection of fresh-baked croissants and pastries in the morning.

"Royal Princess will also feature the line’s largest Princess Theater ever, with unobstructed sight lines from every seat, plus will see the return of an updated Vista Lounge at the aft of the ship to serve as an alternate evening performance venue."

There will be many other exciting new features passengers can look forward to as well:

"The 3,600-passenger Royal Princess is a new-generation ship currently under construction for Princess Cruises. Among the new features found on board will be a greatly expanded atrium, the social hub of the ship; the dramatic over-water SeaWalk, a top-deck glass-bottomed enclosed walkway on the ship's starboard side extending more than 28 feet beyond the edge of the vessel; plush private poolside cabanas that appear to be floating on the water; a dazzling water and light show; more dining options including a special Chef’s Table Lumiere, wine cellar dining area and an expanded Horizon Court with pastry shop. Eighty percent of the ship’s staterooms will feature a balcony."

Attention, Princess: Go ahead and reserve one of those poolside cabanas in my name, along with two French Martinis, s'il vous plait.

-- Gerry, for Cruising Squared