Alaska provides warm reception for Tahitian Princess

January 1, 1970


Louis Benecardino, manager of the Alaska Railroad Dock, received the ship's crest from Capt. Carlo Servillo during the Tahitian Princess' inagural visit to Seward'

Alaska's ports welcomed the Tahitian Princess on its inaugural visit this summer with fanfare, including a water show in Valdez. The Tahitian Princess, one of the smaller ships in the Princess fleet with a 670-passenger capacity, did not have a room to spare on its 14-day maiden voyage through Alaska's waters.

Local dignitaries as well as community and business leaders presented the ship's staff with gifts of appreciation along the way. Tahitian Princess Capt. Carlo Servillo presented officials with the ship's crest in return.

"The Tahitian is a beautiful ship and we are glad to bring her to Alaska," Servillo said. "The communities have been gracious not only to our staff but to our passengers as well."

Deemed the "Connoisseur Voyage," the trip originates and ends in Vancouver, B.C., Canada and stops in Ketchikan, Skagway, Juneau, Sitka and Seward as well as the less-visited ports of Valdez and Kodiak. Highlights include cruising the ever-popular Inside Passage and Glacier Bay National Park.

Tahitian Princess will be renamed Ocean Princess in 2009. The new name is intended to reflect the ship's new deployment on worldwide itineraries. The renaming will take place while the ship is out of service during a routine maintenance period in Singapore in November 2009.