50th Essential Experience Unveiled - Final Destination is "The Ocean"

Post Completes Princess Cruises' Year-Long Travel Bucket List Blog

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Oct 04, 2011, 08:30 ET

SANTA CLARITA, Calif., Oct. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- After a full year showcasing inspirational stories about some of the most fascinating travel experiences around the world, Princess Cruises' travel bucket list blog, "50 Essential Experiences," is finally complete today with the reveal of the last post – "The Ocean."

Written by Executive Vice President of Fleet Operations Rai Caluori, the final story shares his top place that's sure to resonate with every cruiser, describing how he "ran away to sea" and discovered his passion for the ocean.

He writes: "I leaned against the railing and watched as Pacific Princess glided away from picturesque Acapulco Bay. It was evening and the vastness of the horizon, the inky night sky and endless sapphire waters made me think, this must be what eternity looks like. Just imagine how I felt. At last, I had found my home and my calling." read more

Together all 50 posts, which were revealed weekly for an entire year, were designed to create an ultimate travel bucket list compiled of personal stories told by Princess' own destination experts – its long-serving and well-traveled shipboard and shoreside employees.

"Twelve months ago we set out to create not just a list of places, but instead a collection of experiences that we hoped would inspire others," said Jan Swartz, Princess executive vice president. "We think the resulting list is remarkable not only for its scope of destinations, but also for the insights our authors shared about their lifelong memories."

She added, "The amazing array of 50 stories touch 36 countries on six continents, and we're so grateful to our employees who contributed them." The authors included a wide assortment of Princess employees from the president and CEO, and the commodore of the Princess fleet; to cruise directors and hotel general managers working onboard; to shoreside employees in areas including itinerary planning, hotel operations, shore excursions and sales.

Since it debuted in October 2010, the popular 50 Essential Experiences blog has received more than 2.6 million page views and more than 5,000 reader comments, making it one of the most popular blogs in the industry.

Each week the blog has also featured a "Reader Essential Experience," and the final reader post describes the wonder of being woken up to see the Northern Lights in Alaska.

Travelers can now download a copy of the full list to use as inspiration for their own travel bucket planning, at http://www.princess.com/50essentialexperiences/.

SOURCE Princess Cruises