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span style="color: #000000;">In response to the growing interest in cruising in Southeast Asia, Carnival Corporation is introducing the largest deployment ever by a premium cruise line in the region when it brings the Sapphire Princess to Singapore for a five-month fall 2014 to spring 2015 season.

The itineraries will combine the region'€™s major metropolises such as Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City and Kuala Lumpur.

One unique itinerary of note is a 10-day Indonesia sailing that visits Jakarta, Bali, Komodo Island and Lombok. It will depart on Jan. 13, 2015.

'€œPrincess Cruises will be the first premium cruise line to have ships based in Singapore for an extended period,'€ said Alan Buckelew, Chief Operations Officer of Carnival Corporation.

The 116,000-ton Sapphire Princess carries 2,670 passengers.

Approximately 40,000 passengers are expected to be carried during this first season of cruising from Singapore.

Passengers will be sourced from Singapore and throughout Asia, in addition to other international markets including North America, the United Kingdom and Australia.

The 2014/2015 program features 15 cruises sailing round-trip from Singapore.

Cruises range from US$449 per person for a three-day trip, to $3,919 per person for a 21-day trip, based on double-sharing occupancy.

Princess Cruises was catapulted to stardom in 1977 when one of its ships, Pacific Princess, was cast in the starring role in the television show '€œThe Love Boat.'€

The weekly series, which introduced millions of viewers to the concept of a sea-going vacation, was an instant hit and both the company name and its '€œseawitch'€ logo have remained synonymous with cruising ever since. (ren/nfo)