New Princess Cruises vessel gets a name among the stars
Television show hosts and reality stars were among those who gathered at the Port of Los Angeles recently to officially name the newest Princess Cruises ship — the 1,080 foot Discovery Princess.
The ship, which has 19 decks, has four “godparents,” all of whom were part of the christening ceremony on Friday: fashion designer Randy Fenoli, chef Alex Guarnaschelli, special effects designer and fabricator Adam Savage, and real estate broker and house flipper Page Turner.
“Bringing together these four experts and personalities to name Discovery Princess for the launch of our newest ship is an exciting moment for Princess,” said John Padgett, Princess Cruises president. “Our impressive godparents, who represent the best in food, style, wonder and exploration, bring their imaginative and inspirational talents together to celebrate this momentous occasion.”
The 3,660-passenger Discovery Princess was built at the Fincantieri Shipyard in Italy. Discovery Princess debuted in Los Angeles on March 27, sailing a series of Mexican Riviera and California coast voyages.
After the naming ceremony, the ship headed up the Pacific coast to begin a season of seven-day Alaskan cruises from Seattle. The ship returns to Los Angeles in September to begin cruising the California coast to Mexico.
Padgett worked for 18 years with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, where he was considered the father of guest engagement innovations, which include the MagicBand and FastPass+.
He has led the charge in developing similar passenger improvements using technology since he has been with the cruise line.
That includes Ocean Medallion, a wearable, quarter-sized device, which enables everything from expedited contactless boarding to locating co-travelers anywhere on the ship, as well as having food and drinks delievered to anywhere on the ship.
Passengers were pleased with the technology and boarding that appeared to go quickly recently.
“This is our first trip that we are comfortable traveling, with all that has happened over the last two years,” passenger Randy Rodenberger wrote in a text. “We love cruising (this is our 18th cruise and it is one of the things we have missed the most since 2020). Also, this is the first cruise we have done on a brand new ship, which we are excited about.”