80 year old passenger becomes cruise ship godmother
She has cruised over 4000 days and now will be godmother to ROYAL PRINCESS

-Princess' most-travelled passenger, Lorraine Arzt, will become the godmother of the line's new Royal Princess. Arzt, who last year reached a milestone 4,000 days at sea with Princess, will christen the ship at its upcoming official naming ceremony in Portofino, Italy on June 14.
Her impressive sailing record equals more than 10 years at sea aboard Princess ships. Typically spending as long as 10 months each year on board, Arzt moved into her suite aboard Royal Princess for the ship's first sailing on April 19. Royal Princess will now become her "home away from home" as she plans to cruise exclusively aboard this intimately sized vessel.

"We've been flattered by Lorraine's loyalty over the years, so we are thrilled to have her serve as godmother to her favourite ship," said Alan Buckelew, president of Princess Cruises. "Lorraine is a wonderful representative of our many long-time passengers who mean so much to us, and in bestowing this honour we hope also to recognize in some way all of our loyal Captain's Circle members."

The Royal Princess naming in Portofino will be the first for Princess in this picturesque Italian Riviera port. The naming ceremony will be held onboard in the afternoon before the ship sails for its next port of call.

Arzt, who recently celebrated her 80th birthday, has been a regular resident aboard various Princess ships. She began cruising with her late husband, Joe, in the early 1970s aboard P&O's Spirit of London - which later became the original Sun Princess. That first Mexico voyage sparked a life-long love of cruising, which became increasingly frequent over the years. The Arzts spent 17 years as regular passengers aboard the original Royal Princess. Following the transfer of that ship to P&O, Lorraine Arzt sailed regularly aboard Sea Princess until the recent debut of the new Royal Princess.

Arzt is the most-travelled of more than seven million members of Princess Captain's Circle, the line's acclaimed loyalty program. Often cited as offering the richest benefits in the cruise industry, Princess Captain's Circle provides repeat passengers with a variety of benefits, based on how long they've travelled, ranging from complimentary dry cleaning to free Internet Café packages. The program is the only one from a major cruise line to qualify members either by the number of cruises completed or the total number of days sailed.

A sister ship to the line's popular Tahitian Princess and Pacific Princess, the 30,200-ton Royal Princess offers passengers a boutique version of Princess' signature onboard experience -- including a variety of dining and entertainment choices and a large number of cabins with private balconies - all offered in intimate surroundings. The ship offers many of Princess' acclaimed dining options, including the favourite Sabatini's trattoria and Sterling Steakhouse. Royal Princess passengers will also enjoy the Lotus Spa, Grand Casino and 24-hour room service, including "Ultimate Balcony" dining.

Royal Princess' christening will take place during the first port call of the ship's inaugural 12-day Mediterranean Collection itinerary. The sailing, which begins in Rome on June 13, calls at Monte Carlo, Corsica, Sorrento, Messina (Sicily), Valletta (Malta), and Corfu, in addition to the brand new Princess ports of Kotor (Montenegro), Split (Croatia) and Ravenna (Italy), before ending in Venice.