1996 Star Princess Patter: A Look Back at Princess Cruises in the 1990s
Long before cruise passengers checked a smartphone app to find dinner hours, entertainment schedules, shore excursions, and daily activities, Princess Cruises delivered that information on paper. This original Princess Patter from Star Princess offers a fascinating look at what cruising with Princess was like in 1996.
The four-page daily program is from Sunday, February 4, 1996, when Star Princess was departing Port Everglades for a Caribbean cruise. Beyond simply listing activities, the Patter provides a remarkably detailed snapshot of the Princess cruise experience of the era, including fixed dining times, dress codes, entertainment, casino hours, shore excursions, onboard telephone prices, drink specials, smoking policies, and even instructions for the mandatory emergency drill.
For more Princess information, CruisePrism readers can also explore our Princess Cruises restaurant menus, Princess Cruises drink prices, and Princess Cruises onboard guides.
An Original Star Princess Princess Patter From 1996
The cover immediately establishes both the date and the setting: Sunday, February 4, 1996, at Port Everglades.
Tonight’s dress code was Casual, sunset was scheduled for 6:05 p.m., and the headline simply welcomed passengers aboard.
This Star Princess should not be confused with the later Princess ships carrying the same name. The original Star Princess entered Princess Cruises service in 1989 after the acquisition of Sitmar Cruises. The ship was christened by actress and humanitarian Audrey Hepburn in Fort Lauderdale.
Princess transferred the ship to P&O in 1997, where she became Arcadia. That makes this February 1996 Princess Patter a document from near the end of the ship’s Princess Cruises career.
Captain Robert Baker and the Star Princess Crew
The first page introduces Captain Robert Baker, C.L.C., who was serving as Star Princess’ master.
According to the Patter, Baker was born in Dartmouth, England, and began his maritime career as a cadet officer with Bibby Line aboard the m.v. Shropshire. He obtained his Master’s Certificate in 1975 and joined the Sitmar fleet in 1978 as a second navigator.
His first senior appointment came in 1983 aboard FairStar. Following the merger of Princess Cruises and Sitmar, he served aboard Sky Princess, Fair Princess, Dawn Princess, and Star Princess.
The Patter also lists the ship’s senior officers, hotel staff, cruise staff, entertainers, musicians, and other members of the onboard team.
What Dining Looked Like on Princess Cruises in 1996
The dining schedule is one of the most interesting parts of this historical Princess Patter because it illustrates how different mainstream cruising was before flexible dining became commonplace.
For embarkation day, the program lists:
- Coffee: Available 24 hours at Cafe Cornucopia
- Snack Buffet: 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Cafe Cornucopia
- Pizzeria: 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.
- Sailaway Dinner, First Sitting: 6:30 p.m.
- Sailaway Dinner, Second Sitting: 8:30 p.m.
- Pasta Party: 11:45 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.
Passengers with dining-room questions could meet the Maître D’Hôtel at 2:30 p.m. in the Trumps Card Room.
Elsewhere in the Patter, Princess explains the restaurant seating arrangements in much greater detail.
Open Seating was generally offered for lunch while the ship was in port. Early Service and Late Service were offered for breakfast each day and lunch on sea days.
Dinner operated with First Sitting and Second Sitting every night. Passengers received a seating card showing their assigned dining time and table, which remained reserved for them throughout the cruise.
For passengers accustomed to modern cruise dining reservations and flexible arrival times, the system provides a good example of how structured cruise dining once was.
Formal Nights and Princess Dress Codes in 1996
Dress codes were also much more clearly defined.
The Princess Patter explains four suggested evening dress categories:
- Formal
- Semiformal
- Casual
- Special Note
Formal attire was described as a tuxedo or dinner jacket for men and a long or short evening gown for women.
Semiformal attire included a business suit, sports jacket or slacks and ties for men, while women could wear a regular or cocktail dress, pants suit, or sports outfit.
Casual attire consisted of an open shirt and slacks for men and a skirt and blouse or light cotton dress for women.
One particularly revealing rule appears under the Special Note: shorts were not permitted in restaurants or public rooms during the evening, and gentlemen were requested to wear a jacket and tie in the restaurant except on designated casual evenings.
A Full Week of Entertainment Was Already Advertised
The Princess Patter did more than provide the activities for embarkation day. It also gave passengers an entertainment preview for the entire cruise.
The schedule shows:
- Sunday, February 4 – Port Everglades: Welcome Showtime, cruise staff introductions, Sailaway Party and the movie Pocahontas
- Monday, February 5 – Nassau: Welcome Aboard Cocktail Party, Let’s Go To The Movies production show and Dangerous Minds
- Tuesday, February 6 – At Sea: Gene Anthony Ray & Friends premiere and Nine Months
- Wednesday, February 7 – St. Thomas: A Night On The Town production show, Island Night and Waterworld
- Thursday, February 8 – St. Croix: Spotlight Cabaret, Pub Night and Now and Then
- Friday, February 9 – At Sea: Mystique production show and Apollo 13
- Saturday, February 10 – Princess Cays: Farewell Showtime and To Die For
- Sunday, February 11 – Port Everglades
The schedule also identifies formal evenings on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday, while the remaining listed evenings were casual.
Princess Cays Was Already Part of the Itinerary
One especially interesting detail is the February 10 call at Princess Cays.
Princess Cruises introduced Princess Cays in the Bahamas in 1992, meaning the private destination was still relatively new when passengers aboard this Star Princess sailing visited in 1996.
The complete itinerary visible in the entertainment schedule included Port Everglades, Nassau, a sea day, St. Thomas, St. Croix, another sea day, Princess Cays, and a return to Port Everglades.
Embarkation Day Activities on Star Princess
Passengers were not left waiting for the cruise to begin after boarding.
The embarkation-day daily program included a tour of Star Princess at 3:30 p.m. The description specifically invited passengers who were already wondering where their cabin or dining room was located to meet the cruise staff in the Atrium Lobby for an approximately 45-minute tour.
At 4:30 p.m., all passengers were required to report to their General Emergency Stations for the safety exercise.
All passengers were requested aboard by 4:30 p.m., and Star Princess was scheduled to sail for Nassau at 5:00 p.m.
The Sailaway Party ran from 4:45 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Lido Deck 12 and Sun Deck 14, weather permitting.
The program advertised music by the Pan Aces and a sailaway drink special called the Midori Colada.
The First Night’s Entertainment
Entertainment continued throughout the evening.
Italian Bruschetta was served in the Entre Nous and Windows To The World lounges during several evening periods.
A Nassau Travel Talk began at 5:45 p.m. in the Starlight Showlounge, with information about beaches, sightseeing, and shopping.
Live music was spread around the ship, including performances by resident musicians, Alan Stribling, The Everlasting Strings, Bryan Kloosterman, Lee Morin 5, and DJ Viviano.
The major evening presentation was Welcome Aboard Showtime in the Starlight Lounge.
Pre-show dancing with the Starlight Orchestra was scheduled for 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., followed by performances at 8:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.
The show starred singer and impressionist Wes Epae and also introduced Cruise Director Keith Cox and the cruise staff.
Movies at Sea Before Giant Pool Screens
Star Princess also offered movies onboard, although the experience looked considerably different from the giant outdoor movie screens found on many modern cruise ships.
Pocahontas was shown in the Princess Theatre on Deck 5 at 7:00 p.m. and 10:15 p.m.
The Patter identifies it as a Disney animated feature with a running time of 82 minutes and a PG rating.
Passengers were specifically reminded that food and drinks could not be consumed in the theater.
Late-Night Entertainment Continued Past 11:30
The ship did not shut down after the main production show.
At approximately 11:30 p.m., Windows To The World on Deck 14 hosted the Welcome Aboard Party Time with DJ Viviano.
The description invited passengers to make new friends and dance the night away.
There was also a designated Smokers Haven in the Vineyard on Deck 6, open from 10:00 p.m. until midnight, featuring cigars, tobacco, cognacs and ports.
That section of the daily program is another reminder of how dramatically onboard smoking policies and cruise culture have changed since the 1990s.
Shore Excursions Were Booked With Paper Forms
There was no cruise app for booking an excursion in 1996.
Passengers interested in Nassau tours were instructed to watch an informational video on Channel 2 of their stateroom television.
Bookings for Nassau closed at 10:00 p.m. that evening.
Passengers could reserve tours for ports of call by completing a booking form and placing it into a 24-hour drop box outside the Tour Office. Tickets were then delivered to the passenger’s stateroom.
The Tour Office itself was open from 3:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. on embarkation day.
Telephone Calls From a Cruise Ship Were Expensive
Some of the most fascinating information in old cruise daily programs comes from details that would barely warrant mentioning today.
Star Princess offered telephone calls directly from passenger staterooms.
The rates shown in the Patter were:
- Primary telephone call: $9.50 per minute
- Secondary telephone call: $15.00 per minute
Radio telephone calls were available through the Radio Office at $24 for the first three minutes and $8 for each additional minute.
Telegram, telex, and fax services were also available.
Those prices provide an extraordinary contrast with modern shipboard internet access and Wi-Fi calling.
Star Princess Was Already a Cash-Free Ship
Not everything about the 1996 cruise experience feels unfamiliar.
Star Princess operated a cash-free onboard system using a personalized Cruise Card.
The card served as identification and allowed passengers to charge purchases to their onboard account. Passengers were advised to carry it with them at all times.
Passengers using Express Checkout could register a credit card with the Purser’s Office so that charges could automatically be settled at the end of the cruise.
In principle, the system is very recognizable to modern cruisers even though the technology behind it has evolved enormously.
Casino Hours and Gambling on Star Princess
Star Princess had casino facilities on both Deck 7 and Deck 14.
Le Grand Casino on Deck 7 offered slots beginning at 6:00 p.m. and table games from 9:00 p.m. until closing.
Le Petite Casino on Deck 14 offered slots from 9:00 p.m. until 1:00 a.m.
The Patter advertises Blackjack, Roulette, Craps and Caribbean Stud Poker, along with more than 100 slot machines.
Passengers had to be over 18 to gamble.
Duty-Free Shopping and the Beauty Salon
The Tax and Duty Free Arcade was scheduled to open from sailing until 9:00 p.m.
The shops advertised duty-free jewelry, snorkel gear, Caribbean souvenirs, T-shirts, candy, drugs and sundries, duty-free fragrance, and fashion.
Images Hair and Beauty Salon was located on Holiday Deck 2 amidships.
The salon offered appointments on embarkation day, while the sauna and steam rooms were listed as complimentary and did not require appointments.
How Much Did Drinks Cost on Star Princess in 1996?
The Patter provides an especially interesting piece of cruise history: actual drink prices.
The Sail Away Special was a Midori Colada priced at:
- $2.75 for 12 ounces
- $4.00 for 20 ounces
- $5.50 for 32 ounces
Flavored coffee specialties were advertised for $2.25, while cream sodas cost $1.75.
A 15% gratuity was automatically added to bar and restaurant charges.
The Patter also states that passengers under 21 would not be served alcoholic beverages and could be asked to show identification.
Star Princess Had a 1,450-Book Library
The ship’s library contained approximately 1,450 books.
Passengers could choose from fiction as well as books covering ships at sea, history, visual arts, biography, and general references.
Books could be checked out during library hours but had to be returned before the end of the cruise. A $50 charge could be applied to a passenger’s stateroom account for unreturned books.
It is a small detail, but one that captures an era when passengers traveled without smartphones, streaming services, and constant internet connectivity.
What This 1996 Princess Patter Tells Us About Cruising
The most interesting part of a historical cruise daily planner is not necessarily any single activity. It is seeing how the entire cruise experience was organized.
Many familiar elements were already present in 1996: cashless onboard spending, production shows, casinos, shore excursions, youth programs, fitness activities, live music, movies, duty-free shopping, multiple dining options, and private-island visits.
But the way passengers interacted with those services was dramatically different.
There were paper excursion forms instead of apps, fixed dinner tables instead of widespread flexible dining, expensive per-minute telephone calls instead of Wi-Fi, detailed evening dress expectations, printed schedules carried around the ship, and a physical library containing more than a thousand books.
This Princess Patter is therefore more than an old daily program. It is a preserved snapshot of mainstream cruising in the mid-1990s.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the Princess Patter?
The Princess Patter was Princess Cruises’ printed daily program. It provided passengers with information about activities, entertainment, dining, shore excursions, operating hours, announcements, and other important details during the cruise.
What ship is this 1996 Princess Patter from?
This Princess Patter is from the original Star Princess, which joined the Princess Cruises fleet in 1989.
Is this the same Star Princess sailing today?
No. Princess Cruises has used the Star Princess name for multiple ships. The Star Princess featured in this 1996 daily program was the original Princess ship to carry the name.
Who christened the original Star Princess?
Audrey Hepburn christened Star Princess in Fort Lauderdale in 1989.
Where was Star Princess sailing in February 1996?
The itinerary shown in this Patter included Port Everglades, Nassau, St. Thomas, St. Croix, Princess Cays, and sea days before returning to Port Everglades.
Who was the captain of Star Princess in this Patter?
Captain Robert Baker was identified as the ship’s master.
What time were dinner seatings on Star Princess?
For this embarkation day, the first Sailaway Dinner sitting was at 6:30 p.m. and the second sitting was at 8:30 p.m.
Did Princess Cruises have formal nights in 1996?
Yes. This sailing’s entertainment preview identifies three evenings as formal and also provides detailed guidance about formal, semiformal, and casual attire.
How much did drinks cost on Star Princess in 1996?
The photographed Patter advertises a 12-ounce Midori Colada for $2.75, a 20-ounce version for $4, and a 32-ounce version for $5.50. A 15% gratuity was automatically added to bar and restaurant charges.
How much did it cost to call home from Star Princess in 1996?
Stateroom telephone calls were listed at $9.50 per minute for the primary service and $15 per minute for the secondary service. Radio telephone calls cost $24 for the first three minutes and $8 for each additional minute.
What happened to the original Star Princess?
Princess Cruises transferred the original Star Princess to P&O in 1997, where the ship became Arcadia.
Conclusion
This February 4, 1996 Star Princess Patter preserves an unusually detailed snapshot of what a Princess Cruises vacation looked like three decades ago.
Passengers boarded in Port Everglades, attended an emergency drill, celebrated at a sailaway party, chose between two fixed dinner seatings, watched live entertainment and Pocahontas in the theater, booked shore excursions using paper forms, and could finish the night with a party lasting well beyond 11:30 p.m.
At the same time, details such as $9.50-per-minute telephone calls, strict evening dress guidelines, paper excursion forms, fixed dining tables, a 1,450-book library, and $2.75 cocktails show just how much cruising has changed.
For cruise history enthusiasts, former Star Princess passengers, and anyone curious about what Princess Cruises was like in the 1990s, this original Princess Patter offers something modern marketing material cannot: an authentic look at an ordinary day aboard a Princess cruise ship in 1996.
