Princess and Harding have announced a partnership that will see the current in-house retail operations on the fleet of 14 ships move to Harding in the cruise line’s road to full restart.

This new partnership realises the strategic ambitions and joint commercial thinking of both companies in the venture. Never before in cruise retail has a move of such scale taken place – a clear sign of the ambition of both companies to cleverly use the restart as an opportunity to reimagine what is possible with retail at sea.

The venture will see all 14 existing ships and the upcoming three new ships having the retail proposition curated and managed by Harding, working in close alignment with Princess.

Both Harding and Princess carry a very high set of values that put their people and customers at the heart of everything they do.

“When Harding approached us several months ago, we knew they would be a  partner with true vision, strong cultural alignment, and the proven ability to continue growing our retail proposition. Today’s announcement comes after extensive and detailed discussions about what is best for our guests, our teammates, and our brand partners, and we are confident Harding will carry on the great foundation built by our team,” said Natalya Leahy, Princess Cruises Chief Operations Officer.

As an integral part of the success of the transition, the existing Princess retail team will join the Harding business.

Talking about the people, James Prescott, Managing Director of Harding, said:

“I could not be more delighted to welcome the Princess team to Harding to be part of a new team that delivers the best of the best. I have been incredibly impressed by the level of professionalism, ability, drive and sheer determination of the Princess team as we’ve worked hand-in-hand on this venture. The values of both businesses are so similar. This is a true long-term partnership with mutually aligned objectives and total commitment and engagement from throughout the organisations, putting data led, customer centric actions at the centre.”

Neil Harding, President of Harding added:

“In my 30 years of Cruise Retailing I have been fortunate to see some genuinely ground breaking changes. Today is a landmark day in so many ways. We highly value this venture with Princess and we are grateful for the trust and confidence they have placed in us.”

By November 28, 2021, 8 MedallionClass™ ships – Majestic Princess, Grand Princess, Ruby Princess, Enchanted Princess, Sky Princess, Regal Princess, Caribbean Princess, and Emerald Princess – will have returned to service or are scheduled to restart, taking guests to Alaska, the Caribbean, Panama Canal, Mexico, and the California Coast. Kelli Coleman, Princess Cruises Vice President of Retail added, “This feels like a new beginning. Our great industry is rising once again, with ever greater confidence and ever greater vision. These are exciting times for all of us in this