Record day for Princess

While unemployment has risen above 6 percent, I read an article recently that reminded me that that means that 94 percent of us are still working - and still making plans to travel in 2009.

For Princess Cruise Lines, that translated into the company's biggest booking day in history. On Monday, Jan. 12, the line booked 17 percent more than it had on its previous best day.

“Travel agents have been working hard to deliver the value message in these challenging times, and there’s no more exciting outcome of their efforts than to have a record-breaking reservations day,” said Jan Swartz, Princess executive vice president of sales, marketing and customer service for the line. “The volume of bookings we received on Monday is a testament to the strength of our brand, and also to the success of our many promotional efforts during wave period, most notably our ‘Balcony Bonanza’ program.”

The Balcony Bonanza enables agents to provide a free upgrade to a balcony stateroom for the price of a standard oceanview stateroom, representing a savings of up to $1,200 per cabin. It applies to most 2009 summer sailings to Alaska, Europe and the Caribbean.