Olympic skating champions Jamie Sale and David Pelletier christened Princess Cruises newest passenger super Liner Island Princess earlier this week. The first cruise ship ever to be christened in Vancouver the ceremony also aptly marked Princess’s third decade of sailing from the Canadian Port. Island Princess and her sister ship Coral Princess, which joined the fleet in January, will be sailing seven-day Gulf of Alaska cruises from Vancouver and Seward.

The entertainment facilities onboard are second to none featuring three show lounges including the state-of-the-art Universe lounge. Split over two decks, the Universe lounge was designed to facilitate a diverse range of entertainment options from Princess production shows to movie screenings.

Engineering specialists Stage Technologies, perhaps most widely recognised for their work on land-based theatres such as the Royal Opera House and the stage production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, have been working closely with P&O Princess for some time now tasked with ensuring that their onboard theatres are equipped to provide passengers with shows to rival any west-end production.

Stage Technologies originally developed some of the unique concepts of the Universe lounge with P&O and architectural designers Gem. Accommodating three revolving stages with integrated lifts, giant projection screens and flexible seating and staging options the ship is able to host full-blown Vegas-style extravaganzas for an audience of more than 400. This multi-purpose venue can also be reconfigured from a conference room to TV studio or cinema in minutes.

The ships automation systems use Stage Technologies Acrobat, Solo and Juggler consoles allowing its users to programme a vast array of show cues, achieve quick changeovers and enable new shows to be quickly and easily added to its repertoire.