4,084 Days And Counting

In the harbor of Santorini, I visited with Lorraine Artz. Princess Cruises' most-traveled passenger. When I caught up with Lorraine on the new Royal Princess, she was on her 4,084th day at sea. That's more than 11 years of cruising, but Lorraine hasn't cruised all of those days in succession. She returns home to Los Angeles a few months each year to manage her business. She and her husband Joe were professional dancers who made their fortune in the real estate business. They traveled together until five years ago, when he passed away. She says that hers was not a marriage as much as it was "a romance for 46 years." Joe and Lorraine began cruising 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. Lorraine has senior status among the more than seven million members of Princess Captain's Circle, the line's loyalty program. Princess Captain's Circle provides repeat passengers with a variety of benefits, based on how long they've traveled, ranging from complimentary dry cleaning to free Internet Café packages. Lorraine was named godmother of Royal Princess on the day I visited with a press group. View the accompanying video clip for my brief interview with this remarkable woman.