Tis the Season for Giving

Cruise lines are usually very quiet in their philanthropic pursuits and donations, rarely issuing press releases about their corporate giving. However, Princess announced a recent donation to the Alaska Natural History Association. Perhaps because they have a business relationship with this company, and the program to which they donated will benefit their land product, this isn't truly a charitable contribution, and therefore makes sense to highlight their contribution (which I do agree is a good thing).

Here's the information on their donation:

Princess Cruises and Tours donated $10,000 to the Alaska Natural History Association to help the organization continue to develop educational programs for national parks and other public lands. The association, which soon will be known as "Alaska Geographic," is recognized for creating hands-on educational programs in Denali National Park and statewide, plus producing tour booklets that interweave images and stories of the wild. The association has worked with Princess to co-develop a tour of the Denali area for passengers and is working with the line to establish a training program for Princess driver/guides. Princess Cruises will offer an extensive Alaska program in 2008, with eight ships sailing through the waters of the "Great Land."

(By the way, Princess does have excellent Alaska cruisetour options, and a long history of working to make Alaska accessible to cruise visitors. They also have given generously to various port towns and efforts to help Alaska.)

Oh, by the way, have you looked at Alaska for next year?