Princess Cruises will put another floral float on Colorado Boulevard on January 1, 2027. The line’s August 12 release says it is an official participant in the 138th Rose Parade presented by Honda, returning for a second consecutive year with a float built around the Tournament of Roses theme, Welcome.
This is a parade plan, not a sailing change. If you will be in Pasadena for New Year’s Day, the Princess float is now a named thing to watch. If you are only booking a cruise, nothing in the release alters an itinerary, a deposit, or a fare.
- When: Friday, January 1, 2027, at the Rose Parade in Pasadena.
- What: A Princess destination float themed Welcome, the second year in a row.
- Size: About 55 feet long and 22 feet high, with more than 320,000 flowers and natural materials.
- Builder: Artistic Entertainment Services, the official float builder named in the release.
- Cruise impact: None. No sailing, price, or booking window changed today.
What Princess actually announced
The official release is dated Fort Lauderdale, August 12, 2026. Princess will unveil a floral float inspired by the 2027 Tournament of Roses theme, Welcome, under the working idea Welcome Aboard, Find Your Story.
The company says the float will feature destination chapters rather than a single ship portrait. The named places are Alaska wilderness, Japan temples and cherry blossoms, Australia with the Sydney Opera House, and Europe’s villages and coastlines.
Marie Lee, Princess chief marketing officer, said every destination the line visits is unique and that guests find stories they share again and again. That is a brand line. The traveler fact is simpler: the float is coming back, and it will be destination-themed rather than a one-ship replica.
Terry Madigan, the 2027 Pasadena Tournament of Roses president, said the parade is about bringing people together and that Princess embodies this year’s Welcome theme. The Tournament’s own event page is the place to confirm route, start time, and viewing rules as January gets closer.
Artistic Entertainment Services will design and build the float. Princess says it will carry more than 320,000 flowers, seeds, bark, leaves, and other natural materials, plus animation. Those counts are the company’s description of a float that has not rolled yet.
What a spectator should actually do
The Rose Parade still runs along Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena. Princess cites about 800,000 spectators on the route and more than 28 million U.S. television viewers. Those are the line’s figures, not a ticket allotment you can buy from Princess.
If you want to stand on the route, use the Tournament of Roses parade page for bleacher sales, reserved areas, and overnight-chair rules. Do not treat a cruise-line newsroom post as a seat map.
January 1, 2027, is a Friday. That changes hotel and Metro planning compared with a midweek New Year’s. Book Pasadena or downtown Los Angeles lodging early if the parade is the reason for the trip, then treat the Princess float as one entry in a long lineup.
Deep Arrival’s Los Angeles cruise port guide is the useful evergreen page if you are pairing a San Pedro embarkation with a New Year’s stay. The parade is in Pasadena, not at the World Cruise Center, so budget a separate transfer.
Television viewers do not need a Princess booking. The release is aimed at people who already watch the parade and at travel advisors who want a photo of the line in a U.S. living room.
What this does not change on a cruise
The announcement does not open a 2027 Alaska season, a South America season, or a fare sale. Princess already published other 2027 and 2028 deployment notes this week. Those are separate booking streams.
The float names Alaska, Japan, Australia, and Europe as chapters. That is decoration, not a promise that a specific ship will be in those waters on January 1. Check the live Princess search if you want a sailing, not the parade release.
Princess says it sails to 345 destinations across seven continents and that it has a long-standing presence in Los Angeles. Those are corporate counts. They do not add a new Los Angeles departure this week.
The company’s boilerplate mentions Star Princess, which launched in October 2025. Today’s float is not described as a Star Princess replica. Last year’s 2026 float used a Star Princess Alaska theme. Do not assume the 2027 build is the same sculpture with new flowers.
If a travel advisor tells you that watching the float unlocks onboard credit, ask for the written offer. The August 12 release does not include a consumer promotion.
How this sits next to last year’s float
Princess already used the 2026 Rose Parade to put a Star Princess Alaska-themed float on the same boulevard. This year’s note is the second consecutive appearance, not the line’s first Rose Parade in its history. Princess traces earlier parade work, including a 2015 Love Boat anniversary float.
The useful contrast is theme. 2026 was one ship and one region. 2027 is a Welcome montage of several regions. If you are photographing the parade, look for the Princess wave logo and the destination scenes rather than a single hull number.
The official rendering on the Princess newsroom is a drawing, not a photograph of finished flowers. Caption any social share that way. The real float will look different once the petals go on in late December.
Builders typically decorate Rose Parade floats in the days before New Year’s. Princess has not published a public decorating-hour schedule in this release. Watch the Tournament of Roses site if you want a behind-the-scenes visit. Do not show up at a warehouse on a rumor.
Keep the date on a calendar and leave the cruise booking for a page that names a ship, a port, and a fare.
If you are flying into LAX or BUR for the parade, the cruise terminal is the wrong first pin. Pasadena is inland. A San Pedro hotel only helps if you are also boarding a ship that weekend, not if the float is the whole trip.
Families who want both can do the parade on Friday and a Saturday Los Angeles departure only if the sailing actually exists on that weekend. Confirm the ship before you stack those plans in one hotel search.
| If you | What to do |
|---|---|
| Will be in Pasadena on January 1, 2027 | Use the Tournament of Roses page for viewing spots. Treat Princess as one named float. |
| Are booking a Princess cruise this week | Ignore this release for price and itinerary. Search the live sailing you want. |
| Want photos of the finished float | Wait for late December decorating notes. Today’s image is a rendering. |
| Are pairing a San Pedro cruise with New Year’s | Plan two transfers. The parade is in Pasadena, not at the cruise terminal. |
- Route and time: Confirm the 2027 start time and bleacher map on the Tournament site.
- Decorating access: Princess has not posted public warehouse hours in this release.
- No cruise perk: Do not expect onboard credit unless a later, written offer appears.
When is the Princess Cruises Rose Parade float?
January 1, 2027, at the 138th Rose Parade in Pasadena. Princess confirmed the second-year return on August 12, 2026.
Does the float change any Princess cruise bookings?
No. The release is a parade announcement. It does not add sailings, change fares, or open a new booking window.
Where can you watch the Princess float in person?
On the Rose Parade route along Colorado Boulevard. Use the Tournament of Roses event page for legal viewing areas and tickets.
Is the 2027 float the same as last year’s Star Princess float?
No. Princess describes a Welcome theme with Alaska, Japan, Australia, and Europe scenes, not a repeat of the 2026 Star Princess Alaska design.
