Engage with the Earth’s wondrous creatures and learn more about their natural habitats. These exclusive small-group Animal Planet^TM Recommended tours cannot be booked independently. While in Costa Rica on a Panama Canal itinerary, imagine the opportunity for a personal encounter with the enigmatic sloth at Limon’s Aviarios del Caribe/Sloth Sanctuary, the world’s first sloth-only facility featured in “Meet the Sloths” on Animal Planet^TM. Six guests get the chance to go face-to-face with these fascinating mammals, embark on a behind-the-scenes look inside the Slothpital clinic and NICU/Nursery, and glide past indigenous rainforest foliage and wildlife during a canoe ride along the Estrella River. Sailings in Hawaii and Tahiti that feature port stops in Maui offer another behind-the-scenes Animal Planet^TM Exclusive, this time at the incredible aquarium, the Maui Ocean Center. One of the Center’s expert marine life naturalists acts as your guide through areas that are traditionally off limits to the public and dozens of exhibits. The Center boasts more than 60 exhibits featuring sharks, turtles, stingrays, and tropical fish. A highlight includes the Humpbacks of Hawaii Exhibit & Sphere, which uses technology to get you swimming with the whales without ever getting wet.

Discovery^TM Tours and Discovery^TM Family Tours are also exclusive small group excursions available on Princess that cannot be booked independently. These immersive programs provide opportunities to learn something new about the region you are traveling to, with the family programs specifically designed for hands-on fun for kids ages 3 to 12. If you opt for a Discovery^TM Exclusive while in Ketchikan, Alaska, you can go remote fishing in The Great Land’s unspoiled wilderness. The views of wildlife and nature’s beauty are the perfect backdrop for this open-air boat trip with just five or six guests per boat. Your fresh catch is prepared by a camp cook at a wilderness campsite following your angling adventure. A working farm visit in the Irish countryside is a choice for families. Take part in a demonstration with the farm’s sheep dogs and master the art of making soda bread. There is music and dancing in the barn as well as other farm activities. This family-friendly excursion provides a uniquely Irish experience.

Princess has a team of local experts that lead shore excursions that offer a range of interests as part of its Local Connections excursions. The experts provide insight into their home towns and their personal passions that you won’t find anywhere else. Choose from themed tours that include culinary, culture, history, nature, or the arts. A guided Nordic Food Walk in Stockholm, for example, takes you through the artisan food stalls of Hotorgshallen food market. Learn while you sample from six different stalls as the chefs and vendors share details on the foods, history and culture. Another Local Connections tour, this time in Bonaire, gets you heading off on an eco-cruise with an expert guide. Kayak through the mangroves of Lac Bay National Park, paddling past bird habitats and fish spawning areas while discovering more about the forest’s plants and animals.