Hollywood’s famed Magic Castle setting sail on new Princess cruise ship

Princess Cruises is expanding its partnership with the iconic Magic Castle in Los Angeles following a successful launch at sea last year.

On Thursday, at the exclusive magicians clubhouse in Hollywood, Princess Cruises unveiled new details about the latest version of Spellbound by Magic Castle, an immersive and mystifying experience found only on the cruise line’s newest ship.

Next year, after the Star Princess arrives in Florida on her maiden voyage, a new crop of cruise guests will have the chance to experience the Magic Castle at sea.

Spellbound first debuted on the Sun Princess early last year; this new version of the Magic Castle-inspired adventure will take place on its sister vessel, and while sharing similarities, will be an entirely new experience.

This new version of Spellbound is modeled after a 1920s theater that hides a secret speakeasy, which takes direct inspiration from the historic Victorian mansion on Franklin Avenue and the legendary magicians who roamed its halls.

Like the Castle, guests will enter through a hidden door with the use of a not-so-secret password. They’ll then be fully immersed in the Spellbound world, with an interactive magical environment, a full bar, and entertainment from close-up magicians and a stage for featured players.

Those lucky enough to visit the Magic Castle in Hollywood will recognize some other similarities with its seafaring counterpart. Iconography of the venue’s unofficial mascot, the owl, is featured throughout the space, as well as a ghostly piano played by the disembodied Iris, an apparition who may or may not be related to Erma, who holds permanent residency in L.A.

The Spellbound aboard Star Princess also features homages to the great Cardini, a celebrated member of the Magic Castle, and a famed cardsmith who is widely regarded as the greatest sleight of hand magician of his generation.

Cardini, whose real name was Richard Pitchford, was a master magician who honed his skills with a deck of cards while fighting in the trenches of WWI as a member of the British armed forces. He is honored throughout the Magic Castle in Hollywood, with artifacts and costumes featured in an interactive exhibit, along with information about his life and performing career alongside his wife and assistant, Swan.

Among the speakers at Thursday’s unveiling was the current owner of the Magic Castle Randy Pitchford, a magician, video game developer, and the great-nephew of Cardini.

“Magic gives us wonder, surprise and delight, the very feelings that we have whenever we step aboard these incredible cruise ships,” Pitchford said. “When I first stepped aboard the Star [Princess], my mind was blown. I was feeling what it feels like to witness a magic trick, and I knew that the partnership was right. And I want everyone in the world to experience that gift is magic. We need it more than ever.”

Unlike the Magic Castle in L.A., which is exclusive to members and their guests, Spellbound aboard Star Princess is open to anyone on the ship, regardless of their ability to shuffle a deck of cards.

“You have to be invited to get into this building, and people are doing everything they can to find magicians in their lives,” Pitchford said with a laugh. “And through this partnership with Princess, we have given that experience to anyone who wants to board one of these incredible Sphere-class ships.”

The partnership between Princess and the Magic Castle continues a legacy of magicians practicing their craft and delighting travelers aboard cruiseliners.

After conquering dry land, Cardini became one of the most prominent magicians to venture to sea, performing and traveling on ocean liners, including on the Queen Mary, whose permanent retirement home is at the Long Beach harbor.

Spellbound on Star Princess features an homage to that chapter of Cardini’s career in the form of a large ship in a bottle featured prominently in one of the immersive rooms. That ship, according to Becky Thomson Foley, head of global entertainment for Princess Cruises, is the Queen Mary.

It’s a carefully crafted detail that highlights the shared philosophy between Princess and the Magic Castle, two brands founded in the 20th Century in Southern California.

“We stay true to the spirit of the Magic Castle, the spirit of Princess, but both want to evolve,” Thomson Foley told KTLA. “Magic Castle has never had a partnership before. We’re their first-ever partnership. They’ve been so careful, and the reason they’re partnering with us is because they know that we’re going to stay true to Magic Castle, because we believe in staying true to ourselves, but continuously making it exciting and new.”

Spellbound on Sun Princess was an undeniable success, Thomson Foley says, but it was also a learning experience for both the cruise line and the Magic Castle as they discovered interest was just as high on the ocean as it is on the mainland.

“Right now, we only have so many performances throughout the day … we’re having more performances and more people can enter at the same time, meaning throughout the cruise, more guests will experience it,” Thomson Foley said. “What we’ve learned from the Sun Princess is the guests that came loved it so much they kept wanting to come back, and then you had guests that couldn’t even get into the experience.”

Princess officials say they hope the Spellbound experience on Star will give more people the opportunity to get a taste of the Magic Castle without having to befriend a magician or spend years perfecting the craft.

“Anybody who has either wanted to go to the Magic Castle or been to the Magic Castle … when they are in the experience, they feel like they’re in the Magic Castle,” Thomson Foley said. “We are opening up the world to more people experiencing Magic Castle, and the best magicians in the world than they could previously had before this partnership.”

The Star Princess version of Spellbound also features an updated pricing structure compared to its Sun Princess equivalent.

For $45, guests on the cruise ship can gain entry into Spellbound by Magic Castle, which includes two signature cocktails that are also inspired by the history of performance magic, including a fat-washed Old Fashioned with brown sugar called the Cardini. Premium “theatrical drinks,” including a cocktail presented in Houdini’s chest and served in a smoking glass, will cost a bit extra for the added entertainment.

In October, the 4,300-person capacity Star Princess sets out on its maiden voyage from Italy, where it was built, to its eventual home port in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It will make regular trips to Alaska beginning April 2026.