Discovery Princess
Discovery Princess is a Royal-class cruise ship being built by Fincantieri for Carnival Corporation & plc to be operated by Princess Cruises. Upon delivery, she will become the company's sixth and final Royal-class cruise ship in the fleet of Princess Cruises.[1] She will measure 145,000 GT[2] and is set to debut in November 2021.[3]
History | |
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Name: | Discovery Princess |
Owner: |
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Operator: | Princess Cruises |
Ordered: | January 2017[1][2] |
Builder: | Fincantieri |
Maiden voyage: | 3 November 2021[3] |
Status: | Under construction |
General characteristics | |
Class and type: | Royal-class cruise ship |
Tonnage: | 145,000 GT[2] |
Capacity: | 3,660 passengers[1] |
History
Planning and construction
In January 2017, Carnival Corporation finalized the order for a sixth Royal-class ship for Princess Cruises to be built at Fincantieri's shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy.[1][2] Initial details revealed the ship would closely resemble her older sister ships, with a guest capacity of 3,660 passengers,[1] and be delivered in 2022.[1]
The steel-cutting for the then-unnamed ship was performed on 14 February 2019 at Fincantieri's shipyard in Castellammare di Stabia near Naples.[4] On 4 October 2019, Princess revealed the name of the ship as Discovery Princess.[3] Her 130 metres (430 ft) bow section was launched in Castellamare di Stabia on 31 July 2020 over a two-day period, three months behind schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic, after which she was transported to Fincantieri's shipyard in Monfalcone to be assembled with the rest of the ship.[5][6]
Operational career
Discovery Princess is scheduled to debut earlier than expected,[7] with the maiden voyage scheduled for 3 November 2021, sailing from Rome to Athens.[3] The ship is scheduled to sail a short season in the Mediterranean in fall 2021 before re-positioning to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.[7] She will then sail six holiday voyages in the Caribbean before circumnavigating South America in January 2022 to sail to her new homeport of Los Angeles to begin cruising to the Mexican Riviera and along the California coast in spring 2022.[7]
References
- Davies, Phil (20 January 2017). "New ship order placed for Princess Cruises and Holland America Line". Travel Weekly. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
- "Carnival Orders Two New Cruise Ships". The Maritime Executive. 19 January 2017.
- Thomaselli, Rich (5 October 2019). "Princess Cruises Reveals Name of Sixth Royal-Class Ship". Travel Pulse. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
- Kalosh, Anne (14 February 2019). "Princess Cruises marks three Royal-class milestones at Fincantieri". Seatrade Cruise News. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
- Elefante, Maria (31 July 2020). "Fincantieri a Castellammare, il primo varo post-Covid dura due giorni". Il Mattino (in Italian). Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- Kalosh, Anne (31 July 2020). "Fincantieri's Castellammare launches Discovery Princess bow section". Seatrade Cruise News. Informa Markets. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- "Next Princess Newbuild to Carry Name Discovery Princess". Cruise Industry News. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2020.