“Regal Princess”, the new flagship of the Princess Cruises fleet owned by the Carnival Group, the world’s largest cruise ship operator, was launched yesterday at Fincantieri’s Monfalcone shipyard.
Delivery is scheduled for spring 2014, while its sister ship, “Royal Princess”, launched last august, will be delivered in the first half of this year.
Attending the ceremony for Princess Cruises were Rai Caluori, Executive Vice President Fleet Operations, and Stuart Hawkins, Vice President Newbuilding. Representing Fincantieri were, among others, Enrico Buschi, Chief Operative Officer, and Carlo De Marco, Shipyard Manager.
Godmother of the ceremony was Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor of Cruise Critic, the most influential cruise industry website and cruise passenger online community.
The construction of “Regal Princess” consolidates Fincantieri’s primacy in building the largest passenger ships in Italian shipbuilding history. In fact, at 141,000 gross tons, 330 metres long and 38 metres wide, the new ship is the largest ship ever built by Fincantieri.
It has 1,780 cabins, of which 1,438 with balconies (81% of the total), and is able to accommodate 3,600 passengers, with total capacity for over 5,600 people including crew.
As an innovative prototypes for a new ground-breaking class of ship, “Regal” and “Royal Princess” stand out for their new “future-proof design”, not only in terms of layout and state-of-the-art performance, but also because they comply with the most recent regulations in shipping. These ships are the best proof that innovation and care for a customer like the Carnival Group, the market leader, are essential levers for tackling a crisis like the one at present.
Among the keystones of this trend are the rational use of space, with the aim of avoiding any wasted tonnage that would otherwise increase operating costs, and energy saving to reduce emissions into the atmosphere and water. The ships will be able to adapt to every possible type of cruise, operating from Alaska to Australia, even in environmentally protected areas where navigation is restricted.
Fincantieri has built 63 cruise ships since 1990, including 13 only for Princess Cruises. Another 11 ships are being built or about to be built in the Group’s yards.
[mappress] Fincantieri, March 27, 2013; Video: Princess Cruises