It has been 12 months for Princess Cruises, Carnival Corporation’s largest premium brand. Here is everything that happened:
Quarantines and business interruption
After two quarantines and some of the earliest COVID-19 outbreaks on cruise lines, Princess Cruises took the lead and decided to cease cruise operations on March 11, 2020.
Called it a proactive response to the unforeseen circumstances resulting from the global spread of the new disease and an abundance of caution, the Carnival brand canceled all of their trips for 60 days. At that time, it was planned to resume service on May 10, 2020.
Now all crossings will be canceled until May 15, 2021 at least.
Sea Princess and Sun Princess sold
In September, two Princess ships were added to Carnival Corporation’s plan to expedite the removal of less efficient ships from its fleet. Among the oldest ships for brand, The Sun Princess, built in 1995, and the Sea Princess, built in 1998, were eventually sold to new owners.
Initially not disclosed, buyers were later confirmed. While the sun princess goes to the peace boat, the sea princess was bought by a Chinese startup.
Enchanted princess delivered
The Italian-built enchanted princess was delivered later than expected. The new Royal Class ship was originally scheduled to debut on June 30th, 2020 at a ceremony in Southampton, England.
With Italy facing nationwide closures and multiple activity restrictions for most of the year, the delivery took place on September 30th The ship became the first ship delivered by Fincantieri since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Previously scheduled for delivery in late 2021, the Discovery Princess is also expected to be delayed.
Star Princess and Golden Princess at P&O Australia
Princess Cruises sails in October confirmed the transfer of Golden Princess to P&O Australia. At that time, Princess also accelerated the transfer of the Star Princess, which was previously scheduled for the third quarter of 2021.
The transactions had already been announced in 2018, with the ships replacing the tonnage displaced by the Australian brand Carnival. From 2017 to 2020 the company sold five ships.
Now both ships The transition to P&O Australia is expected in the first half of 2021. The Star Princess has already done it began its transformation into Pacific Encounter.
Pacific princess sold
Another ship was sold as the Pacific Princess in January 2021 was also included in Carnival Corporation’s plan to remove less efficient ships. The 670 guest ship was the smallest in the current Princess fleet and was bought by Azamara.
After joining the cruise line for the first time in 2002, Pacific Princess introduced Princess Cruises’ small ship experience product. The small ship fleet offered longer and more varied itineraries in a more traditional, intimate setting, peaking with three ships between 2007 and 2011.
While world cruises continue to be offered by other ships, Pacific Princess’ resignation also marked the end of the product.
Ship sales are driving the fleet shift
With the sale of five ships in 2020, Princess made important adjustments in service. The Majestic Princess has been based in Asia since her construction in 2017. is now set to debut in the US in 2021.
The company too mixed Alaska and Europe useand abandoned domestic rides in the Chinese market for 2021.
In Australia also the fleet changed significantly after the sale of the Sun and the Sea Princesswho had been based in the region for many years.
Contactless technology
In preparation for the restart, Princess announced the introduction of new touchless guest experiences for the entire fleet. The upgrades are part of the Medallion Class program that will be expanded to include more ships.
The new functions include a virtual, simplified security training, a revised embarkation process, a new payment system and much more.
More details on the new technologies You will find here.
By the numbers:
Ships:
- Ship shed: – 5
- Ships added: +1
Result: – 4 ships
Berths:
- Mooring shed: – 9,780
- Berths added: + 3,600
Result: – 6,180 berths
For more information on cruise offer and capacity, see the 2021 Cruise Industry News Annual Report.
