Sky Princess is a Royal-class cruise ship currently operated by Princess Cruises, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. She is the second ship in the cruise line's history to sail under this name. She is the fourth Royal-class ship in the Princess fleet and commenced operations in October 2019.[9][10] The ship measures 145,281 GT and has a capacity of 3,660 passengers.[10][1]
 Sky Princess in Trieste, October 2019
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Bermuda | |
| Name | Sky Princess |
| Owner |  Carnival Corporation & plc |
| Operator | Princess Cruises |
| Port of registry | Hamilton,  Bermuda |
| Ordered | 30 December 2015[1] |
| Builder | |
| Yard number | 6268[2] |
| Laid down | 05 July 2018[3] |
| Launched | 14 February 2019[4] |
| Sponsored by | Kay Hire and Poppy Northcutt[6] |
| Christened | 7 December 2019[6] |
| Completed | 12 October 2019[5] |
| Acquired | 15 October 2019[2] |
| Maiden voyage | 20 October 2019[5] |
| In service | 2019–present |
| Identification |
|
| Status | In service |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Royal-class cruise ship |
| Tonnage | 145,281 GT[2] |
| Length | 330 m (1,080 ft)[2] |
| Beam | 38.4 m (126 ft)[2] |
| Draught | 8.5 m (28 ft)[2] |
| Depth | 11.35 m (37.2 ft)[2] |
| Decks | 19 |
| Installed power | |
| Propulsion | 2 × 18,000 kW (24,000 hp)[7] |
| Speed | |
| Capacity | 3,660 passengers[8] |
| Crew | 1,346 |
History
editPlanning and construction
editCarnival Corporation first entered a strategic agreement with Fincantieri in March 2015 for five cruise ships for delivery between 2019 and 2022.[11] From this agreement, the order for a then-unnamed, fourth Royal-class vessel was announced for Princess on 30 December 2015.[1][12] The contract for this order was finalized on 2 April 2016.[13] On 30 November 2017, Princess Cruises officially announced the name of the fourth Royal-class ship as Sky Princess, in honor of a previous Princess vessel that carried the same name.[14][15]
Construction began on 9 November 2016 with the steel cutting for the ship's bow at Fincantieri's shipyard in Castellammare di Stabia,[16] with a separate milestone on 8 September 2017 marking the steel-cutting for the rest of the ship at Fincantieri's shipyard in Monfalcone.[17] Her keel-laying was performed on 5 July 2018.[3] She was floated out on 14 February 2019[4] and completed her sea trials in September 2019.[18]
Debut
editSky Princess was officially delivered on 15 October 2019 in her handover ceremony at Fincantieri's shipyard in Monfalcone.[9][10]
The ship sailed a four-day pre-inaugural "shakedown" cruise for the press on 16 October 2019 from Trieste to Athens with a call in Kotor.[19] She performed her official maiden voyage on 20 October 2019, a seven-day cruise sailing between Athens and Barcelona.[5] She sailed a short inaugural season in the Mediterranean in fall 2019 before repositioning to her new homeport of Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, arriving on 1 December 2019.[14] Due to high demand, two three-day inaugural cruises were scheduled on 1 December 2019 and 4 December 2019, with both cruising between Port Everglades and Princess Cays.[20]
Sky Princess was christened at Port Everglades on 7 December 2019 by NASA astronaut and U.S. Navy Captain Kay Hire and NASA engineer Poppy Northcutt.[6]
Operational career
editDuring the winter months, Sky Princess sails in the Caribbean from Port Everglades.[21][22] For the summer months, she sails in Europe, including the Baltic region.[23][24] In the fall, she sails along the Maritimes and New England from New York.[25][26]
Design and specifications
editSky Princess measures 145,281 GT, has a length of 330.0 metres (1,082.7 ft), a draft of 8.49 metres (27.9 ft), and a beam of 38.4 metres (126 ft).[7][2] She is powered by a diesel-electric genset system, with four total Wärtsilä engines, producing a total output of 62.4 megawatts (83,700 hp).[7] Main propulsion is via two propellers, each driven by a 18 megawatts (24,000 hp) electric motor.[7] The system gives the vessel a service speed of 21.9 knots (40.6 km/h; 25.2 mph) and a maximum speed of 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph).[7] The ship houses 1,830 passenger cabins and 757 crew cabins.[7] Of the 1,830 passenger cabins, 81% have a balcony.[7] The ship has a maximum capacity of 5,800 passengers and crew.[7]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Sky Princess Cruise Ship". Ship Technology. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Sky Princess (9802396)". LR ships in class. Lloyd's Register. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
- ^ a b "Sky Princess Keel Laying". YouTube. 19 July 2018.
- ^ a b "Princess Cruises celebrates milestones for Royal-class ships". CruiseandFerry.net. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
- ^ a b c "Sky Princess Ready for October Debut". Cruise Industry News. 8 August 2019. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
- ^ a b c "Sky Princess Christened". Cruise Industry News. 7 December 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Majestic Princess Sky Princess" (PDF). Fincantieri. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
- ^ Princess Cruises (15 October 2019). "Sky Princess Officially Joins Princess Cruises Fleet". PR Newswire. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
- ^ a b "Fincantieri: Sky Princess Delivered in Monfalcone". Fincantieri. 15 October 2019.
- ^ a b c "Fincantieri Delivers Sky Princess". The Maritime Executive. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
- ^ "Fincantieri: Five Next-Generation Ships for Carnival Corporation". Fincantieri. 27 March 2015.
- ^ "Carnival Corporation to Build Four Cruise Ships as Part of Memo of Agreement with Fincantieri S.p.A." Carnival Corporation & plc. 30 December 2015.
- ^ "Record Fincantieri: The Group Will Build 5 Cruise Ships for Carnival Corporation". Fincantieri. 2 April 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
- ^ a b "Princess Cruises: Princess Cruises to Name Next Ship Sky Princess". Princess Cruises. 30 November 2017. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ "Princess Unveils Leadership Team for New Sky Princess". Cruise Industry News. 11 February 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ "Fincantieri cuts steel for fourth Royal-class Princess ship". Seatrade Cruise News. 9 November 2016.
- ^ "Fincantieri: Work Starts in Monfalcone on the New Princess Ship". Fincantieri. 8 September 2017.
- ^ "Sky Princess Completes Sea Trials". Cruise Industry News. 10 September 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
- ^ "Agents get chance to win Sky Princess mini-cruise". www.travelmole.com. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
- ^ Souza, Ben (5 September 2019). "Princess Cruises Adds Extra Sailing on New Cruise Ship in December". Cruise Fever. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ^ "Sky Princess to Debut in Caribbean for 2019-2020 Season". Cruise Industry News. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
- ^ "Princess Cruises: Princess Cruises Announces 2020-2021 Caribbean & Panama Canal Seasons Featuring Newest Ships". Princess Cruises. 2 May 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
- ^ "Princess Cruises Debuts Newest Ship for 2020 Europe Season". Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
- ^ "Princess Announces Five Ship 2021 Europe Program". Cruise Industry News. 14 August 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
- ^ "New Sky Princess will sail Canada/New England in 2020". Seatrade Cruise News. 8 November 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
- ^ "Princess Announces 2021 Canada/New England Program, Including New Sky Princess". Cruise Industry News. 22 August 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
