Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri and British-US-owned Carnival Corporation's brand Princess Cruises celebrated milestones in the construction of three “Royal” class ships on Thursday at Fincantieri's shipyards in Naples and Monfalcone, Fincantieri said in a statement.
The day began with the live broadcast of the steel cutting for the sixth and last Royal-class ship (as yet unnamed) from the shipyard of Castellammare di Stabia (Naples). The section, once completed, will be transported by sea to the yard in Monfalcone, where the ship will be completed in 2022, said the Fincantieri statement.
Later on Thursday, in Monfalcone, the keel laying of “Enchanted Princess,” the fifth unit of the same class to be delivered in 2020, was celebrated. Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises and Carnival Australia group president, and Luigi Matarazzo, Senior Executive Vice President of Fincantieri's Merchant Ships Business Unit, were among those attending the ceremony.
Finally, a celebration in honour of the recent “Sky Princess” float out took place. Set to join the fleet by the end of the year, the ship is the fourth unit after “Royal,” “Regal,” and “Majestic,” which were all launched from the Monfalcone yard. Kerry Ann Wright, 2nd officer for Princess Cruises was the 'godmother' at this ceremony, the Fincantieri statement said.
The two next-generation cruise ships built for Princess Cruises - the world’s largest international premium cruise line - at the Monfalcone yard will be the largest built so far in Italy with a gross-tonnage of 175,000 tons and are expected to be delivered at the end of 2023 and in Spring 2025, the Fincantieri stratement added.
The vessels will accommodate approximately 4,300 guests and will be the first of the ship owner’s fleet to be dual-fuel powered primarily by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), the statement said.
Fincantieri has built a total of 88 cruise ships since 1990, 66 of which for Carnival Corporation and 16 for Princess Cruises, while a further 55 vessels are currently being designed or built at the Group’s yards.
