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P O Princess Cruises News

14 Feb 2024

Fincantieri Delivers Cruise Ship Sun Princess

Sun Princess (Photo: Fincantieri)

Italian shipbuilding group Fincantieri announced it has delivered Sun Princess, the first in a series of two new liquefied natural gas (LNG ) fueled cruise ships for Princess Cruises.At about 178,000 gross tons, Sun Princess is the largest ship ever built in Italy, as well as the first LNG cruise ship ever built by Fincantieri, the shipbuilder said. The ship is also the first dual-fuel vessel powered primarily by LNG to enter the Princess fleet.Sun Princess is the first in Princess Cruises’ Sphere class. Its sister-ship is scheduled to be delivered in 2025.

14 Jan 2024

HX Appoints New CCO

Alex Delamere-White courtesy of HX

HX (Hurtigruten Expeditions) has announced Alex Delamere-White’s official appointment as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), following six months as acting interim CCO.Based out of the new HX HQ in London, Delamere-White will bring the global functions under one leadership model to further fuel HX’s long-term growth plans, including newly evolved roles for Nathaniel Sherborne and Jim Sayer. Sayer is appointed to SVP Global Marketing bringing together the global marketing functions under his leadership.

07 Dec 2023

ABB Supplies Charging System for Auckland’s New Electric Ferries

(Image: EV Maritime Auckland Transport)

ABB has secured a contract with Auckland Transport (AT) to deliver the maritime world’s first megawatt charging system (MCS) to recharge electric ferries using the same interface as trucks and airplanes. Lowering the barrier to entry, the standardized and highly adaptable system is expected to improve electric vessel competitiveness against fossil-fueled counterparts.As part of its Mission Electric initiative, AT has ordered two 200-seat all-electric ferries and two 300-passenger…

28 Nov 2023

Australian Commercial Marine Group Merges with Commercial Vessels Association

Nick Lester courtesy of ACMG

The Australian Commercial Marine Group (ACMG) has merged with the Commercial Vessels Association (CVA).The CVA has been a steadfast advocate for the interests of commercial vessel operators. Specializing in operations on Sydney Harbour and extending its influence throughout regional NSW, the CVA encompasses a diverse range of operators, including ferry services, tour and party boats, houseboats, whale and dolphin watching ventures and fishing charters.The association played a pivotal role in advocating for the Marine Tourism and Charter Vessels Award…

27 Mar 2023

Carnival Posts Smaller Loss on Strong Demand

© NAN / Adobe Stock

Cruise operator Carnival Corp on Monday reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss and beat estimates for revenue, helped by strong demand for leisure travel, higher ticket prices and strong on-board spending.Cruise operators like Carnival, Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Lines Holdings are reporting resilient demand from cooped-up consumers undeterred by elevated inflation as COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions ease."We are still experiencing a record wave season…

08 Mar 2023

Fincantieri Floats Out LNG-fueled Cruise Ship for Princess

(Photo: Fincantieri)

Italian shipbuilding group Fincantieri announced it has floated out Princess Cruises' latest newbuild, Sun Princess, in Monfalcone.At 175,500 gross tons Sun Princess is the largest ship built in Italy to date. It is also the first cruise ship built by Fincantieri to run on cleaner burning liquefied natural gas (LNG), as well Princess Cruises’ first dual-fuel vessel powered primarily by LNG.Scheduled to be delivered in the first quarter of 2024, Sun Princess is the lead vessel of Princess’ Sphere class, which includes a second ship slated for 2025 delivery.

27 Oct 2022

Floating on Bubbles: Carnival Corp expands use of Air Lubrication to cut Emissions

A 'bubble carpet' aims to help ships reduce drag and consumption. Image courtesy Silverstream

As the ship owners globally experiment with technologies to help incrementally cut emissions to meet stringent new IMO mandates, news out of south Florida indicates that Carnival Corporation, the world's largest cruise company, has made plans to expand the installation and use of Air Lubrication Systems (ALS) to a majority of the cruise line brands in its fleet through 2027; a move the cruise major expects witll generate "significant savings in fuel consumption and carbon emissions" by reducing hull drag by approximately 5% per ship.The pick for air lubrication is the Silverstream System ALS…

12 Apr 2022

Seafarers’ House to Honor Carnival's Arnold W. Donald

Arnold W. Donald (Photo: Carnival Corporation)

Arnold W. Donald, president and CEO of Carnival Corporation & PLC, has been selected as the recipient of Seafarers’ House International Golden Compass Award for 2022. The award is given each year to those who have achieved distinction in the maritime world, those whose vocation or avocation has been the sea, or those who have ministered to or otherwise assisted seafarers.Donald grew up in the Ninth Ward in New Orleans with 27 foster brothers and sister. His parents’ generosity made a significant impact on his life.

12 Jan 2022

Princess Cruises Pleads Guilty to Violating 'Magic Pipe' Probation

© lemélangedesgenres / Adobe Stock

Carnival Corp.'s Princess Cruises has again pleaded guilty to violating its probation imposed as a result of its record $40 million criminal conviction for its "magic pipe" environmental crimes.The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Tuesday that Princess failed to establish and maintain an independent internal investigative office as required after pleading guilty to felony dumping and attempted cover-up charges in April 2017. An engineer aboard the Caribbean Princess revealed…

17 Dec 2021

Carnival Opens New Dubai Cruise Terminal

(Photo: Carnival Corporation)

Cruise ship operator Carnival Corporation has officially opened its new Dubai Harbor Cruise Terminal with Shamal Holding following their strategic partnership signed in 2018 to develop the new cruise port.With the arrivals of Costa Firenze and AIDAbella from the company’s Italy-based Costa Cruises and Germany-based AIDA Cruises brands, the official opening was marked by two passenger cruise ships visiting the Dubai Harbor Cruise Terminal for the first time, coinciding with the start of the cruise season and the ships’ homeporting seasons from Dubai.

07 Sep 2021

Fincantieri Cuts First Steel for Princess Cruises New LNG-powered Ship

Credit: Fincantieri

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has cut first steel for the first of two LNG-powered cruise ships being built for Princess Cruises, a Carnival Corporation brand.The steel cutting ceremony took place last week in San Giorgio di Nogaro (Udine) at Centro Servizi Navali, a company that specialized in logistics and production of sheet metal for the Fincantieri yards located in northeastern Italy. The ship will be built in the Monfalcone yard.At 175,000 gross tons the “Sphere” vessels will be the largest ships built so far in Italy.

26 Aug 2021

Carnival's Diamond Princess Cruise Ship Delays Return to Sailing to Spring

© stockphoto mania / Adobe Stock

The Diamond Princess cruise ship, which became one of the earliest hotbeds for coronavirus infections when the pandemic broke out last year, will delay its return to sailing to spring of 2022, vessel operator Princess Cruises said on Wednesday.Carnival Corp-owned Princess Cruises said it had canceled the ship's planned fall cruise in South America that was meant to mark its return to service. It also canceled the ship's Antarctica voyage that was set for spring next year.The ship will now instead return next year for a season of sailings in Japan…

01 Jul 2021

Carnival Units Cancel Australian Cruises Through Mid-December

© Studio Porto Sabbia / Adobe Stock

Carnival Corp’s Princess Cruises and P&O Cruises Australia on Wednesday canceled voyages in and out of the country through mid-December, citing uncertainty regarding the resumption of cruise holidays.Australia banned the entry of cruise ships in March 2020 when they were the source of most of the country's early COVID-19 cases.

18 Mar 2021

Turrell Named Director of NTSB Office of Marine Safety

Morgan Turrell (Photo: NTSB)

Longtime mariner and investigator Morgan Turrell has been named director of the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) Office of Marine Safety effective March 1.The office investigates major marine accidents within the United States and its territories, as well as accidents involving U.S.-flagged vessels worldwide.Turrell began his career at the NTSB in 2003 as a nautical operations investigator. From 2007 to 2010 he served as Vice President of Marine Investigations for Princess Cruises, where he investigated casualties aboard ships worldwide.

18 Mar 2021

Fincantieri Floats Out 'Discovery Princess'

Credit: Fincantieri

Discovery Princess, the sixth Royal-class ship built for the ship operator Princess Cruises, a brand within Carnival Corporation, was floated out Thursday at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy.Interior fittings will now begin, leading the vessel to delivery, scheduled next year, the Italian shipbuilder said."The new unit, at 145,000 gross tons, is built on the basis of the successful sister vessel project of Royal Princess, Regal Princess, Majestic Princess, Sky Princess and Enchanted Princess…

18 Feb 2021

Inside Cruise Shipping's Fight for Survival

Photo Source: Port Everglades

In early 2021, the somber news from the cruise sector continued. For some cruise brands, their own version of “lockdowns” will have spanned an entire year. By late January, 2021, Carnival and others were hesitantly pegging their restarts for April/May 2021, and for some markets, late summer, under a Conditional Sail Order promulgated late last year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).What else to do but look ahead?In preliminary earnings guidance, Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL)…

26 Jan 2021

Saga Sees Resilient Cruise Bookings Despite COVID Concerns

Britain’s over-50s holidays group Saga said on Tuesday total cruise bookings stood at 140 million pounds ($191.3 million) as it prepares to restart sailing in May after a torrid year for the travel industry due to the global health crisis.Mass vaccination drives have offered hopes for a revival this year but the industry faces fresh uncertainty as new variants of the coronavirus force some countries to bring back curbs, threatening a quick return to normalcy in leisure travel.The owner of Saga Holidays and Saga Cruises has mandated vaccinations for its travelers after customer feedback, cut guest capacity and has a multi-layer COVID-19 testing in place as it looks to attract customers after a year of suspension.“We are ready to restart both Cruise and Tours in May…

30 Sep 2020

Fincantieri Delivers Its First Cruise Ship of the COVID-19 Era

Enchanted Princess (Photo: Fincantieri)

Fincantieri handed over the 145,000-gross-ton Enchanted Princess to Carnival Corp. brand Princess Cruises on Wednesday, marking the Italian shipbuilder's 100th cruise ship delivery over the last 30 years, and the first since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.The milestone delivery was celebrated with a live video message from Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte during a ceremony virtually attended by Micky Arison, Chairman of Carnival Corp.; Arnold Donald, President and CEO of Carnival Corp.…

15 Sep 2020

Carnival's Q3 Losses to Reach Almost $3 Billion

© dbvirago / Adobe Stock

Carnival Corp said on Tuesday it expects to post a loss of $2.9 billion in the third quarter, hurt by the suspension of cruises due to the COVID-19 pandemic, sending the cruise operator's shares down 3% in premarket trade.The cruise business is one of the worst affected from the health crisis and has forced operators, including Japan’s Luminous Cruise, to file for bankruptcy, or to raise money even at the cost of pledging ships.Carnival, which has already raised billions in debt…

26 Aug 2020

Princess Cruises Cancels Some Early 2021 Voyages

© Studio Porto Sabbia / Adobe Stock

Carnival Corp’s Princess Cruises said on Monday it would cancel early 2021 cruises on two ships, citing travel, border and port restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Cruise lines, hammered by a crisis that has seen some ships turn into infection hotspots, had earlier said they were expecting solid 2021 bookings, mainly as repeat cruisers were eager to book their trips.The two ships, Island Princess and Pacific Princess, were set to sail from North America and Australia, respectively.Guests…

17 Aug 2020

Carnival Hit by Ransomware Attack

© James Thew / Adobe Stock

Cruise operator Carnival Corp said on Monday it launched an investigation into a ransomware attack on one of its brand’s information technology systems.Carnival, which operates AIDA, Carnival and Princess cruises among others, in a regulatory filing said the attack included unauthorized access to personal data of guests and employees.The company did not identify the brand that was affected and declined to provide more details, as the investigation process was at an early stage.The attack adds to the woes of the company that has been already struggling with suspension of its cruises for months

05 Aug 2020

US Cruising Pause Extended through October

© Janice Barchat / Adobe Stock

The cruise industry has voluntarily suspended U.S. cruises until at least October 31, a month beyond the no-sail order date set by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)."We believe it is prudent at this time to voluntarily extend the suspension of U.S. ocean-going cruise operations to October 31," trade group Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) said in a statement on Wednesday.CLIA represents more than 95% of global cruise capacity, including the world's largest cruise lines such as Carnival Corp…

23 Jul 2020

Princess Cruises Extends Pause on Voyages

© junce11 / Adobe Stock

Carnival Corp’s Princess Cruises said on Wednesday it would extend the suspension of select voyages through December 15 as it looks to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.Princess Cruises also said all cruises sailing in and out of Australia on select vessels have been suspended through October 31.The pandemic has forced cruise companies to raise billions in debt to stay afloat, after several ships, including some owned by Carnival’s Princess Cruises, became coronavirus hotspots.Last week, the U.S.