Seatrade Cruise News is part of the Informa Markets Division of Informa PLC

This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.

Fincantieri’s Monfalcone delivers Sky Princess

sky princess delivery executives
From left, Roberto Olivari, Monfalcone shipyard director; Sky Princess Capt. Heikki Laakkonen, Arnold Donald, Jan Swartz, Giuseppe Bono, Undersecretary of State Gianluca Castaldi, Micky Arison, Stein Kruse
Fincantieri’s Monfalcone shipyard delivered Sky Princess, the fourth Royal-class ship for Princess Cruises, today in the presence of Gianluca Castaldi, undersecretary of state to the presidency of the Council of Ministers.

17th Monfalcone delivery for Princess

This marks the 17th ship Fincantieri has built for Princess, all at Monfalcone.

Sky Princess is the first vessel purpose-built for MedallionClass cruising. It also debuts Sky Suites, with expansive views from enormous balconies. Two new entertainment experiences are Phantom Bridge, an escape room game combining digital and physical elements; and the Take 5 jazz theater.

The 143,700gt vessel has capacity for 4,610 passengers in 1,830 cabins and 1,411 crew. It follows Majestic Princess, Regal Princess and Royal Princess.

Carnival brass

The handover ceremony was attended by Micky Arison, chairman of Carnival Corp. & plc; Arnold Donald, president and CEO of Carnival Corp. & plc; Stein Kruse, group CEO Holland America Group, Carnival Australia and Carnival UK; and Jan Swartz, group president of Princess Cruises and Carnival Australia. CEO Giuseppe Bono led the Fincantieri representatives.

Sky Princess will start its inaugural season with a seven-day Mediterranean and Adriatic maiden voyage from Piraeus to Barcelona on Oct. 20. The ship is going to sail a series of Mediterranean voyages before debuting in North America on Dec. 1 for a season of Caribbean cruises from Port Everglades.

Still to come: Enchanted Princess and Discovery Princess

The series will continue with Enchanted Princess and Discovery Princess, to be delivered in 2020 and 2021, respectively. Two larger, next-generation vessels powered by LNG will follow.