Royal Princess

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For the 1984-built "Royal Princess", see Artemis (ship).
Royal Princess
Royal Princess
Career
Name: 2001—2003: R Eight
2003—2007: Minerva II
2007—present: Royal Princess
Owner: 2001: Renaissance Cruises
2001—2006: Cruiseinvest
2006—present: Princess Cruises[1]
Operator: 2001: Renaissance Cruises
2001—2003: laid up
2003—2007: Swan Hellenic
2007—present: Princess Cruises[1]
Port of Registry: 2001: Monrovia, Flag of Liberia Liberia
2001—2006: Majuro, Flag of the Marshall Islands Marshall Islands
2006—2007: Nassau, Flag of the Bahamas Bahamas
2007—present: Hamilton, Flag of Bermuda Bermuda[1]
Builder: Chantiers de l'Atlantique, St. Nazaire, France
Cost: £150 million[2]
Yard number: Z31[1]
Completed: 2001
Acquired: 1 February 2001[1]
In service: 2001
Identification: IMO 9210220[1]
Status: In Service
General characteristics (as Royal Princess)
Class and type: R class cruise ship
Tonnage: 30,277 GRT[1]
Displacement: 2,700 DWT[1]
Length: 180.45 m (592 ft)[2]
Beam: 25.46 m (83 ft 6 in)[1]
Draught: 6.00 m (19 ft 8 in)[2]
Decks: 11 (8 passenger accessible)[3]
Installed power: 4 × Wärtsilä 12V32 diesels
combined 13500 kW[1]
Propulsion: 2 propellers[2]
Speed: 18 kn (33.34 km/h)[1]
Capacity: 710[4]

MS Royal Princess is an R class cruise ship owned and operated by Princess Cruises. She was built in 2001 by Chantiers de l'Atlantique, St. Nazaire, France for Renaissance Cruises as MS R Eight. Between 2003 and 2007 she sailed for Swan Hellenic as MS Minerva II, before being transferred to Princess Cruises.

She was built as R Eight as part of 8 identical cruise ships originally ordered by Renaissance Cruises. As such, she is a sister ship to two of Princess's other vessels, Tahitian Princess and Pacific Princess, which were bought when Renaissance Cruises collapsed in 2001.

Contents

[edit] Service history

The R Eight was constructed as the eighth and final vessel in Renaissance Cruises's R class. She began operation in 2001. After Renaissance ceased operations and filed for bankruptcy in late 2001, the vessel was seized by creditors and laid up Marseille, France.

In 2003, the vessel re-entered operation, this time as the sole cruise ship in Swan Hellenic's fleet. The vessel was named Minerva II, after both the Roman goddess and the company's previous vessel, Minerva.

On 7 April 2007 the Minerva II completed her final voyage with Swan Hellenic and was transferred by the parent company, Carnival Corporation & plc, to Princess Cruises. She was renamed Royal Princess and entered into service for Princess in April 2007.

[edit] Itinerary

Royal Princess began service in Europe, and continued with a series of 12 night Mediterranean, Greek, and Holy Land cruises. The first voyage as a Princess Cruises liner was on April 19, 2007.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Asklander, Micke. M/S R Eight (2001) (in Swedish). Fakta om Fartyg. Retrieved on 2008-03-23.
  2. ^ a b c d Ward, Douglas (2006). Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships. Singapore: Berlitz, pp. 398-399. ISBN 981-246-739-4. 
  3. ^ Royal Princess Deck Plans. Princess Cruises. Retrieved on 2008-03-23.
  4. ^ Royal Princess Personal Choice Features. Princess Cruises. Retrieved on 2008-03-23.

[edit] External links

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R class cruise ships
Insignia · Regatta · Pacific Princess · Tahitian Princess · Nautica · Azamara Journey · Azamara Quest · Royal Princess
Oceania Cruises · Princess Cruises · Azamara Cruises
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Ships operated by Princess Cruises
Present ships
Past ships