Enchanted Princess delivery delayed due to shipyard shutdown in Italy

Princess Cruises has announced that the delivery of its new mega-ship Enchanted Princess has been delayed due to the ongoing Coronavirus in Italy, which has caused much of the country’s economy to be shutdown.

The Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone has not been able to proceed with construction of the ship since mid-March.

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It was forced to close due to the country’s efforts to halt the spread of COVID-19, the strain of Coronavirus has infected more than 2-million people around the world and killed more than 130,000, according to John Hopkins University.

“Princess Cruises confirms that the delivery of Enchanted Princess is delayed. A new delivery date has not been determined since the Fincantieri yard in Monfalcone, Italy remains closed. Voyages through July 31 have been cancelled,” Princess Cruises said in a statement.

“The delivery delay is due to the country-wide lockdown imposed by the Italian government and public health officials in response to the COVID-19 outbreak,” it added.

“The naming ceremony scheduled to take place in Southampton on June 30 has been cancelled. Inaugural activities are under review in conjunction with changes to the ship deployment.”

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The cancellation of Enchanted Princess’ delivery date comes amid widespread disruption to the cruise industry, with almost all major cruise lines suspending operations globally for the first time in history.

The 3,660-guest Enchanted Princess is the latest in the cruise line’s Royal-class cruise ships. She will introduce a number of new to the cruise line features, including the new production shows ‘5-SKIES’ and ‘Rock Opera’ and the world’s first digitally-enhanced escape room at sea.

The ship will also feature the French speciality restaurant ‘La Mer’, which first debuted aboard Royal-class Majestic Princess in 2017, along with a whole host of new dining concepts.

In addition to the more than 25 dining venues and bars including the World Fresh Marketplace, the ship will also feature new lounges such as jazz lounge Take Five, and the two ‘Sky Suites’, which have the largest balconies at sea centrally located on the top decks.

Enchanted Princess will also feature a redesigned Sanctuary area, the spa-inspired top deck retreat reserved for adults.