Princess Cruises takes delivery of new ship Sun Princess but maiden voyage still delayed

Princess Cruises has taken delivery of its new vessel Sun Princess, an entirely new ship platform designed by Fincantieri exclusively for the cruise line. 

The 175,500-ton, 4,300-guest Sun Princess is the most technologically advanced and largest ship ever operated by Princess, offering an array of exciting new entertainment and activities, as well as new staterooms and suites across a broad spectrum of categories. 

Although the ship is LNG-powered like the similarly-sized Excel-class in the Carnival Corporation fleet, Sun Princess is built to a different design and is a unique platform in the Carnival Corp fleet.

With the most balconies on any Princess ship, guests can take in the sunshine and crystal-clear waters of the Mediterranean and Caribbean from the comfort of their stateroom.

The Dome, a transformational entertainment venue inspired by the terraces of Santorini, is the perfect place to relax and the Arena! is an evolution and the most technologically advanced Princess Theater design.

Although Princess has accepted delivery of the ship, she will need to remain alongside in the shipyard to allow for additional technical work before her maiden voyage.

Princess Cruises is cancelling the February 18th voyage as a result, and Sun Princess will now make her maiden voyage on February 28th from Rome.

Guests who were booked on the February 18th voyage will receive a full refund of the cruise fare along with any additional onboard services that were pre-purchased, as well as a 50% future cruise credit (FCC) that can be used on a future Princess voyage.

Princess Cruises is also offering financial reimbursement for select travel costs for guests who have already arrived ahead of their sailing and for guests who have not yet started their travel certain changes fees related to flights. 

The delay to Sun Princess’ February 18th voyage comes after the cruise line previously delayed her February 8th maiden cruise.

Sun Princess is the latest in a string of cruise newbuilds to face delays amid energy shortages, global supply chain constraints, and manpower shortages.

These delays began early after the pandemic, when the reopening of the global economy led to a lack of containers for trade amid a resurgence in economy activity, as well as a shortfall in workers due to mass layoffs and furlongs during the pandemic. Princess Cruises isn’t alone in having to delay the delivery of its new ship, in fact since 2021 its become the norm for new cruise ships to have their delivery date pushed back. Every single cruise ship delivered in the past two years has been delayed.