The Royal Princess is a cruise ship owned and operated by Princess Cruises. Originally built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique for Renaissance Cruises, it entered service as the R Eight in 2001.
The R Eight was laid up in late 2001 after Renaissance Cruises filed for bankruptcy. It re-entered service with Swan Hellenic as the Minerva II in 2003 and sailed until 2007. The ship was later renamed the Royal Princess and entered service with Princess Cruises in April 2007.
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In December 2009, Princess Cruises announced that the Princess will be moved to P&O Cruises in May 2011 and renamed the Adonia.
This will result in the cancellation of five sailings in April and May. A 26-day South Pacific and Andes Explorer cruise will replace the cancelled itineraries.
Design and features
The ship’s design incorporates the features of R-class cruise ships. It is the only ship of its size to have all outside staterooms. It is equipped with stabilisation, communications and navigation systems. The founding core between the bow and aft bulkheads allows for maintenance without disturbing passengers.
The 30,277t Princess has 11 decks and an overall length of 181m, a beam of 25.46m and a draught of 5.8m.
Construction
The ship was built at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in St Nazaire, France, as a part of an order for eight identical vessels by Renaissance Cruises.
Staterooms
The Princess has 355 cabins of which 250 feature private balconies. Stateroom options include suites with balconies, oceanview doubles with balconies, deluxe oceanviews, oceanview doubles, oceanview obstructed and interior doubles.
The suites feature a sitting area and balcony while the deluxe suites offer a sitting room and dining area, a Jacuzzi, a queen-sized bed and a balcony. The staterooms feature two twin beds that can be converted into a queen-size bed, a television, phone, refrigerator, personal safe and a bathtub with shower.
Dining facilities
The cruise ship has casual and speciality dining venues. The speciality dining venues include Sabatini’s Italian restaurant, the Crown Grill and Ultimate Balcony Dining. Casual dining outlets include the Horizon Court Buffet and Bistro, Café Caribe, Vines, the Trident Grill and Afternoon Tea. The Botticelli Dining Room is a traditional venue while the Michelangelo Dining Room and the Da Vinci Dining Room offer dining at any time.
Entertainment facilities
The ship’s entertainment includes a 150-seat Princess Theatre, which shows first-run feature-length films, casinos, the Movies Under the Stars outdoor theatre, and night clubs. The Club Bar and Pool Bar serves a wide collection of wines and liquors. The Cabaret Lounge, Royal Lounge and Piano Lounge are the other main public spaces on the ship.
The ship’s youth and teen centres offer video games and movies, arts and crafts, board games and jukeboxes. They host a variety of events including karaoke, pizza parties, ice cream parties and pyjama nights.
The ship has a freshwater pool and two hot tubs. Deck 11 features a sun deck, a golf practice cage, shuffleboard and a jogging track.
Other facilities include a library, an internet café, boutiques, a card room, an art gallery, a photo gallery and duty-free shops.
Spa
The Lotus Spa gym and fitness area is located on deck nine and offers a range of beauty treatments and massages including corrective lifting facials, hot stone massage, a hair and makeup makeover package and deep tissue massage. The spa features four treatment rooms, locker rooms, a thalassotherapy pool, a fitness centre and a saloon.
Propulsion
The ship is equipped with an diesel-electric propulsion system. Four Wärtsilä 12V32 diesel engines driving two propellers provide a total power output of 13,500kW. The propulsion system provides a maximum speed of 18kt.
