Princess Cruises have just announced that they are selling two of their beloved ships, Sun Princess and Sea Princess as part of parent company Carnival Corporation’s plan to accelerate the removal of less efficient ships from its fleet.
Princess Cruises president Jan Swartz said, “Sun Princess and Sea Princess contributed to significant growth in Australian cruising, both ships defined the premium cruise experience with Australians and New Zealanders spending close to 14 million nights aboard these ships. While it is never easy to say goodbye to any ship in our fleet, this will allow us to deploy newer ships enhancing our offerings for Australia cruisers and focus on bringing into service exciting newbuilds like the upcoming delivery of Enchanted Princess.”
Sun Princess was introduced to the fleet all the way back in 1995 debuting in the Caribbean and was amongst the largest ships in the world at the time. The 2,000-guest Sun Princess also sailed in Alaska and Panama Canal, among other destinations, before being homeported in Australia in October 2007. Sun Princess also helped Princess Cruises open the Japanese market in 2013 as the first foreign-flagged cruise ship to offer cruises designed specifically for the Japanese.
Since 2013, Sea Princess was known as the fleets world cruise dedicated ship completing 6 full world cruises during her time with Princess Cruises. During her time in Australia Sea Princess travelled the equivalent of 35 times around the world! She also sailed in Europe and Alaska as well as the Caribbean, including serving as a homeport ship in Barbados in the mid- to late-2000s.
Due to the imminent departure of these two ships from the fleet, Princess Cruises will cancel published itineraries which include:
- Sun Princess sailings from 28th December 2020 through 14th August 2021
- Sea Princess sailings from 23rd December 2020 through 9th November 2021
Guests with bookings will be notified, and along with their travel advisors, will receive information on how to book another Princess Cruise when operations resume. Guests who prefer a refund will be accommodated.
