Her name is Royal Princess and she shattered a bottle of champagne today. She still hasn't started sailing, but Fincantieri's latest effort already boasts the record for the largest ship ever built in Italy: 141.000 gross tonnage, 330 meters long and 38 wide. There are 1.780 cabins, of which 1.438 have balconies, and the total capacity is over 5.600 people, including crew.
She is the new flagship of the Princess Cruises fleet, a brand of the giant Carnival, a global operator in the cruise sector (and owner, among other things, of Costa Crociere). After the launch in the Fincantieri factory in Monfalcone, we are now moving on to the fitting out phase. Delivery is scheduled for spring 2013. Construction of the sister unit will begin at the end of August and will be delivered in 2014.
“With Royal Princess we consolidate our leadership in building the largest passenger ships in the history of Italian shipbuilding – commented the CEO of Fincantieri, Giuseppe Bono -. This unit represents a strong industrial investment which for us does not only mean the achievement of a very high-level technological goal, but also constitutes the best response to the persistence of the global crisis which does not even leave our sector unscathed. Despite this, with great determination, we manage to take all the orders that the market offers today".
Since 1990, Fincantieri has built 63 cruise ships, of which 13 for the Princess Cruises brand alone. Another seven units are under construction in the group's factories.
