Princess orders two LNG ships

PRINCESS Cruises overnight announced a newbuild agreement for its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) cruise ships, with two vessels scheduled for delivery in 2023 and 2025.

The fast-growing brand now has five vessels arriving over the next six years, with Princess Cruises senior vice president Asia Pacific commercial and operations Stuart Allison saying “this is great news for everyone at Princess Cruises as it means our business is strong and our industry is thriving”.

LNG is said to be the world’s cleanest burning fossil fuel and significantly reduces emissions, with Carnival Corporation now having contracts for 11 LNG ships among a total of 20 newbuilds expected to arrive between now and 2025.

The new Princess vessels, being constructed by Fincantieri in Monfalcone, Italy, will be the biggest in the Princess Cruises fleet, accommodating about 4,300 guests each.

Further details of the features and amenities will be shared in the future, Princess said.

Allison noted that last night’s announcement came just two months before the line’s newest ship, Majestic Princess, makes her inaugural visit to Australia, arriving in Sep.

“Princess has been a leader in the cruise industry for more than 50 years, and Princess’ newest ship designs reaffirm our leadership in the global cruise industry and our growing popularity worldwide,” he said.

Allison said the growth of Princess provided Australian travel agents with “even more opportunities for guests to travel with Princess all over the world on our world class ships”.

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