Princess confirms Sea, Sun sale

PRINCESS Cruises this morning confirmed widespread speculation its Sea Princess (pictured) and Sun Princess are among the 18 vessels slated to leave the Carnival Corp fleet.

The buyers of the two ships have not been disclosed at this stage, with Carnival saying the sale was in line with its “plan to accelerate the removal of less efficient ships from its fleet”.

Princess President Jan Swartz said Sea Princess and Sun Princess had been key contributors 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 Australian cruisers and focus on bringing into service exciting newbuilds like the upcoming delivery of Enchanted Princess.”

Sun made her debut in 1995 in the Caribbean, and at 2,000 pax, was one of the largest ships in the world at the time.

She was homeported in Australia from 2007 and also helped Princess open up the Japanese market in 2013.

Sea Princess has completed six full world cruises since 2013.

Due to the imminent departure of these ships from the Princess fleet, the line has cancelled published itineraries including Sun Princess voyages departing 28 Dec 2020-14 Aug 2021 and Sea Princess sailings from 23 Dec through to 09 Nov 2021.