Princess Cruises sells two Aussie-based ships

Princess Cruises sells two Aussie-based ships

Princess Cruises has sold off two of its ships in line with parent company Carnival’s plan to speed up the removal of less-efficient vessels.

Sun Princess and Sea Princess (pictured above) are the latest ships to go, following on from Carnival Fascination and Carnival Imagination which were sold last week.

The ships have been sold to undisclosed buyers.

As a result, the line had cancelled Sun Princess‘ sailings from 28 December 2020 through to 14 August 2021 and Sea Princess‘ sailings from 23 December 2020 through 9 November 2021.

Sun Princess and Sea Princess contributed to significant growth in Australian cruising,” said Princess Cruises president Jan Swartz.

“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.”

The first ship in the Sun Class, Sun Princess was introduced in 1995 in the Caribbean and was amongst the largest ships in the world at the time.

The 2,000-guest ship also sailed in Alaska and Panama Canal, among other destinations, before being homeported in Australia in October 2007. Sun Princess also helped us open the Japanese market in 2013 as the first foreign-flagged cruise ship to offer cruises designed specifically for the Japanese.

The 2,000-guest Sea Princess became synonymous with World Cruises, having completed six full world cruises since 2013.

During her time-based in Australia, Sea Princess travelled the equivalent of 35 times around the world.

Prior to joining Sun Princess in Australia, Sea Princess sailed in Europe and Alaska as well as the Caribbean, including serving as a homeport ship in Barbados in the mid- to late-2000s.

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