Majestic Princess
Majestic Princess in Fremantle, 2023
History
United Kingdom
NameMajestic Princess
Owner Carnival Corporation & plc
OperatorPrincess Cruises
Port of registryLondon,  United Kingdom
Ordered30 July 2014[4]
BuilderFincantieri (Monfalcone, Italy)[4]
Yard number6232[2]
Laid down10 July 2015[5]
Launched8 February 2016[1]
Sponsored byYao Ming and Ye Li[6]
Christened9 July 2017[6]
Acquired30 March 2017[3]
Maiden voyage4 April 2017[7]
In service2017—present
Identification
StatusIn service
General characteristics
Class and typeRoyal-class cruise ship
Tonnage
Length330.0 m (1,082 ft 8 in)[2]
Beam38.4 m (126 ft 0 in)[2]
Height68.3 m (224 ft 1 in)[8]
Draught8.55 m (28 ft 1 in)[2]
Decks19[8]
Installed power
  • 2 × Wärtsilä 12V46F Diesel generators producing 14,400 kW (19,300 hp) each[9]
  • 2 × Wärtsilä 14V46F Diesel generators producing 16,800 kW (22,500 hp) each[9]
  • Total Installed Power: 62,400 kW (83,700 hp)[9]
Propulsion2 × 18,000 kW (24,000 hp)[9]
Speed
  • Service speed: 22 kn (41 km/h)[9]
  • Maximum speed: 23 kn (43 km/h)[9]
Capacity3,560
Crew1,346

Majestic Princess is a British-registered Royal-class cruise ship operated by Princess Cruises, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. Built by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri in Monfalcone and delivered in March 2017, she became the third Royal-class ship to debut in the fleet.

Design

Majestic Princess was originally outfitted to accommodate the Chinese market, with facilities and amenities originally designed to meet Chinese tastes and needs.[10] This included accommodating all passengers with Chinese in signage, announcements, and offerings.[10] Such facilities include a Cantonese cuisine-centered specialty restaurant, a tea bar, a VIP casino, and private karaoke rooms.[11]

Majestic Princess has 18 decks, 15 of which are accessible to passengers.[8] She currently measures 144,216 GT, has a length of 330.0 m (1,082 ft 8 in), a draft of 8.4 m (27 ft 7 in), and a beam of 38.4 m (126 ft 0 in).[9] She is powered by a diesel-electric genset system, with four total Wärtsilä engines, producing a total output of 62.4 MW (83,700 hp).[9] Main propulsion is via two propellers, each driven by an 18-megawatt (24,000 hp) electric motor.[9] The system gives the vessel a service speed of 22 kn (41 km/h) and a maximum speed of 23 kn (43 km/h).[9] The ship houses 1,780 passenger cabins and 757 crew cabins. Of the 1,780 passenger cabins, 81% have a balcony.[9] The ship has a maximum capacity of 5,600 passengers and crew.[9]

Construction

The then-unnamed vessel was ordered on 30 July 2014 from Fincantieri at a cost of €600 million.[4][12] The ship was planned to carry the same features and design as her two sister ships, Royal Princess and Regal Princess.[4] In May 2015, Princess announced that their third Royal-class ship would be deployed to China year-round and be modified accordingly.[13] On 9 October 2015, it was unveiled that the ship would be named Majestic Princess, and also carry the conjoining Chinese name, 盛世公主号 (Shèngshì Gōngzhǔ Hào, literally Golden age princess), an interpretation selected by Carnival PLC China's employees, which means "Grand World" or "Grand Spirit".[14] On 10 July 2015, the ship's keel was laid at the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone.[5] She was floated out on 8 February 2016.[1] In January 2017, she successfully completed her sea trials.[15] Majestic Princess was delivered to Princess Cruises on 30 March 2017 in Monfalcone.[3]

Service history

Majestic Princess embarked on her inaugural cruise on 4 April 2017, a five-day Adriatic voyage round-trip from Rome, visiting Kotor and Corfu.[7][16] She spent her first month cruising in the Mediterranean before embarking on a 49-day re-positioning voyage to Asia from Rome on 21 May 2017.[17] She arrived in Shanghai for her Chinese debut on 9 July 2017 and was christened that day by Yao Ming and Ye Li.[17][6]

Majestic Princess was originally planned to sail from Shanghai on a year-round basis, but it was later announced that she would begin sailing from Australia for approximately half of a year.[17] She debuted in Sydney in September 2018.[18] Between 2017 and 2021, Majestic Princess operated sailings in East Asia from Keelung between April and August, and in Oceania from Sydney between September and March.[19][20] Originally slated to debut on the West Coast of the United States in fall 2021 from Los Angeles to sail to the Mexican Riviera and along the California coast,[21] fleet redeployments later scheduled her to debut several months earlier and begin sailing in Alaska from Seattle in summer 2021.[22]

In mid-November 2022, the Majestic Princess reported an estimated 800 COVID-19 cases among passengers and crew following a twelve day tour of New Zealand that included Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin, the Bay of Islands, and Fiordland National Park. The ship departed Auckland on 8 November before docking at Sydney in Australia on 12 November.[23][24] In 2023, It was announced that Majestic Princess will do Caribbean and Europe cruises in 2025.

References

  1. ^ a b Groizeleau, Vincent (9 February 2016). "Fincantieri met à l'eau le premier paquebot de Princess destiné à Chine". Mer et Marine (in French). Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Majestic Princess (9614141)". LR Class Direct. Lloyd's Register. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Fincantieri: "Majestic Princess" Delivered in Monfalcone". Fincantieri. 30 March 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d Staff, C. I. N. (30 July 2014). "Princess Orders Third Royal-class Ship for 2017 Delivery". www.cruiseindustrynews.com.
  5. ^ a b "AL VIA I LAVORI IN BACINO PER LA NUOVA NAVE DI PRINCESS CRUISES". 10 July 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  6. ^ a b c "Chinese basketball stars to name Majestic Princess". Seatrade Cruise News. 21 June 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Introducing Majestic Princess". CRUISE TO TRAVEL. 26 August 2016.
  8. ^ a b c "Majestic Princess Ship Facts". Princess Cruise Lines, Ltd. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Majestic Princess" (PDF). Fincantieri. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  10. ^ a b "The first Princess cruise ship built specifically for the Chinese market arrives in Shanghai". Los Angeles Times. 10 July 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  11. ^ Gibson, Rebecca (25 August 2016). "Majestic Princess to feature karaoke suites and speciality restaurants". CruiseandFerry.net.
  12. ^ "Majestic Princess Cruise Ship - Ship Technology". Ship Technology. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  13. ^ Stieghorst, Tim (15 May 2015). "Princess Cruises to put new build in China: Travel Weekly". www.travelweekly.com. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  14. ^ Bond, Mary (9 October 2015). "Princess names Chinese year-round ship Majestic Princess". Seatrade Cruise News.
  15. ^ "Majestic Princess Completes Sea Trials". Cruise Industry News. 13 January 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  16. ^ "Majestic Princess Completes Sea Trials". Cruise Cotterill. 13 January 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  17. ^ a b c Leppert, Jason (19 April 2017). "Why is China's New Majestic Princess Heading to Australia?". TravelPulse. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  18. ^ "Princess Cruises' New Majestic Princess Arrives in Shanghai to Begin Inaugural Season in China". Princess Cruises. 10 July 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  19. ^ Staff, CIN (12 March 2018). "Majestic Princess Ready for Taiwan Program". Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  20. ^ "2018/19 Australian cruise season preview - Australia goes luxe - Cruise Passenger". cruisepassenger.com.au. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  21. ^ "Majestic Princess Moves to West Coast for 2021-2022 Cruise Season". Cruise Industry News. 25 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  22. ^ Kalosh, Anne (8 July 2020). "Majestic Princess to replace Regal in Alaska as Regal takes over for Grand in UK". Seatrade Cruise News. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  23. ^ "Cruise ship with 800 Covid cases docks in Sydney after touring NZ". 1 News. TVNZ. 12 November 2022. Archived from the original on 11 November 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  24. ^ Reid, Neil (12 November 2022). "Northland on watch after visit from cruise ship with 'major' Covid-19 outbreak". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 12 November 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2022.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to IMO 9614141.
List of ships built by Fincantieri
Royal-class cruise ships and derived designs
Ships of the Princess Cruises fleet
Categories