MS ''Charming'' (formerly ''Sea Princess'' and ''Adonia'') is a formerly operated by

Princess Cruises Princess Cruises is an American cruise line owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. The company is incorporated in Bermuda and its headquarters are in Santa Clarita, California. As of 2021, it is the second largest cruise line by net revenue. It w ...

. She had three sister ships

Pacific World ''Pacific World'' (previously ''Sun Princess'') is a built in 1995 and operated by Peace Boat. At the time of her construction, she was one of the largest cruise ships in the world. She was the lead ship of her class that included sister ships ...

, formerly ''Sun Princess'' in the Princess fleet, (formerly Oceana) in the

P&O Cruises P&O Cruises is a British cruise line based at Carnival House in Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. It was originally a subsidiary of the shipping company P&O and was founded in 1977. Along ...

fleet and (formerly Dawn Princess) in the

P&O Cruises Australia P&O Cruises Australia is a British-American owned cruise line with operational headquarters as part of Carnival Australia, based in Chatswood, New South Wales, Australia. Originally a sister company of P&O Cruises in the United Kingdom, it was ...

fleet.

History

The vessel was delivered to Princess Cruises from

Fincantieri Fincantieri S.p.A. () is an Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy. Already the largest shipbuilder in Europe, after the acquisition of Vard in 2013, Fincantieri group doubled in size to become the fourth largest in the world (2014 ...

and began operation in 1998 under the name of ''Sea Princess''. ''Sea Princess'' was transferred to

in late 2002/early 2003. P&O renamed her ''Adonia'' on 21 May 2003 (not to be confused with a different P&O vessel of a different class which was also given the ''Adonia'' name later in 2011). The Princess Royal and her daughter Zara Phillips renamed the vessel to ''Adonia'' at a launching ceremony with sister ship ''Oceana'', in the first double ship naming ceremony ever in the UK. ''Adonia'' filled the gap left in the P&O Cruises fleet in the period between ''Arcadia'' leaving the fleet to become ''Ocean Village'' and the launch of the new ''Arcadia'' in 2005, when the vessel was transferred back to Princess Cruises. When Princess Cruises reacquired her in 2005, the vessel was once more named ''Sea Princess'', in a ceremony by

Joanna Lumley Dame Joanna Lamond Lumley (born 1 May 1946) is an English actress, presenter, former model, author, television producer, and activist. She has won two BAFTA TV Awards for her role as Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous'' (1992 ...

. As of 2019, ''Sea Princess'' was homeported in Australia and was intended to sail from new homeports in Fremantle and

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

for the 2020–2021 calendar season. However, in September 2020 Princess Cruises announced that it had sold the ''Sea Princess'' to undisclosed buyers. On 13 November 2020 ''Sea Princess'' was officially handed over to Sanya International Cruise Development and renamed ''Charming''. In early 2021, the ship was drydocked at China Merchants Industry Holding Co shipyard, Mazhou Island.

Accidents and incidents

Norovirus outbreaks

At the end of May 2006, 250 people, including 18 crew, were affected by a

norovirus Norovirus, sometimes referred to as the winter vomiting disease, is the most common cause of gastroenteritis. Infection is characterized by non-bloody diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain. Fever or headaches may also occur. Symptoms usually devel ...

. Evidence of a gastrointestinal virus had been found during the last two days of the previous cruise, but the company stated that it did not believe the two outbreaks to be linked. The passengers were notified of this occurrence by a letter found in their cabins after boarding. Although the ship's itinerary had been altered, and the vessel ordered to dock away from other vessels, no other countermeasures were effected. ''Sea Princess'' returned to port in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

a day early, and the vessel underwent a complete sanitisation and decontamination before resuming cruising. Passengers were offered a 30% refund and a £150 voucher for use on a later Princess cruise; some demanded a full refund. A norovirus outbreak occurred again on the following cruise, although to a lesser extent, and visible precautions included waiter service at the buffets and the absence of salt and pepper shakers. This cruise was also affected by force 11-12 winds in the vicinity of

Ushant Ushant (; br, Eusa, ; french: Ouessant, ) is a French island at the southwestern end of the English Channel which marks the westernmost point of metropolitan France. It belongs to Brittany and, in medieval terms, Léon. In lower tiers of govern ...

, causing the first scheduled port to be missed, while the remaining itinerary remained unaltered. The ship was undamaged, the nearby suffered broken windows, and terminated her Spain-bound voyage in France due to storm damage. It is likely that the rough seas caused increased use of the handrails, contributing to the difficulty of eradicating norovirus. In January 2018, about 200 passengers were reported to have been infected with norovirus during a two-week round trip from Brisbane to New Zealand.

Drug smuggling

On 28 August 2016, three Canadian nationals were arrested after ''Sea Princess'' berthed in Sydney Harbour. After the ship docked

Australian Border Force The Australian Border Force (ABF) is a federal law enforcement agency, part of the Department of Home Affairs, responsible for offshore and onshore border control enforcement, investigations, compliance and detention operations in Australia. Thr ...

officers along with drug sniffing dogs boarded the ship. During a search of the ship of cocaine was found packed in suitcases. The estimated value of the cocaine is $30 million AUD ($22 million USD). The maximum penalty for this offense is life in prison.

Gallery

File:MS Sea Princess, Sydney Harbour, 2013.JPG, ''Sea Princess'' passing underneath the

Sydney Harbour Bridge The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge in Sydney, spanning Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour from the Sydney central business district, central business district (CBD) to the North Shore (Sydney), North Shore. The view of the bridg ...

, 2013. File:Martinique-fort-de-france-sea-princess-cruiser.jpg, ''Sea Princess'' at Fort-de-France, Martinique, 2006. File:Seaprincessdeck.jpg, The main deck of ''Sea Princess'' during a cruise in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

References

External links

www.princess.com
nbsp;– Princess Cruises site
Video clip of M.V. ''Sea Princess''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charming Ships of Princess Cruises 1998 ships Ships built by Fincantieri Maritime incidents in 2006 Ships of P&O Cruises