''Sun Princess'' is a operated by

Princess Cruises Princess Cruises is an American cruise line owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. The company headquarters are in Santa Clarita, California and is incorporated in Bermuda. As of 2025, it is the List of cruise lines#List of cruise lines by size, s ...

, a subsidiary of

Carnival Corporation & plc Carnival Corporation & plc is a British and American cruise operator with a combined fleet of over ninety vessels across eight cruise line brands. A dual-listed company, Carnival is composed of the Panama-incorporated, US-headquartered Carnival ...

, and is the third ship to sail for the cruise line under this name. ''Sun Princess'' was ordered on 23 July 2018 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 were constructed at the Fincantieri shipyard in

Monfalcone Monfalcone (; Venetian language#Regional variants, Bisiacco: ; ; ; archaic ) is a town and (municipality) in the Province of Gorizia, Regional decentralization entity of Gorizia in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, northern Italy, located on the Gulf of Tr ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, and had her maiden voyage in 2024.

History

Construction and delivery

The final contract of the first two Sphere-class vessels was signed in March 2019. In March 2023, the ship was floated out in

, Italy. ''Sun Princess'' was seen completing her

sea trial A sea trial or trial trip is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on op ...

s in November 2023 and January 2024. She had her naming ceremony in the

Port of Barcelona The Port of Barcelona (, ; ) is a major port in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Its are divided into three zones: Port Vell (the Old Port), the commercial/industrial port, and the logistics port (Barcelona Free Port). The port is managed by the Port ...

being named by

Hannah Waddingham Hannah Waddingham (born 28 July 1974) is an English actress, singer, and television presenter. She is known for playing businesswoman Rebecca Welton in ''Ted Lasso'' (2020–present), for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award and two Critics' Ch ...

on 23 April 2024. The ''

Ted Lasso ''Ted Lasso'' ( ) is an American sports film, sports comedy-drama television series developed by Jason Sudeikis, Bill Lawrence (TV producer), Bill Lawrence, Brendan Hunt, and Joe Kelly. It is based on a character Sudeikis portrayed in a series ...

'' actress would later participate in an ad campaign where she performs the

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical appearance for certain software. * Theme (linguistics), topic * Theme ( ...

to ''

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Wilford Lloyd Baumes that originally aired on ABC from September 24, 1977, to May 24, 1986. In addition, three TV movies aired before the regular series pre ...

'' television series aboard the ship. Two weeks before her originally expected delivery, a mutual agreement to delay her delivery was announced. The circumstances were not explained. ''Sun Princess''s maiden voyage was delayed from 8 February to 28 February 2024.

Operational history

''Sun Princess'' sailed her maiden voyage on 28 February 2024, setting sail in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

Design and specifications

''Sun Princess'' is the first ship of the Sphere class. She measures in length, with a beam of . The Sphere class has been a major update to the overall design of Princess's ships, featuring a more modern look. ''Sun Princess'' also features new glass, dome-like elements visible from the exterior of the vessel. ''Sun Princess'' is the first Princess ship to be fueled by

liquefied natural gas Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volume o ...

(LNG) which will persist throughout the Sphere class.

References

{{List of ships built by Fincantieri 2024 ships Ships built by Fincantieri Ships built in Monfalcone Ships of Princess Cruises