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 MV Regal Princess - Princess Cruises
A PARNAMI Cruise Page
The Regal Princess was built in Italy in 1991 and is the third and last of a series of three ships originally ordered by Sitmar Cruises prior to that company's being acquired by Princess.
In 1988, to much critical acclaim, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line introduced the World to what, at the time, was the largest cruise ship in history: The 73,000 ton Sovereign of the Seas. In response, Carnival had announced the building of a similarly sized ship, Fantasy, while Norwegian Cruise Line, already had been sailing the converted former passenger liner France as it's Flagship Norway. All the while, since the 1984 introduction of its 44,000 ton Royal Princess, Princess had given no serious consideration to adding new tonnage, let alone adding a Mega sized ship . Caught off guard by the surging popularity of this new size class of vessel, Princess found itself with no new tonnage on order nor the possibility of acquiring any, near term. Feeling the urgency to remain competitive, their predicament was answered by purchasing control of competitor Sitmar International, and that line's three newbuildings, along with four other ships then sailing with its fleet. Regal Princess is a result of that acquisition!
Princess provided Sitmar's employees security in their positions, promising to continue with the Italian officers and crew that had formed the backbone of the Sitmar operation. Princess passengers, today, continue to find two distinct types of operations on board Princess ships, Italian officers from the former Sitmar operation and the traditional Princess British, although, through an easing of British registration requirements, all Princess ships now sail under a British Union Jack of some sort. There are no third world nation registrations in the Princess fleet!
At the time of the Sitmar acquisition, the first of the new buildings, already, was nearing completion. Originally dubbed Fair Majesty, the ship went on to become Star Princess for her inaugural voyage. Today, she sails for sister line P & O as Arcadia.
The subsequent ships, virtual identical twins, Crown Princess and Regal Princess were not quite so far along in the construction process, providing Princess time to make adjustments, lending their own "corporate" touch to their designs. The notable "dolphin" shape came about as a result of that additional time. While Star Princess, arguably, was most notable for it's boxy appearance, the dolphin shape of Crown and Regal managed to soften that boxiness, somewhat, creating a more handsome profile. Aside from relocating the casino to the observation lounge, the layouts, virtually, are the same.
Although identical in shape, Crown Princess and Regal Princess do have one subtle though easily recognizable difference: The lower level of verandah cutouts on Regal are noticeably larger, top to bottom, than are those of Crown Princess! This slight difference lends a more modern, open appearance to Regal compared to Crown. It also provides inhabitants of the affected cabins on Regal to have views of the ocean which, on Crown, are blocked by the balcony's steel bulkhead.
Unfortunately for Princess, none of these ships drew the critical or public acclaim of RCI's Sovereign of the Seas and steep discounting for space began almost immediately. Continuing to this day, passengers choosing Regal Princess find themselves visiting some of the World's most exciting and interesting destinations for, what usually, are very attractive rates.
In 2000, Princess upgraded some passenger areas on both Crown and on Regal Princess. Along with decor upgrades, the lido cafes, (Cafe Del Sol on Regal and Cafe Cabana on Crown) each were enlarged, enclosing space formerly allotted to outside dining. The newly created interior dining space also provides the location for the ships' alternate Bistro dining venue serving each evening until 4 am.
Atop the newly created roof of the Lido Cafe is located the newly added youth facility. Original plans for all three of these ships included such a facility, but only on Star, was it actually built. Princess never viewed these ships as being intended to attract large numbers of children, so had the designated space converted to other purposes. This new addition corrects that error in judgment.
Regal Princess reputedly, is 69,845 tons, but the 2000 extension and enlargement of the Cafe Del Sol along with the addition of the Youth Center above, make her actual size somewhat larger, probably within range of 72,000 tons. She is 803.8 feet in length, 105.6 feet wide with a 25.5 foot draft. She is now of British registry with Italian and British (primarily Italian) officers and an international crew. The days of Italian dining rooms on Princess ships have ended: Regal's dining room staff, largely, are of Eastern European heritage, and, the chef on our sailing was Filipino. Regal Princess is Diesel/Electric powered. Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is her proud Godmother.
Copyright © 2001 Mel Litzenberger. All Rights Reserved
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Tour Regal Princess: Standard Inside Staterooms on Regal Princess
E-mail: PARNAMI@aol.com
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