FINCANTIERI: HANDOVER OF THE “CROWN PRINCESS” TO PRINCESS CRUISES

Today, at Fincantieri’s shipyard at Monfalcone, there was the handover ceremony for the passenger ship, the “Crown Princess”, ordered by Carnival Corporation, world leading company in the cruise industry for P&O Princess Cruises. As her sister ship the “Caribbean Princess” which was also built at Monfalcone and delivered in 2004, the “Crown Princess” is a development of the ships of the “Grand Class” series (the “Grand Princess”, “Golden Princess” and “Star Princess”, 109,000 gt, delivered in 1998, 2001 and 2002 respectively). However, by using light alloy it has been possible to add a further passenger deck, thereby gaining around 255 extra cabins, corresponding to an increase in passenger capacity of about 20%. The “Crown Princess”, together with the “Caribbean Princess”, is the largest cruise ship built to date by Fincantieri: at 113,000 gross tonnes, 8,100 deadweight tonnes, 290 metres long, 36 wide, 67 high, the ship can travel at a maximum speed of 23.7 knots and cater for a maximum of 3,600 passengers in 1,547 cabins, as well as 1,205 crew members.Power is generated by four WNSD 12 V46CR diesel engine groups of 12,600 kW and two WNSD 8L46CR groups of 8,400 kW which provide a total of 67,200 kW.Propulsion is provided by two electrical engines, one per shaft, of 21MW each.The ship offers a wide range of entertainment, including theatres, swimming pools, shops, a wellness centre, a library, a casinò and a spectacular discotheque suspended high above the stern from which, at a height of over forty metres over the sea, the view is breathtaking.It was with the first “Crown Princess”, delivered in 1990, that Fincantieri started building new generation cruise ships. Since then the company has built 37 large cruise ships, of which 35 for the Carnival Group, and currently has a further 13 ships on order, including options, for six different brands in Carnival Corporation, for a total value of approximately seven billion dollars thus making Fincantieri a world leader in this business area with a market share of around 46%.