Princess Cruises has sold two cruise ships in its fleet as part of Carnival Corporation’s latest plan to remove 18 ships from service.
Some travel agents have been informed that passengers booked on Sun Princess and Sea Princess will soon be notified that all future sailings on both ships have been cancelled.
The statement reads: “We are writing to share the news that Sea Princess and Sun Princess have been sold and will be leaving our fleet. While is is never easy to say goodbye to any ship in our fleet, the sale of these ships will allow us to deploy newer ships enhancing our offerings for Australia cruisers.”
The news comes just days after Cruise Capital revealed Peace Boat had acquired a new ship believed to be that of Sun Princess, which is being renamed to Pacific World. The 2,419 passenger ship will be replacing Peace Boat’s two ships Ocean Dream and Zenith. Sea Princess is rumoured to be joining Seajets in Greece.
Sun Princess was scheduled to sail from Brisbane in the winter before repositioning to Vancouver in spring to offer cruises to Alaska. No cruises were available to book after 14 August 2021.
Sea Princess was scheduled to offer cruises circumnavigating Australia as well as a 108-night World cruise from Brisbane. Sea Princess had sailings scheduled up to 9 November 2021.
Passengers affected by the sale of Sun Princess and Sea Princess can expect to receive a 125% Future Cruise Credit or can apply for a 100% refund on all money paid so far on the booking.
22 Sep Update:
“Sun Princess and Sea Princess contributed to significant growth in Australian cruising,” said Princess Cruises president Jan Swartz. “Both ships defined the premium cruise experience with Australians and New Zealanders spending close to 14 million nights aboard these ships. While it is never easy to say goodbye to any ship in our fleet, this will allow us to deploy newer ships enhancing our offerings for Australia cruisers and focus on bringing into service exciting newbuilds like the upcoming delivery of Enchanted Princess.”
The first ship in the Sun Class, Sun Princess was introduced in 1995 debuting in the Caribbean and was amongst the largest ships in the world at the time. The 2,000-guest Sun Princess also sailed in Alaska and Panama Canal, among other destinations, before being homeported in Australia in October 2007. Sun Princess also helped us open the Japanese market in 2013 as the first foreign-flagged cruise ship to offer cruises designed specifically for the Japanese.
The 2,000-guest Sea Princess became synonymous with World Cruises, having completed six full world cruises since 2013. During her time based in Australia, Sea Princess travelled the equivalent of 35 times around the world. Prior to joining Sun Princess in Australia, Sea Princess sailed in Europe and Alaska as well as the Caribbean, including serving as a homeport ship in Barbados in the mid- to late-2000s.
Due to the imminent departure of these two ships from the fleet, Princess Cruises will cancel published itineraries which include:
- Sun Princess sailings from December 28, 2020 through August 14, 2021
- Sea Princess sailings from December 23, 2020 through November 9, 2021