And thats how you remove the “shopping cart handle” from a cruise ship. Although for some reason i always found it to be attractive.
And below is what she looks like sailing now.

Royal Princess is the new name of Princess’ newbuild due out in May 2013. Princess unveiled that and some additional details at Cruise Shipping Miami today.

The 141,000 grt ship will feature some new venues including SeaWalk. Think a combination of Royal Caribbeans cantilevered hot tubs and Disney’s Aqua Duck. Opposite the starboard side SeaWalk will be the port side SeaView bar. Princess announced also that the 3,600 pax vessel will sport an adults-only pool with seven cabanas which can be hired by the hour or by the day. The other two pools will be normal tropical themes pools by day, but as dar sets in they will become outdoor night clubs.

Princess’ signature Sanctuary, the adults-only retreat, will be enlarged, Movies Under the Stars will also receive additional space. The interiors are said to be more centered around the Piazza atrium.

All outside staterooms will feature a private balcony.

Anyways, for those not familiar, the two pictures below show the difference. Pods eliminate the need for a rudder and stern thrusters. They can spin 360-degrees and increase maneuverability greatly. They are powered by an electric motor just behind the propeller. BUT, because it is still new technology, there are still some vulnerabilities, thrust bearing being the main culprit, that can break down and force a ship to drydock.

Pods

vs

Traditional shaft and rudder

The nightclub is suspended two decks above highest deck on the ship and offers panoramic views from it. It is controversial in its design. Many find it esthetically unpleasing and say it ruins the ships profile. Can this be a reason for dismantling it?
It could be. It goes by the nick-name “shopping cart handle.” Other reasons could be that is casts a shadow on the aft decks, or that the lounge is too small and goes unused for a ship that size.

This is what I anticipate her looking like after the refit:

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Princess Cruises Island Princess was the first ship to hook up to shore side power while docked in San Francisco. The ship literally plugs into power cables from the dock. Several of Princess Cruises ships are equipped with the ability to plug into ports that offer this.

By integrating the ship into the cities power grid, they can reduce emissions produced by the ship’s power generators.

San Francisco is the fourth port where ships can integrate into the local power grid. Juneau Vancouver and Seattle are the others.

Odd fact: this process is known as “cold ironing.”

Editors note: While this is a step in the right direction the power has to come from somewhere. So if its coming from a coal plant somewhere else, is it really that much better?

96 passengers became ill with the norovirus on Princess Cruises, Sapphire Princess. She was on the return leg of a 7-Night Inland Passage cruise in Alaska. Port officials decided to dock the ship at Pier 91 in Seattle as it offers easier access to the ship to commence extreme cleaning operations. The passengers disembarked and the vessel went into sanitation mode before starting the embarking process.

She set sail yesterday with 2,000 passengers onboard for another Inside Passage cruise to Alaska.

King5 in Seattle has some quotes from Passengers and officials:

Kym Boisvert, passenger in cabin across from an infected cabin:

You go on vacation, you pay quite a lot of money for this. It’d be nice if they gave you the courtesy, or at least get the sick people off. We didn’t mingle with anyone on the boat because we didn’t want to get sick, so we pretty much stayed to our room.

Cindy Hedum, Passenger:

All the time people were wearing latex gloves. They were being very careful and they made you sanitize your hands before you went into the food area and you weren’t allowed to touch any of the food utensils.

Joyce Jordan, a not so worried passenger:

I took all the precautions, I washed my hands a lot.

Rodney Liverman, longshoreman, props to King5 for getting a quote from them. We usually don’t hear from them:

We’re wearing gloves, latex gloves. You just take precautions. We’re handling money, touching luggage, dealing with people.

Robert Bowen, another Longshoreman:

If people are really, really concerned, they have the masks.

P.S. How weird is this. Right as I go to post this, the story is mentioned on CNN!

Gene Sloan is reporting that:

An Azamara Club Cruises spokeswoman says execs to hold Friday meeting to decide whether coming Israel call still on

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Is this the new princess newbuild? It could be. This new ship will be the largest Princess ship to date. She made news the other day when Carnival and Princess firmed up the order for her and her sister. Below is the attached press release. Please note the photo is pure speculation and not from Princess or any other official source.

(Thanks Rick)

5/4/2010

CARNIVAL CORPORATION & PLC FINALIZES CONTRACTS FOR TWO NEW CRUISE SHIPS FOR ITS PRINCESS CRUISES BRAND
VESSELS TO ENTER SERVICE IN 2013 AND 2014

MIAMI (May 4, 2010) — Princess Cruises, a unit of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), today announced that contracts to build two 3,600-passenger ships have been finalized with Italy’s Fincantieri shipyard.

The new ships — which each will have an all-in cost of approximately 155,000 euros per lower berth — are scheduled to enter service in spring 2013 and spring 2014. At an estimated 141,000 tons, the as-yet-unnamed ships will be the largest in the Princess Cruises fleet.

The ships’ design will be evolutionary, in keeping with the themes of the line’s newest vessels, but with some new features and innovations. For example, all outside cabins will feature balconies, bringing the percentage of balconies on the ships to 80 percent of all staterooms.

The company’s signature Piazza — the ship’s central atrium featuring dining, entertainment and retail — will be expanded, as will the popular Sanctuary, spa, and restaurants.

"We’re pleased that in this challenging economic environment, the order for these new ships is a testament to the confidence in the growth potential of the Princess brand," said Alan Buckelew, president and CEO of Princess Cruises. "These new ships will include the features from our newest ships that have been so well received, and take them to the next level," he added.

Giuseppe Bono, chief executive officer of Fincantieri, said, "We are grateful to the Carnival Group for this further vote of confidence in Fincantieri. We are proud to have met the requirements of Princess Cruises, one of Carnival’s most prestigious brands, with an innovative design both from a technical and architectural point of view."

Bono continued, "This is a highly important order for us, especially as it comes in a period of economic crisis. We succeeded in securing these orders with assistance and support of the Italian export credit companies, in particular SACE S.p.A."

Specific amenities and design elements for the new ships will be revealed over the coming months.

One of the best-known names in cruising, Princess Cruises is a global cruise and tour company operating a fleet of 17 modern ships renowned for their innovative design and wide array of choices in dining, entertainment and amenities, all provided in an environment of exceptional customer service. A recognized leader in worldwide cruising, Princess offers its passengers the opportunity to escape completely to the top destinations around the globe, with sailings to all seven continents.

Carnival Corporation & plc is the largest cruise vacation group in the world, with a portfolio of cruise brands in North America, Europe and Australia, comprised of Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, The Yachts of Seabourn, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard Line, Ibero Cruises, Ocean Village, P&O Cruises and P&O Cruises Australia.

Together, these brands operate 95 ships totaling more than 186,000 lower berths with 12 new ships scheduled to be delivered between May 2010 and spring 2014. Carnival Corporation & plc also operates Holland America Princess Alaska Tours, the leading tour company in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon. Traded on both the New York and London Stock Exchanges, Carnival Corporation & plc is the only group in the world to be included in both the S&P 500 and the FTSE 100 indices.