Regal Princess Meets the Water

Tuesday (March 26, 2013) was a special day in the life of Regal Princess. It was the day Regal Princess truly became a ship, fulfilling its purpose for the first time and floating on water. After having been assembled in the drydock at Fincantieri's Monfalcone yard, the moment came when the valve was to be opened and water would flood into the drydock.

The ship was built resting on wooden blocks in the bottom of the dock. After about 48 hours of seawater flooding in, the ship will float up, and Friday (March 29) it will be towed out to a finishing dock where will work will continue over the next year as the interior is completed.

Regal Princess is shown here just before the float up begins. Note the level of completion of the superstructure.

Here you see the bow thrusters at the front of the ship. Note the supports on which the entire ship is resting.

Here the first water begins to flood the drydock. Filling the drydock takes approximately 48 hours.

MSC Preziosa Named in Genoa

MSC Cruises continues to grow. Perennial godmother Sophia Loren officially named MSC Preziosa in Genoa on Saturday night.

MSC Preziosa arrives Genoa for her christening

Sophia Loren cuts the cord which released the bottle of champagne against the side of the ship.

Photos copyright MSC Crociere and Cruise News Daily. May not be copied or reproduced without permission.

Royal Princess Is Beginning to Look a Lot More Like a Ship

Royal Princess is still under construction at the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone (Italy), but until now, when you were aboard, it just looked like a massive construction site. It was hard to recognize anything that really looked like anyplace you know on a cruise ship. This week, when these photos were taken (on Monday) it began to look like a Princess ship.

In a few short weeks, this will be the outdoor lounge, the Sanctuary.

Royal Princess will have a larger Piazza in the atrium. The two spiral staircases will be the focal point.

The Princess Theater just needs seats and it's almost ready to go.

Copyright Cruise News Daily and Princess Cruises. May not be copied or reproduced in any form.

Queen Elizabeth Meets Queen Mary

Tuesday (March 12, 2013) marked another Royal Rendezvous between Cunard Queens - one the youngest ship in the Cunard fleet, and the other a former queen.

Queen Elizabeth met the original Queen Mary in Long Beach harbor where Queen Mary is permanently moored.

   

Photos courtesy of Cunard Line

Norwegian Getaway to Have "Magical" Dinner Theater

When Norwegian Getaway enters service, it will have a new feature its sister doesn't have. A magic-themed dinner theater will replace the circus-themed one on the older sister. It will be called the Illusionarium and decorated quite elaborately to put patrons into the experience.

 

Renderings courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Line