Regal Princess

The 2014-built Regal Princess cruise ship is the second Royal-class vessel in the Princess Cruises fleet. Her fleetmates include Royal Princess (2013), Majestic Princess (2017), Sky Princess (2019), Enchanted Princess (2021), and Discovery Princess (2022). Also built to the same design is P&O UK’s liner Britannia (2015).

The vessel (IMO number 9584724) is currently Bermuda-flagged (MMSI 310674000) and registered in Hamilton.

History - construction and ownership

Princess Cruises is a USA-based passenger shipping company headquartered in Beverly Hills, CA. Formerly a subsidiary of P&O Princess Cruises (founded in 1977), the company merged in 2003 with Carnival Corporation, the world’s largest cruise shipowner. Among Princess Cruise Lines Ltd’s assets is the Caribbean private island resort Princess Cays (located at the southern tip of Eleuthera Island, Bahamas), approximately 80 km (50 mi) from Nassau.

The 3,600-passenger Regal Princess is among the largest cruise ships currently in service. She was built at the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy and has 19 decks. Regal Princess features 16 bars and restaurants, a luxury spa, and signature attractions such as the SeaWalk—a glass-enclosed walkway extending over the ocean.

Regal Princess began her inaugural Mediterranean season on May 20, 2014, before repositioning to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on October 17, 2014. In 2016, Princess Cruises was featured in the 6-part ITV documentary series “The Cruise,” which premiered in the United Kingdom on March 3. The series followed passengers and crew sailing through Northern Europe and Russia aboard Regal Princess. Previously, in 2014, sistership Royal Princess was featured in the reality show “The Cruise Ship.”

Decks and Cabins

Regal Princess staterooms (1,780 total across 38 categories) include 350 Suites, 1,088 Balcony cabins, and 342 Inside cabins. The ship has no Oceanview cabins. Most outside accommodations (1,438) feature private step-out balconies. There are also 36 wheelchair-accessible cabins. The largest accommodations are the Balcony Suites (470 ft² / 44 m² plus a 210 ft² / 20 m² terrace).

The ship has 18 decks, 15 of which are passenger-accessible and 8 with cabins.

Shipboard dining options - Food and Drinks

Regal Princess offers numerous specialty (for-fee) dining venues, while complimentary options provide ample quality and variety. Guests preferring traditional dining can choose among the three main dining rooms: Allegro, Concerto, and Symphony.

Horizon Court and Horizon Bistro serve as the ship’s buffet venues, offering a casual atmosphere. For poolside fare, guests can enjoy burgers at Trident Grill or pizza at Prego Pizzeria. Indoors, Alfredo’s Pizzeria serves calzones, salads, and thin-crust pizza. Allegro Dining Room is the only complimentary venue offering traditional set dining, with fixed seatings at 5:45 p.m. or 8:15 p.m. Menus typically include soup or salad, appetizers, pasta, an entrée, and a dedicated dessert selection.

Below is the complete list of Regal Princess restaurants and food bars.

• Sabatini’s Restaurant (Italian specialty restaurant; à la carte 3-course Italian/seafood menu; open 6 p.m.–11 p.m.; reservations recommended)
• Symphony Restaurant (midship dining room; offers “Anytime Dining” for dinner; includes “Wine Maker’s Dinner” in the Wine Cellar area for $40; capacity 12 guests)
• Alfredo’s Pizzeria (121 seats; the largest complimentary pizzeria at sea)
• Concerto Restaurant (forward dining room; offers “Anytime Dining” 5:30 p.m.–10 p.m.; serves “Wine Maker’s Dinner” package for $40)
• Allegro Restaurant (aft dining room; offers formal dining with two fixed seatings at 6 p.m. or 8:15 p.m.; “Chef’s Table” private dining for $115; capacity 12 guests)
• Ocean Terrace (specialty seafood bar)
• Crown Grill (160-seat steakhouse/seafood restaurant; reservations recommended; on select days offers complimentary British Pub Lunch)
• Trident Grill & Prego Pizzeria (complimentary self-service fast food)
• Calypso Cabana (food bar offering picnic baskets, desserts, champagne, and wine packages)
• Horizon Court (complimentary self-service buffet); Horizon Buffet and Horizon Terrace
• Swirls Bar (ice cream)

In 2024, three distinct dining styles were introduced fleetwide: Traditional (early/late seating), Reservable, and Walk-in Anytime (open seating). Each ship designates three dining rooms to accommodate these options, integrated with the OceanNow service, allowing guests to order food and beverages anytime and delivered anywhere on board.

Shipboard entertainment options - Fun and Sport

Most performances take place in the Princess Theater, located on decks 6 and 7. The theater features palladium-style seating. While the venue is deep, sightlines are unobstructed throughout.

The theater does not provide tables or drink holders, so guests must hold beverages during performances. Entertainment is varied and high-quality, including large-scale production shows as well as performances by vocalists and instrumentalists.

Below is the complete list of Regal Princess lounges, clubs, and entertainment venues for children, teens, and adults.

• The Piazza Atrium (three-deck open-floor area featuring live entertainment and the Piazza Bar)
• Princess Fine Arts Gallery; Photo Gallery & Shop; Limelight Photo Studio; Platinum Studio
• International Cafe (24-hour specialty coffee bar and patisserie)
• Vines Bar (wine, seafood, and sushi bar)
• Gelato (the largest ice cream bar at sea)
• Library (with Internet stations); 24-hour Internet Cafe
• Princess Theater (two-level venue for musical productions, workshops, seminars, and game shows)
• Celebrations Shop; Calypso Cove Shop; Essence Shop; Meridian Bay Shop; Facets Shop
• Club 6 Disco & Bar; Churchill’s Lounge & Bar (cigar bar); Bellini’s Bar; Crooners Lounge & Bar; Princess Live Lounge; Vista Lounge; Concierge Lounge (Suite guests only); SkyLight Bar; Seaview Bar
• Princess Casino
• Wheelhouse Bar (piano bar by day, English pub by night)
• Lotus Spa; Beauty Salon; Fitness Center (with Aerobics Studio)
• Wedding Chapel
• Movies Under the Stars (LED screen outdoor cinema)
• The Game Lounge (video arcade); Teen Center; Youth Center; Remix Disco & Lounge (teen club)
• The Sanctuary (adults-only open-air retreat)
• SeaWalk (glass-bottomed cantilevered walkway, 18 m / 60 ft long)
• Fountain Pool area; Retreat Pool area
• Sports Central – Center Court (volleyball, basketball, soccer); table tennis; virtual gaming; The Greens golf nets; Golfing Cage; laser shooting; jogging track

Itineraries

Regal Princess’ itinerary program is primarily based on Caribbean cruises from Port Everglades/Fort Lauderdale (Florida USA). During the summer season, she operates European itineraries (Mediterranean or Baltic), including seasonal Transatlantic repositioning cruises.

An inaugural Australian season (December 2020–April 2021) was planned with homeporting in Sydney NSW, but the deployment was canceled due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

A Baltic season (April 9–September 3, 2023) was also planned but was canceled in June 2022 due to the Russia-Ukraine war.

In 2024-2025, Regal Princess was deployed in Europe (homeporting in Southampton England UK) and the Caribbean (homeporting in Galveston Texas USA).

The shipbuilding order was placed on February 17, 2010, and the contract with Fincantieri was signed on May 4, 2010. The vessel’s keel was laid in August 2012. She was launched (floated out from drydock at Monfalcone) on March 26, 2013. Sea trials were conducted in the Adriatic Sea from April 16 to 21, 2014. The ship was officially delivered on May 11, 2014.

The 4-day pre-inaugural cruise (May 16-20, 2014) sailed to Kotor Montenegro from Trieste Italy. This voyage preceded the maiden voyage, which departed from Venice on May 20.

Fun facts: Building a Royal-class cruise ship requires approximately 3 million man-hours and 37,000 tons of steel. For comparison, about 12,000 tons of steel were used to construct the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. The vessel required 95,000 gallons (360,000 L) of paint—roughly twice the amount used to repaint the Golden Gate Bridge annually. The electrical cabling throughout the ship totals 2,484 miles (4,000 km), enough to connect NYC and LA.

Regal Princess was Carnival Corporation’s first liner equipped with Ocean Medallion technology. She also hosted the company’s largest slot tournament (USD 200,000 prize pool) in partnership with Scientific Games Corporation. The themed “Monopoly Cruise for Cash” casino campaign was offered fleetwide throughout 2018 and culminated aboard Regal Princess in December during a 7-day Eastern Caribbean cruise (December 9-16) roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale to St Maarten, Princess Cays, and St Thomas.

In July 2019, Carnival Corporation placed an order with the Finnish marine engine manufacturer Wartsila for the delivery and installation of a waste gasification system on Regal Princess. The technology is based on a self-fueling thermal decomposition unit that provides safe and sustainable disposal of the ship’s waste (including contaminated, dry-burnable, and hazardous materials), which is typically offloaded at port facilities. The gasification system recovers energy from the ship’s waste heat generated during thermal processing, resulting in reduced greenhouse gas emissions and energy savings. The system reduces waste volume to approximately 5% of its original amount and produces a sterilized byproduct (BioChar), which is recycled within the unit as fuel.

The vessel’s powerplant comprises four Wartsila marine diesel engines (model 46F—2x 12V and 2x 14V) with a combined output of 62.4 MW (83,700 hp). Propulsion is provided by two azipods with a combined output of 18 MW (24,000 hp).

The ship has Fincantieri Monfalcone yard/hull number 6224, a gross tonnage of 142,714 GT, deadweight tonnage of 12,193 tons, overall length (LOA) of 330 m, beam of 38 m (maximum width 47 m including the navigation bridge wings), and a maximum draught of 8.6 m.

Regal Princess refurbishments review

Drydock 2025

The ship’s drydock refurbishment in April 2025 was carried out in Holland at Damen Shiprepair Rotterdam.

The project included routine maintenance, classification and safety inspections, technical works, hull cleaning and repainting, as well as minor upgrades to passenger staterooms and public areas.