Royal Princess

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

The vessel (IMO number 9584712) is currently Bermuda-flagged (MMSI 310661000) and registered in Hamilton.

History - construction and ownership

Princess Cruises is a US-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 Cruises’ assets is the private island resort Princess Cays (located at the southern end of Eleuthera Island, Bahamas), approximately 80 km (50 mi) from Nassau.

The 3,600-passenger Royal Princess debuted in June 2013 with a series of 12-day Mediterranean voyages from homeports Barcelona (Spain) and Venice (Italy). Her sistership Regal Princess entered service in May 2014. Built by Fincantieri Italy, these ships rank among the world's largest passenger ships. Royal Princess features 17 decks, 14 bars, a large premium spa, and the SeaWalk (a glass-enclosed walkway). The glass-bottomed SeaWalk extends 128 ft (39 m) above the waterline, offering panoramic sea and port views.

An interesting note is that Royal Princess was featured in the BBC documentary series “Sea Cities.” The three-part program, based in Southampton UK, explores major UK ports, their activities, and the people who work there. Royal Princess appears in the episode “Sea Cities: Maritime Liverpool,” highlighting behind-the-scenes operations during her visit to the city. The 60-minute episode aired on BBC2 on February 18, 2016.

Royal Princess was christened in 2013 by HRH The Duchess of Cambridge. The ship called at Liverpool seven times in 2015 during round-Britain cruises.

Decks and Cabins

Royal Princess staterooms (1,780 total in 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 vessel has 18 decks, of which 15 are passenger-accessible and 8 include cabins.

Shipboard dining options - Food and Drinks

Royal Princess places strong emphasis on dining, offering 16 venues. For the MDR (Main Dining Room) experience, guests can choose between “Anytime” and “Traditional” evening dining across three separate restaurants. Allegro offers fixed seating with assigned tablemates, while Concerto and Symphony provide open seating between 5:30 pm and 10:00 pm. All three MDRs serve the same menu, with special dishes featured on formal nights. Each dining room also offers heart-healthy and vegetarian options for guests with dietary requirements.

Food and service are consistently rated highly across all venues. One of the major enhancements on Royal Princess is Horizon Court. The buffet area offers approximately twice the seating capacity found on Emerald Princess, Ruby Princess, and Crown Princess, with space for 900 guests indoors and 350 outdoors. The layout includes a wider variety of table configurations, including two-top tables and counter-height bistro-style seating.

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

• Sabatini’s Restaurant (Italian specialty venue; à la carte 3-course Italian/seafood menu; open 6:00 pm–11:00 pm; reservations recommended)
• Symphony Restaurant (midship; “Anytime Dining” for dinner; includes “Wine Cellar” area hosting the $40 Wine Maker’s Dinner for up to 12 guests)
• Alfredo’s Pizzeria (121 seats; one of the largest complimentary pizzerias at sea)
• Concerto Restaurant (forward dining room; “Anytime Dining” 5:30 pm–10:00 pm; offers $40 Wine Maker’s Dinner package)
• Allegro Restaurant (aft dining room; traditional fixed seating at 6:00 pm or 8:15 pm; “Chef’s Table” private dining experience for $115, limited to 12 guests)
• Ocean Terrace (specialty seafood bar)
• Crown Grill (160-seat steakhouse and seafood restaurant; reservations recommended; complimentary British Pub Lunch offered on select days)
• Trident Grill & Prego Pizzeria (complimentary self-service fast-food venue)
• Calypso Cabana (light fare, picnic baskets, desserts, champagne and wine packages)
• Horizon Court (complimentary self-service buffet); Horizon Buffet and Horizon Terrace
• Swirls Bar (ice cream venue)

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

Shipboard entertainment options - Fun and Sport

Royal Princess represents an evolutionary step in ship design for the brand. One of her most innovative features is the SeaWalk—a cantilevered, glass-bottomed walkway extending 28 ft (8.5 m) beyond the ship’s edge and positioned 128 ft (39 m) above the water. On the opposite side of the deck, the 20-seat Seaview Bar offers panoramic ocean views.

The majority of performances take place in the Princess Theater (Decks 6 and 7), which features stadium-style seating. While the lounge is deep and late arrivals may find seats farther from the stage, sightlines are generally unobstructed. Entertainment includes high-quality production shows such as “The Secret Silk” (created in partnership with award-winning composer Stephen Schwartz) and “Encore” (inspired by the line’s “Bravo!” and accompanied by a live orchestra). The theater also hosts guest vocalists and instrumentalists.

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

• The Piazza Atrium (three-deck open space featuring live entertainment and 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 (ice cream venue)
• Library (with Internet stations); 24-hour Internet Cafe
• Princess Theater (two-level main show lounge; also hosts 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 lounge); 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-style pub at night)
• Lotus Spa complex; Beauty Salon; Fitness Center (with aerobics studio)
• Wedding Chapel
• Movies Under the Stars (outdoor LED screen 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, 60 ft / 18 m long)
• Fountain Pool area; Retreat Pool area
• Watercolor Fantasy (top-deck fountain show with choreographed water jets up to 33 ft high, illuminated and synchronized to music)
• Sports Central – Center Court (volleyball, basketball, soccer); table tennis; golf nets and cage; laser shooting; jogging track

Itineraries

Royal Princess’ initial itinerary program alternated seasonally between Mediterranean and Caribbean cruises, departing from homeports including Fort Lauderdale FL USA, Civitavecchia-Rome, Venice, and Barcelona.

During the 2019–2020 season, the ship operated Mexican Riviera roundtrips from Long Beach-Los Angeles CA USA. The program included 27 voyages (5- and 7-day itineraries) visiting Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta. All 5-day “Cabo San Lucas Getaway” cruises included an overnight stay in Cabo.

Due to the Coronavirus crisis, Royal Princess was paused for over two years (March 2020 through April 2022). Operations resumed on April 8, 2022, with homeporting in Vancouver BC Canada and cruises to Alaska and California. The Alaskan deployment replaced the previously scheduled Australia–New Zealand winter 2021–2022 program (based in Sydney NSW), which was postponed to winter 2022–2023.

The Fincantieri Monfalcone-built liner debuted in June 2013 with a 2-day maiden voyage from Southampton to the Channel Islands (Guernsey). This “preview cruise” (June 9–11, 2013) was a roundtrip sailing from Southampton to St Peter Port (Guernsey Island). The official “Inaugural Cruise” departed on June 16—a Mediterranean roundtrip from Southampton—visiting ports in Portugal and Spain, including Vigo, Lisbon, Gibraltar, Malaga, and Barcelona.

The liner was christened by her godmother, Kate Middleton (Duchess of Cambridge). The naming ceremony took place in Port Southampton England on June 16, 2013, followed by the maiden voyage to Iberia.

The vessel’s powerplant consists of four Wartsila marine diesel engines (model 46F, 2x12V and 2x14V) with a combined output of 62.4 MW (83,700 hp). Her propulsion system is based on two azipods with a combined power output of 18 MW (24,000 hp).

The ship’s Fincantieri Monfalcone yard (hull number 6223) measures 142,714 GT (gross tonnage) and 12,512 DWT (deadweight tonnage). She has an LOA length of 330 m, a beam of 38 m (maximum width 47 m, including the navigation bridge wings), and a maximum draught of 8.6 m.

Fun facts: It takes approximately 3 million man-hours to build a Royal-class liner. Around 37,000 tons of steel are used in her construction. For comparison, about 12,000 tons of steel were used for the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. The vessel requires approximately 95,000 gallons (360,000 L) of paint—about twice the amount used annually for repainting the Golden Gate Bridge. The total length of electrical cabling on board is 2,484 miles (4,000 km), enough to connect NYC with LA.

Royal Princess deck plan changes 2018 refurbishment review

Drydock 2026

In 2026 (October 16–November 1), the ship is scheduled for routine drydocking in Singapore.

This two-week project includes general maintenance, safety inspections, machinery overhauls, hull cleaning and repainting, and hotel maintenance works.

Drydock 2018

The 2018 drydock refurbishment (December 1–8, in Freeport Bahamas) resulted in the following upgrades:

All passenger cabins received new bedding, and all beds were replaced with the custom-made Princess Luxury Bed. The new “Princess cruise bed” was developed in collaboration with Dr. Michael Breus (known as “The Sleep Doctor”) and designer Candice Olson. The beds feature a luxury pillow-top mattress, individually wrapped coils (to reduce motion transfer), and hypoallergenic duvets.

The Lotus Spa and Fitness (wellness complex) was fully refurbished.

Two new production shows were introduced at the Princess Theater: “The Secret Silk” (created in partnership with Stephen Schwartz) and “Encore” (the company’s top-rated show, accompanied by a live orchestra).