Princess Cruises’ mid-sized ship Ocean Princess has been acquired by Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings for its newly acquired Oceania Cruises brand.
The 684-passenger ship will be renamed Sirena and join the Oceania fleet of identical sister ships – Insignia, Regatta and Nautica – in April 2016.
Sirena will undergo a 35-day, $40 million refurbishment the previous month in Marseille.
Norwegian president and chief executive, Kevin Sheehan, said: “The acquisition of Sirena provides measured capacity growth based on the proven platform of Oceania Cruises’ highly regarded mid-size ships.
“Our belief in the Oceania Cruises brand and our commitment to its growing base of loyal guests were the rationale behind our decision to bring Sirena into the fleet.”
Oceania president and chief operating officer, Kunal Kamlani, said: “The addition of Sirena opens up an entire array of new itinerary options for Oceania Cruises as we think about our deployment strategy.”
The inaugural season for Sirena will be released in late February 2015 with reservations opening on March 4.