New ship Enchanted Princess has arrived in Southampton for the first time ahead of its summer season from the UK.
The maiden call for the 3,660-passenger vessel on Wednesday came as Princess Cruises said 12 ships, or 80% of its fleet, will have resumed sailing since July 2021 following the Covid pause in operations.
All 15 ships are due to return to service by September, including Coral Princess in Australia from June 16, Diamond Princess on the California coast and Mexico from September 1 and Sapphire Princess on the US worst coast and Hawaii from September 24.
The arrival of Enchanted Princess was marked with a traditional plaque and key ceremony and came just days after the naming of new sister ship Discovery Princess in Los Angeles.
Enchanted Princess joined fleet in November, 2021 and will join sister ship Sky Princess and two others – Emerald Princess and Island Princess – sailing from Southampton this year.
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Enchanted Princess will offer 13 voyages from Southampton ranging from four to 14 nights. Itineraries include cruises to the Canary Islands, Mediterranean, Scandinavia, Norway and Iceland.
Speaking at the ceremony, staff captain Raffaele Di Martino said: “Thank you to Association of British Ports (ABP) for welcoming Enchanted Princess to Southampton today. It is an honour for us to call for the first time at this special port.
“We were impressed by the welcome we had from the crew port side and we look forward to sailing from Southampton this summer for a season of Europe cruises on Enchanted Princess.”
Director of ABP Southampton Alistair Welch said: “It is a great pleasure to welcome Enchanted Princess to the port of Southampton and meet the staff captain Di Martino and his team. It’s clear from taking a look around the ship today that a fantastic experience awaits passengers.
“We’re looking forward to welcoming Enchanted Princess throughout the summer and we are really pleased to welcome four ships from the Princess fleet to Southampton this year.”