A cruise ship associated with one of the first international mass outbreaks of Covid-19 is returning to service after almost three years.
Diamond Princess has been refurbished and welcomed passengers on board for an inaugural sailing from its new homeport of San Diego in California.
The ship was originally planned to resume sailings in the spring but was subject to a number of delays. Departures from San Diego were put back from September.
Diamond Princess will now operate from the US west coast port until February 2023.
All the line’s 15 ships are now operational again with the vessel’s return to service.
The 18-year-old vessel is being deployed on a series of US west coast, Mexico and Hawaii itineraries plus a 20-day cruise to central America on November 27.
Diamond Princess became the centre of global attention after being quarantined in Yokohama by Japanese authorities with 3,700 passengers on board, including 78 from the UK, in February 2020.
More than 700 cases of Covid-19 were confirmed among passengers and crew.
The government organised an evacuation flight from Tokyo back to the UK for British passengers on the ship following the outbreak.