MS Royal Princess is a cruise ship that is under construction and planned to enter service in 2013 for Princess Cruises

Princess Cruises

Princess Cruises is a British-American owned cruise line, based in Santa Clarita, California in the United States. Previously a subsidiary of P&O Princess Cruises PLC, the company is now one of ten cruise ship brands operated by Carnival Corporation & PLC and accounts for approximately 19% share...

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Princess Cruises ordered Royal Princess, as well as a sister ship, both at the time unnamed, on 17 February 2010. The final contract was signed on 4 May 2010.

Construction of Royal Princess began on 15 March 2011 at the Fincantieri

Fincantieri

Fincantieri - Cantieri Navali Italiani S.p.A. is a shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy. It was formed in 1959 and is the largest shipbuilder in the Mediterranean, and one of the largest in Europe...

 shipyard in Monfalcone

Monfalcone

Monfalcone is a town and comune of the province of Gorizia , located on the coast of the Gulf of Trieste. Monfalcone means "Mount of Falcon" in Italian....

, Italy when the first plate was cut. The next major milestone in construction occurred on 20 October 2011, when the ship's keel was laid. She is planned to be launched in 2013.

The ship will measure and will have a capacity of 3,600 passengers. Her amenities will include a pair of public areas cantilevered over the side of the ship on the top deck—a walkway on the starboard side and a bar on the port side. She will also have more pools than previous Princess Cruises ships and will feature expanded public areas, including the movie theater, the "Sanctuary" bar and the central Piazza atrium.