New Ships Make A Splash

Princess Cruises welcomed Royal Princess to their fleet on May 30, 2013, when shipbuilder Fincantieri delivered the ship to them with the traditional Changing of the Flag ceremony. The Fincantieri and Italian flags were lowered, and the flags for Princess Cruises and Bermuda were raised to signify the official transfer of the ship to Princess. We Americans will recognize the music, but it isn't My Country 'Tis of Thee... it's Hail to the Queen, the national anthem of Bermuda where Royal Princess is flagged. The ship is now on her way to Southampton, where she will be christened on June 13th.

Closer to home, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has announced that Royal Caribbean International will be having triplets instead of twins as the company has signed a contract with the Meyer Werft shipyard to construct a third Quantum-class cruise ship for delivery in mid-2016.

Royal Caribbean recently unveiled details of this new class of ship and was gratified by the public response to the design innovations. It also said that the new design included an advantageous configuration which includes a greater proportion of higher priced staterooms and that it achieves some of the greatest energy efficiencies at sea.

"We are encouraged by the very positive response we received from travel agents and consumers when we first announced some of the unprecedented offerings on Quantum Class last month," said Adam Goldstein, president and chief executive officer of Royal Caribbean International. "The Quantum class will offer vacationers more unexpected activities in the most extraordinary spaces, and a third ship will offer even more opportunities for vacationers to experience Quantum cruising."

The yet-unnamed Quantum-class vessel will join the Royal Caribbean International fleet, alongside Quantum of the Seas, which will make its maiden voyage in 2014, and Anthem of the Seas, scheduled to debut in 2015.

Quantum ships will span 16 decks, encompass 167,800 gross registered tons, carry 4,180 guests at double occupancy and feature 2,090 staterooms. Quantum cruising will introduce never-seen-before-at-sea features, such as a skydiving experience, an adventure that transports guests more than 300 feet in the air on a breathtaking journey; cutting-edge transformative venues including the largest indoor sports and entertainment complex at sea with bumper cars, roller skating, and more; and the cruise line's largest and most advanced staterooms. These new, larger staterooms incorporate innovation in design, storage, and comfort, including the industry's first interior staterooms with Virtual Balconies, ensuring that every stateroom on Quantum of the Seas will have a view.