Princess Cruises name their new ship “Regal Princess”.

At a keel laying ceremony in Italy last month, Princess Cruises revealed the name of their new second generation ship…. *drum roll please* ….

Regal Princess

Princess Cruises’ keel laying ceremony marks beginning of the ship’s construction for the regal princess, which will be the sister ship to the new Royal Princess ship, planned to launch during June 2013 (while Regal Princess is slated for launch in the northern spring of 2014, if the build all goes according to plan.)

Facts about Regal Princess:

• The ship will be able to hold 3,600 passengers.
• The Regal Princess will weigh a whopping 141,000 tonnes.
• The ship’s keel on its own weighs approximately 500 tonnes!
• 2 million man hours will eventually go into building the vessel.

So, what will be onboard?

Regal Princess will share many of the same facilities that will be available onoard Royal Princess:

• Guests will be able to tour the expanded atrium
• You can walk around the thrilling over-water SeaWalk walkway
• Dine out at The Chef’s Table Lumiere – an exciting new private dining option (see below)
• Enjoy a private “floating” poolside cabana
• Grab a quiet minute’s relaxation in the adults-only pool
• Sample scrumptious pies and patries in the new onboard shop
• Go al fresco on one of the outside balconies
• And much more…

We’re excited about…

The Chef’s Table Lumiere private dining experience looks particularly exciting, and these preview images from Princess Cruises look amazing:

This all new and exclusive dining experience offers a magical curtain of light to diners, who will be surrounded by a soft wall of privacy.  Guests will eat at a custom-made glass table located in the Concerto dining room.

“Just as ROYAL PRINCESS was named after one of our iconic early vessels, REGAL PRINCESS also takes a name from our past that we think is well suited for this spectacular ship, today’s keel laying is an exciting event as it marks a key milestone in our newbuilding program.”

– Alan Buckelew, president and CEO of Princess Cruises

Does the name “Regal Princess” sound familiar?

So it should! Many cruise lines dig into their history to name ships after former ships in their fleets. Princess acquired ships during their takeover of Sitmar Line back in the late 1980s.  One ship named “Regal” was transferred over to P&O’s Australian division.  Fun fact:  The same ship now sails year-round as Pacific Dawn.