NEWEST PRINCESS SHIP IS 'REGAL'

The keel-laying ceremony for
the Regal Princess (Credit: Princess)

Princess Cruises has started construction on what will be the sister ship to Royal Princess. The new ship, which will make its debut in the Spring of 2014, will be named Regal Princess. The official keel laying ceremony was at the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy.

For those not in the nautical know, the keel is the "bottom-most part of the ship." According to their press release: "Following a traditional blessing by a priest, the ship’s keel – which weighs approximately 500 tons – was moved into position by a huge crane onto the keel blocks. The computer-guided maneuver took only minutes, belying the more than 2 million man hours that will ultimately go into building the vessel. The 3,600-passenger, 141,000-ton ship will remain in the building dock until its float-out next summer."

Regal Princess will offer many of the same special features as Royal Princess, which debuts in June 2013. More information and video previews of Royal Princess are available at www.princess.com/royalprincess.