- Royal Princess
MS "Royal Princess" is an "R" class
cruise ship owned and operated byPrincess Cruises . She was built in 2001 byChantiers de l'Atlantique ,St. Nazaire ,France forRenaissance Cruises as MS "R Eight". Between 2003 and 2007 she sailed forSwan Hellenic as MS "Minerva II", before being transferred to Princess Cruises.She was built as R Eight as part of 8 identical cruise ships originally ordered by
Renaissance Cruises . As such, she is a sister ship to two of Princess's other vessels, "Tahitian Princess " and "Pacific Princess ", which were bought whenRenaissance Cruises collapsed in 2001.ervice history
The "R Eight" was constructed as the eighth and final vessel in
Renaissance Cruises 's "R" class. She began operation in 2001. After Renaissance ceased operations and filed for bankruptcy in late 2001, the vessel was seized by creditors and laid upMarseille ,France .In 2003, the vessel re-entered operation, this time as the sole cruise ship in
Swan Hellenic 's fleet. The vessel was named "Minerva II", after both the Roman goddess and the company's previous vessel, "Minerva".On 7 April 2007 the "Minerva II" completed her final voyage with Swan Hellenic and was transferred by the parent company,
Carnival Corporation & plc , toPrincess Cruises . She was renamed "Royal Princess" and entered into service for Princess in April 2007.Itinerary
Royal Princess began service in Europe, and continued with a series of 12 night
Mediterranean , Greek, andHoly Land cruises. The first voyage as a Princess Cruises liner was on April 19, 2007.References
External links
* [http://www.princess.com/learn/ships/rp/index.html Princess Cruises: Royal Princess]
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