Crown Princess

Crown Princess, which entered service in 2006, is a Grand-class ship and should not be confused with the earlier Crown Princess of 1990, an entirely different and smaller vessel that carried the same name. Built by Fincantieri, with her keel laid in May 2004, launched on 9 September 2005 and completed on 26 May 2006, she measured 113,561 gross tons - the largest of the enlarged Grand-class ships to that point - with capacity for around 3,090 guests at double occupancy and up to about 3,660 at maximum, a crew of roughly 1,200, and some 1,557 staterooms across seventeen decks, fifteen of them for guests. Her principal dimensions followed the class pattern at roughly 290 metres long, 36 metres in beam and an 8.5-metre draught. She was the first of a trio of near-identical sisters, followed by Emerald Princess and Ruby Princess, and is registered in Hamilton, Bermuda.

Crown Princess holds particular significance as the ship that introduced The Sanctuary, the adults-only sundeck retreat offering shaded loungers, dedicated attendants and open-air massage cabanas that Princess debuted aboard her in 2006 and subsequently extended across much of the fleet. Alongside this innovation she carried the full Grand-class repertoire: a multi-deck Piazza atrium with live entertainment and casual bars, the Movies Under the Stars poolside screen, the aft Skywalkers-style nightclub perched above the stern, and specialty dining including the Crown Grill steakhouse.

The ship was christened in New York in June 2006, with lifestyle entrepreneur Martha Stewart serving as godmother, and she began her maiden voyage on 14 June 2006, departing the Red Hook cruise terminal in Brooklyn for the Caribbean. Her deployment pattern settled into Caribbean cruising in the winter months, frequently from Port Everglades in Florida, and European itineraries in summer, with additional seasons in Alaska, South America and, more recently, Australia.

On 18 July 2006, only weeks into service, Crown Princess suffered a serious heeling accident off the U.S. East Coast. After the officer on watch disengaged the automatic steering and made a manual rudder input, the ship rolled sharply, listing to a maximum of roughly 24 degrees to starboard. The abrupt motion injured hundreds of people aboard, with fourteen suffering serious injuries and several hundred more sustaining minor ones. The National Transportation Safety Board investigated and attributed the event to the improper steering command, and the incident prompted renewed scrutiny of bridge procedures aboard large cruise ships.

Crown Princess remains in active service with Princess Cruises. Following a late-2025 dry-docking in Singapore that refreshed public spaces and added new venues, she has continued her seasonal rotation between Caribbean, European and long-haul deployments, including Australian sailings, keeping the ship in front-line service as one of the more heavily travelled members of the Grand class.