The floating out of the Sun Princess, the first of two LNG cruise ships for Princess Cruises, has taken place at Fincantieri’s yard in Monfalcone.
At 175,500 gross tons, the Sun Princess is the largest ship built so far in Italy, as well as the first LNG cruise ship ever built by Fincantieri, and the first dual-fuel vessel powered primarily by LNG to enter Princess’ fleet. LNG is the marine industry’s most environmentally friendly advanced fuel technology and the world’s cleanest fossil fuel, which will significantly reduce air emissions and marine gas oil usage, Fincantieri said.
The Sun Princess will be delivered in Q1 2024 and starts the Sphere class, which includes a sister-ship to be delivered in 2025. They will each accommodate approximately 4,300 guests and are based on a next-generation platform design.
Norwegian Cruise Line is optimizing Apr. 17, 2023, sailing onboard the Norwegian Sky.
According to a statement sent to booked guests, the itinerary of the cruise was adjusted as part of the company’s commitment to driving a positive impact on society and the environment.
“We are continually seeking opportunities to reduce our overall carbon footprint, and recently committed to pursuing net zero greenhouse gas emissions across our operations and value chain by 2050,” Norwegian Cruise Line said.
“To support this mission, we have optimized our arrival and departure times for Norwegian Sky’s sailing on April 17, 2023,” the company added.
As part of the changes, the cruise saw part of its itinerary reversed and a reduction of the time docked in most of the ports of call.
Sailing to the Eastern Caribbean, the nine-night cruise includes visits to the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, St. Maarten, the U. S. Virgin Islands, Antigua, and the Dominican Republic.
Instead of visiting Great Stirrup Cay on Apr. 18, the Norwegian Sky is now spending the first day of the cruise sailing in the Caribbean.
On Apr. 19, the vessel replaces a sea day with an eight-hour visit to Puerto Plata. The length of stay at the Dominican port was increased by one hour.
The three subsequent ports of call – San Juan on Apr. 20, Philipsburg on Apr. 21 and St. John’s on Apr. 22 – remained unchanged but had their arrival and departure times adjusted, resulting in a total reduction of eight and a half hours in port.
On Apr. 23, instead of visiting Puerto Plata as originally planned, the Norwegian Sky is spending the day at sea to anchor at Great Stirrup Cay on Apr. 24.
The visit to Norwegian’s private island in the Bahamas replaces a sea day on the original cruise schedule.
“We appreciate your understanding and support on this important sustainability initiative,” Norwegian Cruise Line added.
Royal Caribbean International is adjusting the housekeeping services onboard its fleet. According to different passenger forums on the internet, several ships have seen a reduction in how many times a cabin is serviced per day.
“In an effort to be more sustainable and to align with global hospitality trends, we will be adjusting our stateroom services to one per day,” the company said in a daily cruise program onboard one of the ships that saw the change.
According to the document, passengers are welcome to work with their housekeeping staff to ensure their needs are met. It’s understood that guests are able to select whether they prefer morning or evening service in their staterooms.
While most cabin categories are set to move to the new service schedule, Junior Suites and above will maintain two services per day, the message added.
The change has been spotted in different ships, including the Quantum of the Seas, the Spectrum of the Seas, the Independence of the Seas, the Ovation of the Seas and the Harmony of the Seas.
It’s unknown whether the service reduction will be applied to Royal Caribbean’s 26-ship fleet.
In 2022, Norwegian Cruise Line also moved its stateroom cleaning services to a once-a-day basis for select cabin categories. According to a letter sent to the crew at the time, the change aimed at consolidating crew roles while saving energy and water.
Other cruise lines that have moved to a once-a-day cabin service include Carnival Cruise Line, Costa Cruises and more.
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