Princess Cruises to Sell Two Ships

Princess Cruises in Santa Clarita has announced the sale of two of its ships, the Sun Princess and Sea Princess, to undisclosed buyers.

The sales follow last week’s announcement from parent company Carnival Corp. that it would offload 18 older, less efficient ships from its fleet to cut costs as cruise activity remains on hold in most of the world.The Sun Princess debuted in 1995, and sailed in the Caribbean, Alaska, the Panama Canal and Japan before being homeported in Australia in 2007. The Sea Princess has been sailing since 1998, and has done stints in Barbados, Europe, Alaska, Australia and as a world cruise vessel.

As a result of the sales, all future cruises on the ships have been cancelled. Guests on those sailings can either put their credit towards another cruise or receive a refund.Princess Cruises President Jan Swartz said in a statement the Sun Princess and Sea Princess “contributed to significant growth in Australian cruising,” having sailed a combined 14 million guest nights around Australia and New Zealand.“While it is never easy to say goodbye to any ship in our fleet, this will allow us to deploy newer ships enhancing our offerings for Australia cruisers and focus on bringing into service exciting newbuilds like the upcoming delivery of Enchanted Princess,” she added.