- Sea Princess
The Sea Princess (formerly "Adonia") is a "Sun" class
cruise ship operated by thePrincess Cruises line. She has three sister ships: "Sun Princess" and "Dawn Princess " in thePrincess Cruises fleet and "Oceana" in theP&O Cruises fleet.History
The vessel was delivered to Princess Cruises from the shipbuilders of
Fincantieri , Italy and began operation in 1998, under the name "Sea Princess"."Sea Princess" was transferred to
P&O Cruises in late 2002/early 2003. The vessel was renamed "Adonia" on May 21st, 2003, at a launching ceremony with sister ship "Oceana". The Princess Royal and her daughter Zara Phillips named the sister ships in the first double ship naming ceremony ever."Adonia" filled the gap left in the P&O Cruises fleet in the period between "Arcadia(3)" leaving the fleet to become "Ocean Village" and the launch of the new "Arcadia" in 2005, when the vessel was transferred back to Princess Cruises; reassuming her old name. The ship also received the "Movies Under The Stars" feature.
Whilst sailing as "Adonia" the vessel was dedicated as an Adults Only ship - which may have influenced the choice of name - Ad On ia - and for this period the children's playroom was refitted as a quiet lounge which featured massage chairs facing the panoramic windows. The children's play pool was converted into a "Feng Shui" relaxation area.
At the end of May 2006, 250 people, including 18 crew, were affected by a
norovirus . Evidence of a gastrointestinal virus had been found during the last two days of the previous cruise, but the company stated that it did not believe the two outbreaks to be linked. The passengers were only notified of this occurrence by a letter found in their cabins after boarding. Although the ship's itinerary had been altered, and the vessel itself ordered to dock away from other vessels, no other countermeasures were effected. "Sea Princess" returned to port inSouthampton a day early, and the vessel underwent a complete sanitisation and decontamination before resuming cruising. Passengers were offered a 30% refund and a £150 voucher for use on a later Princess cruise, although some have demanded a full refund. [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2208509,00.html] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/hampshire/5043864.stm]References
* [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2208509,00.html In sickness and in health . . . but mainly sickness] by Will Pavia and Steve Bird, "The Times", June 3rd 2006 (retrieved June 4th 2006)
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/hampshire/5043864.stm Disinfected virus ship sets sail] , "BBC News Online", June 3rd 2006 (retrieved June 4th 2006)External links
* [http://www.princess.com/ships/cp/index.html Princess Cruises site]
* [http://ships.galutschek.at/sea_princess/ Video Clip of Sea Princess]
* [http://www.fincantieri.com]
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