Princess Cruises

Princess Cruises is a cruise line owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. The company is incorporated in Bermuda with its headquarters located in Santa Clarita, California.

It was previously a subsidiary of P&O Princess Cruises plc, and is part of the Holland America Group, which controls the three Carnival brands based on the West Coast of the United States; these being Seabourn Cruises, Princess Cruises and Holland America Line and in Australia, P&O Cruises Australia.

Founded by Stanley McDonald, Princess Cruises commenced operations in 1965. The Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) acquired Princess Cruises in 1974. P&O Princess Cruises acquired Sitmar Line in 1988 and transferred all of its major tonnage to Princess, including three cruise ships then under construction.

On the 23rd October 2000, the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) demerged its passenger cruise division from the main P&O Group to form an independent company, P&O Princess Cruises plc.

The company subsequently merged with the  Carnival Corporation on the 17th April 2003, to form the world’s largest cruise operating company in a deal worth US$5.4 billion. As a result of the merger the Carnival Corporation and P&O Princess Cruises plc were integrated to form Carnival Corporation & plc, with a portfolio of eleven cruise ship brands. It is a dual-listed company, registered in both the United States and the United Kingdom, with the former P&O Princess Cruises plc being relisted as Carnival plc, more commonly known as Carnival UK.

As an American-based company, executive control of Princess Cruises was transferred to Carnival’s American operations, with Carnival UK taking control of Southampton-based Cunard Line and P&O Cruises.

Princess Cruises Archive

© Wolfgang Kramer

MV Regal Princess (1991) – Past and Present

Carnival Corporation & plc, Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV), Cruise Ships, P&O Cruises Australia, P&O Princess Cruises plc, Princess Cruises, Requests

MV Pacific Dawn, ex Regal Princess – Steel twin screw motor vessel built in 1991 by Fincantieri-Cant. Nav. Italiani, Monfalcone, Italy (Yard No 5840) as a Passenger (Cruise) Vessel for Sitmar Cruises

© Erwin Willemse

MV Oceana – Past and Present

Carnival Corporation & plc, Cruise Ships, P&O Cruises, P&O Princess Cruises plc, Past and Present, Princess Cruises

MV Oceana, ex Ocean Princess – Steel twin screw motor vessel built in 2000 by Fincantieri – Cantieri Navali Italiani SpA. Monfalcone (Yard No 6044) as a Passenger (Cruise) Ship for Princess Cruises, Monrovia, Liberia

© Dennis Mortimer

MV Azamara Pursuit – Past and Present

Azamara Club Cruises, Carnival Corporation & plc, Cruise Ships, P&O Cruises, P&O Princess Cruises plc, Past and Present, Princess Cruises, Swan Hellenic Cruises

MV Azamara Pursuit, ex Adonia, Royal Princess, Minerva II, R8 – Steel twin screw motor vessel built in 2001 by Chantiers de l’Atlantique, St. Nazaire, Frankrike (Yard No Z31) as a Passenger (Cruise) Ship

© Wil Weijsters

MV Crown Princess (1990) – Past and Present

AIDA Cruises, Carnival Corporation & plc, Cruise Ships, Ocean Village, P&O Cruises Australia, P&O Princess Cruises plc, Past and Present, Princess Cruises

MV Karnika, ex Pacific Jewel, Ocean Village Two, Aidablu, A’Rosa Blu, Crown Princess – Steel twin screw motor vessel built in 1990 by Fincantieri-Cant. Nav. Italiani, Monfalcone, Italy (Yard No 5839) as a Passenger (Cruise) Vessel

© Simonwp

MV Mona Lisa (ex Kungsholm) – Past and Present

Cruise Ships, P&O Cruises, Past and Present, Princess Cruises, Pullmantur Cruises

MV Veronica, ex Mona Lisa, Scholarship, Oceanic II, Mona Lisa, Victoria, Sea Princess, Kungsholm – Twin screw motor vessel built in 1966 by John Brown & Co Ltd, Clydebank (Yard No 728) for AB Swedish American Line, Gothenburg

© Willem Oldenburg

MV Columbus – Past and Present

Carnival Corporation & plc, Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV), Cruise Ships, Ocean Village, P&O Cruises, P&O Cruises Australia, P&O Princess Cruises plc, Past and Present, Princess Cruises

MV Columbus, ex Pacific Pearl, Ocean Village, Arcadia, Star Princess, Sitmar Fair Majesty – Steel twin screw motor vessel built in 1989 by Chantiers de l’Atlantique, St Nazaire, (Yard No B29) as Passenger (Cruise) Ship for Sitmar Cruises

© John Wilson

MV Sirena – Past and Present

Carnival Corporation & plc, Cruise Ships, Oceania Cruises, Past and Present, Princess Cruises

MV Ocean Princess, ex Tahitian Princess, R Four – Steel twin screw motor vessel built in 1999 by Chantiers de l’Atlantique, St. Nazaire, France (Yard No O31) as a Passenger (Cruise) Ship for Renaissance Cruises, Monrovia, Liberia

© Nigel Scutt

MV Artania – Past and Present

Carnival Corporation & plc, Cruise Ships, P&O Cruises, P&O Princess Cruises plc, Past and Present, Phoenix Reisen, Princess Cruises

MV Artania – ex Artemis, ex Royal Princess – Steel twin-screw motor vessel built in 1984 by Oy Wärtsilä Ab, Helsingfors, Finland (Yard No. 464) as a Passenger (Cruise) Ship for Princess Cruises, London, England.

MV Boudicca - Past and Present

MV Boudicca – Past and Present

Cruise Ships, Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, P&O Princess Cruises plc, Past and Present, Princess Cruises, Royal Viking Live, Star Cruises

MV Boudicca, ex Royal Viking Sky – Steel twin screw motor vessel built in 1973 by Oy Wartsila Ab, Helsingfors, Finland (Yard No 396) for Det Nordenfjeldske D/S, Trondheim under the banner of Royal Viking Line, Oslo, Norway.