Caribbean Princess
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{short description|Cruise ship owned and operated by Princess Cruises}}
MS Caribbean Princess is a modified {{sclass|Grand|cruise ship}} owned and operated by Princess Cruises, with a capacity of over 3,600 passengers, the largest carrying capacity in the Princess fleet until June 2013 when the new {{ship||Royal Princess|2013|2}}, another Princess ship superseded its record. She has 900 balcony staterooms and a deck of mini-suites.
Caribbean Princess is slightly larger than the other ships in her class ({{ship||Star Princess|2001|2}}, {{ship||Golden Princess|2000|2}}, and {{ship||Grand Princess}}), due to an additional deck of cabins called the "Riviera" deck. Another difference is that, being initially designed to cruise the Caribbean year-round, there is no sliding roof over the pool area for shelter in poor weather.
Incidents
On 12 March 2012, Caribbean Princess suffered a problem with her port side propulsion engine that required her to return to her home port of San Juan, Puerto Rico after a stopover in St. Maarten. The problem caused Princess Cruises to cancel the next two trips (scheduled for 18 and 25 March).{{cite news| url=http://travel.usatoday.com/cruises/post/2012/03/caribbean-princess-cruises-ship-cancel/649463/1|title=Caribbean Princess cruises ship cancel | work=USA Today | first=Gene | last=Sloan | date=16 March 2012}}
File:Caribbean Princess off Cloch Point - geograph.org.uk - 3455324.jpg in Firth of Clyde, Inverclyde, Scotland on July 14, 2012]]
Caribbean Princess experienced a norovirus outbreak in January 2014 sickening approximately 200 people on board. The scheduled cruise ended two days early.{{cite web |last=Haiken |first=M |title=Is it Safe to Take a Cruise? 8 Virus Outbreaks in 3 Months |work=Forbes |pages=1–2 |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/melaniehaiken/2014/04/12/8-cruise-ship-outbreaks-in-2014-is-your-cruise-safe/}}
On 3 August 2016, Caribbean Princess experienced a power outage while on a British Isles cruise. The ship completely lost propulsion about {{convert|25|nmi|km}} southeast of Dublin, Ireland in the Irish Sea, and was left adrift for nine hours. During the power outage, air conditioners, lighting, hotel functions, and toilets were all functional.{{cite news|url=https://www.cruiselawnews.com/2016/08/articles/power-loss/caribbean-princess-loses-power-in-irish-sea/|title=Caribbean Princess Loses Power in Irish Sea|author=Jim Walker|date=August 3, 2016|work=Cruise Law News}} The ship regained power and sailed to Belfast, Northern Ireland, missing her next port of Dublin on her itinerary. An ocean-going tug was dispatched from Holyhead in North Wales, UK and an air/sea rescue helicopter from Dublin monitored the situation. The cruise continued without any further problems to either the ship or the passengers.
In 2019, a man in his 30's drowned in a pool aboard Caribbean Princess.{{cite web | url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-bz-caribbean-princess-drowning-death-20190617-gfqdgytyonbmphedi2zlqkotvy-story.html | title=Air Force major drowns in pool aboard Caribbean Princess }}
Ocean pollution
On 26 August 2013, the crew of Caribbean Princess deliberately discharged {{convert|4227|USgal|L}} of oil-contaminated bilge pollution off the southern coast of England.{{cite news|title=The $40m 'magic pipe': Princess Cruises given record fine for dumping oil at sea|date=2 December 2016|work=The Guardian|location=London|access-date=3 December 2016|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/dec/02/the-40m-magic-pipe-princess-cruises-given-record-fine-for-dumping-oil-at-sea}} The discharge involved the illegal modification of the vessel's on-board pollution control systems and use of a "magic pipe", and was photographed by a newly hired engineer.{{cite news|title=Princess Cruises to pay $40-million fine for dumping oily waste and lying about it|first=Hugo|last=Martin|work=Los Angeles Times|location=Los Angeles|date=1 December 2016|access-date=3 December 2016|url=http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-princess-fine-20161201-story.html}}{{cite news|work=CBS News|location=New York|date=2 December 2016|title=Carnival's Princess Cruises to pay record fine for pollution, cover-up|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/carnival-princess-cruises-40-million-dollar-fine-seven-felony-charges-ocean-pollution/|access-date=3 December 2016}} When the ship subsequently berthed at Southampton, the engineer resigned his position and reported the discharge to the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency.{{cite news|title=Princess Cruise Lines to Pay $40 Million Fine for Illegal Dumping|first=Katie|last=Rogers|date=2 December 2016|work=The New York Times|location=New York|access-date=3 December 2016|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/02/business/princess-cruise-lines-fine.html}} An investigation was launched by the United States Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division which found that the practice had been taking place on Caribbean Princess and four other Princess ships since 2005.{{cite news|date=1 December 2016|title=Carnival Corp ship caught in pollution scheme. Now they're paying $40 million for it|first1=Joey|last1=Flechas|first2=Chabeli|last2=Herrera|work=Miami Herald|location=Miami|access-date=3 December 2016|url=http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/tourism-cruises/article118245433.html}} In December 2016, Princess Cruise Lines agreed to plead guilty to seven felony charges and pay a $40 million penalty. The charges related to illegal discharges off the coasts of Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.{{cite news|title=Princess Cruise Lines fined $40m for waste dumping after UK tip-off|date= 1 December 2016|work=BBC News|access-date=3 December 2016|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38170755}} As part of the agreement cruise ships from eight Carnival companies, including Carnival Cruise Line and Holland America Line, are required to operate for five years under a court-supervised environmental compliance plan with independent audits and a court-appointed monitor.{{cite news|title='Magic pipe' used to spew oily waste into water: Princess Cruises to pay record-breaking fine for pollution|first=Brady|last=Dennis|work=Calgary Herald|location=Calgary|date=2 December 2016|access-date=3 December 2016|url=https://calgaryherald.com/news/world/98magic+pipe+used+spew+oily+waste+into+water+princess+cruises/12467614/story.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161203160855/http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/world/98magic+pipe+used+spew+oily+waste+into+water+princess+cruises/12467614/story.html|archive-date=3 December 2016|url-status=dead}} According to the US Justice Department, the fine was the "largest-ever criminal penalty involving deliberate vessel pollution."
Areas of operation
[[File:The "Caribbean Princess", Belfast Lough (May 2017) - geograph.org.uk - 5409823.jpg|thumb
|right|190px|Caribbean Princess arrived in Belfast Lough on May 29, 2017]]
Caribbean Princess has undertaken cruises from European ports around the British Isles, northern Europe and the Mediterranean and from North American ports to the Caribbean, New England and Canada. The ship in July 2019 left her current home port of Fort Lauderdale, Florida and sailed up to a new home port in New York for cruises to Canada, New England, and Greenland. As of 2020, however, the ship sails primarily in the Caribbean.
Caribbean Princess deployed to Vancouver, British Columbia in May 2025 to start her first-ever Alaska cruise, a 7-day northbound itinerary to Anchorage (Whittier).
References
=Notes=
{{reflist}}
=Bibliography=
- {{Saunders-Giants of the Seas|ref=none}}
- {{Smith-Cruise Ships-2010|ref=none}}
External links
{{commons category|Caribbean Princess (ship, 2004)|Caribbean Princess}}
- [http://www.princess.com/learn/ships/cb/index.html Caribbean Princess official page] (Princess site)
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20090409150604/http://www.fincantieri.com/CMS/Data/prodotti/000264.aspx Fincantieri Ship Building]
{{List of ships built by Fincantieri}}
{{Grand class}}
{{Princess Ships}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caribbean Princess}}
Category:Ships of Princess Cruises
Category:Ships built in Monfalcone
Category:Ships built by Fincantieri