Princess Cruises has confirmed the sale of Sun Princess and Sea Princess to undisclosed buyers as part of parent company Carnival Corporation's ongoing strategy to downsize and accelerate the removal of less efficient ships from its fleet.
Due to ships' imminent departure, the premium cruise line has canceled Sun Princess sailings from December 28, 2020 through August 14, 2021 and scrapped Sea Princess voyages from December 23, 2020 through November 9, 2021.
Princess said that affected guests and their travel advisors will be notified and receive information on how to book another cruise when operations resume. Guests will also have the option to receive a refund.
"Sun Princess and Sea Princess contributed to significant growth in Australian cruising," Princess Cruises president Jan Swartz said in a statement. "Both ships defined the premium cruise experience with Australians and New Zealanders spending close to 14 million nights aboard these ships. 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."
The 2,000-guest Sun Princess debuted in the Caribbean as the first Sun Class ship and one of the largest ships in the world 25 years ago. Sun Princess later homeported in Australia in 2007 and helped Princess Cruises open the Japanese market in 2013.
Meanwhile, Sun Princess' sister ship Sea Princess launched in 1998, sailing in Europe, Alaska and the Caribbean before joining Sun Princess in Australia. The 2,000-passenger ship has completed six full world cruises since 2013 and traveled the equivalent of 35 times around the world during her time in Australia.
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