Yesterday, at Fincantieriå‘s shipyard in Monfalcone, saw the launch of the cruise ship å“Caribbean Princesså”, commissioned by the ship owner Princess Cruises (Carnival Group).

The ship’s godmother was Cristiana Metta, a member of the shipyard’s staff.

116,000 gross tonnes, l,290 metres long, 36 metres wide and 67 metres high, the ship - due for delivery in March 2004 - will have a maximum speed of 23 knots and will be able to accommodate up to a maximum of 4,800 people (passengers and crew)  in 2,190 cabins.

The “Caribbean Princess” - as her sister ship which will also be built in Monfalcone for delivery in Spring 2006 - is based on a development of the project of the “Grand Princess” class ships (“Grand Princess”, “Golden Princess” and “Star Princess”). However, by employing innovative design solutions and production technologies the new project has included an additional passenger deck (thereby giving approximately 260 more cabins), whilst at the same time has maintained the high standards of comfort on board and the ship’s distinctive technical and aesthetic characteristics.
Moreover, a feature of this ship is that the last 2 decks (out of a total of 17) have been entirely built in aluminium: this inventive particular has lowered the barycentre of the vessel, limiting her weight and, hence, the area submerged which is just 8.40 metres.
Fincantieri, thanks to its technical-commercial strategy which focuses on continually innovating its cruise product, whilst at the same time conceiving and developing new ship prototypes, has always devoted great commitment and resources to ensuring that so-called “sister” ships are continually upgraded. In this way, by starting from well-established products which are already successful on the market, innovative configurations have gradually been developed which can respond to ship owners’ changing requirements.
Fincantieri, which gained the only orders given after 11 September 2001, today can boast that it is the world leader position in the sector for new cruise ships with a market share of 50%.
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