Sun Princess is a Sun-class cruise ship built in 1995 and operated by Princess Cruises. At the time of her construction, she was one of the largest cruise ships in the world. She is the lead ship of her class that includes sister ships Sea Princess and the P&O ships Pacific Explorer and Oceana.
She was built in Italy, at a cost of US$300 million, and can take 2010 passengers and 924 crew.
She currently flies under the flag of Bermuda.
It was announced in June 2018 that the Sun Princess will be used as a floating hotel for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The ship will be docked at Tokyo’s Yokohama Port between July 23 and August 9, 2020, specifically to provide more hotel room space for Olympic guests. It is estimated that the ship will receive 36,000 overnight stays during the Tokyo Olympics.
As to her Australian history, in April 2008, Sun Princess was based in Australia, operating out of Sydney during the winter months, and from Melbourne during the summer months. For the 2008/2009 season the cruise program included Australian circumnavigations, Fremantle – Malacca Straits return, Melbourne – New Zealand / South Pacific. Sun Princess also sailed from Sydney for Melbourne plus Whitsundays return, a Japan return itinerary, and a 75 night Grand Pacific trip.
During summer 2008/9 whilst Sun Princess was operating out of Melbourne, she was joined by Dawn Princess operating out of Sydney. Dawn Princess was also permanently based in Australia from that time which was a change from Princess Cruises’ original plans.
Demand for Sun Princess cruises between Sydney and Fremantle and beyond from April to June 2008 was so strong that Princess Cruises scheduled additional sailings for 2009. The company also decided to base the vessel in Fremantle from April to August that year. Despite the availability of cheap domestic air connections, many customers booking Sun Princess voyages between Sydney and Fremantle in 2009 opted instead to extend their trips by traveling across Australia on a connecting Indian Pacific rail service.
Cruises on Sun Princess from Fremantle in 2009 included the first Indian Ocean voyage of its kind from Australia. A 46-night sailing from Fremantle visited Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, India, the Maldives, the Seychelles, South Africa, Madagascar, Mauritius and Réunion.
In 2013, Sun Princess sailed round-trip cruises from Tokyo, Japan marking the first of Princess Cruises deployments from there. In 2014, she sailed an extended Japan cruise program, sailing from Otaru, Hokkaido and Kobe. She was joined by Diamond Princess which replaced her Tokyo sailings.
In 2019-2020 cruise season, Sun Princess is intended to sail an extended Western Australia program. The ship will be homeported in Fremantle, Australia for 141 days in total.
As to her ownership and operator, she is part of Princess Cruises, which is a cruise line owned by Carnival Corporation & plc incorporated in Bermuda and having its headquarters in Santa Clarita, California. As of 2018, it is the second largest cruise line by net revenue. It was previously a subsidiary of P&O Princess Cruises, and is currently under Holland America Group within Carnival Corporation & plc, which holds executive control over the Princess Cruises brand. The line has 18 ships cruising global itineraries that are marketed to both American and international passengers.
