IN A ceremony befitting royalty, Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton officially named the newest addition to the Princess Cruises fleet – the 3,600 passenger Royal Princess. Heavily pregnant with the future King or Queen of England, the Duchess stood on the naming platform alongside the ship’s Captain Tony Draper and cut the rope attached to a giant bottle of Moët & Chandon champagne, which smashed against its hull. The week leading up to the event for Royal Princess was filled with celebrations and events, including a star-studded gala ball attended by representatives of a number of charities of whom members of the Royal Family serve as patrons of honour. “We can think of no more fitting godmother for our magnificent new Royal Princess,” Princess Cruises’ president and CEO Alan Buckelew proudly beamed. Royal Princess boasts a number of innovative features at sea including an over-water SeaWalk – a top-deck glass bottomed walkway that extends over the ship’s side, poolside cabanas that give the impression of floating on water, a Princess Live! television studio and a multi-storey atrium that serves as the ship’s grand centrepiece attraction.
