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Ocean Village doubles fleet
(EMBARGOED until 14.00,April 7)Ocean Village will more than double in size next year with the transfer of Regal Princess from Princess Cruises.
Built in 1991, the line’s second ship will carry 1,690 passengers – 7% more than the first Ocean Village vessel.
While similar in layout to the first ship, the second vessel will have three times as many cabins with balconies.
Further enhancements are planned before the 70,000-ton new ship enters service under a new name in November 2006. More than 180 of the 845 cabins will have private balconies.
Regal Princess is rated four-star in the Berlitz 2005 cruise ship guide and features four restaurants, two pools and a range of bars and entertainment areas.
The move to hike capacity follows rival Island Cruises announcing plans for a second ship – Celebrity Cruises’ Horizon being renamed Island Star – to sail in the Mediterranean next summer.
Ocean Village managing director Peter Shanks said: “Ocean Village has been shaking up the traditional cruise market since launching its first ship less than two years ago.
“With the arrival of our second ship, the brand will hit critical mass as the informal cruise holiday of choice. As the newest and freshest take on holidays at sea, Ocean Village has already taken over 150,000 bookings, nearly 60% of them from first time cruisers.”
“With the expansion of our fleet, we are reinforcing Ocean Village’s position as the brand with the newest, largest and best-equipped ships in its class. We have worked hard to secure the right ship to power the successful expansion of Ocean Village.”
Princess Cruises has two new ships on order, Crown Princess due to enter service next summer, and a sister vessel planned for spring 2007.
P&O Princess Cruises International chief executive Peter Ratcliffe said: “Transferring Regal Princess to our sister company Ocean Village is a natural evolution of the Princess feet, which for the past decade has grown progressively younger as new ships have been introduced and older tonnage has been transferred to other sister companies in key growth markets.”
He added that Princess had the youngest fleet in the industry with an average age of 5.7 years.
Report by Phil Davies
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