Royal Princess
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Royal Princess is an R class cruise ship owned and operated by Princess Cruises. She was built in 2001 by Chantiers de l'Atlantique, St. Nazaire, France for Renaissance Cruises as MS R Eight. Between 2003 and 2007 she sailed for Swan Hellenic as MS Minerva II, before being transferred to Princess Cruises.
She was built as R Eight as part of 8 identical cruise ships originally ordered by Renaissance Cruises. As such, she is a sister ship to two of Princess's other vessels, Tahitian Princess and Pacific Princess, which were bought when Renaissance Cruises collapsed in 2001.
Service history
The R Eight was constructed as the eighth and final vessel in Renaissance Cruises's R class. She began operation in 2001. After Renaissance ceased operations and filed for bankruptcy in late 2001, the vessel was seized by creditors and laid up Marseille, France.
In 2003, the vessel re-entered operation, this time as the sole cruise ship in Swan Hellenic's fleet. The vessel was named Minerva II, after both the Roman goddess and the company's previous vessel, Minerva.
On April 7, 2007 the Minerva II completed her final voyage with Swan Hellenic and was transferred by the parent company, Carnival Corporation & plc, to Princess Cruises. She was renamed Royal Princess and entered into service for Princess in April 2007.