VIDEO: Delivery of Sun Princess delayed

Seen here following float out, Sun Princess will be Princess Cruises' largest ship yet and its first to be LNG-fueled.

Carnival Corporation’s Princess Cruises says that it and Fincantieri have mutually agreed to delay delivery of the 4,300 passenger, Sun Princess, the largest vessel ever constructed in Italy and the first ship in a new platform designed exclusively for the Princess brand.

The postponement has led to the cancellation of the ship’s inaugural 10-day voyage, originally set to depart from Barcelona on February 8.

“We understand that this news is disappointing, and we share in that disappointment. We recognize the anticipation that surrounded this sailing, and we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this cancellation causes,” said John Padgett, president of Princess Cruises.

Videos of the ship on sea trials earlier this month have recently appeared on YouTube and neither Princess nor Fincantieri have given any reason for the delay nor said when delivery is now expected..

Delays in first-in-series ships, particularly ships as complex as cruise ships are not unheard of. As well as being large, the 21-deck, 1,133 feet-long Sun Princess is also both Fincantieri’s and Princess’s first LNG fueled cruise ship. As we reported at the time the vessel was floated out at Fincantieri’s Monfalcone shipyard in March of last year, the ship is packed with a number of other innovations.

The postponement has led to the cancellation of the ship’s inaugural 10-day voyage, originally set to depart from Barcelona on February 8..

Guests who were booked on of the inaugural voyage will receive a full refund of the cruise fare along with any additional onboard services that were pre-purchased, as well as a 50% future cruise credit (FCC) that can be used on a future Princess voyage. Guests also will receive up to $200 per person for change fees related to air travel plans.

Princess is also protecting travel agent commissions.