Sapphire Princess is a cruise ship owned by Princess Cruises that entered service in 2004 as the twin sister ship of Diamond Princess. She is one of the world's largest cruise ships, with a capacity of 2,670 passengers and is the sixth Gem Class ship built by Princess Cruises. Sapphire Princess was christened on June 10, 2004 in Seattle—the first cruise ship ever to be christened in that port.

Previously, Sapphire Princess sailed Asian cruises from Shanghai year-round until the arrival of the Majestic Princess in 2017. After the arrival, she resumed sailing from China in the summer months, then from November through February, sailed roundtrip Asia cruises out of Singapore.

Design

Sapphire Princess is technically a sister ship to Grand Princess, but has several differences. The most notable of these is that the Skywalkers Nightclub suspended across her stern was moved to the back of the funnel, which opens up the terrace pool area. Sapphire takes personal choice dining another step further by splitting the two anytime dining rooms of its older sisters into four, each of which has its own theme and specialty dish. Another dramatic alteration is the repositioning of the Internet Café to the Promenade Deck adjacent to Sabatini's. This moves the Wheelhouse Bar farther to the front of the ship, in place of the Crown Grill. She is otherwise nearly identical to her older sisters.

Construction

Sapphire Princess was built in Japan by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the second Princess Cruises ship to be built in a Japanese shipyard. Her only sister ship, with whom she swapped names, Diamond Princess during construction.

The name swap occurred because a major fire swept through the original Diamond Princess (Presently sailing as today's Sapphire Princess) during construction, leading to a construction delay. Both sister ships were being constructed at the same time, so the original Sapphire assumed the role of Diamond. This name swap assisted in keeping the delivery date of Diamond Princess on time, and kept Sapphire Princess on schedule as it was nearing completion early. Sapphire Princess was the second Princess Cruises ship to be built in a Japanese shipyard, and lacks the "wing" or spoiler across the rear which can be seen on Golden Princess.

2012 Refit

At the beginning of 2012 Sapphire Princess was refitted with Princess' signature "Piazza" in place of the center atrium, including the International Café and a pizzeria. Princess also added the "Movies Under the Stars" poolside theatre to the top deck and a new adults' retreat, The Sanctuary. The refit brings Sapphire Princess in alignment with the newer features from Grand Princess and others in the Grand Fleet.

Machinery

Her diesel-electric plant includes four diesel generators and a gas turbine generator. The diesel generators are Wärtsilä 46 series common rail engines, two of the straight 9-cylinder configuration, and two of the straight 8-cylinder configuration. The 8- and 9-cylinder engines can produce approximately 8 ¹⁄₂ and 9 ¹⁄₂ MW of power respectively. These engines are fueled with Heavy Fuel oil (HFO or bunker c) and Marine Gas Oil (MGO) depending on the local regulations regarding emissions, as MGO produces much lower emissions but is much more expensive. The gas turbine generator is a GE 2500, producing a peak of 25 MW of power and being fueled by MGO. This generator is much more expensive to run than the diesel generators, and is used mostly in areas, such as Alaska, where the emissions regulations are strict. It is also used when top speed is required to make it to a port in a short time period. There are two propulsion electric motors which drive fixed-pitch propellers and six thrusters used during maneuvering; three bow and three stern. The propulsion electric motors (PEMs), are conventional synchronous motors made by Alston Motors. The two motors are each rated to 20 MW and have a maximum speed of 154 rpm. (Rated speed of 0-145 rpm.)

Ports of call

Sapphire Princess previously alternated Northbound & Southbound Voyage of the Glacier cruises during the summer and in the winter sailed Mexico, Hawaii & California Coastal cruises. In 2014, the ship began to sail roundtrip Asia cruises from Shanghai in the summer months, then from November through February, the ship sailed roundtrip Asia cruises out of Singapore. After her Singapore season concluded in 2016, the ship sailed from China year-round until the arrival of the Majestic Princess in 2017. The winter sailings from Singapore were replaced by the Diamond Princess, but she resumed these sailings during the 2017-18 season as the Diamond Princess was returned to Australian waters once again during the 2017-18 northern hemisphere winter season.