Power failure hits cruise liner
A CRUISE in a liner officially named this summer by the Duchess of Cambridge has had to be curtailed after the vessel lost power.
And the next voyage of the ship – the Royal Princess – is now in doubt.
The Duchess named the ship, part of the Princess Cruises fleet, in a ceremony at Southampton in June – one of her last engagements before the birth of her son George.
The ship suffered a power outage while sailing in the Mediterranean between Mykonos and Naples this week.
Although the power was restored, the ship needs to be taken to Barcelona for repairs.
Passengers will be taken to Naples for flights home and the ship is set to leave today for Barcelona with only crew on board.
The Royal Princess is due to embark on a 30-day cruise on Friday, finishing in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. A spokeswoman for Princess Cruises said: “We sincerely regret this means the remainder of the current cruise will be cancelled, and passengers will disembark the ship in Naples.
“Passengers will be provided a full refund of their cruise fare, along with a 25 per cent future cruise credit.
“The impact of the repairs on the next Royal Princess cruise is not yet known and we will keep passengers fully advised.”