Carnival Corporation first entered a strategic agreement with Fincantieri in March 2015 for five cruise ships for delivery between 2019 and 2022. From this agreement, the contract for a then-unnamed, fifth Royal-class vessel was finalized for Princess on 2 April 2016. She will measure 145,000 GT and have a capacity of 3,660 passengers. On 20 August 2018, Princess Cruises announced that the name of their fifth Royal-class ship would be Enchanted Princess, and is scheduled to debut on 15 June 2020. Enchanted Princess is under construction at Fincantieri's shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy. The keel was laid at the shipyard on 14 February 2019. The ship was first floated out from the shipyard on 6 August 2019, with a dedication performed by Marinella Cossu, a Fincantieri employee. Princess Cruises celebrated a formal float-out in a ceremony in Monfalcone on 17 September 2019 with Doris Magsaysay Ho, a Princess crew recruiter and trainer in the Philippines, performing the honors. In April 2020, Princess announced that the ship would experience delays in construction progress due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the national lockdown in Italy, which together resulted in the temporary closure of Fincantieri's shipyards. Work eventually resumed and sea trials began on 13 June 2020, when the ship sailed from Monfalcone to Palermo. The ship remained in Palermo until 26 June before returning to Monfalcone on 29 June. On 8 July 2020, Princess announced the ship's sea trials had been successfully completed.
Debut
Construction delays have also caused delays for the delivery and debut of Enchanted Princess. The ship was initially scheduled for a public debut in Rome on 19 June 2020 on a Mediterranean sailing. Her christening was set for 30 June 2020 in Southampton. Her 10-day maiden voyage was scheduled for 1 July 2020 from Southampton to Rome, calling in Bilbao, Lisbon, Gibraltar, Barcelona, Toulon, and Florence. The ship's christening and inaugural festivities have subsequently been postponed, with the date of her debut pending further determination.
Operational career
The ship's inaugural season has also been impacted by the delays. After her maiden voyage, she was scheduled to sail Mediterranean itineraries through summer 2020. She was scheduled to re-position to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida via a transatlantic crossing in the fall. The delays, compounded by Princess' suspension of operations, resulted in the cancellation of these sailings. Enchanted Princess is scheduled to commence operations in November 2020 from Port Everglades. For her inaugural Caribbean season, she will sail seven-day, round-trip Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries between November 2020 and April 2021. The ship is scheduled to sail Mediterranean itineraries in summer 2021.
