Princess ship due in 2019 to be called Sky Princess

Princess Cruises' fourth Royal-class ship, scheduled to debut in October 2019, will be named the Sky Princess.

The cruise line had a Sky Princess once before.

"Sky Princess continues a Princess Cruises legacy and honours one of our previous ships," said Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises president. "When Princess merged with Sitmar Cruises in 1988, Sky Princess joined our fleet and sailed with us for 12 years. Now more than 30 years later, a new Sky Princess will join the fleet featuring our modern design platform and contemporary innovations offered to exceed our guests' expectations."

The 3,660-passenger ship is the sister to Royal Princess, Regal Princess and Majestic Princess. A fifth Royal-class ship is under construction and will debut in 2020.

Sky Princess will have a number of features found on its sister ships, like a soaring Piazza-style atrium, an adults-only area, a Princess Live! Entertainment venue and youth and teen centres.

Among the ship's dining venues will be the Salty Dog Grill, Alfredo's Pizzeria, Vines Wine Bar, Chef's Table Lumiere and World Fresh Marketplace.

Princess said 80% of staterooms will feature balconies.

Sky Princess will sail Mediterranean cruises in October and November 2019, beginning with a seven-day roundtrip Rome voyage and culminating with a 14-day transatlantic cruise from Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale.

Bookings open Dec. 14. Those with elite status in the Captain's Circle loyalty program can begin booking a day earlier. Princess is offering reduced deposits of 10% on bookings made by Aug. 31, 2018.