The 3,600-passenger Enchanted Princess has been delivered from Fincantieri in Monfalcone, Italy.

The new Princess ship is also the 100th ship built by the Italian shipbuilding company and is the first ship to be delivered by Fincantieri since the start of the pandemic.

The delivery ceremony was attended by the likes of the Fincantieri CEO Giuseppe Bono, and virtually by the Chairman of Carnival Corporation Micky Arison, President and CEO of Carnival Corporation Arnold Donald, Group CEO of Holland America Group Stein Kruse, and the Group President of Princess Cruises and Carnival Australia Jan Swartz.

“While the first few months onboard of the Enchanted Princess will be quite different from the usual activity of getting the new ship underway, the heart and soul of the ship is always her team,” said Jan Swartz via a video call during the ceremony, adding that she hopes that the Enchanted Princess welcomes her first guests within a couple of months.

The ship is filled with amenities and experiences that “Princess is known for throughout the industry,” said Swartz, “like our Sanctuary, the adults-only relaxation area, and our signature soaring Piazza, which is always a hub of activity. It also features our proprietary smart ship technology, MedallionClass, which takes personal experience to an entirely new level.”

Swartz said that around 6,000 people worked on the ship in Monfalcone.

She also drew to attention to the fact that the Enchanted Princess is the first newbuilt Princess ship that leaves the shipyard with the Advanced Air Quality System installed.

The numerous innovations that were made by Fincantieri since the start of the pandemic, including on the air conditioning systems, something that’s paramount during a pandemic, were highlighted by Fincantieri’s Giuseppe Bono.

Bono used the opportunity to ask the Italian national export credit agency SACE for its continued support of the industry – “to go the extra mile now to save the industry.”

He said that Fincantieri has managed to hold on to all its orders and that SACE’s cooperation going forward will be vital.

“It is better to take a risk today and have a future” he said, “than not take a risk and not have a future.”

He also noted that Fincantieri employs some 7,000 people In addition to supporting a multitude of smaller Italian companies that supply equipment and services to the shipyards.

The Prime Minister of Italy Giuseppe Conte, who tuned into the ceremony via a video call, highlighted the enormous resilience that Fincantieri showed during the pandemic.

“[Fincantieri is] a company that fills me with pride because every time I go abroad and we talk about the cruise industry, the word Fincantieri comes up,” the Italian prime minister said. “There are signs of recovery of the cruising sector. We have decided to open and allow for the cruises to be carried out provided safety measures take place.”

The speeches from the ceremony’s top guests were followed by a flag changing ceremony that signaled that the delivery has taken place.