Regal Princess reached a significant construction milestone today when the Princess Cruises vessel was “floated out” at its building dock at the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy.
A traditional ceremony marked the occasion as the ship met the ocean for the first time. Following the Italian shipyard’s custom, the float out of a ship begins when a “madrina,” or godmother, cuts the cord that begins the flow of water into the ship’s building dock. Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor in chief of the popular online community Cruise Critic, served in this role to begin the two-day process of setting the ship afloat.
Once afloat, the ship will be moved to the outfitting dock where final construction and interior outfitting will take place. The Regal Princess will debut in June 2014 with a season of Mediterranean cruises.
Check out the floating out in the video below…
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Photos and video courtesy of Princess Cruises.
