Royal Caribbean International will be saying farewell to its ship Monarch of the Seas on April 1, 2013. This ship will be transferred to Pullmantur after its last cruise for the company which originally released it, Royal Caribbean International, on March 29, 2013. The 73,914 gross registered ton Monarch made its maiden cruise for the very first time out of the Chantiers de L'Atlantique (current STX France) yard in St. Nazaire, France in the year of 1991.
When the Monarch was released in 1991 it was one of the largest ships in the world, but today it is not even in the range of the 25 largest ships. Currently Royal Caribbean has two new 158,000 ton Sunshine class ships which will allow it to compete with other major cruise companies such as Carnival Cruise Lines and Disney.
On the other hand, with the addition of the Monarch, Pullmantur will increase its guest capacity by 25 percent and meet the needs of the rising demands of the all inclusive-style cruise holidays. This is not the first ship which Pullmantur will inherit from Royal Caribbean International, it already operates the MS Empress and MS Sovereign which used to be a part of the Royal Caribbean fleet. This transfer will also reinforce Pullmantur in the Latin American growth strategy. Pullmantur was founded in 1971 and its cruise schedule is largely concentrated in the Mediterranean, but in August that will change with the addition of the Latin American routes.
Ship Info
Double occupancy/max occupancy: 2356 / 2772
Crew: 827
Year built: 1991
Tonnage: 73941
Length overall: 879ft (268m)
Beam: 105ft (32m)
Flag: Bahamas
