Sapphire Princess

About us Sapphire Princess

Sapphire Princess entered service in 2004 as the second of the Japanese-built Princess pair from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries at Nagasaki. GE's original equipment announcement dates its maiden voyage to 13 June, differing from the May date repeated on some operator summaries. Both dates fall in the same year, but the source difference matters when tracing the ship's introduction. Its individual identity is IMO 9228186.

The 2025 Portland drydock is a clear later milestone. The operator confirmed completed general refurbishment and two new speciality venues, with restaurant service beginning in November. Makoto Ocean took the former Internet Café location on Deck 7, while Crown Grill replaced Savoy Dining Room on Deck 5. Those changes belong to Sapphire itself and should not be confused with Diamond's later 2026 announcement.

The main dining choices still include International, Pacific Moon, Santa Fe and Vivaldi. Sabatini's offers another speciality, while International Café and Horizon Court provide different ways to fit meals into a port day. Before buying a package, compare the actual reservations desired and distinguish a casual stop from a paid speciality dinner. The presence of a new sushi restaurant does not establish the same experience or reservation conditions as on Sun Princess.

Sapphire's covered Conservatory pool area is an alternative to the more exposed outdoor decks. Princess Theater, Explorers Lounge and Club Fusion offer indoor evenings, with Skywalkers Nightclub and Movies Under the Stars providing further options. Families should check the children's and teen programmes for the ages travelling rather than judge suitability from the ship's overall guest number alone.

Current insurer and operator agree on 115,875 GT. The insurer identifies Hamilton, Bermuda registry, whereas older fleet descriptions still say United Kingdom. Mitsubishi gives 290 metres length and 37.5 metres breadth for the pair. The fleet table explicitly labels 2,680 lower berths, different from the 2,670 in restaurant announcements; that comparison basis is retained with a note. Unreconciled room totals remain empty. Supplier documentation confirms combined diesel and gas-turbine generation, without assuming a later LNG conversion or treating generic builder speed as maximum speed.

Specifications

A dash means no independently verified value is available. Guest counts at double occupancy and maximum capacity are different measures. GT measures enclosed volume, not weight.

Highlights

• Makoto Ocean
• Crown Grill
• Covered Conservatory pool

Other ships in the same recorded class

Shared class does not guarantee identical cabins, venues or deck layouts.

Sources

• Sapphire Princess — individual operator fact sheet — Accessed Oct 27, 2026

  OldUKregistry superseded currentinsurer; DiamondSavoyordinarylist supersedednewCrownGrill; currentroomcounts conflict.

• Princess — explicitlylowerberthfleettable — Accessed Oct 27, 2026

  2710Diamond/2680Sapphireexplicitlowerberths corroboratedparentMay2026; restaurantpress2670 andproduct2706 differ. OtherstaleGT/service/registry valuesnotadopted.

• Sapphire Princess — current operator product — Accessed Oct 27, 2026

  IndividualIzumionDiamond nottransferredtoSapphire; productroomtotalnotreconciled.

• Mitsubishi — explicitlyidentifiedJapanesepair — Accessed Oct 27, 2026

  290.0/37.5both explicitly;116000roundedGT/3100originalcapacity notcurrent;22.1generic speednotmax.

• GE — originalindividualmachineryandmaidenvoyages — Accessed Oct 27, 2026

  Diamond13March2004/Sapphire13June2004; supplierCODAGLM2500+withdieselgensets, no LNGinference.

• Sapphire Princess — current insurer identity — Accessed Oct 27, 2026

  2026–2027HamiltonBermuda;Diamond115906vsoldoperator115875, preciseindividualcurrentrecordadopted.

• Princess — completed2025SapphirePortlandrefurbishment — Accessed Oct 27, 2026

  14October2025completion; venuesopen16November2025, oldSavoy/InternetCafe locationsreplaced.