HISTORY

Diamond Princess is a cruise ship owned and operated by Princess Cruises. She began operation in March 2004 and primarily cruises in Alaska during the summer and Asia in the winter along with Australia cruises. She is a subclassed Grand Class ship,which is also known as a Gem Class ship. Diamond Princess and her sister ship, Sapphire Princess, are the largest subclass of Grand-class ships, as they have a 37.5 metres (123 ft) beam while all other Grand Class ships have a beam of 36 metres (118 ft). Diamond Princess and her fleet mate, Sapphire Princess, were both were built in Nagasaki, Japan by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

Construction
The ship's hull was originally to christened Sapphire Princess. Construction was delayed when a huge fire swept through the ship's decks during construction. Because the ship's completion would be delayed for some time, her sister ship, which was being constructed at the same time, assumed the role of Sapphire. This name swap helped to keep the delivery date of Sapphire on time, while delaying the delivery of Diamond. It was the first Princess Cruises ship to be built in a Japanese shipyard and lacks the "wing" or "spoiler" across the rear which can be seen on Caribbean Princess.

Current/Future Cruises
Diamond Princess currently sails alternating Northbound & Southbound Voyage of the Glacier cruises, during the summer and in the winter she sails from Australia/New Zealand as well as cruises around Asia.