Sovereign, 29 May 2009

Sovereign

IMO 8512281
Built 1987, Chantiers de l'Atlantique St. Nazaire, France
Tonnage 73 912 GT
Length 268,32 m
Width 32,21 m
Draugth 7,50 m
2 733 passengers
4 Pielstick-Alsthom diesels, combined 21 844 kW
2 propellers
2 bow thrusters
Speed 21,5 knots

Sovereign was originally built as Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines' Sovereign of the Seas, at the of her construction the largest passenger ship in the world, taking over the title from NCL's Norway (to which the Sovereign of the Seas lost the accolade of being the largest ship two years later, when the Norway was rebuilt with additional decks). Sovereign of the Seas remained in the Royal Caribbean International (as the company was later restyled) fleet until 2008, by which time she was the smallest and oldest ship in the RCI fleet. With Royal Caribbean International's parent company Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. having taken over Pullmantur Cruises of Spain some years earlier and new tonnage having been delivered to RCI, the decision was made to transfer the Sovereign of the Seas to Pullmantur Cruises. In 2009 she begun cruising with Pullmantur under the shortened name Sovereign.

Sovereign in the Bay of Naples outbound from, you guessed it, Naples. Photographed from onboard MSC Sinfonia on 29 May 2009. Click on the image to view full size.