Artania

Artania is a large cruise ship launched in 1984 for Princess Cruises. Built by Wärtsilä at its Helsinki shipyard in Finland, the vessel entered service as Royal Princess and was named by Diana, Princess of Wales, at a ceremony in Southampton on 15 November 1984. It became notable for its design, including the absence of interior cabins: all passenger cabins were outside-facing, an unusual arrangement for its era. At the time of construction, it was described as the most expensive passenger ship built. The vessel operated as Royal Princess for more than two decades. In April 2005, it was transferred to P&O Cruises, another brand within the wider P&O Princess corporate structure, and renamed Artemis. During its P&O period, Artemis was the smallest and oldest ship in the P&O Cruises fleet. The ship remained in P&O service while ownership arrangements changed in the broader cruise industry: P&O Princess Cruises became part of Carnival Corporation in 2003 after the two groups had combined under P&O Princess Cruises in 2000. In 2009, P&O announced that the ship had been sold to a company named MS Artania Shipping, although the purchase price was not disclosed. It continued operating for P&O until April 2011. On 22 April 2011, the ship entered a charter arrangement with Phoenix Reisen, a German travel agency and cruise operator, and adopted the name Artania. Phoenix Reisen subsequently used the vessel for international itineraries marketed primarily to the German-speaking cruise market. Its routes have included European voyages as well as cruises in the South Pacific, New Zealand, Oceania, North America, Africa and the Indian Ocean. The ship has called at ports including Wellington, Halifax, St. John's, Cork, Hamburg, Fremantle, Tanjung Priok and Manila. Artania has undergone multiple major overhauls at Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven. By 2019, four such overhauls had been completed. The work included installation of new Wärtsilä engines and the addition of 96 balconies, modernizing a vessel that had been in service for more than three decades. The ship initially operated under the flag of Bermuda, with Hamilton as its port of registry. From 26 October 2016, it sailed under the flag of the Bahamas, in line with the registration arrangements used for other Phoenix Reisen ships. Artania attracted international attention during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, an outbreak was identified while the ship was in waters off Western Australia. The vessel docked at Fremantle on 27 March after Australian authorities arranged support and medical coordination. Most passengers were repatriated to Germany, while infected passengers and crew members were treated in Western Australian hospitals. The ship remained in the region for several weeks as authorities managed passengers who were too ill or medically vulnerable to fly and crew members who required quarantine or repatriation arrangements. Four deaths in Western Australia were linked to the outbreak, and at least 81 confirmed cases were associated with the ship. Artania left Fremantle on 18 April, later disembarked crew in Indonesia and the Philippines, and finally returned to Bremerhaven on 8 June 2020 after approximately six months at sea. Artania is therefore best understood not as a conventional consumer-goods brand or cruise-line corporation, but as a named cruise-vessel product with a long operating history across several cruise companies. Its identity combines the prestige of its original Royal Princess launch, the Artemis period under P&O Cruises, and its continuing role in Phoenix Reisen's fleet.

Artania was constructed in Finland by Wärtsilä at the Helsinki Shipyard for Princess Cruises. The ship was launched on 18 February 1984 and named Royal Princess at Southampton on 15 November of that year. Diana, Princess of Wales, performed the naming ceremony, which included a blessing by the Bishop of Southampton and was attended by public guests, employees of the P&O Princess organization and political and civic dignitaries, including Finland's president Mauno Koivisto. Royal Princess entered service on 19 November 1984. The vessel's original design was distinctive because it had no inside passenger cabins. Every cabin was outside-facing, a feature that made the ship unusual among contemporary cruise vessels. It was also described at launch as the most expensive passenger ship of its time. Royal Princess spent approximately two decades in Princess Cruises service before being transferred to P&O Cruises in April 2005. The transfer reflected the corporate relationship between the two cruise brands: P&O Princess Cruises had brought them under a common structure in 2000, and Carnival Corporation acquired P&O Princess Cruises in 2003. Following the transfer, the ship was renamed Artemis. P&O presented Artemis as the smallest and oldest vessel in its fleet. In September 2009, P&O Cruises announced that Artemis had been sold to MS Artania Shipping for an undisclosed amount. The ship continued to operate under P&O's commercial service until April 2011. On 22 April 2011, it moved into a charter with Phoenix Reisen and adopted its current name, Artania. Phoenix Reisen is based in Germany and combines travel-agency operations with cruise-ship operations, giving Artania a principal commercial identity in the German cruise market. The ship has continued to operate internationally. Its published and reported itineraries have included European routes and longer voyages to the South Pacific, New Zealand and Oceania. In 2017, for example, it visited Wellington during a South Pacific itinerary and later called at Halifax and St. John's during a North American autumn schedule before crossing the Atlantic toward Europe. Other reported ports include Cork, Hamburg, Fremantle, Tanjung Priok and Manila. The vessel's route portfolio demonstrates the role of a mature cruise ship in offering destination-led voyages rather than serving a single fixed route. Artania has also received significant technical and accommodation updates. By November 2019, the ship had undergone four overhauls at Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven. The upgrades included new Wärtsilä engines and 96 additional balconies, helping extend the operational life and improve the passenger product of a ship originally launched in the 1980s. It sailed under Bermuda registration until October 2016, when its registration changed to the Bahamas. The most consequential episode in Artania's later history occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. While anchored off Western Australia in March 2020, the ship became associated with a significant outbreak. Seven confirmed cases had been reported by 26 March, and the ship docked at Fremantle on 27 March. Australian authorities coordinated fuel, supplies, medical support and passenger movements, while the vessel was treated as a foreign ship because it was registered in the Bahamas. Most of approximately 850 passengers flew from Perth to Germany on 28 and 29 March. Infected passengers and crew were treated at hospitals in the Perth area, while a smaller group remained on board because of illness, frailty or quarantine requirements. The ship was directed to leave port but stayed longer while authorities and operators dealt with remaining passengers and crew. Four people associated with the ship died in Western Australia, including passengers and a Filipino crew member, and at least 81 confirmed infections were linked to the vessel. Artania departed Fremantle on 18 April, then proceeded through a carefully managed crew-repatriation route. Crew members were disembarked in Indonesia and the Philippines, with some testing positive after disembarkation. Filipino crew were transferred in Manila on 1 May. The ship eventually reached Bremerhaven on 8 June 2020, where its remaining passengers disembarked. The episode became one of the prominent cruise-ship COVID-19 cases in Australia and materially shaped the vessel's public history.

• 2020

  COVID-19 outbreak and repatriation voyage

  [1]MV Artaniaen.wikipedia.org

  An outbreak in Western Australia was followed by hospital treatment, passenger evacuation, crew quarantine and a return to Bremerhaven in June.

• 2019

  Major overhaul program documented

  [1]MV Artaniaen.wikipedia.org

  By November, the vessel had completed four overhauls at Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven, including new engines and 96 additional balconies.

• 2016

  Registration transferred from Bermuda to the Bahamas

  [1]MV Artaniaen.wikipedia.org

  Artania changed its flag and port-of-registry arrangements to the Bahamas on 26 October.

• 2011

  Renamed Artania under Phoenix Reisen charter

  [1]MV Artaniaen.wikipedia.org

  The ship left P&O service and entered a charter arrangement with Phoenix Reisen on 22 April.

• 2009

  Sale to MS Artania Shipping announced

  [1]MV Artaniaen.wikipedia.org

  P&O Cruises announced the sale of Artemis to MS Artania Shipping for an undisclosed amount.

• 2005

  Transferred to P&O Cruises and renamed Artemis

  [1]MV Artaniaen.wikipedia.org

  The ship moved from Princess Cruises to P&O Cruises in April and adopted the name Artemis.

• 1984

  Launch at the Helsinki Shipyard

  [1]MV Artaniaen.wikipedia.org

  Wärtsilä launched the ship in Finland on 18 February for Princess Cruises.

• 1984

  Named Royal Princess and enters service

  [1]MV Artaniaen.wikipedia.org

  Diana, Princess of Wales, named the vessel Royal Princess in Southampton on 15 November; it entered service on 19 November.

A classic, long-serving international cruise ship positioned through Phoenix Reisen as a full-service vessel for itinerary-led leisure travel, particularly for German-speaking passengers.

• Cruise vessel · 1984

  Artania cruise ship

  The core offering is the Artania ocean-going cruise vessel itself. Originally launched as Royal Princess, the ship was designed with all outside passenger cabins and later received extensive modernization, including new Wärtsilä engines and additional balconies. Under Phoenix Reisen's charter, it provides accommodation, dining, transportation between ports and onboard leisure services across European and long-distance international itineraries.

• 2020

  COVID-19 outbreak aboard Artania

  The vessel was linked to an outbreak during its stay off and at Fremantle in March and April 2020. Passengers and crew tested positive, some were hospitalized in Western Australia, and four deaths were linked to the ship. The incident required coordination among the operator, Australian authorities, hospitals and foreign governments for treatment, quarantine and repatriation.

  Source

Read more

• 2020

  Pandemic response and staged repatriationOther

  Background

  A COVID-19 outbreak left infected passengers and crew aboard while the ship was in Western Australia.

  Action taken

  Passengers were flown to Germany where possible, infected people received hospital care, and crew were later disembarked in Indonesia and the Philippines before the ship returned to Germany.

  Aftermath

  The ship reached Bremerhaven on 8 June after an approximately six-month voyage, with the remaining passengers disembarking.

  Source

• 2016

  Change of flag to the BahamasOther

  Background

  Artania had operated under Bermuda registration while serving Phoenix Reisen.

  Action taken

  The ship changed its flag and registration to the Bahamas on 26 October.

  Aftermath

  It joined the Bahamas-flagged registration structure used for other Phoenix Reisen ships.

  Source

• 2011

  Phoenix Reisen charter and rebrandingStrategy

  Background

  Following its announced sale to MS Artania Shipping, the ship required a new commercial operating arrangement.

  Action taken

  Phoenix Reisen chartered the vessel and renamed it Artania on 22 April.

  Aftermath

  The ship became part of Phoenix Reisen's international cruise program, particularly serving the German-speaking market.

  Source

• 2005

  Transfer from Princess Cruises to P&O CruisesStrategy

  Background

  The ship was moved into the P&O Cruises fleet as part of the wider corporate relationship between P&O Princess Cruises' cruise brands.

  Action taken

  The vessel was transferred in April and renamed Artemis.

  Aftermath

  Artemis became the smallest and oldest ship in the P&O Cruises fleet before its later sale and Phoenix Reisen charter.

  Source

1. 1MV Artaniaen.wikipedia.org