Williamson plans to get 240 agents onboard the ship towards the end of February or beginning of March, shortly after its European maiden voyage scheduled for just over two months time.

When Sun Princess, which will be the largest in the Princess Cruises fleet, visits the UK next September, another 300 agents, media and partners will be invited to board the ship before it repositions to the US.

Speaking in Venice after a shipyard visit, Williamson emphasised how important the trade would be in helping Princess Cruises fill the 4,300-passenger Sun Princess and sister ship Star Princess, arriving in 2025.

It follows the appointment of Hayley Moore as Princess’s new UK and Europe sales director, who takes over from Scenic-bound Nick Hughes.

Moore, a former P&O Cruises senior brand manager, had been providing maternity cover leading Princess’s European marketing and communications team.

Asked what she would bring to the sales team, Williamson said: “Hayley has grown her passion for the brand, she’s been on board our ships a number of times.

"She’s spent time with media, with agents, with our sales teams, so she knows the brand, she knows the team, she has a very forward-looking approach and style."

Williamson added: “I’m excited she’s going to be able to hit the ground running with a lot of existing knowledge and build on that. We can continue with the great work that Nick started and develop it even further.”

Williamson said Princess had grown its sales team significantly in 2023, adding she had budgeted for additional heads for the coming year.

This year saw more than 2,600 agents join Princess onboard its ships in Europe, UK and Ireland. “I’d like to try to get even more than that next year if I could,” Williamson said.