The vessel expands the line’s fleet to 15 Medallion-class ships and features an evolution of the design platform used for the company’s previous Royal-class ships.

The Discovery Princess handover was attended by John Padgett, president of Princess Cruises, captain Gennaro Arma, and Luigi Matarazzo, general manager merchant ships division of Fincantieri.

The 3,660-guest vessel is the sixth and final Royal-class newbuild and shares similar characteristics with its sister ships Enchanted Princess, Sky Princess, Majestic Princess, Regal Princess and Royal Princess.

Discovery Princess will depart Italy for Los Angeles to sail a series of Mexican Riviera and California Coast voyages from 27 March to 24 April before heading to the Pacific coast to begin a season of seven-day Alaska cruises from Seattle.

John Padgett, Princess Cruises president, said the ceremony marked a "significant milestone" for the line.

"We extend our immense gratitude to our long-time and trusted partners at Fincantieri – the shipbuilders of all six of our Royal-class vessels – with Discovery Princess and look forward to welcoming our first guests to experience the beauty of the ship when they embark in just a few weeks," he continued.