Regal Princess cruise cancelled after "touching bottom"

Princess Cruises is paying to fly 1,500 passengers home, and granting full refunds plus future cruise credit, after cancelling a 12-night Panama Canal cruise from Acapulco due to damage to one of the ship's ballast tanks. Sunday, sailing from the Mexican port of Huatulco, the damage was caused when the vessel "touched bottom," said Princess, which we guess is polite terminology for, "kind of ran aground, just a little."

It's not yet known whether the next sailing of Regal Princess, scheduled for March 1, will be affected as well.

Although less important in calm seas, ballast tanks are critical to the ship's stability in heavy weather. The bridge crew can rapidly pump huge quantities of water from one side of the ship to the other as needed to counterweight the force of wind or waves.

Not that this relates to the story at all, but even though it's one of the oldest vessels in the Princess fleet, Regal Princess is also one of the most beautiful. Her distinctively sleek and gorgeous lines were designed by Italian (of course) architect Renzo Piano.