Pullmantur will be taking over the Monarch of the Seas from Royal Caribbean International in 2013, and with the ship comes a stronger Latin America strategy, according to company executives.

The Monarch will join Pullmantur’s Zenith, Empress and her sister, the Sovereign.

The 2,744-passenger, 1991-built Monarch of the Seas will not follow the rest of the Pullmantur fleet from Brazil to Europe, but instead be deployed in the Southern Caribbean year-round, on eight-night itineraries, poised to grab customers and revenue from an emerging Latin American market.

This year, the Ocean Dream left the fleet, for a new home with Peace Boat, while sister-company CDF took over the Horizon, leaving Pullmantur with three ships, as opposed to having to fill five in a difficult Spanish market.