"Prinz Eugen" was long overall, and had a beam of and a maximum draft of . After launching, her straight bow was replaced with a clipper bow, increasing the length overall to . The new bow kept her foredeck much drier in heavy weather. The ship had a design displacement of and a full-load displacement of . "Prinz Eugen" was powered by three sets of geared steam turbines, which were supplied with steam by twelve ultra-high pressure oil-fired boilers. The ship's top speed was , at . As designed, her standard complement consisted of 42 officers and 1,340 enlisted men.