Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Carnival Cruise Lines

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Carnival Cruise Lines
Type Subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc
Founded 1972
Headquarters Miami, Florida, USA
Industry Transportation
Products Cruises
Website http://www.carnival.com/

Carnival Cruise Lines is a cruise line operating a large number of cruise ships. Originally an independent company founded in 1972 by Ted Arison, it is now a branded division within Carnival Corporation & plc, a publicly traded company which owns a number of different cruise brands.[1]

Carnival was a pioneer in the concept of shorter, less expensive cruises. Its ships are known for their Las Vegas-style decor and entertainment. The line calls its ships The Fun Ships and there is a wide range of activities offered on board. Its trademark is the smoke stack, or funnel, which is red, white and blue and shaped like a whale's tail. The mascot for Carnival is "Fun Ship Freddy", a character in the shape of Carnival's distinctive funnel.

In 1996 the Carnival Destiny of 101,000 gross tons became the largest passenger ship in the world at the time. As of 2008, the latest and largest ship in the Carnival Fleet is the Carnival Splendor. Currently, a new 130,000 gross ton ship is under construction, the Carnival Dream. The Carnival Dream is set to debut in October 2009 . A sister ship,the Carnival Magic, is set to debut in June 2011.

Current Ships

Holiday Class

Ship Year
Built		 Sailed for
Carnival		 Gross Tonnage Flag Notes
Holiday 1985 1985-Present 46,051 GT Bahamas

MS Holiday

MS Holiday is a Holiday class cruise ship owned and operated by Carnival Cruise Lines. She sails on four and five day itineraries through the Western Caribbean from Mobile, Alabama.

Holiday entered service in 1985. As of 2009, she is the smallest and oldest ship in the Carnival fleet; all smaller ships have either been scrapped or sold off to other cruise lines. The ship's condition had been in decline until 2003, when she was sent into the dry docks and renovated. In 2005, during Hurricane Katrina, she was used as temporary housing for victims of the storm. After leaving Mississippi, she again went to the dry docks for an additional three weeks of renovations. New carpeting and plumbing were added and repairs to the propellers were made, among other improvements. Holiday has since resumed her normal route in the Western Caribbean, sailing from Mobile, Alabama. In November 2009, Holiday will be tranferred to the fleet of Iberocruceros, another cruise line owned by Carnival Corporation & plc as the Grand Holiday. Holiday will be replaced by the Carnival Fantasy on cruises out of Mobile.


Fantasy Class

Ship Year
Built		 Sailed for
Carnival		 Gross Tonnage Flag Notes
Carnival Fantasy 1989 1990-Present 70,367 GT Panama Originally named Fantasy, renamed in 2008.
Carnival Ecstasy 1991 1991-Present 70,367 GT Panama Originally named Ecstasy, renamed in 2008.
Carnival Sensation 1993 1993-Present 70,367 GT Bahamas Originally named Sensation, renamed in 2008.
Carnival Fascination 1994 1994-Present 70,367 GT Bahamas Originally named Fascination, renamed in 2008.
Carnival Imagination 1995 1995-Present 70,367 GT Bahamas Originally named Imagination, renamed in 2007.
Carnival Inspiration 1996 1996-Present 70,367 GT Bahamas Originally named Inspiration, renamed in 2007.
Carnival Elation 1998 1998-Present 70,367 GT Panama Originally named Elation, renamed in 2007.
Carnival Paradise 1998 1998-Present 70,367 GT Panama Originally named Paradise, renamed in 2007.

Carnival Paradise

The MS Carnival Paradise is the eighth and last vessel in Carnival Cruise Lines' Fantasy class of cruise ships. She was built in 1998 by Kvaerner Masa-Yards Helsinki New Shipyard, Finland as MS Paradise. The ship was renamed with a "Carnival" prefix in 2007.

The Paradise was built to be the world's first completely non-smoking cruise ship. Every step of her construction was done by non-smoking personnel and she was entered into service supported by several anti-smoking and cancer-prevention groups. "No smoking" signs were placed prominently on both sides of the ship and on the stern under the name.

Non-smoking rules were strictly enforced. No smoking materials of any kind were permitted aboard. If anything was seen or found, the passenger was fined $250 and put off at the next port (transportation home to be provided at passenger's own expense). Due to poor revenue, Carnival decided to discontinue the smoke-free ship in December 2003 because non-smokers tend to not drink or gamble as much as those accustomed to smoke.

Scheduled to arrive in the Port of Long Beach, California, on September 20, 2004, her arrival was delayed due to several major hurricanes (see 2004 Atlantic hurricane season). Her cruise through the Caribbean and Panama Canal, and up the Mexican coast was further hindered by more hurricanes. After having skirted the bad weather with minimal inconvenience, Paradise arrived in Los Angeles in the early morning, docking at the Long Beach terminal of Carnival Cruise Lines, which was the building that had housed the Spruce Goose. Later that day, the nonsmoking signs were painted over. She still boasts one of the strictest smoking policies in the fleet.

Since her arrival in Long Beach, she has become popular among younger cruisers looking for a more casual and affordable alternative to the longer more structured lines, with her 3 day and 4 day cruises to Ensenada, Mexico.

Carnival Cruise Lines retrofitted the Paradise with the first “earth-friendly” dry-cleaning system, which uses environmentally safe detergents and reduces hazardous chemical runoff. In addition, Carnival has also been at the forefront of engine design, and their new class of ships features a “highly efficient” diesel-electric propulsion system known as the “enviro-engine”, which nearly eliminates visible smokestack emissions.

Destiny Class

Ship Year
Built		 Sailed for
Carnival		 Gross Tonnage Flag Notes
Carnival Destiny 1996 1996-Present 101,353 GT Bahamas World's largest passenger ship (measured by gross tonnage), when built. First cruise ship over 100,000 GT.
Carnival Triumph 1999 1999-Present 101,509 GT Bahamas The ship was built with an additional deck.
Carnival Victory 2000 2000-Present 101,509 GT Panama Identical to the Carnival Triumph.

Carnival Destiny

Carnival Destiny is a cruise ship that is owned and operated by Carnival Cruise Lines. When she entered service in 1996, she was the largest passenger ship ever built as measured by gross tonnage, and the first passenger ship larger than the 1940-built RMS Queen Elizabeth. Given a multi-million dollar refurbishment in 2005, Carnival Destiny features three pools, a variety of dining options, lounges, nightclubs, a casino, duty-free shopping and Spa Carnival. The Destiny spends her time plying the waters of the Caribbean. She is the lead ship of the Destiny Class and has four similar sister ships, the Carnival Triumph, and the Carnival Victory sailing for Carnival Cruises and the Costa Fortuna and Costa Magica sailing for Costa Cruises. The Carnival ships differ from her by the addition of extra balcony cabins on their Lido decks and various changes to placements and shapes of their public areas; the Costa ships have more dancing space and a smaller casino, as well as changes in locations of her public spaces. The term "Destiny class" appears to refer only to the Carnival ships.

Spirit Class

Ship Year
Built		 Sailed for
Carnival		 Gross Tonnage Flag Notes
Carnival Spirit 2001 2001-Present 88,500 GT Panama
Carnival Pride 2001 2001-Present 88,500 GT Panama
Carnival Legend 2002 2002-Present 88,500 GT Panama
Carnival Miracle 2004 2004-Present 88,500 GT Panama

Carnival Spirit

Carnival Spirit was the first Spirit class cruise ship for Carnival Cruise Lines. She was also the first new "Fun Ship" to sail to Alaska and Hawaii. 80% of the cabins are on the outside of the ship, and of these outside cabins, 80% have balconies.

Itineraries

During the summer months, starting in mid-May and ending in September, Carnival Spirit sails the waters off Alaska, stopping in Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Sitka, cruising the Lynn Canal, Prince William Sound, and visiting several glaciers. It alternates between a one week northbound and southbound voyage calling Vancouver and Whittier, Alaska home. During the first and last weeks of the summer, she travels a modified Glacier Bay voyage which starts and ends in Vancouver.

During late September and October, Carnival Spirit sails the Hawaiian Islands. These 12-day cruises visit such ports as Maui, Kona, Hilo, and Kauai. Hawaii is often the stopping point between the summer Alaskan cruises and the winter Mexican Riviera cruises.

Finally, during the winter months, Carnival Spirit travels down the Mexican Riviera visiting Acapulco, Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa, and Manzanillo. She begins and ends her cruises in San Diego, California.

Public rooms

The public spaces onboard Carnival Spirit are named for different architectural and artistic styles:

Conquest Class

Ship Year
Built		 Sailed for
Carnival		 Gross Tonnage Flag Notes
Carnival Conquest 2002 2002-Present 110,000 GT Panama
Carnival Glory 2003 2003-Present 110,000 GT Panama
Carnival Valor 2004 2004-Present 110,000 GT Panama
Carnival Liberty 2005 2005-Present 110,000 GT Panama
Carnival Freedom 2007 2007-Present 110,000 GT Panama

Carnival Conquest

Carnival Conquest is a Conquest Class cruise ship owned by Carnival Cruise Lines. Sixty percent of her staterooms have ocean views, and sixty percent of those (37% of all cabins) have balconies.[7] Carnival Conquest cruises the Western Caribbean from the port of Galveston, Texas. The ship's interior decor is of a French Impressionist style designed to complement her original port city of New Orleans.

Facilities

  • Sky Pool
  • Spa/Gym
  • Alfred's Bar
  • Gaugin's Bar
  • Blues (bar/club)
  • Vincent's (bar/club)
  • Sushi Japanaise
  • Degas Lounge
  • Toulouse-Lautrec Lounge
  • Cézanne Restaurant
  • Monet Restaurant
  • Renoir Restaurant
  • "The Point" (restaurant)
  • Café Fans
  • Henri's Disco
  • Camp Carnival
  • Tahiti Casino
  • 2 Other Pools, Sun Pool and Stars Pool
  • Children's Pool
  • 9 Hole Mini-Golf Course
  • 4 Jacuzzis
  • Sunflower Atrium
  • Carnival Seaside Theater

Gallery

Carnival Conquest at Jamaica in July 2006.

Carnival Conquest docked at Grand Cayman.

Carnival Conquest docked at Riviera Maya.

Splendor Class

Ship Year
Built		 Sailed for
Carnival		 Gross Tonnage Flag Notes
Carnival Splendor 2008 2008-Present 113,300 GT Panama

Carnival Splendor

Carnival Splendor is one of the latest of the Carnival Cruise ships to enter the fleet. She entered service on July 2, 2008. At 113,300 gross register tons (GRT)[3], she is the largest ship in Carnival Cruise Line history. There are currently no plans to build another ship like her.

The ship was originally designed for Costa Cruises, hence the larger spa and children's facilities[4]. She is similar in design to the Costa Concordia and its sister ship, the Costa Serena.

Highlights

The 3,006 passenger vessel offers a 21,000 square feet (2,000 m2) state-of-the-art indoor spa (the largest spa ever on a Carnival ship), consuming two forward decks. The spa features an elaborate thermal suite, a variety of health and beauty treatment rooms, and Carnival’s first Thalasso therapy pool. Encircling the upper level of the spa is a winter garden that will include a ceremonial tea house. The cost for access to the Thalasso therapy pool and other area in the spa is $35 for the entire cruise.

A 5,500-square-foot (510 m2) children’s playroom—the largest in the Carnival fleet—will be located mid-ship. Above the facility is a new water play area, the first for Carnival Cruise Lines.

Located at the back of the ship is a new sports deck featuring arena-style seating for games and other events,but the net around the sport deck is too low to play basketball, while a reservations-only supper club is located atop the poolside Lido restaurant, providing diners with magnificent ocean vistas.

The mid-ship pool,one of four on board, is enclosed by two full decks of glass walls. The area is covered with a two-deck-high retractable dome that can be closed during inclement weather. A large balcony encircles the upper deck of the pool area. There are flat screen televisions in every stateroom on the ship. There are award winning shows on the ship.

Carnival Splendor’s inaugural season began with its inaugural cruise from Genoa, Italy to Dover, England, then followed by a three-day cruise to Amsterdam. After, five 12-day Northern Europe cruises[5] operating round-trip from London (Dover) July 13, 2008 – August 30, 2008. Ports of call included Copenhagen, Warnemunde, Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Tallinn, and Amsterdam. On September 11, 2008, the ship sailed to southern Europe, leaving from the Port of Dover. The first of five 12-day Northern Europe cruises began sailing on July 13, 2008 from the Port of Dover in Kent, England.

Carnival Splendor will be the first Carnival ship to make voyages to South America, in January 2009.[6] Voyages will last 14 – 18 days, and depart to destinations in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Peru, and Ecuador, as well as Dominica, Barbados, and Mexico.

In March 2009, Carnival Splendor will be the setting Mayercraft Carrier 2, a 4-day cruise (March 27 – March 31) from Los Angeles, California to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico hosted by musician John Mayer and featuring music and comedy shows.

Future Ships

Ship Class Projected
Completion		 Gross Tonnage Flag Notes
Carnival Dream Dream 2009 130,000 GT Panama
Carnival Magic Dream 2011 130,000 GT Panama

Carnival Dream

Carnival Dream is one of the latest of the Carnival Cruise Lines (NYSE[3]) ships to enter the fleet; entering on September 21, 2009. At 130,000 tons, she will represent a new class of ships for the line; the biggest the line has ever built. Her sister ship, the Carnival Magic is expected to enter service in June 2011.

Highlights

According to Carnival's press release [4], the ship and her sister, the Carnival Magic are expected to have the widest variety of activity, dining, and entertainment options of the entire fleet. The Carnival Dream will start her service with three Europe cruises from Rome, Italy followed by a Transatlantic voyage to New York. In December 2009 its home port will be Port Canaveral, Florida. [5] [6]

Cabins

The ship will have an array of cabins to choose from. The cabins will range from interior to suites.In addition, the ship will introduce newer forms of cabins. One new type of cabin will be a deluxe ocean view stateroom. The deluxe ocean view stateroom will have two separate washroom facilities. Another new cabin will be the cove balcony stateroom. The cove balcony stateroom will have a partially enclosed veranda. The ship will also feature special spa staterooms that are currently available on the Carnival Splendor.[7]

Facilities

The Carnival Dream will be the first Carnival ship to feature a water park with multiple slides as a newbuild. The ship will use a larger variation of the water park that was recently added to the Fantasy class ships. The ship will feature a 2-deck miniature golf course. The ship will also feature a wide outdoor promenade deck that will feature an outdoor cafe and a whirlpool jacuzzi in four places along the outside edge of the deck. [7]

Design

Comparisons to Other Cruise Ships

While the largest cruise ship operated by Carnival Cruise Lines, the ship will not be the largest in the world, being surpassed by Royal Caribbean International's Freedom Class and Oasis Class of ships as well as Cunard Line's RMS Queen Mary 2. By comparison, the Carnival Dream is roughly equal to Royal Caribbean International's Voyager class. However the Dream is 17 feet shorter, and 8,000 gross tons lighter.

Exterior

The Carnival Dream is an all new class of ships for Carnival Cruise Lines. She will feature facilities similarly designed and used on the previous generations of Carnival ships.

Interior

The exact details of her interiors have not been fully released.

Decks and Facilities

Decks and facilities are based on the basic layout elements of the Destiny class and the Carnival Splendor, with newer elements.
1. Riviera - Passenger staterooms
2. Main - Passenger staterooms
3. Lobby - Restaurants, main lounge
4. Atlantic - Restaurant upper levels, main lounge upper deck, photo gallery, lifeboat deck
5. Promenade - Outdoor promenade, cafe, main lounge top deck,casino, nightclub, aft lounge
6. Upper - Passenger staterooms
7. Empress - Passenger staterooms
8. Verandah - Passenger staterooms
9. Vista - Passenger staterooms
10. Lido - Passenger staterooms, pool, lido buffet restaurant
11. Panorama - Passenger staterooms, spa staterooms, childrens facilities,lido restaurant
12. Spa - Spa staterooms, spa, waterpark, mini golf course, reservations-only restaurant
14. Sun - Spa upper deck, basketball court (no deck 13)
15. Sky - Spa top deck, slide entrance

Branding Controversy

Since the ship's announcement, there has been some debate in cruising circles as to whether or not the phrase "the Largest 'Fun Ship' " is misleading. It has been cited by some familiar with the industry as possibly creating confusion with Royal Caribbean International's larger ships. However "Fun Ships" is a Carnival trademark and the Carnival Dream is the company's largest ship, and will be the first of the Dream Class of ships. It is expected to be 1,004 feet in length and displace 130,000 tons, according to a Carnival spokesman. The Carnival Dream has 1823 cabins, the company said.

Former Ships

Ship Class Year
Built		 Sailed for
Carnival		 Gross Tonnage Flag Notes
Mardi Gras former Ocean Liner 1961 1972-1993 42,348 GT Panama Also known as Empress of Canada, Olympic, Star of Texas, Lucky Star, Apollo, and Apollon. Sold for scrap in 2003.
Carnivale former Ocean Liner 1956 1975-1994 31,500 GT Panama Also known as Empress of Britain, Queen Anna Maria, Fiesta Marina, Olympic, and The Topaz. Sold for scrap in 2008.
Festivale former Ocean Liner 1962 1977-1998 32,697 GT unknown Also known as Transvaal Castle, S.A. Vaal, Island Breeze, and Big Red Boat III. Scrapped in 2003.
Tropicale Tropicale 1982 1982-2001 36,674 GT Liberia Was Carnival's first purpose built ship. Also known as Costa Tropicale, and Pacific Star. Currently being refurbished and will be known as the Ocean Dream in May 2008.
Jubilee Holiday 1986 1986-2004 47,262 GT unknown Now known as Pacific Sun.
Celebration Holiday 1987 1987-2008 47,262 GT Panama Now sails for Iberocruceros as the Grand Celebration
  • Two more Destiny class ships sail for Carnival's sister company Costa Cruises, the Costa Fortuna and the Costa Magica.
  • The Carnival Destiny was built with one deck less than the rest of the Destiny class ships.
  • Two more Spirit class ships of sail for Carnival's sister company Costa Cruises, the Costa Atlantica and the Costa Mediterranea.
  • The Conquest Class is based on the overall design of the Destiny Class, but has a longer length. Because of its longer length, the Conquest Class has expanded facilities compared to the Destiny Class. All ships have a reservations-only restaurant. The Carnival Valor, Carnival Liberty and the Carnival Freedom, slightly differ from the rest of the fleet because they have Carnival's Seaside Theater installed by the main pool on the Lido Deck. The Carnival Triumph and Victory has one installed too.
  • The Carnival Splendor will be the first of the newest class of ships. This ship is quite unique in the Carnival fleet, offering facilities other ships don't have. This is due to the fact that the ship was originally designed for Carnival's sister company Costa Cruises. Costa Cruises currently operates two sister ships to the Carnival Splendor, the Costa Concordia and the Costa Serena. The inaugural voyage for the Carnival Splendor will be on 2 July 2008 from Genoa, Italy to Dover, England and will then have Carnival's first voyages to Northern Europe.
  • On 3 April 2008 Mickey Arison, the chairman of Carnival Corporation & plc, stated that due to the low value of the US dollar, inflation and high shipbuilding costs, the company would not be ordering any new ships for their US-based brands (Carnival, Princess Cruises and Holland America Line) until the economic situation improves.

Grand Celebration

Grand Celebration is a Holiday class cruise ship that is operated by Iberocruceros. She was built in 1986 by Kockums Varv in Malmö, Sweden for Carnival Cruise Lines as Celebration. The Grand Celebration has 2 sister ships. The Holiday operates for Carnival Cruise Lines and the Pacific Sun operates for P&O Cruises Australia. The Celebration was retired from their fleet in April 2008. The Grand Celebration had an extensive refit before re-entering service. The refit included new hull artwork. Unlike Carnival's other retired purpose built ships, the trademark whale tail funnel was not altered or removed. The funnel was only painted over. The Grand Celebration entered into service for Iberocruceros in the summer of 2008.

Incidents (with Carnival Cruise Lines)

On August 16th, 2006, Carnival's Celebration struck the harbor floor in Nassau, The Bahamas as the ship with over 1100 passengers onboard was preparing to dock. The ship's propeller was struck, causing vessel damage and the release of 53 gallons of lubricating oil into the sea. The Celebration canceled its Port Of Call to Nassau and returned to its Jacksonville, Florida homebase, giving passengers an extra day at sea. All passengers received a 20% discount towards their next cruise.

On August 25, 2007, Carnival's "Fun Ship" Celebration was on its normal embarkation schedule in Jacksonville, Florida, when Carnival's sniffer dogs detected something suspicious in the luggage. The terminal was closed at approximately noon, and reopened around 8 pm. It was later detected that heart medication set the dogs off, according to Jacksonville City Police.

Public rooms (as Celebration)

  • Endless Summer lounge
  • Galax-Z dance Club
  • Bourbon Street, a tribute to New Orleans' celebrated thoroughfare.
  • Wheelhouse Bar & Grill
  • Admiral, ship's library
  • Red Hot Piano Bar
  • Islands in the Sky Bar
  • Rainbow Club Casino
  • Astoria Lounge
  • Vista and Horizon dining room

Meeting facilities (as Celebration)

  • Astoria Lounge: 900 maximum guests reception, 725 maximum guests theater, 200 maximum guests modified classroom, Dance floor, in house sound system with microphones, CD player, dual cassette player
  • Islands in the Sky Lounge: 350 maximum guests theater, 150 maximum guests modified classroom
  • Galax-Z dance club: 400 maximum guests reception, 150 maximum guests theater, 50 maximum guests modified classroom
  • Endless Summer Lounge: 110 maximum guests reception, 60 maximum guests theater, Dance Floor, built in karaoke machine
  • Red Hot Piano Bar: 60 maximum guests reception, 30 maximum guests theater, wireless microphone capability
  • Lido Deck: 300 maximum guests reception (semi-private), 250 maximum guests reception poolside (not private)
  • Vista Dining Room: 414 maximum guests
  • Horizon Dining Room: 480 maximum guests

Gallery

Close up views of the ship


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Princess Cruises

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Princess Cruises is a American cruise line, with offices in the Valencia section of the city of Santa Clarita, California, and operating cruise ships. The Company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index: however Princess Cruises and Cunard Line are now both owned by Carnival Corporation & plc with whom they share the same offices. The company was made famous by The Love Boat TV series, in which two of its ships, the Island Princess and Pacific Princess were featured.
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Princess Cruises
Type Public
Founded 1966
Headquarters Santa Clarita, California, United States
Industry Travel
Products Cruises
Website www.princess.com


Princess Cruises headquarters in Santa Clarita

Princess Cruises began in 1966, when founder Stanley MacDonald chartered Canadian Pacific Limited's Alaska cruise ship Princess Patricia for Mexican Riviera cruises from Los Angeles during a time when she would have usually been laid up for the winter.[1] However, Princess Pat, as she was fondly called, had never been designed for tropical cruising, lacking air-conditioning, and Princess ended her charter in favor of a more purpose-built cruise ship Italia.

The Italia had originally been ordered in 1963 and was one of the first to implement modern design elements, such as lifeboats mounted lower on the ship, allowing for uncluttered upperdecks, and engines placed far in the rear, allowing for spacious public rooms amidships. Gustavo Finali and Romano Boico had designed the ship's interiors, designers whose résumés included such ships as the Augustus and Raffaello (of Italian Line) and the Oceanic and Homeric (of Home Lines).

Construction proceeded slowly, and accordingly, the Italia was not launched until the spring of 1965, and during the fitting out, both the owners and the builder were declared bankrupt. The Italia was passed onto a bank who created a company to charter or sell the ship, and consequently, the company chartered the Italia to Princess.

Princess, who marketed the ship as Princess Italia but never officially renamed her, used the ship to inaugurate their Mexican Riviera cruises out of Los Angeles, and did not even receive the Princess logo on her funnel until 1967.[1]

In 1969, the Princess Italia was used on Alaskan cruises from San Francisco, but by 1973, the charter was canceled, and the Italia returned to Europe on charter to Costa Cruise Line.[1]

Princess's third charter ship was none other than Costa's Carla C. Originally, Compagnie Generale Transatlantique's Flandre, the ship had been purchased by Costa in the late sixties and given a major rebuilding. Almost immediately after completion, the ship was chartered to Princess, and it was onboard the ship, which was marketed as, but again not officially renamed, Princess Carla, that Jeraldine Saunders wrote the first chapters of 'Love Boat.'

Britain's Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) which by 1960 was the world's largest shipping company with 320 ocean going vessels 'acquired Princess Cruise Lines in 1974 and their Spirit of London (originally to have been Norwegian Cruise Line's Seaward) was transferred to the Princess fleet, becoming the first Sun Princess.[1]

The two ships that were to be featured heavily in the television series 'Love Boat' were built in 1971 at Nordseewerke for Flagship Cruises and originally named the Sea Venture (for the original Sea Venture, the 1609 wreck of which resulted in the settlement of Bermuda) and Island Venture. In 1974, P&O purchased them for their Princess division, and they served as the Island Princess and Pacific Princess respectively.

A part time addition to the Princess fleet was the former Swedish transatlantic liner Kungsholm, purchased by P&O from Flagship Cruises in 1978, and then restyled and rebuilt in Bremen as the Sea Princess. She was initially based in Australia as a P&O ship until 1981 when her role there was taken over by the Oriana. After that, she alternated between P&O and Princess colours as she moved between fleets. The Sea Princess returned to the P&O UK fleet permanently and in 1995 and was renamed Victoria to allow a then new Princess ship to be named Sea Princess.

The first P&O Princess Cruises purpose-built cruise ship was the Royal Princess in 1984, the largest new British passenger ship in a decade, and one of the first, if not the first, ships to completely dispense with interior cabins.[1] The ship now serves in P&O Cruises fleet as the Artemis. A new Princess ship, Royal Princess, is set to debut sometime in spring 2007.

In 1986, P&O Princess Cruises acquired Tour Alaska which operated on the Alaska Railroad. Based in Anchorage, Alaska, Princess Tours now operates ten luxury railcars with full-service scenic tours of Mount McKinley and can accommodate over 700 passengers per day.

P&O Princess Cruises acquired Sitmar Line in 1988 and transferred all of its major tonnage to Princess, including three cruise ships then under construction.[1] The Dawn Princess and Fair Princess were both ex-Cunarders, and the former Sitmar Fairsky became Princess's Sky Princess. The first of the three new Sitmar ships came into the Princess brand in 1989 as the Star Princess, the largest British exclusively cruising ship. Two 70,000 grt cruise ships entered service in 1990 as the Crown Princess and Regal Princess, bringing Princess's fleet up to ten deluxe cruise ships.[1]

On October 23, 2000, P&O Princess Cruises demerged from Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O), to become an independently traded company.[2] Then, on April 17, 2003 the Miami-based Carnival Corporation merged with P&O Princess Cruises at US$5.4 billion, to form Carnival Corporation & plc as the world's largest cruise company.[3] Besides Princess Cruises, Carnival owns 11 other brands.

On 3 April 2008 Mickey Arison, the chairman of Carnival Corporation & plc, stated that due to the low value of the US dollar, inflation and high shipbuilding costs, the company would not be ordering any new ships for their US-based brands (Princess, Carnival Cruise Lines and Holland America Line) before the economical situation improves.[4]

Current fleet

Grand Class

Ship Tonnage Length Passengers Passenger Decks
Grand Princess/Star Princess/Golden Princess 109,000 951 feet 2600 14
Diamond Princess/Sapphire Princess 116,000 951 feet 2670 14
Caribbean Princess 113,000 951 feet 3100 15
Emerald Princess/Crown Princess/Ruby Princess 113,000 951 feet 3070 15

Note: Strictly speaking, Diamond Princess, Sapphire Princess, Emerald Princess, Crown Princess and Ruby Princess are "Gem" class ships but are usually grouped under the "Grand" class for marketing purposes.

Grand Princess

Grand Princess is a large cruise ship owned by Princess Cruises. Built in 1998 by Fincantieri Cantieri Navali Italiani in Monfalcone (Hull Number 5956), Italy, at a cost of approximately US$450 million, she was the largest and most expensive ship ever built at the time, a distinction now carried by Royal Caribbean International's Freedom of the Seas and the newest RCI ship, Oasis of the Seas which is to debut sometime 2009. Grand Princess primarily operates in Europe during the summer to early fall, and then operates in the Caribbean during winter to late spring.

Grand Princess was the first of the Grand Class ships, and has a different decor scheme to her sister ships, using darker woods, and the interior decor is more similar to the smaller (77,000 grt) Sun Class ships. The cabin layout is also marginally different in the arrangement of the bathroom and the walk-in wardrobe. At a recent refit, the Movies under the Stars feature was added.

She is the sister ship of the Star Princess and the Golden Princess. The Grand Princess was the setting for a task in the second series of the UK version of the reality TV show The Apprentice.

The Grand Princess has two large theatres and a large central performance lounge. The inaugural season featured performances by artists including Lorna Luft, Al Martino, Bob Anderson, Red Buttons, Rita Moreno and showbands including Dominic Halpin with his swing band and Canadian band the Mud Sharks.

Sun Class

Ship Tonnage Length Passengers Passenger Decks
Sun Princess/Sea Princess/Dawn Princess 77,499 857 feet 1950 10
Coral Princess & Island Princess 91,627 964 feet 1970 12

MS Sun Princess

The Sun Princess is a Sun class cruise ship built in 1995 and operated by the Princess Cruises line.

Sun Princess is the lead ship of the Sun class, and at the time of her construction, was one of the largest cruise ships in the world. Her sister ships are the Dawn Princess, Sea Princess and the former Ocean Princess.

From November 2007, Sun Princess has been seasonally based at Sydney, Australia. Cruises offered from that time circumnavigations Australia, circumnavigations New Zealand,and visits to New Caledonia and Vanuatu.

Commencing from April 2008, Sun Princess will be permanently based in Australia operating out of Sydney during the Winter months, and from Melbourne during the Summer months. For the 2008/09 season the cruise program includes Australian circumnavigations, Fremantle - Malacca Straits return, Melbourne - New Zealand / South Pacific. She will also be sailing from Sydney as for Melbourne plus Whitsundays return, a Japan return itinerary, and an epic 75 night Grand Pacific trip. During Summer whilst Sun Princess is operating out of Melbourne, she will be joined by Dawn Princess operating out of Sydney. Dawn Princess will also be permanently based in Australia from this time which is a change from Princess' original plans.

The Sun Princess was the ship on which the television show The Love Boat: The Next Wave starring Robert Urich was filmed. She made the news in October, 2007 as the largest ship to ever cross beneath the Sydney Harbor Bridge while entering the harbor for the first time, with a vertical clearance of approximately 2.5 meters to spare at low tide

Explorer Class

Ship Tonnage Length Passengers Passenger Decks
Tahitian Princess/Pacific Princess/Royal Princess 30,277 593.7 feet 688 9

Royal Princess

MS Royal Princess is an R class cruise ship owned and operated by Princess Cruises. She was built in 2001 by Chantiers de l'Atlantique, St. Nazaire, France for Renaissance Cruises as MS R Eight. Between 2003 and 2007 she sailed for Swan Hellenic as MS Minerva II, before being transferred to Princess Cruises.

She was built as R Eight as part of 8 identical cruise ships originally ordered by Renaissance Cruises. As such, she is a sister ship to two of Princess's other vessels, Tahitian Princess and Pacific Princess, which were bought when Renaissance Cruises collapsed in 2001.

Former Fleet

Mona Lisa (ship)

MV Mona Lisa is a cruise ship owned by Leonardo Shipping[citation needed] and operated under charter by Peace Boat (as of January 2009).[2] She was built in 1966 by the John Brown & Company shipyard in Clydebank, Scotland as the combined ocean liner / cruise ship MS Kungsholm for the Swedish American Line.[5] She was later rebuilt as a full-time cruise ship. She has also sailed under the names MV Sea Princess, MV Victoria and MV Oceanic II.
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