Grand Princess

Grand Princess is a Grand-class cruise ship owned by Princess Cruises. It was built in 1998 by Fincantieri Cantieri Navali Italiani in Monfalcone, Italy, with yard number 5956, at a cost of approximately US$450 million. She was the largest and most expensive passenger ship ever built at the time. Grand Princess was the flagship in the Princess Cruises fleet until the new Royal Princess took that title in June 2013.

For the royal title, see Grand princess.

Grand Princess in Split, Croatia, showing refitted stern
History
NameGrand Princess
Owner
OperatorPrincess Cruises
Port of registry
Ordered8 February 1994
BuilderFincantieri
CostUS$450 million
Yard numberMonfalcone, 5956
Launched20 May 1998
Christened29 September 1998, by Olivia de Havilland
Maiden voyage27 May 1998
In service1998–present
RefitMay 2011, March 2019
Identification
Statusin active service
Notes[1]
General characteristics
TypeGrand-class cruise ship
Tonnage107,517 GT
Length289.86 m (951 ft 0 in)
Beam35.97 m (118 ft 0 in)
Height61.26 m (201 ft 0 in)
Draught7.92 m (26 ft 0 in)
Decks17
PropulsionTwo shafts; fixed-pitch propellers
Speed22.5 knots (41.7 km/h; 25.9 mph) (cruising)
Boats & landing
craft carried		6 tenders
Capacity
  • 2,590 lower berth passengers
  • 3,100 maximum passengers
Crew1,100
Notes[1]

History
Grand Princess with original top deck Skywalkers Lounge prior to removal in 2011

Grand Princess was the first of the Grand-class cruise ships debuting in 1998, and christened by Olivia de Havilland. When Grand Princess was launched, she featured in the Princess Cruises brochures as a Sun-class ship; it was only with the subsequent launch of Golden Princess that the Grand class appeared in brochures.The ship has a different decor scheme to her sister ships, using darker woods, and the interior decor is more similar to the smaller Sun-class ships.

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

Grand Princess has a large theater, a large central performance lounge, and an aft show lounge.

On 19 July 2009, the ship was drydocked for 14 days for refurbishments such as boosting Grand Princess's energy and environmental efficiency.[2]

Refit

In May 2011, Grand Princess completed the most extensive dry-dock in Princess Cruises history that included a refit and removal of the nightclub from her stern.[3][4] This resolved her tendency to sail bow high, and has improved her fuel economy by about 3–4%. The bow high tendency was peculiar to Grand Princess, and does not affect any of the other Grand-class ships (or the derivative classes) as unlike Grand Princess they have aluminium upper decks. In March 2019, Grand Princess underwent another dry-dock refurbishment.

Grand Princess and Pacific Princess in Split, Croatia on 7 August 2011

Incidents

2017 whale incident

On 9 August 2017, a dead humpback whale was found stuck on the bow of the ship after it docked in Ketchikan, Alaska.[5] Princess Cruises issued a statement that said "It is unknown how or when this happened as the ship felt no impact. It is also unknown, at this time, whether the whale was alive or already deceased before becoming lodged on the bow."[6] It was the second time in two years that a whale had been carried into an Alaska port on the bow of a cruise ship.[6][7]

2020 coronavirus pandemic
Further information: COVID-19 pandemic on cruise ships § Grand Princess, and COVID-19 pandemic on Grand Princess

References
  1. "Grand Princess Vessel Details and Current Position". Marine Traffic. 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
  2. "Energy focus for Grand Princess retrofit". Riviera.
  3. Peter Knego (10 February 2011). "Grand Princess To Lose Her 'Handle'". MaritimeMatters. Archived from the original on 18 February 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
  4. Staff, C. I. N. (10 February 2011). "Grand Princess to Undergo Dramatic Transformation; Skywalkers Removed". www.cruiseindustrynews.com. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  5. Joling, Dan (9 August 2017). "Dead whale found on bow of cruise ship entering Alaska port". msn.com. The Canadian Press. Archived from the original on 10 August 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  6. "How did a dead whale get stuck to the bow of this cruise ship?". New York Post. Associated Press. 10 August 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  7. "Passenger shock: Cruise ship arrives in port with massive whale carcass on bow". news.com.au. Associated Press. 10 August 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2020.

Bibliography
Wikimedia Commons has media related to IMO 9104005.
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