Grand Princess

Cruise ship owned by Princess Cruises

For the royal title, see Grand princess.

Grand Princess

Grand Princess docked in Ketchikan, Alaska in 2023

History
Bermuda
Name| Grand Princess
Owner|

* P&O Princess Cruises (1998–2003)
* Carnival Corporation & plc (2003–present)

Operator| Princess Cruises
Port of registry|

* Monrovia,  Liberia (1998–2000)
* Hamilton,  Bermuda (2000–present)

Ordered| 8 February 1994
Builder|

* Fincantieri
* Monfalcone, Italy

Cost| US$450 million
Yard number| 5956
Launched| 20 May 1998
Sponsored by| Olivia de Havilland
Christened| 29 September 1998
Maiden voyage| 27 May 1998
In service| 1998–present
Identification|

* Call sign: ZCBU5
* IMO number: 9104005
* MMSI number: 310327000

Status| In service
Notes| [1]
General characteristics
Type| Grand-class cruise ship
Tonnage| 107,517 GT
Length| 289.86 m (951 ft 0 in)
Beam| 35.97 m (118 ft 0 in)
Height| 61.26 m (201 ft 0 in)
Draught| 7.92 m (26 ft 0 in)
Decks| 17
Propulsion| Two shafts; fixed-pitch propellers
Speed| 22.5 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

Crew| 1,100
Notes| [1]

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.

## History[edit]

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.

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

### 2011 refit[edit]

The aft nightclub atop the aft of Grand Princess (pictured in 2009) was removed in the 2011 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 specific to Grand Princess and did not affect her sister ships as they were designed with aluminum upper decks.

## Incidents[edit]

### 2017 whale incident[edit]

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[edit]

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

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b "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. ^ a b "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[edit]

* Saunders, Aaron (2013). Giants of the Seas: The Ships that Transformed Modern Cruising. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 9781848321724.
* Smith, Peter C. (2010). Cruise Ships: The World's Most Luxurious Vessels. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Pen & Sword Maritime. ISBN 9781848842182.

## External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to IMO 9104005.

* Official website
* The picture of Grand Princess departing from Fort Lauderdale post refit.

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List of ships built by Fincantieri

Warships|

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Cruise ships|

* Amsterdam
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Cargo ships|

* Britannia Seaways
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Yachts|

* Destriero
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Miscellaneous vessels|

* Castoro Sei
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Related|

* Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico
* Fincantieri

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Timeline of largest passenger ships

* Briefly held the title before the preceding ship reclaimed it†
* Shared record‡

* SS Royal William (1831)
* SS Great Western (1837)
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* SS Great Britain (1843)
* RMS Atrato (1853)
* SS Adriatic (1857)
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* RMS Empress of Scotland (1906)
* RMS Lusitania (1907)
* RMS Mauretania (1907)
* RMS Olympic (1911)
* RMS Titanic (1912)†
* SS Imperator (1913)
* SS Leviathan (1914)
* RMS Majestic (1922)
* SS Normandie (1935)
* RMS Queen Mary (1936)†
* RMS Queen Elizabeth (1942)
* SS France (1972)
* MS Sovereign of the Seas (1987)†
* Sun Princess (1995)
* MS Carnival Destiny (1996)
* MS Grand Princess (1998)
* MS Voyager of the Seas (1999)
* MS Explorer of the Seas (2000)
* MS Navigator of the Seas (2002)
* RMS Queen Mary 2 (2003)
* MS Freedom of the Seas (2006)
* Liberty of the Seas (2007)
* Oasis of the Seas (2009)‡
* Harmony of the Seas (2016)
* Symphony of the Seas (2018)
* Wonder of the Seas (2022)
* Icon of the Seas (2023)

Oceans portal

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Grand-class cruise ships and derived designs

Grand class|

* Grand Princess
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* Pacific Encounter

Diamond class|

* Diamond Princess
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Caribbean class|

* Caribbean Princess

Crown class|

* Crown Princess
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Ventura class|

* Ventura
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Ships of the Princess Cruises fleet

Current|

| Royal class|

* Royal Princess (2012)
* Regal Princess (2013)
* Majestic Princess (2017)
* Sky Princess (2019)
* Enchanted Princess (2020)
* Discovery Princess (2022)

|

Grand class|

* Grand Princess (1998)
* Diamond Princess (2004)
* Sapphire Princess (2004)
* Caribbean Princess (2004)
* Crown Princess (2006)
* Emerald Princess (2007)
* Ruby Princess (2008)

Coral class|

* Coral Princess (2003)
* Island Princess (2003)

Future|

| Sphere class|

* Sun Princess (2024)
* Star Princess (2025)

|

Former|

| Various classes|

* Princess Patricia (1965)
* Princess Italia (1967)
* Princess Carla (1968)
* Sun Princess (1974)
* Sea Princess (1979)
* Royal Princess (1984)
* Fair Princess (1988)
* Dawn Princess (1988)
* Sky Princess (1988)
* Star Princess (1989)
* Golden Princess (1993)

|

Pacific class|

* Island Princess (1974)
* Pacific Princess (1975)

Crown class|

* Crown Princess (1990)
* Regal Princess (1991)

Sun class|

* Sun Princess (1995)
* Dawn Princess (1997)
* Sea Princess (1998, 2005)
* Ocean Princess (2000)

Grand class|

* Golden Princess (2001)
* Star Princess (2002)

R class|

* Ocean Princess (2002)
* Royal Princess (2007)
* Pacific Princess (2002)

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