Grand-class cruise ship

The Grand class is a class of cruise ships. Ships in the class are operated by the cruise lines Princess Cruises, P&O Cruises, P&O Cruises Australia and Carnival Cruise Line. The class consists of several series (subclasses) of sister ships, most of which were built by Fincantieri in Monfalcone and Trieste, northern Italy. The first vessel of the original Grand class, Grand Princess, entered service in 1998.

Grand Princess, the first ship in the class.
Class overview
Builders
Operators
Preceded bySun class
Succeeded byRoyal class
Subclasses
  • Gem class
  • Caribbean class
  • Crown class
  • Ventura class
Built1998–2010
In service1998 – present
Completed11
Active11
General characteristics
TypeCruise ship
Tonnage109,000–116,000 GT
Length951 ft (289.86 m)
Beam118 ft (35.97 m)
Draught26 ft (7.92 m)
Decks
  • Grand and Gem class: 17 total, 13 passenger
  • Caribbean class: 18 total, 14 passenger
  • Crown class: 19 total, 15 passenger
  • Ventura class: 19 total, 14 passenger
PropulsionDiesel-electric
Capacity2,600–3,114 passengers
Crew1,200

Ships of the later subclasses are based on the Grand class, but have modifications such as additional decks and varied placement of facilities such as the nightclub and restaurants. The structure used as a nightclub is a signature element of Princess Cruises' ships in the Grand class and derived classes. The nightclub either overhangs the stern of the ship (Grand and Caribbean classes) or is located just aft of the funnel (Gem and Crown classes).

The Gem class of ships is based primarily on the Grand class, but modifies the placement of the nightclub to be just aft of the funnel and also modifies the number of restaurants. The two Gem-class ships were built by Mitsubishi in Nagasaki, Japan in 2004.

The Caribbean class is the third version of the design and has one additional deck. As in the original Grand-class design, the nightclub is suspended on the stern. Caribbean-class vessels also introduced a poolside theater, which was later added to other Princess ships.

The Crown class is the fourth Princess Cruises version of the Grand class and has two additional decks. Crown-class ships have returned the placement of the nightclub adjacent to the funnel. Crown-class ships also feature a poolside theater like the Caribbean class.

The Ventura class has 19 decks like the Crown class. These ships both owned and operated by P&O Cruises and are marketed as Grand class, although they were given the Ventura class designation because they are not owned by Princess and are totally modified internally and externally. Ventura is also the largest ship in the Grand class. The second Ventura-class ship is MS Azura, launched in March 2010 which has a modified stern. Azura is also the only P&O Cruises ship to feature a poolside theater style outdoor screen.

Ships

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Ship Built Builder Entered service Gross Tonnage Flag Notes Image
Grand class
Grand Princess 1998 Fincantieri 1998–present 107,517 tons   Bermuda Largest and most expensive ship built in 1998 - Last refurbished in March 2019 - Former flagship of Princess fleet before Royal Princess' construction in 2013.  
Pacific Adventure 2001 Fincantieri 2001–present 108,865 tons   United Kingdom Formerly, Golden Princess. Last refurbished in 2022. Transferred to P&O Cruises Australia in 2020 from Princess Cruises.[1]  
Pacific Encounter 2002 Fincantieri 2002–present 108,977 tons   Bermuda Formerly, Star Princess. Fire swept through berths in 2006. Last refurbished in 2022. Transferred to P&O Cruises Australia in 2020 from Princess Cruises.[1]  
Gem class
Design differences on these ships are the relocation of the nightclub to directly aft of the funnel, rather than suspended over the stern, and the much larger funnel.
The two Gem-class ships, Diamond Princess and Sapphire Princess, are the only two ships based on the Grand class to be built at Mitsubishi's Nagasaki Yard.
Diamond Princess 2004 Mitsubishi 2004–present 115,875 tons   United Kingdom Originally named Sapphire Princess  
Sapphire Princess 2004 Mitsubishi 2004–present 115,875 tons   United Kingdom Originally named Diamond Princess  
Caribbean class
The design for Caribbean Princess derives directly from the original Grand-class ships, with none of the Gem-class modifications being included. Caribbean Princess uses the original Grand-class design, but with an additional deck. This additional deck increases the ship's passenger capacity from 2,600 to 3,100.
Caribbean Princess was also the first ship to have a poolside theater. The three ships in the Crown class, Crown Princess, Emerald Princess, and Ruby Princess, were later built with this feature also included. It has since been added to all of the ships in the class.
Caribbean Princess 2004 Fincantieri 2004–present 112,894 tons   Bermuda Last refurbished in April 2017  
Crown class
These ships, which build on Caribbean Princess' design, also differ slightly. These ships have two more passenger decks than the original Grand class as well as the poolside theater. A nightclub is aft of the funnel.
Crown Princess 2006 Fincantieri 2006–present 113,561 tons   Bermuda Major listing incident in 2006  
Emerald Princess 2007 Fincantieri 2007–present 113,561 tons   Bermuda  
Ruby Princess 2008 Fincantieri 2008–present 113,561 tons   Bermuda  
Ventura class
Ships in the Ventura class are based on the Crown-class design. The ships in this class are owned and operated by P&O Cruises. Azura has a modified stern.
Ventura 2008 Fincantieri 2008–present 116,017 tons   Bermuda The largest cruise ship to enter service with P&O Cruises, and the British market, until 2015.  
Azura 2010 Fincantieri 2010–present 115,055 tons   Bermuda Azura has a modified stern.  

References

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  1. ^ a b "Princess Cruises Advances Transition of Golden Princess and Star Princess to Sister Company P&O Cruises Australia" (Press release). Princess Cruises. 21 October 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.