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''Grand Princess'' is a
''Grand Princess'' was the first of the s debuting in 1998, and christened by
The picture of ''Grand Princess'' departing from Fort Lauderdale post refit.
{{Princess Ships Ships of Princess Cruises Ships built in Monfalcone 1998 ships Ships built by Fincantieri Cruise ships involved in the COVID-19 pandemic
cruise ship
Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...
owned by Princess Cruises
Princess Cruises is an American cruise line owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. The company is incorporated in Bermuda and its headquarters are in Santa Clarita, California, Santa Clarita, California. As of 2021, it is the List of cruise lines# ...
. It was built in 1998 by Fincantieri
Fincantieri S.p.A. () is an Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy. Already the largest shipbuilder in Europe, after the acquisition of Vard in 2013, Fincantieri group doubled in size to become the fourth largest in the world (2014 ...
Cantieri Navali Italiani in Monfalcone
Monfalcone (; Bisiacco: ; fur, Monfalcon; sl, Tržič; archaic german: Falkenberg) is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Gorizia in Friuli Venezia Giulia, northern Italy, located on the Gulf of Trieste. Monfalcone means 'falcon mountain' ...
, Italy, with yard number
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M
...
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
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
in the Princess Cruises
Princess Cruises is an American cruise line owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. The company is incorporated in Bermuda and its headquarters are in Santa Clarita, California, Santa Clarita, California. As of 2021, it is the List of cruise lines# ...
fleet until the new took that title in June 2013.
History
''Grand Princess'' was the first of the s debuting in 1998, and christened by Olivia de Havilland
Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British-American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her time. ...
. 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 that the ''Grand'' class appeared in brochures.The ship has a different decor scheme to her sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...
s, using darker woods, and the interior decor is more similar to the smaller ships.
She is the sister ship of 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
''The Apprentice'' is a Reality competition, reality talent game show franchise originally aired in 2004 in the United States.
Created by U.S.-based British producer Mark Burnett, the show depicts contestants from around the country with variou ...
''.
''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.
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. 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.
Incidents
2017 whale incident
On 9 August 2017, a deadhumpback whale
The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh up to . The hump ...
was found stuck on the bow of the ship after it docked in Ketchikan, Alaska
Ketchikan ( ; tli, Kichx̱áan) is a city in and the borough seat of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough of Alaska. It is the state's southeasternmost major settlement. Downtown Ketchikan is a National Historic District.
With a population at the 202 ...
. 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." 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.
2020 coronavirus pandemic
References
Bibliography
* *External links
*The picture of ''Grand Princess'' departing from Fort Lauderdale post refit.
{{Princess Ships Ships of Princess Cruises Ships built in Monfalcone 1998 ships Ships built by Fincantieri Cruise ships involved in the COVID-19 pandemic