Pacific Encounter
Pacific Encounter is a Grand-class cruise ship operated by P&O Cruises Australia, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. She was originally delivered in 2002 as Star Princess to sister cruise line Princess Cruises in 2002 by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri, and was the second ship in Princess' history to operate under the name. She had been the third Grand-class ship to be added to the fleet, following Grand Princess and Golden Princess. In 2018, Carnival Corporation announced that Star Princess would be transferred to P&O Cruises Australia to accommodate P&O's expansion plans in Oceania; however, amid the COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent impact on tourism, Carnival Corporation accelerated the transfer of the vessel and Star Princess joined P&O's fleet in 2020, one year earlier than planned. Following a renovation and a renaming to Pacific Encounter, she debuted in August 2022 upon P&O's staged resumption of operations.
Pacific Encounter in Sydney, New South Wales, 2023 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | |
| Name |
|
| Owner | Carnival Corporation & plc |
| Operator |
|
| Port of registry |
|
| Ordered | January 1998 |
| Builder | |
| Cost | US$425 million |
| Yard number | 6051 |
| Launched | 10 May 2001 |
| Sponsored by | Gunilla Antonini |
| Christened | 25 January 2002 |
| Completed | 25 January 2002 |
| In service | 2002–present |
| Identification |
|
| Status | In service |
| Notes | |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Grand-class cruise ship |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 290 m (951 ft 5 in) |
| Beam | 36 m (118 ft 1 in) |
| Draught | 8.05 m (26 ft 5 in) |
| Speed | 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph) (maximum) |
| Capacity | 2,600 passengers |
| Crew | 1,100 |
| Notes | |