MV Pacific Pearl

For other ships with the same name, see Arcadia (disambiguation).

Pacific Pearl in Auckland For The Naming Ceremony, 21 December 2010
Career
Name:	Pacific Pearl (2010-onwards) Ocean Village (2003-2010) Arcadia (1997-2003) Star Princess (1989-1997) FairMajesty (1988)
Owner:	P&O Cruises Australia (2010-onwards) Ocean Village (2003-2010) P&O Cruises (1997-2003) Princess Cruises (1989-1997) Sitmar Cruises (Construction Only 1987-1988)
Operator:	P&O Cruises Australia (2010-onwards) Ocean Village (2003-2010) P&O Cruises (1997-2003) Princess Cruises (1989-1997)
Port of registry:	United Kingdom
Builder:	Chantiers de l'Atlantique
Launched:	1988
Completed:	1989
In service:	1989-On
Identification:	Call sign: GRFP IMO number: 8611398 MMSI no.: 234890000
Status:	In Service
General characteristics
Tonnage:	63,500 GRT [1]
Length:	247 metres (811 feet)
Beam:	32 metres (105 feet)
Draught:	8.2 metres (27 feet)
Decks:	Passengers: 11 Overall: 13
Installed power:	4 Diesel electric motors
Speed:	21.5 Knots
Capacity:	1,578-1,856 Passengers
Crew:	514

Pacific Pearl is the sixth cruise ship of the P&O Cruises Australia brand. She was built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique, at their shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France, and launched in 1988 as Sitmar FairMajesty. Originally ordered for Sitmar Cruises, she was sold and first entered service with Princess Cruises as Star Princess in 1989. From 1997 to 2003, she served in the P&O Cruises fleet as MV Arcadia. She was renamed Ocean Village in 2003 when the brand was established.^[2] Ocean Village was the sole cruise ship of the Ocean Village brand after the Ocean Village Two became the Pacific Jewel. She is now been transferred to P&O Cruises Australia and has been renamed Pacific Pearl.

History

As Arcadia leaving Station Pier, Melbourne

Sitmar FairMajesty had been launched and named but was still being fitted out when Sitmar was taken over by P&O in 1988. She was subsequently renamed Star Princess when she commenced operating for P&O's Princess Cruises division in 1989. In 1997 she was transferred to P&O's Southampton based UK fleet as a replacement for SS Canberra, which was scrapped that year. Appropriately, she was refitted for her new role at Harland and Wolff, the shipyard in Belfast that built Canberra.

She was renamed Arcadia, in honour of an earlier P&O liner of the same name that served the UK-Australia route, and a new Princess Cruises ship took the name Star Princess.

Arcadia to Ocean Village refit

In 2003 P&O inaugurated its Ocean Village brand of cruises aimed at young people and families. Arcadia was renamed Ocean Village to undertake these cruises, and a new ship named Arcadia entered service with P&O Cruises. Arcadia was repainted as part of the refit to Ocean Village and now features a more colorful livery featuring a vivid purple, yellow and red swoosh on the front. The whole of the ship's interior had a lighting revamp to make all areas more bright and appealing.

The library and internet cafe were taken away and was replaced with a new casino. The Horizon Court Lounge had a new ocean-view gym fitted and was renamed the Bayside Club. The Palladium theater had two spiral staircases fitted connecting the ground level to the mezzanine and was renamed the Marquee. The old casino and the Trumps Card Room were removed and replaced by a lounge called Connexions.

As the ship was configured for buffet dining, room service no longer provided and passenger cabins serviced once daily instead of morning & evening, there was less crew accommodation required. Some crew cabins were re-allocated as passenger cabins - forming the AB grade suites (without balcony) and the NN grade twin inside cabins. The refit work was carried out between the 28th of March and the 17th of April 2003 at Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven.[1]

Ocean Village

Painted in Ocean Village livery

Ocean Village was the only ship in the Ocean Village fleet after 2009, a former brand of Carnival UK. It was aimed at mature cruisers who prefer casual informal cruising. The ship was sailing from Bridgetown, Barbados in the winter and from Palma de Mallorca, Spain in the summer.

Onboard features include a 3-storey atrium called Village Square incorporating shops, a performance space, coffee and cocktail bars. A 2-storey show lounge called the called the Marquee featuring tribute acts and dance/show routines from the onboard cast. A second smaller lounge called connexions is used for comedy and light entertainment. A traditional English Pub called the Oval with occasional sports shown on TV, a nightclub called Bayside, cinema called the Movie Drome, 2 swimming pools (Crystal and Riviera), 4 jacuzzis, a kids and teens-club, 2 Gyms, a sports net area and a health Spa. Food is provided in two buffet style restaurants Waterfront and Plantation, the latter of which is open 24hrs, and two waiter service restaurants called La Luna and Bistro for which supplements are charged.

During the transformation from Arcadia to Ocean Village, a large steel arch was fitted over the lido deck, used for acrobatic shows, for which the ship has to be slowed to around 5-8 knots.

Her last cruise as Ocean Village left on October 21 for a transitional cruise through the Suez canal to Singapore where she is undergoing a refit for her transfer to P&O Cruises Australia.

Farewell sail

Ocean Village sailed on her final farewell voyage, a 23 day cruise stopping at Cairo-Egypt(from Port Said), Visiting the Suez Canal, Safaga, Egypt, Muscat, Oman, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Cochin, India, Langkawi, Malyasia, Kuala Lumpur (from Port Kelang, Malaysia) and finally stopping at Singapore where she entered dry dock to become Pacific Pearl, also marking the end of Ocean Village Cruise Line. There was the option for a 30 day cruise, a week in the Mediterranean and the final cruise itself, both the 23 or the 30 day cruises are adults only.^[3][4] The port call at Dubai was changed to Fujairah over security concerns. Passengers heading to Dubai took a free shuttle service, which was about a two hour bus ride away from the port.

P&O Cruises Australia

On 30 October 2008 Carnival Corporation & plc announced the closure of their Ocean Village brand. Coinciding with this both Ocean Village ships will be transferred to the fleet of P&O Cruises Australia. Ocean Village will join the P&O Australia fleet towards the end of 2010 as Pacific Pearl after completing a final European season with Ocean Village.^[5][6]

She has arrived in dry dock in Singapore and is currently being refit for P&O Cruises Australia as Pacific Pearl. Some new features to be found on Pacific Pearl will be the Salt Grill by Luke Mangan, new bars, lounges, on the pool deck will be the big screen, also coming will be the new Aqua HealthSpaFitness.^[7]

Her first sailing as Pacific Pearl was on December 22, 2010^[8]

References

1. ^ http://www.oceanvillageholidays.co.uk/cruise_ships_facts.aspx
2. ^ http://www.faktaomfartyg.nu/star_princess_1989.htm
3. ^ http://www.oceanvillageholidays.co.uk/fond-farewell.aspx
4. ^ http://www.oceanvillageholidays.co.uk/the-big-goodbye.aspx
5. ^ "New tonnage to increase P&O Cruises Australia's presence in Fremantle, Brisbane and Auckland". Cruise Business Review. Cruise Media Oy Ltd. 2008-10-31. http://cruisebusiness.com/news.php?u=20081031122959. Retrieved 2008-10-31. ^{[dead link]}
6. ^ Niemelä, Teijo (2009-02-05). "Pacific Pearl name chosen for the next P&O Cruises addition". Cruise Business Online. Cruise Media Oy Ltd. http://cruisebusiness.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=178%3Apacific-pearl-name-chosen-for-the-next-pao-cruises-addition&catid=43%3Alatest-news-catecory&Itemid=111. Retrieved 2009-02-10. 
7. ^ http://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/4366-81710-contract-signed-for-pacific-pearl-drydock.html
8. ^ http://www.pocruises.com.au/FindACruise/Pages/CruiseProfile.aspx?CruiseCode=P101N

• "P&O- Port Out, Starboard Home", David L. Williams, Ian Allen Publishing, 2002
• Simplon Postcards site website
• [1] Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven's Ocean Village Page

External links

• Ocean Village site website
• A video clip of Ocean Village arriving in Rhodos