- Pacific (ship)
MS "Pacific" is a
cruise ship owned and operated by theBrazil -basedViagens CVC . She was built in 1971 byNordseewerke ,Emden ,Germany as "Sea Venture" forFlagship Cruises . She operated cruises between the USA andBermuda , which had been settled by the survivors of the originalSea Venture . Between 1975 and 2002 she sailed forPrincess Cruises as "Pacific Princess", famous for appearing in the romanticsitcom "The Love Boat ".Between April and October 2008 the "Pacific" will be chartered to the newly-established
Quail Cruises to operate cruises out of Valencia,Spain . [cite web |url=http://dougnewmanatsea.wordpress.com/2008/01/24/quail-cruises-unveils-2008-program/ |title=Quail Cruises Unveils 2008 Program |accessdate=2008-01-28 |last=Newman |first=Doug |date=2008-01-24 |work=At Sea With Doug Newman]History
The ship began operation in 1971 with
Flagship Cruises , under the name "Sea Venture". In April 1975 she was sold toP&O 's newly acquiredPrincess Cruises along with sister ship "Island Venture". The pair were renamed "Pacific Princess" and "Island Princess", the latter now operating as the "Discovery".Princess Cruises agreed to have their cruise ships featured in the
television romanticsitcom "The Love Boat ", which debuted in 1977. The ship featured in nearly every episode of the series (which was filmed primarily on sets in a production studio) was "Pacific Princess", although other ships also appeared, including "Island Princess". The term "Love Boat" was heavily used by Princess Cruises in their marketing, and became synonymous with the "Pacific Princess". The success of the up-beat television show, which remained on the air until 1986, is largely credited with the increase in popularity ofcruise ship travel inNorth America .In 1998 the "Pacific Princess" was impounded by police in
Piraeus ,Greece after 25 kg ofheroin was found on board, smuggled by two Filipino crew men. According topolice sources quoted in theBBC report at the time, there was evidence the ship had become a major tool for drug smugglers in theMediterranean [cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/223926.stm |title=TV boat held after drugs seizure |accessdate=2008-02-25 |author=BBC |date=1998-11-29 ] .The "Pacific Princess" was sold in 2001, but was leased back and continued to operate as part of the Princess fleet until 2002, when the former
Renaissance Cruises "R3" replaced her and took her name. The "Pacific Princess" made her final voyage with Princess Cruises in October/November 2002, sailing fromNew York City toRome ,Italy . She then began operating forPullmantur Cruises ofSpain as the "Pacific", sailing in theCaribbean . "Pacific" is currently operated byCVC inBrazil during the Southern summer and byQuail Cruises inSpain during the Northern Summer.tatistics
The "Pacific" is 168.8m long and 24.7m beam and was built at
Nordseewerke ,Germany . She is propelled by four medium speedFiat diesel engine s with a combined power output of 18,000 shafthorsepower . The engines are individuallyclutch ed and geared in pairs to each of the two shafts which drive controllable pitchpropeller s. This enables one or more engines to be shut down and declutched as required. As the "Pacific Princess" her tonnage was 20,636 GRT and she carried 646 passengers at a top speed of 21.5 knots, cruising at 20 knots. As the "Pacific", her capacity has been increased to 780 passengers and cruising speed reduced to 18 knots. Country of registry is theBahamas .References
* "P&O- Port Out, Starboard Home", David L. Williams, Ian Allen Publishing, 2002
* [http://www.quailcruises.de/international_english.html M/V Pacific at Quail Cruises web site]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.