Nordic Prince
Encyclopedia
Cruise ship
A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
owned and operated by Ocean Star Cruises
Ocean Star Cruises
Ocean Star Cruises is a Mexican cruise line brand, based in Mexico City, Mexico. Founded in 2010. The first ship in its fleet is the MV Ocean Star Pacific launched on 9 July 1970 for RCCL and purchased in December 2010 to become the first ship in the fleet. She entered service on 10 April 2011...
. She was built in 1971 by Wärtsilä
Wärtsilä
Wärtsilä is a Finnish corporation which manufactures and services power sources and other equipment in the marine and energy markets. The core products of Wärtsilä include large combustion engines...
at the Helsinki New Shipyard in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and christened as MV Nordic Prince. She subsequently sailed under the monikers Carousel, Aquamarine, and Arielle, prior to being renamed Ocean Star Pacific.
History
The Nordic Prince was the second ship to be built for Royal Caribbean, and one of the first modern purpose-built cruise ships. She was launched on 9 July 1970 and entered service for RCCL on 31 July 1971. Like her older sister, MV Song of NorwaySong of Norway
Song of Norway is an operetta written in 1944 by Robert Wright and George Forrest, adapted from the music of Edvard Grieg and the book by Milton Lazarus and Homer Curran...
, she was used for cruising on the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
with Miami as the starting port. In June 1980 the ship was lengthened at Wärtsilä Helsinki by 26 meters. When RCCL acquired new tonnage in the late 1980s, the Nordic Prince was used for cruising around the world.
Nordic Prince became the first RCCL ship to be supplanted by larger tonnage in March 1995 when she was sold to Sun Cruises. Before the ship entered service for her new owners, the sky lounge around her funnel was removed. Renamed MV Carousel, the ship began cruising for Sun Cruises on 6 May 1995. During her time with Sun Cruises she spent summers cruising on the Mediterranean but during the winter seasons she returned to the Caribbean. In February 2000 the Carousel was grounded near Cancún
Cancún
Cancún is a city of international tourism development certified by the UNWTO . Located on the northeast coast of Quintana Roo in southern Mexico, more than 1,700 km from Mexico City, the Project began operations in 1974 as Integrally Planned Center, a pioneer of FONATUR Cancún is a city of...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, which led to cancellation of five cruises while she was being repaired. Toward the end of her service with Sun Cruises the ship received MyTravel
MyTravel Group PLC
This article contains historical information about My Travel until its merger with Thomas Cook AG - for the new company see - Thomas Cook GroupMyTravel Group PLC was a package holiday company based in the United Kingdom...
funnel colours. In the early 2000s Sun Cruises started pulling out of the cruise business. In July 2004 the Carousel was sold to Louis Cruise Lines
Louis Cruise Lines
Louis Cruises is a Cyprus-based cruise line that operates cruises from Cyprus, France, Italy, India and Greece . The company also charters several ships to Thomson Cruises...
, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, but chartered back to Sun Cruises until May 2005. The Carousel was the last Sun Cruises ship in service.
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
as the starting port. In April 2006 the ship was chartered for five years to Transocean Tours
Transocean Tours
Transocean Tours is a Germany-based cruise line that operates three ocean-going cruise ships on the German and British markets, as well as five river cruise ships on the German market...
who renamed her MV Arielle. However, the charter was apparently terminated by early 2008, when the ship returned to Louis fleet and reverted to the name Aquamarine.
Thursday 9 May 2008 — The Aquamarine cruise liner was diverted to Milos, an island in the Aegean Sea, after a 1.5-meter gash was found on its hull at about 1.5 m above the water line. The ship's hull was damaged after it scraped against a pier during its departure from the port of Iraklio in Crete to the resort island of Santorini. The 872 passengers and the 407 crewmembers on board were safe.
In December 2010 Louis Cruises announced they would be continuing the renewal of their fleet by selling the Aquamarine to Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
operator Ocean Star Cruises
Ocean Star Cruises
Ocean Star Cruises is a Mexican cruise line brand, based in Mexico City, Mexico. Founded in 2010. The first ship in its fleet is the MV Ocean Star Pacific launched on 9 July 1970 for RCCL and purchased in December 2010 to become the first ship in the fleet. She entered service on 10 April 2011...
, who have renamed her Ocean Star Pacific. In March 2011 the Ocean Star Pacific was moored at Caracas Bay on Curaçao for maintenance. She entered service for Ocean Star Cruises on 10 April 2011. On 15 April 2011 the Ocean Star Pacific was disabled at Huatulco
Huatulco
Huatulco , centered on the town of La Crucecita, is a tourist development in Mexico. It is located on the Pacific coast in the state of Oaxaca. Huatulco's tourism industry is centered on its nine bays thus the name Bahias de Huatulco but has since been unofficially shortened to simply Huatulco...
, Mexico, due to a fire in the engine room.
She crossed the mexican riviera after undergoing an extensive repair process in Salina Cruz, Mexico. And on July 26, 2011 suffered another breakdown, This time the failure was in her cooling systems and air conditioning. Currently, the cruise ship is under review and will sail through December 11, 2011.
Specifications
- Built: 1971, WärtsiläWärtsiläWärtsilä is a Finnish corporation which manufactures and services power sources and other equipment in the marine and energy markets. The core products of Wärtsilä include large combustion engines...
Helsinki New Shipyard, HelsinkiHelsinkiHelsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, FinlandFinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside... - Sister ships: MV DreamDream PrincessM/V Ocean Pearl is a ship currently operating for International Shipping Partners...
, Long Jie, Ocean PearlOcean Pearl"Ocean Pearl" is a song by Canadian rock group 54-40. It was the most popular single from the band's 1994 album, Smilin' Buddha Cabaret. The song was very successful in the band's native Canada, peaking at #22 on the RPM Canadian Singles Chart. It is considered to be one of the band's signature...
As built
- Length: 168,3 meters (552 feet)
- Width: 24,01 meters (78 feet)
- Draft: 6,7 meters (21 feet)
- Tonnage:
- Passengers: 714
- Beds: 714
- Max speed: 21 knots
After 1980 rebuild
- Length: 193,65 meters (635 feet)
- Width: 24,01 meters (78 feet)
- Draft: 6,72 meters (22 feet)
- Tonnage:
- Passengers: 1231
- Beds: 1231
- Max speed: 21 knots
External links
- Nordic Prince at Simplon Postcards
- MS Nordic Prince at Fakta om Fartyg
- MS Carousel at Simplon Postcards
- MV Arielle at Louis Cruise Lines