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Ocean Village (ship)
Encyclopedia
For other ships with the same name, see Arcadia (disambiguation).
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. 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.
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
.
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 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 jacuzzi
s, 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.
-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.
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.
. 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.
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.
Her first sailing as Pacific Pearl was on December 22, 2010
Pacific Pearl is the sixth cruise ship
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...
of the P&O Cruises Australia
P&O Cruises Australia
P&O Cruises Australia is a British-American owned cruise line with corporate headquarters at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operational headquarters in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
brand. She was built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique
Chantiers de l'Atlantique
Chantiers de l'Atlantique is part of the South Korean STX Shipbuilding Group and one of the world's largest shipyards, based in Saint-Nazaire, France...
, at their shipyard in Saint-Nazaire
Saint-Nazaire
Saint-Nazaire , is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France.The town has a major harbour, on the right bank of the Loire River estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean. The town is at the south of the second-largest swamp in France, called "la Brière"...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and launched in 1988 as Sitmar FairMajesty. Originally ordered for Sitmar Cruises
Sitmar Cruises
Sitmar Cruises and Sitmar Line were common names for the Societa Italiana Trasporti Marittimi ; an Italian shipping company founded by Russian émigré Alexandre Vlasov. Vlasov operated cargo and passenger services from 1937 until 1988, when it was sold to the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation...
, she was sold and first entered service with Princess Cruises
Princess Cruises
Princess Cruises is a British-American owned cruise line, based in Santa Clarita, California in the United States. Previously a subsidiary of P&O Princess Cruises PLC, the company is now one of ten cruise ship brands operated by Carnival Corporation & PLC and accounts for approximately 19% share...
as Star Princess in 1989. From 1997 to 2003, she served in the P&O Cruises
P&O Cruises
P&O Cruises is a British-American owned cruise line based at Carnival House in Southampton, England, and operated by Carnival UK. Originally a constituent of the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company, P&O Cruises is the oldest cruise line in the world, having operated the world's first...
fleet as MV Arcadia. She was renamed Ocean Village in 2003 when the brand was established. Ocean Village was the sole cruise ship
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...
of the Ocean Village
Ocean Village
Ocean Village was a British-American owned cruise line, based in Southampton, England. Designed to offer and alternative cruise experience, Ocean Village was founded by P&O Princess Cruises PLC, which later merged with Carnival Corporation to form Carnival Corporation & PLC...
brand after the Ocean Village Two became the Pacific Jewel. She is now been transferred to P&O Cruises Australia
P&O Cruises Australia
P&O Cruises Australia is a British-American owned cruise line with corporate headquarters at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operational headquarters in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
and has been renamed Pacific Pearl.
History
Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company
The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, which is usually known as P&O, is a British shipping and logistics company which dated from the early 19th century. Following its sale in March 2006 to Dubai Ports World for £3.9 billion, it became a subsidiary of DP World; however, the P&O...
in 1988. She was subsequently renamed Star Princess when she commenced operating for P&O's Princess Cruises
Princess Cruises
Princess Cruises is a British-American owned cruise line, based in Santa Clarita, California in the United States. Previously a subsidiary of P&O Princess Cruises PLC, the company is now one of ten cruise ship brands operated by Carnival Corporation & PLC and accounts for approximately 19% share...
division in 1989. In 1997 she was transferred to P&O's Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
based UK fleet as a replacement for SS Canberra
SS Canberra
SS Canberra was an ocean liner, which later operated on cruises, in the P&O fleet from 1961 to 1997. She was built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland at a cost of £17,000,000. The ship was named on 17 March 1958, after the federal capital of Australia, Canberra...
, which was scrapped that year. Appropriately, she was refitted for her new role at Harland and Wolff
Harland and Wolff
Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries is a Northern Irish heavy industrial company, specialising in shipbuilding and offshore construction, located in Belfast, Northern Ireland....
, the shipyard in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
that built Canberra.
She was renamed Arcadia, in honour of an earlier P&O liner of the same name
SS Arcadia (1954)
SS Arcadia was a passenger liner built for P&O in 1954 to service the UK to Australia route. Towards the end of her life she operated as a cruise ship, based in Sydney, until scrapped in 1979.-History:...
that served the UK-Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
route, and a new Princess Cruises
Princess Cruises
Princess Cruises is a British-American owned cruise line, based in Santa Clarita, California in the United States. Previously a subsidiary of P&O Princess Cruises PLC, the company is now one of ten cruise ship brands operated by Carnival Corporation & PLC and accounts for approximately 19% share...
ship took the name Star Princess
Star Princess
Star Princess is a Grand-class cruise ship, operated by Princess Cruises. Star Princess is a sister ship to Grand Princess and the Golden Princess....
.
Arcadia to Ocean Village refit
In 2003 P&O inaugurated its Ocean VillageOcean Village
Ocean Village was a British-American owned cruise line, based in Southampton, England. Designed to offer and alternative cruise experience, Ocean Village was founded by P&O Princess Cruises PLC, which later merged with Carnival Corporation to form Carnival Corporation & PLC...
brand of cruises aimed at young people and families. Arcadia was renamed Ocean Village to undertake these cruises, and a new ship named Arcadia
Arcadia (cruise ship)
Arcadia is a cruise ship in the P&O Cruises fleet. The ship was built by Fincantieri at their shipyard in Marghera, Italy. At 83,000 tonnes, Arcadia is the third largest of seven ships currently in service with P&O Cruises...
entered service with P&O Cruises
P&O Cruises
P&O Cruises is a British-American owned cruise line based at Carnival House in Southampton, England, and operated by Carnival UK. Originally a constituent of the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company, P&O Cruises is the oldest cruise line in the world, having operated the world's first...
. 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
Bridgetown
The city of Bridgetown , metropolitan pop 96,578 , is the capital and largest city of the nation of Barbados. Formerly, the Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the parish of Saint Michael...
, Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
in the winter and from Palma de Mallorca
Palma de Mallorca
Palma is the major city and port on the island of Majorca and capital city of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. The names Ciutat de Mallorca and Ciutat were used before the War of the Spanish Succession and are still used by people in Majorca. However, the official name...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
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 jacuzzi
Jacuzzi
Jacuzzi is a company that produces whirlpool bathtubs and spas. Its first product was a bath with massaging jets. The term "jacuzzi" is now often used generically to refer to any bathtub with massaging jets.-History:...
s, 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 CairoCairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
-Egypt(from Port Said
Port Said
Port Said is a city that lies in north east Egypt extending about 30 km along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal, with an approximate population of 603,787...
), Visiting the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
, Safaga, Egypt, Muscat
Muscat, Oman
Muscat is the capital of Oman. It is also the seat of government and largest city in the Governorate of Muscat. As of 2008, the population of the Muscat metropolitan area was 1,090,797. The metropolitan area spans approximately and includes six provinces called wilayats...
, Oman, Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, United Arab Emirates, Cochin, India, Langkawi
Langkawi
Langkawi, officially known as Langkawi, the Jewel of Kedah is an archipelago of 104 islands in the Andaman Sea, some 30 km off the mainland coast of northwestern Malaysia. The islands are a part of the state of Kedah, which is adjacent to the Thai border...
, Malyasia, Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
(from Port Kelang, Malaysia) and finally stopping at Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
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.
The port call at Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
was changed to Fujairah
Fujairah
Fujairah is one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates, and the only one on the Gulf of Oman in the country's east instead of Persian Gulf .-History:...
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 AustraliaP&O Cruises Australia
P&O Cruises Australia is a British-American owned cruise line with corporate headquarters at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operational headquarters in North Sydney, New South Wales, 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.
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.
Her first sailing as Pacific Pearl was on December 22, 2010