Construction

In January 1998, Princess announced it was ordering two additional Grand-class ships at a cost of approximately US$425 million each from Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri for delivery in 2001.^[7]

The first ship, named Golden Princess, was floated out on 31 August 2000 in Monfalcone.^[8] She sailed her maiden voyage on May 16, 2001.^[9] She was originally planned to be christened by Jane Seymour on 12 October 2001,^[10] but was later christened by Merlisa George, Miss US Virgin Islands 2002, on 17 April 2002 in Saint Thomas.^[11][12]

Design

Princess made several changes to the design of Golden Princess compared with Grand Princess, including a modified stern. Princess commissioned Golden Princess to have similar dimensions to Grand Princess: they both measure 109,000 GT and have an approximate capacity of 2,600 passengers.^[7] Additionally, they have a length of 290.0 metres (951.4 ft), a draft of 8.05 metres (26.4 ft), and a beam of 36 metres (118 ft). Golden Princess is powered by a diesel-electric genset system, with six Sulzer engines: four producing 11,520 kilowatts (15,450 hp) and two producing 8,640 kilowatts (11,590 hp). Main propulsion is via two diesel-electric propellers. The system gives the vessel a maximum speed of 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph). The ship has 1,299 passenger cabins and 627 crew cabins. She has a maximum capacity of 4,160 passengers and crew.

On board, Golden Princess retains much of the design of Grand Princess, aside from several changes. Instead of the slanted bulkheads of the tiered decks below her sister ship's navigation bridge, she has flat bulkheads.^[13] Additionally, in order to reduce the ship's weight, she features a modified stern made of lighter materials, particularly in the "handle," which housed the ship's nightclub.^[13]

COVID-19

The 2019–2020 season marked the last active season that the ship sailed as Golden Princess. She began with weekly Alaska voyages in summer 2019^[14] before returning to Melbourne in fall 2019.^[15] In March 2020, during a round-trip sailing from Melbourne to New Zealand amid the COVID-19 pandemic, three passengers were quarantined onboard after one was suspected of having the coronavirus when they began developing symptoms.^[16] At the time of the announcement, the ship was bound for Akaroa^[16] and proceeded to anchor in Akaroa Harbour to allow for medical officials to test the guests, who ultimately tested negative.^[17] The remainder of the voyage was subsequently cancelled and the ship was cleared to return to Melbourne, following the Australian government's ordinance for all cruise ships to return to their homeports.^[18] The ship returned on 19 March 2020 and all guests finally disembarked around 6:00pm after some of the guests were tested earlier in the day, and none of those tests returned positive.^[18] Golden Princess was scheduled to perform a full season of Alaska voyages from Los Angeles in summer 2020^[19] and a final transpacific crossing to Singapore in fall 2020,^[20] but due to the pandemic, all sailings of the ship were suspended.^[21] There were rumors of the vessel possibly being sold for scrap instead of being transferred to P&O Australia, but Carnival Corporation denied the rumors and later did transfer the vessel.^[22]

Transfer from Princess to P&O Australia

P&O Cruises Australia, as a part of its "fleet enhancement plan."^[23] The new ship, scheduled for delivery in 2019, would become P&O's first-ever new-build vessel and its largest ship overall in the fleet.^[23] However, in December 2016, the order for the new ship was transferred to sister brand Carnival Cruise Line (CCL) in exchange for Carnival Splendor joining the P&O fleet instead.^[24] In a statement, P&O president Sture Myrmell conceded that the market's current infrastructure and its anticipated pace of development would be inadequate to support the brand's earlier, more ambitious expansion goals.^[24] But in September 2017, Carnival issued a further fleet realignment, announcing Golden Princess would transfer to P&O, with Carnival Splendor continuing to operate for CCL.^[25] In September 2018, after hosting an online naming contest, P&O announced Golden Princess would be renamed Pacific Adventure and debut in October 2020, featuring modified accommodations and onboard facilities designed in-line with the P&O brand.^[26]

Service history

In October 2018, P&O unveiled the inaugural schedule for Pacific Adventure, with cruises of various lengths from Australian ports, visiting New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and other destinations in Oceania, beginning in October 2020.^[27] However, the COVID-19 pandemic led P&O to halt its operations, and this delayed the ship's debut until 2022. Australian cruises were suspended in March 2020, with the ban finally being lifted on April 17 2022.^[28] The ship was transferred in October 2020, but she did not enter service until 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.^[29]

Golden Princess transitioned into P&O's fleet in 2022 as Pacific Adventure, her guest capacity has been increased to 2,636, with modifications including the addition of five-berth cabins.^[26] P&O also invited the public to contribute suggestions in order to design a more family-oriented experience on the ship.^[30] New features added consisted of a new adults-only lounge space^[26] and a recreational park.^[30][31] Renovations were completed in Trieste in fall 2021.^[32]

Pacific Adventure backing out of Circular Quay in Sydney in 2023

2023 fire

On 28 May 2023, at approximately 3:30AM, while off the east coast of Australia on a three day cruise from Sydney a fire broke out on a passenger balcony on the port side of the ship.^[33] All passengers were mustered and the fire was extinguished. This incident is the second balcony fire to occur on a Grand-class cruise ship. Pacific Adventure's sister ship Pacific Encounter (then known as Star Princess) experienced a balcony fire in 2006 resulting in significant damage and the death of a passenger.^[34]