The Grand class is a class of cruise ships. Ships in the class are operated by the cruise lines Princess Cruises, P&O Cruises, P&O Cruises Australia and Carnival Cruise Line. The class consists of several series (subclasses) of sister ships, most of which were built by Fincantieri in Monfalcone and Trieste, northern Italy. The first vessel of the original Grand class,, entered service in 1998.
Ships of the later subclasses are based on the Grand class, but have modifications such as additional decks and varied placement of facilities such as the nightclub and restaurants. The structure used as a nightclub is a signature element of Princess Cruises' ships in the Grand class and derived classes. The nightclub either overhangs the stern of the ship (Grand and Caribbean classes) or is located just aft of the funnel (Gem and Crown classes).
The Gem class of ships is based primarily on the Grand class, but modifies the placement of the nightclub to be just aft of the funnel and also modifies the number of restaurants. The two Gem-class ships were built by Mitsubishi in Nagasaki, Japan in 2004.
The Caribbean class is the third version of the design and has one additional deck. As in the original Grand-class design, the nightclub is suspended on the stern. Caribbean-class vessels also introduced a poolside theater, which was later added to other Princess ships.
The Crown class is the fourth Princess Cruises version of the Grand class and has two additional decks. Crown-class ships have returned the placement of the nightclub adjacent to the funnel. Crown-class ships also feature a poolside theater like the Caribbean class.
The Ventura class has 19 decks like the Crown class. These ships both owned and operated by P&O Cruises and are marketed as Grand class, although they were given the Ventura class designation because they are not owned by Princess and are totally modified internally and externally. Ventura is also the largest ship in the Grand class. The second Ventura-class ship is MS Azura, launched in March 2010 which has a modified stern. Azura is also the only P&O Cruises ship to feature a poolside theater style outdoor screen.
| Ship | Built | Builder | Entered service | Flag | Notes | Image | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand class | ||||||||
| This class, for a short time boasting the largest cruise ships in the world, pioneered the design that has been carried through each modified class. | ||||||||
| 1998 | 1998–present | 107,517 tons | Largest and most expensive ship built in 1998 - Last refurbished in March 2019 - Former flagship of Princess fleet before Royal Princess' | |||||
| 2001 | 2001–present | 108,865 tons | Formerly, Golden Princess. Last refurbished in 2022. Transferred to P&O Cruises Australia in 2020 from Princess Cruises.[1] | |||||
| 2002 | 2002–present | 108,977 tons | Formerly, Star Princess. Fire swept through berths in 2006. Last refurbished in 2022. Transferred to P&O Cruises Australia in 2020 from Princess Cruises. | |||||
| Gem class | ||||||||
| Design differences on these ships are the relocation of the nightclub to directly aft of the funnel, rather than suspended over the stern, and the much larger funnel. The two Gem-class ships, Diamond Princess and Sapphire Princess, are the only two ships based on the Grand class to be built at Mitsubishi's Nagasaki Yard. | ||||||||
| 2004 | 2004–present | 115,875 tons | Originally named Sapphire Princess | |||||
| 2004 | 2004–present | 115,875 tons | Originally named Diamond Princess | |||||
| Caribbean class | ||||||||
| The design for Caribbean Princess derives directly from the original Grand-class ships, with none of the Gem-class modifications being included. Caribbean Princess uses the original Grand-class design, but with an additional deck. This additional deck increases the ship's passenger capacity from 2,600 to 3,100. Caribbean Princess was also the first ship to have a poolside theater. The three ships in the Crown class,,, and, were later built with this feature also included. It has since been added to all of the ships in the class. | ||||||||
| 2004 | 2004–present | 112,894 tons | Last refurbished in April 2017 | |||||
| Crown class | ||||||||
| These ships, which build on Caribbean Princess design, also differ slightly. These ships have two more passenger decks than the original Grand class as well as the poolside theater. A nightclub is aft of the funnel. | ||||||||
| 2006 | 2006–present | 113,561 tons | Major listing incident in 2006 | |||||
| 2007 | 2007–present | 113,561 tons | ||||||
| 2008 | 2008–present | 113,561 tons | ||||||
| Ventura class | ||||||||
| Ships in the Ventura class are based on the Crown-class design. The ships in this class are owned and operated by P&O Cruises. Azura has a modified stern. | ||||||||
| 2008 | 2008–present | 116,017 tons | The largest cruise ship to enter service with P&O Cruises, and the British market, until 2015. | |||||
| 2010 | 2010–present | 115,055 tons | Azura has a modified stern. | |||||