The ''Grand'' class is a

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differently ...

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours know ...

s. Ships in the class are operated by the

cruise line A cruise line is a company that operates cruise ships that operate on ocean or rivers A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into ...

Princess Cruises Princess Cruises is an American cruise line owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. The company is incorporated in Bermuda and its headquarters are in Santa Clarita, California, Santa Clarita, California. As of 2021, it is the List of cruise lines# ...

P&O Cruises P&O Cruises is a British cruise line based at Carnival House in Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. It was originally a subsidiary of the shipping company P&O and was founded in 1977. Alon ...

. The class consists of several series (subclasses) of sister ships, most of which were built by

Fincantieri Fincantieri S.p.A. () is an Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy. Already the largest shipbuilder in Europe, after the acquisition of Vard in 2013, Fincantieri group doubled in size to become the fourth largest in the world (20 ...

Monfalcone Monfalcone (; Bisiacco: ; fur, Monfalcon; sl, Tržič; archaic german: Falkenberg) is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Gorizia in Friuli Venezia Giulia, northern Italy, located on the Gulf of Trieste. Monfalcone means 'falcon mountain ...

and Trieste, northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. 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 A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

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 The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Ori ...

of the ship (''Grand'' and ''Caribbean'' classes) or is located just

aft "Aft", in nautical terminology, is an adjective or adverb meaning towards the stern (rear) of the ship, aircraft or spacecraft, when the frame of reference is within the ship, headed at the fore. For example, "Able Seaman Smith; lie aft!" or "Wh ...

of the

funnel A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening. Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its construc ...

(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 The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 187 ...

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in th ...

, 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.

Ships

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grand-class cruise ship Ships of Princess Cruises Cruise ship classes