MS ''Tropicale'' (also known as ''Costa Tropicale,'' ''Pacific Star, Ocean Dream'') was a

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 ...

that entered service in 1982, and was one of the pioneering cruise ships in the modernization of the cruise industry. She was Carnival Cruises Line's first newly built ship, initially operating mainly in the Mexican Rivera and the Caribbean. ''Tropicale'' was transferred to the Costa fleet in July 2001, and renamed the ''Costa Tropicale''. The ''Costa Tropicale'' was transferred to

P&O Cruises Australia P&O Cruises Australia is a British-American owned cruise line with operational headquarters as part of Carnival Australia, based in Chatswood, New South Wales, Australia. Originally a sister company of P&O Cruises in the United Kingdom, it was ...

in 2005 as the ''Pacific Star'' in December of that year. In March 2008,

sold the ''Pacific Star'' to

Pullmantur Cruises Pullmantur Cruises was a cruise line headquartered in Madrid, Spain. It began operations in the late 1990s as an offshoot of the Madrid-based travel agency Pullmantur. In 2006, Pullmantur Cruises, through its parent company, was purchased by U.S ...

becoming the ''Ocean Dream''. After Pullmantur, the ship's final operator was

Peace Boat is a global non-government organization headquartered in Japan established for the purpose of raising awareness and building connections internationally among groups that work for peace, human rights, environmental protection and sustainable de ...

, sailing as the ''Ocean Dream'' until 2020. After 38 years of service, the former ''Tropicale'' was scrapped in January 2021.

History

Carnival Cruise Line

The vessel was originally intended to be constructed in Japan, after Carnival's most recent acquired ship the TSS ''Festivale'' had received a major refit there. However, the construction ended up being awarded to the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance ...

Aalborg Vaerft Aalborg Shipyard (''Danish: Aalborg Værft A/S'') was a shipyard located in Aalborg, Denmark. Founded in 1912 by brothers Immanuel Stuhr and Peter Philip Stuhr, the shipyard was founded under the name Stuhr Engine and Ship Construction, a developm ...

. The ''Tropicale'' was launched in 1981, and was the first cruise ship custom-built for the company, introducing Carnival's characteristic winged funnel, designed by Joe Farcus. The interiors were also designed by Joe Farcus, evolving Carnival's signature themed lounges. As the company expanded and acquired larger ships, Carnival decided that ''Tropicale'' would be their 'test ship' for new cruise destinations, and as such was the first Carnival ship to be based in

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S ...

, and

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough Co ...

. In 1985 the vessel appeared in an episode of the

A-Team '' The A-Team'' is an NBC television series that aired from 1983 to 1987. The A-Team may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups * The rap/ hip-hop duo, consisting of Aceyalone and Abstract Rude * The Nashville A-Team, a g ...

called "Judgement Day (part 2)". The ship also appeared in a season four episode of

Growing Pains ''Growing Pains'' is an American television sitcom created by Neal Marlens that aired on ABC from September 24, 1985, to April 25, 1992. The show ran for seven seasons, consisting of 166 episodes. The series followed the misadventures of the ...

. On September 19, 1999, the vessel's engine room caught fire en route from

Cozumel Cozumel (; yua, Kùutsmil) is an island and municipality in the Caribbean Sea off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, opposite Playa del Carmen. It is separated from the mainland by the Cozumel Channel and is close to the Yucatán ...

. While disabled in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United S ...

, the ship was nearly struck by Tropical Storm Harvey. Luckily one of the engines was restarted and the ship was able to get out of the way of the storm before it hit. No crew or guests were injured during the two days the ''Tropicale'' spent without propulsion. The vessel was slated to replace the SS Dolphin IV of Cape Canaveral Cruise Line in 2001, but before ''Carnival Tropicale'' could enter service, the vessel was transferred to Carnival Corporations division of

Costa Cruises S.p.A. (), operating as Costa Cruises, is an Italian cruise line founded in 1854 and organized as a wholly owned subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc since 2000. Based in Genoa, Italy, the cruise line primarily caters to the Italian cruise ...

, where she was renamed ''Costa Tropicale''.

Costa Cruises & P&O Australia

The vessel underwent refits in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of t ...

over the course of 2001 and 2002, removing the iconic winged funnel, and replacing with the traditional Costa upright yellow funnel design. The interiors were completing renovated, transforming the Carnival themed lounges into the contemporary Italian style seemed on other Costa ships. ''Costa Tropicale'' served with the company until 2005, when replacement by larger, more modern cruise ships prompted a transfer to another

Carnival Corporation Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival ty ...

division:

, where the vessel again underwent a major refit in Palermo, Italy and was renamed ''Pacific Star''. She was formerly Queensland's latest cruise liner, based in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, performing cruises along the Tropical Queensland coast, to various islands in the

South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, New Caledonia, and to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

Pullmantur Cruises

In 2008 the ''Pacific Star'' was sold to

and renamed ''Ocean Dream '' following a refit in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. In June 2009, an outbreak of

swine flu Swine influenza is an infection caused by any of several types of swine influenza viruses. Swine influenza virus (SIV) or swine-origin influenza virus (S-OIV) refers to any strain of the influenza family of viruses that is endemic in pigs. As ...

occurred about the ''Ocean Dream'' during a cruise around

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

. The ship docked in

Margarita A margarita is a cocktail consisting of Tequila, triple sec, and lime juice often served with salt on the rim of the glass. The drink is served shaken with ice (on the rocks), blended with ice (frozen margarita), or without ice (straight up). ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in ...

to allow its Venezuelan passengers to disembark, before heading to Aruba, where the remaining passengers were able to leave the ship. An earlier report had suggested that the ship had been placed in

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...

, however, the ship's owners Pullmantur later denied that this was the case.

Peace Boat

Ocean Dream at Pier 24 in Port of Tallinn 1 June 2017

In 2012 the M/S ''Ocean Dream'' , left the

fleet, and was chartered to

, replacing the SS ''Oceanic.'' In September 2020 Cruise Capital informed according to Hong Kong Cruise Society, Peace Boat is to replace the contracts of two ships ''Ocean Dream'' and ''

Zenith The zenith (, ) is an imaginary point directly "above" a particular location, on the celestial sphere. "Above" means in the vertical direction ( plumb line) opposite to the gravity direction at that location ( nadir). The zenith is the "high ...

'' from service, replacing them with one larger ship, chartered and renamed ''Pacific World'' from Spring 2021. Specifications released by Peace Boat suggested the new ship is the current '' Sun Princess'', which is the only vessel to have done such deployments. Later this month, Carnival announced that they have sold the ''Sun Princess''. The ''Ocean Dream'' was sold for scrap and beached in Alang, India, on 1 January 2021. On March 27, 2021, the scrapping process started on her.

Gallery

File:Costa Tropicale (4836215560).jpg, ''Costa Tropicale'' in

Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French: ; it, Aiaccio or ; co, Aiacciu , locally: ; la, Adiacium) is a French commune, prefecture of the department of Corse-du-Sud, and head office of the '' Collectivité territoriale de Corse'' (capital city of Corsic ...

, Corsica. File:Costa Tropicale.jpg, alt=Costa Tropicale ship 2003, ''Costa Tropicale'' in

Kotor Kotor ( Montenegrin Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian: ), is a coastal town in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrativ ...

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = ...

(2003) File:Ocean Dream in Grand Harbour, Valletta, Malta in Pullmantur livery.jpg, ''Ocean Dream'' in

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 was ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. File:Ocean Dream at Civitaveccia.jpg, ''Ocean Dream'' in

Civitavecchia Civitavecchia (; meaning "ancient town") is a city and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Rome in the central Italian region of Lazio. A sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it is located west-north-west of Rome. The harbour is formed by two pi ...

, Italy. File:Ocean dream seattle.jpg, ''Ocean Dream'' in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

2018

Notes

References

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tropicale 1980 ships Ships built in Aalborg Ships of P&O Cruises Australia Ships of Royal Caribbean International Maritime incidents in 1999