Pacific Star (ship)
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The Pacific Star (formerly Tropicale / Costa Tropicale) is a cruise ship, first laid down in 1981. The ship entered service into the P&O Cruises Australia fleet in December, 2005 and is presently based in Brisbane performing cruises along the Tropical Queensland coast, to various islands in the South Pacific, New Caledonia, and to New Zealand. In November, 2007, Pacific Star's homeport will be located in Auckland.
[edit] History
The vessel was constructed for Carnival Cruise Lines by Danish shipyard Aalborg Vaerft, and when it launched in 1982, was the first cruise ship custom-built for the company. As the company expanded and acquired larger ships, Carnival decided that Tropicale would be their 'test ship' for new cruises, and as such was the first Carnival ship to be based in San Juan, New Orleans, Alaska, and Tampa.
The vessel was slated to replace the collapsed Cape Canaveral Cruises in 2001, but before Carnival Tropicale could enter service, the vessel was transferred to the fleet of Costa Cruises, where she was renamed Costa Tropicale.
The vessel underwent refits in Genoa over the course of 2001 and 2002, redeveloping the vessel and customising her for a European client base. Costa Tropicale served with the company until 2005, when replacement by larger, more modern cruise ships prompted a transfer to P&O Cruises Australia, where the vessel again underwent refits and was renamed Pacific Star.
[edit] Trivia
- The vessel appeared in the 1980s adventure series The A-Team, in the 1985 episode Judgement Day.
