Pride of America

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Career
Name: Pride of America
Owner: Pride of America Ship Holding Inc.[1] (NCL America)[2]
Operator: NCL America
Port of registry:  United States, Honolulu
Route: Honolulu; Maui (Kahului); Hilo; Kona; Kauai
Ordered: 1999
Builder: Litton-Ingalls, Pascagoula, Mississippi (hull)
Lloyd Werft, Bremerhaven, Germany (outfitting)
Yard number: 7671 (Litton-Ingalls)
"Project America" (Lloyd Werft)[1]
Laid down: 10 October 2000[1]
Launched: 16 September 2002[1]
Completed: 7 June 2005[1]
In service: 2005–
Identification: IMO number: 9209221
Call sign: WNBE
MMSI number: 366994450[2]
Status: In service
General characteristics (as designed)
Tonnage: 80,439 GT
Length: 850 ft (260 m)
Capacity: 2,500 passengers
Notes: Order was cancelled in 2001 following a bankruptcy filed by American Classic Voyages.
General characteristics (as built)[1]
Tonnage: 80,439 GT
50,632 NT
8,260 DWT
Length: 921 ft (280.6 m) (overall)
845 ft (257.6 m) (between perpendiculars)
Beam: 106 ft (32.2 m)
Draught: 26.2 ft (8.0 m)
Depth: 65.8 ft (20.07 m)
Decks: 15
Installed power: 6 × Wärtsilä 8L46C (6 × 8,400 kW)[3]
Propulsion: Two Rolls-Royce Mermaid pods (2 × 12.5 MW)[3]
Three Rolls-Royce bow thrusters
Speed: 22.2 knots (41.1 km/h; 25.5 mph)[3]
Capacity: 2,138 passengers[4]
Crew: 935

MS Pride of America is a cruise ship partly built in the United States, now a member of the Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) fleet. Inaugurated during the 2005/2006 cruise season, she is the first new US-flagged cruise ship in nearly fifty years,[5] Pride of America was designed to pay homage to the spirit and of the United States, from the patriotic artwork on the hull to the American-themed public spaces.

History

For much of her early (pre-commissioning) history, Pride of America was known as Project America 1; the first of a pair of 70,000 ton cruise ships to be built at the Litton-Ingalls shipyard in Mississippi with heavy federal subsidies. Project America was intended as a means of improving the competitiveness of American shipyards in performing commercial (non-military) construction, as well as creating the first American-registered passenger ships of any real size in decades. Project America program collapsed in 2001, when American Classic Voyages Inc., the company that was to operate the ships under its United States Lines division, filed for bankruptcy.

Norwegian Cruise Line Ltd acquired the unfinished ship and had her towed to Germany for completion as Pride of America for their newly launched NCL America division. In the process, she was lengthened from 850 feet (260 m). to 920 feet (280 m), increasing the gross tonnage from 72,000 to more than 80,000. Under NCL America, the ship was initially slated for completion in 2004, but the delivery date was pushed back to 2005 after a major storm hit the Lloyd Werft shipyard and caused considerable damage to the vessel, partially sinking her at its berth.[6] A special exemption on the part of the US Government allowed the partially foreign built ship, and her mostly German-built sister, to attain US registry.

After the transfer of Pride of Aloha and Pride of Hawaii, she is currently the only American registered major cruise ship serving the Hawaiian market from Honolulu.

Major dry dock for 2013

Pride of America will enter a 14-day dry dock on March 23, 2013 in Honolulu, Hawaii and will receive the addition of 24 ultra-luxurious suites, four studio staterooms and four inside staterooms; Moderno Churrascaria, the line’s signature Brazilian-style steakhouse; ship wide wireless internet connectivity; new carpeting throughout; flat screen televisions in all staterooms; updated décor; upgrades to the fitness center; new directional signage; renovations to the gift shop, photo gallery and art gallery; and much more.[7]

Vessel class

Pride of America is a one-off ship design. She was originally designed for United States Lines under the class name Project America. Project America was originally to have two ships in the class.

Livery

Pride of America's livery consists of red, white, and blue stars and stripes and a stylized bald eagle.

References

External links

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