MS Grand Celebration

The Grand Celebration In Venice 2013
Career
Name: 1987-2008: Celebration
2008-2014: Grand Celebration
2014: Costa Celebration
2014 – present: Grand Celebration
Owner: 1987-2014: Carnival Corporation & plc
2014 – present: Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line
Operator: 1987-2008: Carnival Cruise Lines
2008-2014: Ibero Cruises
2015 – present: Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line
Port of registry: 1987-2000: Monrovia,  Liberia
2000-2008: Panama City,  Panama
2008-2014: Madeira, Portugal
2014 onwards: Nassau, The Bahamas
Builder: Kockums Varv, Malmö, Sweden
Cost: US$130 million
Yard number: 597
Launched: 9 August 1986
Acquired: February 1987
Maiden voyage: 14 March 1987 (as Celebration)
June 2008 (as Grand Celebration)
Identification: Callsign CQMC
IMO number: 8314134
MMSI number: 255803270
Status: In service
General characteristics
Class and type:Holiday Class
Tonnage:47,262 GT
6,405 DWT
Length:223.37 m (733 ft)
Beam:28.20 m (93 ft)
Draught:7.75 m (25 ft 5 in)
Decks:10 (passenger accessible)
Installed power:2 × 7-cylinder Sulzer diesels
combined 23510 kW
Propulsion:2 propellers
Speed:21.7 knots (40.2 km/h; 25.0 mph)
Capacity:1,896 passengers
Crew:670

The Grand Celebration is a Holiday class cruise ship, originally built for Carnival Cruise Lines. It entered service with Bahamas Paradise Cruise Lines on February 3, 2015 to replace the ill fated MS Bahamas Celebration.

The Grand Celebration has 2 sister ships. The Magellan, which is operated by Cruise & Maritime Voyages , and the Henna, which is operated by HNA Tourism.

Unlike her sister ships, the trademark whale tail funnel on Grand Celebration was painted over but not altered or removed.

History

The ship was built as the Celebration in 1986 by Kockums Varv in Malmö, Sweden for Carnival Cruise Lines. The Celebration was retired from the Carnival fleet in April 2008 and underwent an extensive refit before re-entering service with Iberocruceros as the Grand Celebration that summer. The refit included new hull artwork and updated interiors.

In May 2014, it was announced that the ship would be renamed Costa Celebration and transferred to Costa Cruises in November 2014.[1] After service with Iberocruceros had ended, the ship underwent refurbishment and was renamed the Costa Celebration. On November 21, 2014, it was announced that the vessel had been sold to an unnamed buyer.[2] The next day, the Costa Celebration was removed from Costa's fleet and all bookings were cancelled. This was also the same day the ship was scheduled to depart on it's inaugural voyage. [3]

On December 23, 2014, it was revealed that the ship had been purchased by the newly formed Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line, who would use the name Grand Celebration and sail out the Port of Palm Beach in Riviera Beach, Florida starting in February 2015.[4][5] Bahamas Paradise was formed by former executives from the defunct Celebration Cruise Line that operated the Bahamas Celebration.[6]

The Grand Celebration was scheduled to depart for it's first cruise on February 1st, 2015. Due to technical difficulties, the voyage was cancelled. Repairs were made and the ship set sail on February 3rd. [7]

Incidents

Gallery

References

  1. ↑ "Grand Celebration to become Costa Celebration Later This Year". Cruise News. Cruise Industry News. 2014-05-09. Retrieved 2014-05-20.
  2. ↑ "Costa Celebration Moves Elsewhere".
  3. ↑ "Costa Cruises sells the ship and cancels the trip". The Medi Telegraph. 2014-11-22. Retrieved 2015-04-25.
  4. ↑ "Grand Celebration ship could launch in February - Protecting Your Pocket".
  5. ↑ http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=6173
  6. ↑ South Florida Sun-Sentinel (24 December 2014). "Port of Palm Beach to get new cruise ship in February". Sun-Sentinel.com.
  7. ↑ "Grand Celebration to set sail Tuesday, cruise line says". WPTV. 2015-02-03. Retrieved 2015-04-25.
  8. ↑ "Cruise Ship, Freighter Collide". Sun Sentinel. 11 February 1989. Retrieved 20 March 2012.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Grand Celebration (ship, 1987).