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MV Azamara Onward – Past and Present

IMO Number: 9187887

MV Azamara Onward

ex P Prince, Pacific Princess, R Three

(R Series, Internet Source)

Steel twin screw motor vessel built in 1999 by Chantiers de l’Atlantique, St. Nazaire, France (Yard No N31) as a Passenger (Cruise) Ship for Renaissance Cruises, Monrovia, Liberia

Technical Data

  • Cost: $150 million
  • Length: 181.00m (593.7 ft)(overall), 157.85m (between perpendiculars)
  • Breadth of hull: 25.46m (83.5 ft)(extreme)
  • Depth: 18.1m
  • Draught: 5.95m (19.5 ft)(maximum)
  • Tonnage: 30,277 gross/11,481 net/2,000 deadweight
  • Engines: Four 12-cylinder Wartsila diesel-electric
  • Power/Propellers: 18,600kW/2
  • Speed: 18 knots
  • Passenger decks: 9
  • Capacity: 702/670 passengers
  • Crew: 376
  • Call Sign: ZDDY7, ZCDS3, 9H5593
  • MMSI Number: 229765000
  • IMO Number: 9187887
  • Official Number: 732137
  • Register Number: 00675L
  • Registry: Monrovia/Libera 🇱🇷, Gibraltar 🇬🇮, Hamilton/Bermuda 🇧🇲, Valletta/Malta 🇲🇹
  • Sister Ships: R1, R2, R4, R5, R6, R7 and R8


Current AIS Location


Please note that this specific vessels AIS position data may be over an hour old and that the vessels position will only be displayed when it is within range of the VesselFinder AIS system. The AIS transponder/ship position data featured on this page is intended for information purposes only and it is in no way related to the 'Safety of Navigation at Sea'. All the AIS ship position data featured within this article is provided by VesselFinder and we are therefore not responsible for its content or its accuracy.


History

The third of a series of eight “R Class” built between 1998 and 2001. They were all built at the shipyard of Chantiers de l’Atlantique in Saint-Nazaire France and were designed, internally and externally, by British Designer John McNeece

December 19th 1997: Keel struck.

March 12th 1999: Launched.

© Ton Grootenboer

© Ton Grootenboer

July 28th 1999: Delivered to Renaissance Cruises, Monrovia, Liberia.

December 1999: Cruising Tahiti – Southern Pacific / Papeete.

June 18th 2001: Renaissance Cruises announced that their fleet of eight new builds (R ONE, R TWO, R THREE, R FOUR, etc.) would be getting “real” names at some point in the very near future. All eight ships are virtually identical, even in furnishings, colour schemes, and fittings.

September 25th 2001 : Renaissance Cruises ceased operations and filed Voluntary Petition for Chapter 11 reorganization. Petitions were filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of Florida, Fort Lauderdale Division.

September 2001: Arrested in Uturoa.

December 25th, 2001: The venture company Cruise Invest Management, managing the ships of bankrupt cruise operator Renaissance, gathered most of the vessels at Marseilles, while further deployment opportunities were sought. The R ONE, R TWO, R FIVE and R SIX were berthed in the port’s huge Dock No 10. Two smaller ships, the former 200 passenger-capacity RENAISSANCE 7 and RENAISSANCE 8 , now renamed RENAI I and RENAI II, were also berthed close to Marseilles. A further two larger vessels, R SEVEN and R EIGHT, were also expected to arrive soon. R THREE and R FOUR were laid up at Papeete.

© Benoit Donne

© Benoit Donne (R3 and R4 laid up at Papeete,Tahiti, in May 2002)

2002: Sold to Navire Copropriete, Gibraltar.

October 2002: Sold to P&O Princess Cruises, Gibraltar and renamed PACIFIC PRINCESS.

November 2002: Sold to FPP SAS, Gibraltar.

December 24th 2002: Maiden voyage from Papeete.

May 27 2003: “The new PACIFIC PRINCESS (ex R THREE) made her maiden visit to Los Angeles today. Calling at the home port of the first PACIFIC PRINCESS during her stint as television’s famous “Love Boat”, the new 30,277 gt 1999-built ship played host to media and travel VIP tours before sailing to San Francisco with Gavin MacLeod (the original Captain Steubing and Princess Cruises’ spokesperson) where she will begin her maiden Alaska cruising season. PACIFIC PRINCESS is an extraordinarily handsome ship with old-world style appointments and modern amenities. “

May 2006: Sold to Princess Cruise Line Ltd, Hamilton, Bermuda.

    

© Aleksi Lindström

October 14th 2016: Collided with the breakwater at Nice, Alpes-Martimes, France and was holed below the waterline. There were no reported injuries.

May 26th 2017 – June 9th 2017: Extensive refit. “…..the refurbished 670-guest ship now boasts modernised guest areas, four renovated dining venues, 178,000 square feet of new carpet and the Princess livery on her hull.”.

© Willem Oldenburg  © Willem Oldenburg  

© Willem Oldenburg

© Willem Oldenburg (28/07/2017)

June 19th 2018: Called at Dover

© Neil Hopper  © Neil Hopper  

© Neil Hopper  © Neil Hopper  

© Neil Hopper (Dover, 19/06/2018)

© Dover Strait Shipping        

January 5th 2020: Left Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades for a 111-day world cruise, has disembarked most passengers who flew home when the ship docked on March 21 in Fremantle. 115 passengers remained on board. Some did not meet the International Air Transport Association’s fitness standards for air travel. Others were unable to return home by aircraft due to individual medical conditions unrelated to COVID-19. The plans were to disembark four Hawaiian residents in Honolulu on Apil 13, when the vessel docks to refuel. From there the vessel will sail to Los Angeles to unload the other 111 passengers on April 24.

April 14th 2020: Four Hawaii residents were allowed to disembark at Honolulu Harbor. The four ― two Oahu couples ― were screened as they disembarked and did not have any symptoms of COVID 19. They were shuttled to their homes with a police escorts to being a 14-day quarantine. No one else on the cruise ship was allowed to disembark. The vessel was refuelling before continuing on to its final destination Los Angeles.

January 22nd 2021: Sold to Sycamore Partners (SP Cruises Vessel PP Ltd) , a private equity firm. Manager; V Ships Leisure.

March 1st 2021: Renamed P PRINCE and will be operated with the new name AZAMARA ONWARD

June 2021: Known to be laid up in Civitavecchia, Italy.

Civitavecchia 25/06/2021

July 31st 2021: Left Civitavecchia for refit in Rotterdam.

© Pieter Inpyn

🆕 © Pieter Inpyn (Amsterdam, 19/08/2021)

March 1st 2022: Renamed AZAMRA ONWARD

May 2022: Operated by Azamara Cruises.

© Brian Fisher

🆕 © Brian Fisher (Kusadasi, 07/08/2022)

 


All information is believed to be correct and no responsibility is accepted for any errors or omissions. All items included in this article are subject to © copyright. We would like to take this opportunity of thanking: Benoit Donne, Dover Strait Shipping, Brian Fisher, Ton Grootenboer, Neil Hopper, Pieter Inpyn, Willem Oldenburg and Aleksi Lindström for their assistance in producing this feature.

Article © Nigel Thornton and Ray Goodfellow (Dover Ferry Photos Group)

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