.jpg) Ambience moored atTallinn on May 19, 2022 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Bahamas | |
| Name |
|
| Owner |
|
| Operator |
|
| Port of registry | |
| Builder |
|
| Cost | US$276.8 million |
| Yard number | 5840 |
| Launched | 29 March 1990 |
| Completed | 1991 |
| Acquired | 20 July 1991 |
| Maiden voyage | August 1991 |
| In service | 1991 |
| Identification |
|
| Status | In service |
| Notes | [1][2][3] |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 70,285 GT |
| Length | 245.06 m (804 ft 0 in) |
| Height | 56.00 m (183 ft 9 in) |
| Draught | 8.218 m (26 ft 11.5 in) |
| Decks | 11 passenger decks |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | Two electric motors of 12MW each, two fixed-pitch propellers of 6 blades and 5.8 m (19 ft 0 in) diameter |
| Speed |
|
| Capacity | 1,400 passengers |
| Crew | 660 |
| Notes | [3][4] |
| Fuel oil capacity | 2,727 t (2,684 long tons; 3,006 short tons) |
| Fuel consumption | 1,700 imp gal (7,700 L)/hr (75 ft/gallon, 6 m/L) |
| General characteristics (as built)[2] | |
| Type | Cruise ship |
| Tonnage | |
| Decks | 15 |
| Ramps | 2 |
| Speed | 19.5 knots (36.1 km/h; 22.4 mph) |
| Notes | [3] |
MSAmbience is acruise ship operated byAmbassador Cruise Line. The vessel was delivered toPrincess Cruises in 1991 by theFincantieri shipyard inMonfalcone, Italy asRegal Princess, sailing on their North American routes. After 2000 she was deployed on the company's Australian routes, then later in the Mediterranean and Baltic seas.
In 2007Regal Princess was transferred toP&O Cruises Australia, underwent major refurbishment, and was renamedPacific Dawn, operating from Australia to South Pacific destinations. Her renaming coincided with P&O's 75th anniversary in Australia. It was intended that the ship would be retired in 2020, sold toCruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) and renamedAmy Johnson, but CMV had financial difficulties and went intoadministration in 2020, affected by theCOVID-19 pandemic.
Later in 2020Pacific Dawn was sold to Ocean Builders Central, and renamedSatoshi. They intended her to become afloating residence in theGulf of Panama; however, after failing to obtain insurance for the proposed operation, she was resold in 2021 for operation byAmbassador Cruise Line, entering service asAmbience in 2022.
Sitmar Cruises had started an ambitious new building programme for the North American cruise market in 1985. Following an abortive attempt to order ships from the Italy-basedFincantieri, the company had placed an order for one ship,Sitmar Fairmajesty, with theChantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in France. Sitmar were planning to order additional vessels however, and the Italian government—owners of Fincantieri—were eager to have these ships built by an Italian shipyard. Following negotiations between Sitmar and Fincantieri, the former placed an order for two 70,000 GT cruise ships with the latter, to be delivered in 1990 and 1991.[5] Although the ships maintained the same basic layout ofSitmar Fairmajesty, their exteriors were redesigned by the Italian architectRenzo Piano.[6] The distinctive curved forwards superstructure of the ship was inspired by thebottlenose dolphin .[6]
In 1988, while the two new ships ordered from Fincantieri were in the early stages of construction, Sitmar Cruises was sold toP&O and the three Sitmar ships under construction were transferred to the fleet of P&O's subsidiaryPrincess Cruises.[6] The second of the ships under construction at Fincantieri was launched from drydock on 29 March 1990 and namedRegal Princess.[1] Following successful sea trials on 5 June 1991Regal Princess was delivered on 20 July 1991 toAstamar, a subsidiary of P&O.[1][2]
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Following delivery,Regal Princess sailed to New York City where she was officially named by the former UK Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher on 8 August 1991.[7] Subsequently,Regal Princess entered service by joining her sister shipCrown Princess in cruising out of Fort Lauderdale to theCaribbean during the northern hemisphere winter, transferring to the Alaskan trade for the summer months.[1] In 1992 the ownership of the vessel was transferred from Astamar to Princess Cruises and she was transferred from the Italian registry toLiberian flag.[8]In 2000Regal Princess received a major refurbishment.[9] From the same year until 2003, she spent the southern hemisphere summer months cruising out ofSydney, taking over Princess Cruises' Australian itineraries following the transfer of another former Sitmar ship, theSky Princess, toP&O Cruises Australia asPacific Sky.[10]
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For the 2003 northern hemisphere summer season,Regal Princess was repositioned for cruises on theMediterranean Sea andBaltic Sea.[11] While on arepositioning cruise from Copenhagen to New York in August 2003, a number of passengers and crew on boardRegal Princess were infected by theNorovirus. The number of infected people on board eventually rose to 217, and the decision was made for the ship to drop planned calls in Greenland and Newfoundland in favour of sailing directly to New York. By the time the ship arrived in New York on 2 September 2003, one day ahead of schedule, only four people on board were still suffering from the virus. The ship was again disinfected and was able to depart on her next scheduled cruise without problems.[12]
In 2004Regal Princess was planned to join her sister shipA'Rosa Blu (ex-Crown Princess) in the fleet ofA'Rosa Cruises, P&O Cruises' brand aimed at the German market, but the transfer was cancelled following the sale of A'Rosa Cruises to Arkona in 2003.[12][13] In late 2006Regal Princess was due to transfer to the fleet ofOcean Village, but this too was cancelled.[13] Instead,Regal Princess was transferred to the fleet of P&O Cruises Australia in late 2007.[2][13]
Following an extensive refurbishment,Regal Princess was renamedPacific Dawn and christened on 8 November 2007 byOlympic gold medalistCathy Freeman.[14] Unlike the previous P&O Cruises Australia ships,Pacific Dawn had an all-white hull, to mark P&O's 75th anniversary in Australia.[15] In December 2009,Pacific Dawn was moved to her new home port inHamilton to allowPacific Jewel andPacific Pearl to be based in Sydney.
In May 2010,Pacific Dawn went into dry dock inBrisbane for extensive refurbishment.
In November 2014, the ship was dry-docked in Sydney, Australia for the addition of "The Edge" activities (including a zip-line, "crow's nest experience" and rock-climbing wall), a refurbishment of the Waterfront Restaurant and a cosmetic make-over of the pool deck. During this time it was known among the crew as "Salvatore Lupo's private yacht", after the captain who had served on the ship since its launch, making his way from 3rd officer to Captain while serving on the vessel over its history.
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In November 2019,P&O Cruises Australia announcedPacific Dawn and sister ship,Pacific Aria, were to be retired in February and April 2021, respectively, with both being replaced in November 2021 by the largerPacific Encounter which is currently sailing asStar Princess.[16] Her final voyage under the P&O Cruises Australia was scheduled for 8 February 2021, travelling fromMelbourne toSingapore. There the ship would be officially handed over toCruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV), which intended to rename herAmy Johnson, after thefirst woman to fly solo from London to Australia.[17][18]
Following the failure of CMV in July 2020, on 28 September P&O Cruises Australia announced that they had retired the ship earlier than planned as the pause in their schedules due to theCOVID-19 pandemic offered an opportunity to sell her.[19]
The ship was sold in November 2020 to Marshall Islands company Ocean Builders Central Inc. for about US$9.5 million,[20][21] and namedSatoshi, after thepresumed creator of Bitcoin. In normal times a price of around $100 million would have been expected, but the2020 Covid pandemic had caused cruise ship prices to collapse, and many were scrapped.[22] It was planned that the ship would be anchored in theGulf of Panama 22 kilometres (14 mi) from the coast and host a floating community of 2,020 people.[23][24] Residents would purchase their cabins and have access to the ship's amenities. The commercial spaces would be operated by individual companies which, in keeping with the cryptocurrency spirit and technology incubator, would acceptBitcoin for purchases. A 30-minute ferry ride by tender would connect the ship toPanama City. Ship operations would have been run by a spin off company called Viva Vivas.[25] However, the owners and operators were not able to secure insurance for the ship's proposed operation in Panama, and slated her in December 2020 to be scrapped atAlang, India.[26][27] However, she stayed at Panama until March 2021, when it was reported that she had been sold to Wake Asset Co, a single-shipBritish Virgin Islands company, for operation by an unnamed European cruise start-up;[28] the price was thought to have been $12m.[22] She arrived atBar, Montenegro to be laid up on 27 March.[28]
On 13 May 2021 it was announced that the new operator would be British start-up companyAmbassador Cruise Line, and the ship, to be renamedAmbience, would commence sailings in April 2022 after a refit. Initially she would be based atTilbury, UK.[29][30] In October 2021, she began her refit at theViktor Lenac Shipyard nearRijeka.[31] There were some supply-chain issues caused by theRusso-Ukrainian War, and the inaugural cruise, from Tilbury to Hamburg, was rescheduled to 20 April 2022.[32]
On 26 May 2022,Ambience was detained briefly at Tilbury after aPort State Control inspection revealed deficiencies in the fuel system. The ship was released the following day.[33][34]
In 2023, Ambassador cruise line announced that their ships will have internet connections fromStarlink added to them and thatAmbience will sail the grand round the world cruise in 2024.[35]
While on a cruise from Sydney to destinations in Asia on 15 March 2001,Regal Princess experienced difficulties when entering the port ofCairns, due to high winds. While she made it safely to the harbour, it was decided to postpone her departure by eight hours, allowing the winds to subside and use more favourable tidal conditions. Despite these precautionsRegal Princess was grounded while outbound from Cairns, but was able to free herself under her own power after just four minutes. The ship then returned to Cairns for preliminary inspections.
Due to sea conditions the hull of the ship could not be inspected by divers in Cairns, and the ship was allowed to sail toDarwin for a full inspection of the hull. In Darwin minor damage to the ship'sbulbous bow was discovered, but this did not threaten her safety andRegal Princess was cleared to continue her cruise. A subsequent study to the causes of the accident concludedRegal Princess was too large to safely traverse the narrow channel leading into Cairns, and that "commercial incentives ... may have influenced the approval process to exceed the limits of a reasonable safety envelope."[10]
In February 2007 on thePanama Canal cruise (G705), following a brief scheduled stop at the pier inHuatulco harbor inMexico,Regal Princess ran aground, making contact on her port side while backing out of the harbor due to high winds from the southeast, and listed at least five degrees to starboard. The ship freed itself and continued on toAcapulco at reduced speed and later was seen from the air severely listing to starboard, during inspection/repair in the harbor there. The subsequent scheduled cruise was cancelled due to the damage repair/inspection. The ship was drydocked and repaired at Balboa, Panama and took almost one month to fix the hull damage.
On 25 May 2009,Pacific Dawn docked inSydney Harbour. It was reported that 130 of approximately 2,000 passengers had flu-like symptoms and two five-year-old boys subsequently tested positive forswine flu. New South Wales Health authorities ordered all 2,000 passengers from the ship to stay at home, or in hotel rooms, for seven days as a form of self-imposed quarantine. The cases of swine flu fromPacific Dawn were the first reported contagious cases of swine flu in Sydney. On 26 May, it was reported that 14 passengers fromPacific Dawn had tested positive for swine flu. At the time, as measured against the confirmed cases for nation states,Pacific Dawn carried the 14th largest number of confirmed cases. It ranked ahead of Mainland China, Hong Kong, Brazil and New Zealand.
On 10 April 2010Pacific Dawn lost power on theBrisbane River on approach to theGateway Bridge. The pilot and tugs brought the ship to a full stop within 70 metres of the newly-built structure and the disabled ship was towed back toPortside Wharf inHamilton, Queensland. The captain believed that the failure was due to a blown fuse following a saltwater leak.[36]
On 12 April 2018 at 4pm, 47-year-old Natasha Schofield fell overboard. Her husband was with her at the time, and quickly raised the alarm. The ship left its course and began an unsuccessful search until 8am the following morning. Her three children were on the cruise, but did not witness the event. The ship returned toBrisbane, Australia on 15 April 2018. By reviewing security footage, police determined that the event had been asuicide shown by Schofield's leap over the railing.[37]
On 18 December 2022, about four hours after 1400 passengers had embarked for a 3-day cruise from Tilbury, the ship's maintenance checks revealed a serious problem at lifeboat stations, Ambassador decided to cancel the cruise for safety reasons. All passengers disembarked the following morning and repairs commenced.[38][39] Later, the subsequent 15-day Christmas and New Year cruise was also cancelled as the repairs could not to be done in Tilbury andAmbience was sent to aBremerhaven shipyard.[40] The repairs were completed by 2 January 2023 and she resumed her cruise programme.[41]
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Years indicate year of entry into service with Cruise & Maritime Voyages | ||
