MS Grand Celebration

The Grand Celebration with Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line livery in Freeport, Bahamas in 2015
History
Name:	1987–2008: Celebration 2008–2014: Grand Celebration November 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 November 2014: Costa Cruises 2014–present: Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line
Port of registry:	1987–2000: Monrovia,  Liberia 2000–2008: Panama City,  Panama 2008–2014: Madeira, 2014 onwards: Nassau,
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) (When with Ibero Cruises) 3 February 2015 (with Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line)
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 Line. 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 was operated by HNA Tourism, but has since been sold for scrap in June 2016.

Unlike her sister "Henna", 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, on the day before the ship was scheduled to depart on its inaugural voyage, 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. Passengers who had booked on Costa Celebration's future cruises were either refunded or rebooked on other ships.^[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 its first cruise on February 1, 2015. Due to technical difficulties, the voyage was cancelled. Repairs were made and the ship set sail on February 3.^[7]

Incidents

• On the morning of 10 February 1989, the Celebration collided with the Cuban freighter Captain San Luis, breaking the freighter in half and causing it to sink in 13 minutes.^[8] Three crew members of the Captain San Luis, including its captain, were missing and presumed dead. The freighter was hauling cement at the time of the collision, and had been experiencing electrical problems which left it without lights, navigational equipment, or steering. The Celebration remained on-site, rescuing the 42 survivors from the water and transferring them to a Cuban navy ship and tugboat before continuing on to Miami.

Gallery

• Views of the ship as the MS Celebration (Carnival Cruise Lines)
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• Views of the ship as the Grand Celebration (Ibero Cruises)
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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 - Cruise Industry News | Cruise News". www.cruiseindustrynews.com. Retrieved 2016-06-04.
3. "Costa Cruises sells the ship and cancels the trip - The Medi Telegraph". www.themeditelegraph.com/en/. Retrieved 2016-06-04.
4. "UPDATE: Celebration ship will launch Sunday | Protecting Your Pocket". Retrieved 2016-06-04.
5. "New Cruise Line Postpones First Cruise; Sets Sail Two Days Late". Cruise Critic. Retrieved 2016-06-04.
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

• Bahamas Paradise Cruise