This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Discovery (cruise ship) is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:
Related Sponsors
MV Discovery (formerly Island Venture, Island Princess, Hyundai Pungak and Platinum) is a cruise ship, currently in operation with Discovery Cruises
Contents |
History
The ship began operation in 1972 with Flagship Cruises, under the name Island Venture. In 1974 she was sold to P&O's Princess Cruises along with sister ship Sea Venture. The pair were renamed Island Princess and Pacific Princess, the latter now operating as the Pacific. Both appeared in the 1970's television sitcom The Love Boat, although the Pacific Princess was the main feature of the show. The Island Princess operated as part of the Princess fleet until 1999, when she was sold on to Hyundai Merchant Marine of South Korea. Renamed Hyundai Pungak her role was to transport South Korean pilgrims to religious sites in North Korea
After a brief stint as the Platinum the ship went through a major refit between 2001-2003. Since 2003 the vessel has been sailing as Discovery under the care of the cruise company Voyages of Discovery (part of the All Leisure Group Plc) cruising out of Harwich, England. Voyages of Discovery sells these cruises predominately to the British, American, Australian, New Zealand and South African markets.
For the most part Discovery can be found in the Northern Hemisphere (Baltic, Scandinavia, Mediterranean, Aegean, North Africa) in the English Spring and Summer, and the Southern Hemisphere (South America, Antarctica, Indian Ocean, India, Mediterranean) in the Autumn and Winter.
Reports from passengers [September 2008] indicate that the ship has [or has had] a substantial problem with one Main Engine - probably the turbo-charger. Although spares were received, these were not fitted. The vessel has, therefore, operated on three engines, and at a slightly reduced speed.
Statistics
The ship is 168.8 m (554 ft) long and 24.7 m (81 ft) beam, originally measured 19,910 GRT and was built at Nordseewerke, Germany. She could carry 646 passengers, and had a top speed of 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h). The Discovery Cruises web site lists her current gross tonnage as 20,186, top speed as 18 knots (33 km/h) and passenger capacity as 698. Propulsion is by four Fiat medium speed diesel engines with a combined power output of 18,000 shaft horsepower. The engines are individually clutched and geared in pairs to each of the two shafts which drive controllable pitch propellers. This arrangement enables one or more engines to be shut down and declutched as required. Current registry is under the Bermudan flag.
On board eight decks are open to the public; Sky Deck, Sun Deck, Bridge Deck, Promenade Deck, Riviera Deck, Pacific Deck, Bali Deck and Coral Deck.
External links
- UK Voyages of Discovery site website
- US Voyages of Discovery Cruises site website
- OZ Voyages of Discovery site website
- NZ Voyages of Discovery site website
- Antarctica Discovery site website
References
- "P&O- Port Out, Starboard Home", David L. Williams, Ian Allen Publishing, 2002
- Discovery Cruises Australia site website
- mv Discovery Photo Review website
|
||||||||
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 1 January 2009, at 14:22.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Discovery (cruise ship)".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.