Grand-class cruise ship

The Grand class is a family of cruise ships operated by Princess Cruises, P&O Cruises, P&O Cruises Australia and Carnival Cruise Line. Most of the ships were built by Fincantieri at its Monfalcone and Trieste yards in northern Italy, and the first vessel, Grand Princess, entered service in 1998. The class is made up of several subclasses of sister ships. Later versions keep the Grand design but add decks and move the nightclub that Princess uses as a signature feature: it hangs over the stern in the Grand and Caribbean subclasses and sits just behind the funnel in the Gem and Crown subclasses. The two Gem-class ships were built by Mitsubishi in Nagasaki, Japan, in 2004, and the Ventura class built for P&O Cruises is marketed as Grand class although it is rebuilt inside and out.