Grand class cruise ship

Grand Princess, the first ship in the class.
Class overview
Builders:	Fincantieri in Monfalcone Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Nagasaki
Operators:	Princess Cruises P&O Cruises
Preceded by:	Sun class
Succeeded by:	Royal class
Subclasses:	Gem class Caribbean class Crown class Ventura class
Built:	1998–2010
In service:	1998–Present
Completed:	11
Active:	11
General characteristics
Type:	Cruise ship
Tonnage:	109,000–116,000 GT
Length:	951 ft (289.86 m)
Beam:	118 ft (35.97 m)
Draught:	26 ft (7.92 m)
Decks:	Grand and Gem class: 17 total, 13 passenger Caribbean class: 18 total, 14 passenger Crown class: 19 total, 15 passenger Ventura class: 19 total, 14 passenger
Propulsion:	Diesel-electric
Capacity:	2,600–3,114 passengers
Crew:	1,200

The Grand class is a class of cruise ships. Ships in the class are operated by the cruise lines Princess Cruises or P&O Cruises. The class consists of several series (subclasses) of sister ships, most of which were built by Fincantieri in Monfalcone and Trieste, northern Italy. The first vessel of the original Grand class, the Grand Princess, entered service in 1998.

Ships of the later subclasses are based on the Grand class, but have modifications such as additional decks and varied placement of major amenities such as the nightclub and restaurants. The 'Skywalkers' nightclub is a signature element of Princess Cruises' ships in the Grand class and derived classes. The nightclub either overhangs the stern of the ship (Grand and Caribbean classes) or is located just aft of the funnel (Gem and Crown classes).

The Gem class of ships is based primarily on the Grand class, but modifies the placement of the Skywalkers nightclub to be just aft of the funnel and also modifies the number of restaurants. The two Gem class ships were built by Mitsubishi in Nagasaki, Japan in 2004.

The Caribbean class is the third version of the design and has one additional deck. As in the original Grand class design, the Skywalkers nightclub is suspended on the stern. Caribbean class vessels also pioneered in the introduction of 'Movies Under the Stars', a cruise ship poolside theater, which was later added to other Princess ships.

The Crown class is the fourth Princess Cruises version of the Grand class. Crown class ships have returned the placement of the nightclub adjacent to the funnel. Crown class ships also feature 'Movies Under the Stars' like the Caribbean class.