HISTORY
In
brief
Pacific Eden
is a cruise ship of P&O Cruises Australia. Built for the Holland
America Line in 1993 as the Statendam, in November 2015 it was
transferred to P&O Cruises Australia and renamed.
Pacific Eden was ordered as the fifth Statendam along with her
sisters Maasdam and Ryndam (now Pacific Aria) in 1989 from
Fincantieri Shipyards. The hull design was initially based on MS
Costa Classica (1991) but was extensively changed due to changes to
upper works that affected buoyancy. She entered service in 1993.
Cruising from the west coast of the United States, with Australia
and New Zealand as the common destination in winter and Alaska in
summer, she is the fifth Holland America Line ship to bear the name
Statendam. Although Statendam II was ordered and mostly completed,
she never sailed for Holland America due to the outbreak of World
War I, and was used by the British as a troopship under the name SS
Justicia.
Concept & Construction
During the design of her class there was concern over her ability to
meet the strict new SOLAS 90 International Convention for the Safety
of Life at Sea stability requirements which would go into effect in
2010. She proved to meet these requirements beyond expectations and
the additional ballast tanks fitted to the class to provide added
stability usually travel void for weight reduction and hence, fuel
savings. Her hull design is based largely on that of MS Costa
Classica with changes to make it more buoyant as the superstructure
of Statendam and her sisters is much heavier than that of Costa
Classica. Statendam and her sisters have articulated "Hinze" flap
rudders, basically a rudder with a small portion of its aft that can
be steered in addition to the main rudder, for exceptional
maneuverability. When launched her class proved to be one of the
most technically advanced and optimised cruise ships in the world
during sea trials.
Signature of Excellence Program
The Statendam received SOEP1 in October 2002 which included Pinnacle
Grill specialty restaurant, the Neptune Lounge (for suite guests),
the Culinary Arts Center with demonstration kitchen, expanded
children’s and teens’ facilities, enhanced stateroom amenities, and
improved dining and enrichment offerings. Statendam received SOEP2
in April 2010 which included Canaletto Italian restaurant, new Spa
Staterooms, Mix nightclub/lounge & Showroom at Sea showroom/lounge.
P&O Cruises Australia
In the 2015 northern summer, the Statendam sailed Alaskan cruises
out of Vancouver and Homer before being dry-docked in October in
Singapore for a make over by SembCorp Marine before being
transferred to P&O Australia. Renamed the Pacific Eden, she departed
Fremantle on her maiden cruise on 15 November 2015. She was
officially renamed in Sydney by Kate Ritchie on 25 November 2015.
The naming was reportedly the first done via Twitter. She sails
under the P&O Australia brand out of Australian ports year round.
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