The name of the ship isn't indicated but due to her dimensions and technical specifications she is with no doubt Pacific Sky.

I'm not really surprised that she is for sale... as a steam ship she is quite expansive to operate.

Do you believe that Carnival Corporation & Plc could replace her with Holiday or Celebration ?

Who could acquire her ? She is too young to be scrapped !!!

Frankly I'd like to see her in the Costa fleet... just change the funnel and refresh her interiors, particularly the cabins.

I don't know who would want her... she's a great ship, but that steam plant is unusual today and may be difficult for smaller lines to manage.

I have sailed her 4 times now and was onboard 2 months ago whilst she was in port in Sydney and to answer your questions feargus she is in remarkably good condition. P&O have slowly been doing the interiors bit by bit over the last year, and i believe have an ongoing interior upgrading program up until her next dry dock. For instance they have just completed refurbishments of all the Lido suites (they did a few during each cruise). They are also investigating the possibility of redoing an amount of cabins in each grade into double beds, which would result in total refurbishments of the lower cabins. The dining rooms recieved new carpets, chairs and fittings late last year, and all the public rooms are being progressively relayed. The library got upgraded recently with the addition of the internet centre and the ships entire telephony system was reqired with new phones in all cabins.

The only areas i think that really need some attention are the promenade lounge which is rather dated and seems a very unused wasted area, the beauty salon which is quite small and dated and the cinema, where the seats and carpet are very worn and its beginning to smell musty, this is a fabulous venue however that has great potential for use as an alternative showlounge as its stage is actually quite big!

On the outside the ship is in a good condition also, the real teak decking is spotless and the lifeboats and davits seem well maintained. The rear decks are still lovely with there classic layers, and the massive rear promenade deck which was expanded in 2000 is a fantastic area during a hot day at sea, a real alfresco atmosphere, one deck up and the extended night club deck becomes a young persons sunbaking deck with music during the day, another deck up and the main pool area with bar and ice cream shop is looking spick and span, with the pools and tiled areas being well maintained also, the only thing here is the glass needed a good clean! Further up and forward the sun deck has been covered in astro turf which is frequently replaced and is soft underfoot, here is the silent sunbakers delight with a great area in direct sunshine all day atop the ship with total peace and a bar for a cool drink!

The Gym and indoor spa are also well maintained but the gym is relatively small, and massage and treatment rooms limited. The Sky deck was probably the most neglected area onboard on my last visit in june, it needed a good paint, and it could prbably do with some wind breaks to make it more pleasant while at sea!

But all in all, with a good scrub down in the bathrooms (new shower curtains) and some fresh soft furnishings Pac Sky could easily pass 3.5 stars, and with some minor renovation work on some of the public rooms and the lower grades of cabins, she would even top 4 stars! At the moment even her lower cabins still far exceed most 3 star ships, they are very large, high ceilings, great lighting, well ventilated, and very comfortable with heaps of storage space, and giant showers! Poor noise dampening is their only structural short coming.

Oh another thing, all her outdoor decks recently recieved all new furniture and fittings, including deckchairs, tables and chairs, lights, bins etc.

There is definately something beautiful about her, she has an elegance she clearly inherited from Sitmar, in her appearance and presence. Truly a good looking liner, I honestly hope this isnt the beginning of the end of her career down under! She runs rings around "Pacific Sun" her fake ugly sister! haha

Surely she has at least another 20 years good service in her if she is well kept, wouldnt this warrant replacing her engines? As was mentioned earlier in the post she had some problems with her hull last year but they did extensive repairs and actually cut away large sections and replaced them. I hear that in the next dry dock they intend to do further work to the hull so no doubt they will bring this back to new standards, and keep it there now that they know about that problem.

Well ive gone on for so long im sorry, but i have great affection for this ship! If anyone has any other specific questions about her or her condition just ask!

As for Pacific Sun... she is no match for Sky. But I think the former Carnival ship better fits the original market attracted to Fairstar for many years... the fun seeking young and single crowd. Interesting that for a time Fairstar was also marketed as the "fun ship".

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Originally posted by bmajor:
Sydney Boy......
I have taken on board all you have said.....
I have cruised on Pacicic Sky 3 times and enjoyed each cruise..........
but we must move on.....
the old tub is a rust bucket
and is unsafe as a cruise ship
The Moms and Dads and their kids,
the party going teens of Australiia
need a safe ship..........
Lets hope
P&O Australia
read (Carnival PC)
deliver...............

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