MV Nordic Prince was a cruise ship. She was built in 1971 by Wärtsilä Helsinki Shipyard, Finland for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and christened as MV Nordic Prince. She subsequently sailed under the names of Carousel, Aquamarine, and Arielle, prior to being renamed Ocean Star Pacific.
History
Nordic Prince was the second ship to be built for Royal Caribbean, and one of the first modern purpose-built cruise ships. She was launched on 9 July 1970, and entered service for RCCL on 31 July 1971. Like her older sister, Song of Norway, she was used for cruising on the Caribbean with Miami as the starting port. In June 1980, the ship was lengthened at Wärtsilä Helsinki by 26 meters. When RCCL acquired new tonnage in the late 1980s, Nordic Prince was used for cruising around the world.
Nordic Prince became the first RCCL ship to be supplanted by larger tonnage in March 1995, when she was sold to Sun Cruises. Before the ship entered service for her new owners, the sky lounge around her funnel was removed. Renamed Carousel, the ship began cruising for Sun Cruises on 6 May 1995. During her time with Sun Cruises she spent summers cruising on the Mediterranean but during the winter seasons she returned to the Caribbean. In February 2000, Carousel was grounded near Cancún, Mexico, which led to cancellation of five cruises while she was being repaired. Toward the end of her service with Sun Cruises the ship received