On the evening of Thursday, June 22, 1995, Princess Cruises’ Star Princess was just pulling in the last of her lines after a successful visit to the famous gold rush town. Her bow lines splashed into the water and were hauled up along the side of her hull, dripping water into the harbour as they went. Star Princess was a little over a month into her Alaskan cruise season, which would last until September of that year. For many of her guests the week-long voyage from Seward to Vancouver was a once-in-a-lifetime experience; an escape from the everyday. However, for the crew of the Star Princess this southbound voyage was normal and routine. It wasn’t an escape from the everyday; it was the everyday. Built in 1988 for Sitmar Cruises as their FairMajesty, Star Princess would never actually sail for them. Sitmar was put up for sale following the death of the company’s founder, Boris Vlasov, in November 1987. Princess Cruises’ parent company P&O Cruises snapped up Sitmar in July 1988, and had officially acquired all of their ships — including the still-unfinished FairMajesty — by September 1 of that year.
