# Pacific Explorer

Star Voyager (previously known as Dawn Princess & Pacific Explorer) is a cruise ship soon to be operated by StarCruises and was previously operated by P&O Cruises Australia, a cruise line brand owned by the Carnival Corporation & plc. It is a Sun-class cruise ship built by Fincantieri, Italy, in 1997, and features eight restaurants, four swimming pools, five hot tubs/spas/whirlpools, seven lounges and bars, and two children centres.
She is the sister ship to Pacific World (former Sun Princess), Queen of the Oceans (former Oceana) and Dream (former Sea Princess). Star Voyager and Pacific World differ from Queen of the Oceans and Dream by having exterior bridge wings. Queen of the Oceans and Dream have internal bridge wings.
As part of the announcement that P&O Cruises Australia would merge with Carnival, it was revealed the Pacific Explorer will not be joining the Carnival fleet and will be withdrawn in February 2025. On December 20 2024 it was revealed that the ship had been sold to Resorts World Cruises.

## Princess Cruises

Dawn Princess was targeted to replace Pacific Princess, sailing Australian waters between October 2006 and March 2007, to become the largest ship ever to be based in Australia, but these plans were eventually replaced by Sun Princess as well as being served by Pacific Dawn (previously christened Regal Princess). Dawn Princess began sailing in Australia as of 24 September 2008 with a 28-day itinerary circumnavigating the country, after a month serving Hawaii, Tahiti, and the South Pacific. From this point on, Dawn Princess remained in Australia permanently sailing from Sydney, Melbourne and Perth alongside Sun Princess under the Princess brand until it was transferred to P&O Cruises Australia and renamed Pacific Explorer.
In June 2009, Dawn Princess was dry-docked in the Port of Brisbane, Australia, for refurbishment.
On 7 October 2015, Carnival announced that Dawn Princess would be transferred in May 2017 to its Australian subsidiary P&O Cruises Australia as Pacific Explorer. Dawn Princess entered drydock on 26 May 2017 in (Sembawang), Singapore, for conversion to Pacific Explorer.

## P&O Cruises Australia

Pacific Explorer was re-registered to the United Kingdom and arrived in Sydney, New South Wales on 19 June 2017 for a 3-day stay before conducting its maiden voyage to the Pacific Islands. She was christened by the Nickelodeon Studios character Dora the Explorer on 2 July at Sydney Overseas Passenger Terminal after arriving from its maiden voyage.
On 2 June 2022, Pacific Explorer was the first cruise ship to use the new Brisbane International Cruise Terminal.
In April 2023, the ship sailed from Fremantle to Exmouth to allow passengers and astronomers to witness the hybrid solar eclipse. Onboard were numerous scientists, including Prof. Jonte Horner and Matt Dodds.
In June 2024 Carnival Corporation announced Pacific Explorer would leave the P&O Australia fleet in 2025 as part of the planned shutdown of the P&O brand in Australia.

## StarCruises

In December 2024, it was announced Pacific Explorer was sold to Resorts World Cruises to become Star Scorpio. Sailing from Singapore starting March 2025.
In February 2025, Resorts World Cruises announced the ship would be named Star Voyager instead of Star Scorpio, a reason was not specified for the name change.
In February 2025, it was announced Resorts World Cruises would be split into Dream Cruises and StarCruises.

## Accidents and incidents

On 13 December 2022, a woman fell overboard between Melbourne and Kangaroo Island, triggering a search off the coast of South Australia. Her body was found several hours later, and a joint investigation by South Australia Police and Victoria Police was initiated.
In December 2024, during a Christmas-themed parade, eight staff members dressed in costumes that allegedly resembled the Ku Klux Klan headgear. P&O Cruises Australia said that the pointed white hoods were "upside-down snow cones", not the KKK.