She was built by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri in Monfalcone, delivered in 2001, and christened by Merlisa George in Saint Thomas in April 2002.

While operating as Golden Princess, she has sailed to all seven continents, beginning with her debut in Southampton in May 2001, followed by seasonal deployments serving regions around the Caribbean and Europe.

In 2007, she circumnavigated South America and debuted along the West Coast of the United States before also sailing around ports in Asia and Oceania bordering the Pacific Ocean until 2020.

[7] In January 1998, Princess announced it was ordering two additional Grand-class ships at a cost of approximately US$425 million each from Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri for delivery in 2001.

[16] In March 2020, during a round-trip sailing from Melbourne to New Zealand amid the COVID-19 pandemic, three passengers were quarantined onboard after one was suspected of having the coronavirus when they began developing symptoms.

[19] Golden Princess was scheduled to perform a full season of Alaska voyages from Los Angeles in summer 2020[20] and a final transpacific crossing to Singapore in fall 2020,[21] but due to the pandemic, all sailings of the ship were suspended.

[25] In a statement, P&O president Sture Myrmell conceded that the market's current infrastructure and its anticipated pace of development would be inadequate to support the brand's earlier, more ambitious expansion goals.

[26] In September 2018, after hosting an online naming contest, P&O announced Golden Princess would be renamed Pacific Adventure and debut in October 2020, featuring modified accommodations and onboard facilities designed in-line with the P&O brand.

[30] Golden Princess transitioned into P&O's fleet in 2022 as Pacific Adventure, her guest capacity has been increased to 2,636, with modifications including the addition of five-berth cabins.

[27] P&O also invited the public to contribute suggestions in order to design a more family-oriented experience on the ship.

[35] On 28 May 2023, at approximately 3:30AM, while off the east coast of Australia on a three day cruise from Sydney a fire broke out on a passenger balcony on the port side of the ship.

[37] On 6th May 2024, a passenger on Pacific Adventure was reported to have gone overboard just after 4am about 10 nautical miles (18.5km) off Sydney Heads.