What is the oldest cruise ship still in service (on ANY line)?

[Hlitner]

We think the oldest cruise ship (still sailing as a cruise ship) is called the MV Astoria. She originally started sailing in 1948 and was then called the Stockholm. Yes, its the same ship that collided with Andrea Doria in 1956. But she was repaired and is now operated by Cruise and Maritime Voyages (the same company that now operates the old Marco Polo) and used primarily for British cruisers. We actually saw this ship a couple of years ago (while cruising in Europe) and she seems to be in pretty good shape....considering she is 69 years old! The oldest ship that we cruised, that is still cruising, is the Marco Polo (we cruised on her twice) which was launched about 1965.

 

Hank

[Luckynana]

The oldest ship we cruised on was also our very first cruise, in 1983 on the SS Norway

 

Sent from my SM-T350 using Forums mobile app

[10-777]

http://crew-center.com/oldest-cruise-ships-still-sail

[jackier23]

I cruises on the original pacific princess in 2001. Needed much repair. But still a princess. Also on the mardi grain 1985.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Belmont Babe]

Now that we know the oldest cruise ship for each line, lets thak this a step further.

 

What is the oldest cruise ship you have sailed on?

 

Where and when.

Did she act and look her age.

In 1978 at the age of 20 I did a cruise on the RMS Ellinis, (Chandris line) From Auckland, New Zealand to the Pacific Islands She was originally the Lurline (Matson Line) and was launched in July 1932 and entered service in January 1933. And yes she was old, rusty and unreliable, but we had a lot of fun.

Edited September 25, 2017 by Belmont Babe
Accuracy

[FredT]

We think the oldest cruise ship (still sailing as a cruise ship) is called the MV Astoria. She originally started sailing in 1948 and was then called the Stockholm. Yes, its the same ship that collided with Andrea Doria in 1956. But she was repaired and is now operated by Cruise and Maritime Voyages (the same company that now operates the old Marco Polo) and used primarily for British cruisers. We actually saw this ship a couple of years ago (while cruising in Europe) and she seems to be in pretty good shape....considering she is 69 years old! The oldest ship that we cruised, that is still cruising, is the Marco Polo (we cruised on her twice) which was launched about 1965.

 

Hank

LOL... Wish us luck Hank, We are booked onto the Astoria in march. I really wanted to sail this old girl before she faded away as my parents sailed on her in 1948 from Stockholm to NY.... We are actually looking forward to this trip as an adventure... (To be followed by a cruise on Crystal a few months later, talk about opposites! )

[Luckynana]

Has anyone ever cruised on the Argentina or Brazil? Those were the ships owned by Moore-McCormack Lines when I worked for them in the late '60's..

 

Sent from my SM-T350 using Forums mobile app

[Hlitner]

LOL... Wish us luck Hank, We are booked onto the Astoria in march. I really wanted to sail this old girl before she faded away as my parents sailed on her in 1948 from Stockholm to NY.... We are actually looking forward to this trip as an adventure... (To be followed by a cruise on Crystal a few months later, talk about opposites! )

 

So, we do have an interest in this ship. DW used to live in Queens (her home is now part of the Verazanno Bridge approach road) and was a young girl back in 1956, when her Dad came home (he worked a night shift) and told the family to hurry and get in his car. He drove them down to the nearby coast (I guess it was Sheepshead Bay where they watched the Stockholm sailing into New York Harbor....minus her bow (which was lost when she collided with the Andrea Dora. To this day, DW remembers seeing that badly damaged ship. So when we spotted the Astoria and realized it was the same ship....we were surprised to find she was about the oldest operating active cruise ship.

 

We will look forward to you posting about your "adventure" and doing a comparison to Crystal :). Personally, we would have no problem going on the Astoria or the old Marco Polo.....except that we suspect the cuisine will be slanted towards British taste. DW does not do Bangers and Mash :).

 

Hank

[FredT]

DW does not do Bangers and Mash :).

LOL, We just got back from Edinburgh for the festival, and found that A) We LIKE bangers and mash... and B) We DONT like Haggis. (Unless it is smothered in gravy) But a trip like this is certainly not about the cuisine... or the entertainment. Gonna be interesting!

[marco]

Long gone now, but the "oldest " ship I ever sailed on was the Home Lines 1st "Homeric" in the early 70's. It was originally a Matson Line ship built in 1931.

[Capt_BJ]

SEA CLOUD

 

launched 1931

 

still operating as a cruise ship http://www.seacloud.com/en/

 

original question did not mention 'originally built as a cruise ship' originally built as a private yacht, it served as both a Coast Guard vessel and US Navy vessel during WWII .... began life as a cruise ship in 79