Viking Princess

[2Scots]

Does anyone know what ever happened to the Viking Princess that sailed out of Florida in the 1980's?

 

Did this ship belong to Princess Cruise Lines? Where is it now?

 

Thanks,

2Scots

[Peter_LT]

Hi 2Scots,

 

The Viking Princess seems to have had a long history of sailing out of Florida.

I would regularly see her almost shadowing us when I was on board RMS Carmania

sailing 12 to 17 day cruises out of Ft Lauderdale early in 1965. Then, when on

board RMS Caronia on our way out to New York for the 1966 Great World Cruise,

guess which ship tied-up behind us at Nassau?

 

I've placed a picture of her on that day on this Caronia Timeline page. In those

days, for a ship painted white, she was always immaculately kept!

 

Regards,

Steve (Peter_LT)

Caronia II Timeline Webmaster

< http://www.*****.info/ >

[AJL]

for her history, she used to be a Finnish ship you know?

 

http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/Ilmatar.html

[dougnewmanatsea]

Actually we are dealing with two different ships here.

 

AJL has got the one 2Scots was presumably referring to, the former ILMATAR, now PALM BEACH PRINCESS.

 

Peter_LT's ship is a different, much older vessel, unrelated but for having the same name:

 

http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/Chargeurs-Lavoisier.html

[nauditor]

À propos, what can you tell us about Crown Del Mar, which used to sail from Riviera Beach at the same time as Viking Princess in the 80s?

 

It's odd the things you remember about a ship. The first thing that comes to mind about Crown Del Mar is that the main lounge was unable to accommodate more than about 80% of a full passenger complement. AAMOF, it seemed that at any given time it couldn't handle more than 80% of 50% of a full complement, (on the assumption that there were two shows.)

 

I also remember Captn. Skjerve asking me exactly what time a medical emergency had occurred, and I had forgotten to glance at my watch when it happened. I was too busy making a general announcement for a stretcher team. It would have wasted time to call the bridge first and ask them to make the announcement. Apparently Kasper Skjerve agreed, but I felt I had let him down by not being able to give a time-mark any better than five minutes. Luckily, a team showed up within five minutes of my call. They must all have been having breakfast in the Crew Mess at the time.

 

It was also on this ship that I learned that the 'Computer Purser' has a closer affinity with the radio officers than the pursers. About ten years later, apparently this was formalised by Airtours when they took computer tech out of the purser's department and gave it to the R/O.

 

This may have been one of the few things they got right. In other respects, an airline company taking over a cruise line was somewhat farcical. It seems Airtours couldn't understand the concept of a separate officers' Mess, so they coverted it to passenger cabins and dumped all ranks into a tiny 'cafeteria.' They couldn't understand that, unlike an airline crew, a ship's crew actually live entirely on board their vessel.

 

But I rant. Please excuse. It's the same with my interest in mediaeval castles. I'm more interested in how the steward ran the castle and how people lived in it than in its physical construction. In that vein, a ship startup is often difficult enough even if no airline people are involved, and the only problem is ironing out differences between people with backgrounds in different types of ships. Okay, I'll end this sub-thread here, as this is not a site for discussion of Shipboard Management styles.

 

 

 

Actually we are dealing with two different ships here.

 

AJL has got the one 2Scots was presumably referring to, the former ILMATAR, now PALM BEACH PRINCESS.

 

Peter_LT's ship is a different, much older vessel, unrelated but for having the same name:

 

http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/Chargeurs-Lavoisier.html

[dougnewmanatsea]

À propos, what can you tell us about Crown Del Mar, which used to sail from Riviera Beach at the same time as Viking Princess in the 80s?

Ah, yet another converted ferry! And of course, the same owners, Crown Cruise Line (in the pre-Effjohn/Commodore days).

 

She was built in 1967 as the Trasmediterranea ferry LAS PALMAS DE GRAN CANARIA, one of the famous "Albatros" sisters, for service between Barcelona and the Canary Islands. By them mid-1980s, she and her three sisters had been replaced by newer vessels, and so between 1986 and 1988 she was rebuilt as a cruise ship. She emerged as CROWN DEL MAR and was chartered to Crown Cruise Line, who were already operating VIKING PRINCESS.

 

She was returned to her owners in 1991 and laid-up at Barcelona. In 1994, she was reactivated as DON JUAN for a new Trasmed subsidiary which operated cruises for the Spanish market.

 

She was sold again in 2000 and renamed RIVIERA I. After a few unsuccessful charters, she was laid up in Spain yet again. Finally, in 2004 she was sold to Asian interests who renamed her ROYAL PACIFIC and intended to use her on cruises from Taiwan. In July 2005, while being refitted at Kaoshiung, she burned and sank.

 

You can see various photos of the ship throughout her life here.

 

For more general information on the four "Albatros" sisters of which she was one, this is a good (if somewhat out of date - written in 1997) article. Of the four ships, the only one that survives today is OCEAN MAJESTY, the most heavily rebuilt. A very good article about a visit to this ship by the Ocean Liner Society last year can be seen here. Also see here for more photos of the ship by my friend Pam Massey whose photos are featured in the article.

 

As you can see OCEAN MAJESTY looks like a rather nice little ship, having undergone far more extensive conversion than her sister.

[2Scots]

Hi - thanks so much for the update on the Viking princess. Now I know that she wasn't part of the Princess fleet.

 

Appreciate it.

 

2Scots