MS Cunard Princess
 MS Golden Iris in Rhodes, 2011
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name |
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| Owner |
|
| Operator |
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| Port of registry |
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| Builder |
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| Cost | £12 million[2] |
| Yard number | 859[1] |
| Launched | 12 December 1974 |
| Completed | 14 March 1977 |
| Maiden voyage | March 1977[2] |
| In service | March 1977[2] |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Scrapped in 2022 |
| General characteristics (as built)[1] | |
| Class and type | Cunard Countess-class cruise ship |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 163.56 m (536 ft 7 in) |
| Beam | 22.80 m (74 ft 10 in) |
| Draught | 8.30 m (27 ft 3 in) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion | 2 propellers[3] |
| Speed |
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| Capacity | 947 passengers |
| General characteristics (as rebuilt, 1997)[2] | |
| Tonnage | 16,852 GT |
| Length | 164.90 m (541 ft 0 in) |
| Beam | 23.20 m (76 ft 1 in) |
| Draught | 5.80 m (19 ft 0 in) |
| Decks | 8 |
| Capacity | 959 passengers |
| Crew | 350 |
| Notes | Otherwise the same as built |
MS Cunard Princess was a
Concept and construction
The ship that eventually became known as the Cunard Princess was originally one of two ships ordered by the United States-based Overseas National Airways.[7] Unusually Hugh Hefner, the founder of Playboy, was involved in the design process of the ships, envisioning them as "floating Playboy Clubs".[2] Order for the two ships was placed with the Burmeister & Wain shipyard in Copenhagen, Denmark.[1] However, during construction the ships were sold to the United Kingdom-based Cunard Line, In which Cunard previously operated the RMS Queen Mary and RMS Queen Elizabeth. Although better known as luxury cruise operators, Cunard decided to maintain the original informal cruise concept developed for the ships by Overseas National Airways.[7]
Cunard Conquest, the second of the two sisters, was
Service history
1977–1995: Cunard Princess
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Cunard Princess set on her first cruise from
During the
In 1993 the Cunard Princess was moved to the fleet of Cunard's newly created mid-market subsidiary
1995–2009: Rhapsody
After a short time under charter to
In 2001 the Rhapsody was re-registered to Naples.[1] On 9 April 2009 MSC Cruises sold the Rhapsody to the Israel-based cruise operator Mano Maritime.[4][11]
2009–2021: Golden Iris - 2021–2022: Gold Club - 2022: Old Club
Following the sale to
Design
Cunard Conquest was designed with a heavily raked
Like her sister ship Cunard Countess, at delivery Cunard Princess appeared in the traditional red/black Cunard funnel colours, complementing a white hull and superstructure. In addition, a red decorative stripe was painted between the hull and the superstructure. In StarLauro service her funnel was repainted in that company's livery of blue with a black top and a white five-pointed star in the centre. Following the eventual new owners' rebranding into Mediterranean Shipping Cruises, her funnel was repainted white with a dark blue top and gilded MSC logo centrally, while the blue decorative stripe was divided so that top half of the stripe was navy blue and the bottom half grey. Subsequently the funnel colours were altered into dark blue with MSC Cruises' blue/white "compass" logo replacing the earlier MSC logo.[5]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Asklander, Micke, "M/S Cunard Conquest (1975)", Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish), archived from the original on 2022-07-27, retrieved 2022-07-30
- ^ ISBN 978-981-268-240-6.
- ^ ISBN 0-486-28137-X.
- ^ a b c "Mano Marine Buys MSC Cruises MSC Rhapsody", Cruise-Guru, 6 March 2009, retrieved 29 April 2009
- ^ a b c d e Boyle, Ian. "Cunard Princess". Simplon Postcards. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
- ^ a b Raza, Raghib (22 July 2022). "Cunard's Princess Beached at Aliaga Ship Breaking Yard to Be Scrapped". FleetMon Maritime News. Rostock, Germany: FleetMon.com. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
- ^ ISBN 981-246-739-4.
- ^ "Cunard Princess". Chris' Cunard Page. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
- ^ a b c d Newman, Doug (20 December 2007). "30 Years Ago: Remembering Cunard Princess, Cunard's Last Cruise Ship". At Sea With Doug Newman. Archived from the original on 22 November 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
- ^ a b "Cunard Princess". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
- ^ Niemelä, Teijo (9 April 2009). "MSC bids farewell to MSC Rhapsody". Cruise Business Online. Cruise Media Oy Ltd. Archived from the original on 11 April 2009. Retrieved 9 April 2009.
- ^ "Mano Maritime vacation packages". Mano Maritime Ltd. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
- ^ Mathisen, Monty (4 December 2018). "Mano to Sail Larger, More Modern Crown Iris in 2019". Cruise Industry News. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
External links
