MS Mona Lisa
 Oceanic II docked in Sydney Harbour in November 2007
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | list error: <br /> list (help) Kungsholm (1965-1979) Sea Princess (1979-1995) Victoria (1995-2002) Mona Lisa (2002-2007) Oceanic II (2007-) |
| Owner | list error: <br /> list (help) Swedish America Line (1966-1975) Flagship Cruises (1975-1978) P&O Cruises (1978-2002) Leonardo Shipping (2002-) |
| Operator | list error: <br /> list (help) Swedish America Line (1966-1975) Flagship Cruises (1975-1978) P&O Cruises/Princess Cruises (1978-1999) Union-Castle Line (1999-2000) P&O Cruises (2000-2002) Holiday Kreuzfahrten (2002-2006) Louis Cruise Lines (2007) Pullmantur Cruises (2007) Royal Caribbean International (2007-) |
| Port of registry | list error: <br /> list (help) Gothenburg,  Sweden (1966-1975)Monrovia,  Liberia (1975-1978)London,  United Kingdom (1978-2002)Nassau,  Bahamas (2002-) |
| Builder | John Brown & Company, Clydebank, Scotland[1] |
| Yard number | 728[1] |
| Laid down | January 1964[2] |
| Launched | April 14 1965[1] |
| Completed | March 17 1966[3] |
| Maiden voyage | April 22 1966[3] |
| Status | In service |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | list error: <br /> list (help) 26,678 gross tons (as built) 27,670 (1979) 28,891 (as of 2008)[2] |
| Length | 201.33 m (660 ft 6 in) |
| Beam | 26.57 m (87 ft 2 in) |
| Draught | 8.56 m (28 ft 1 in) |
| Installed power | 25,200 SHP |
| Propulsion | list error: <br /> list (help) Two direct drive Götaverken 9 cylinder slow speed two stroke diesel engines Twin screw |
| Speed | 20 kn (37.04 km/h) service speed; 25 kn (46.30 km/h) top speed |
| Capacity | list error: <br /> list (help) 713 passengers (transatlantic service) 450 (cruising as built) 782 (as of 2008)[2] |
| Crew | 417 |
- There is also the SS Oceanic II, 705 feet, 17,274 gross tons, launched in 1899.
MV Oceanic II (formerly Kungsholm, Sea Princess, Victoria and Mona Lisa) was built as a combined ocean liner / cruise ship in 1966. She was later furbished as a full-time cruise ship, and is currently being used as ocean-going educational vessel by The Scholar Ship international education program.
History
As the Kungsholm, the ship first entered service for the Swedish America Line in 1966 as a transatlantic ocean liner, the last liner built for the Gotheburg- New York run. Although built for transatlantic service, she was also designed to spend a large proportion of the year cuising.[3]
In 1975, the Swedish America Line dissolved and the Kungsholm was sold to Flagship Cruises, who retained her name and used her for cruising from the United States.
In 1978 she was purchased by P&O and had her appearance dramatically altered by the removal of her forward (dummy) funnel, reshaping of her remaining funnel, and the addition of extra cabins. She was renamed the Sea Princess and was initially based in Australia, taking over from the SS Arcadia which was scrapped in 1979. The Australian cruising role was taken over by SS Oriana in 1981 and from then Sea Princess alternated between deployments with P&O's UK fleet and the subsidiary Princess Cruises fleet. As her deployments changed, so did the colour of her funnel; buff (yellow) for P&O, white with the Sea Witch logo for Princess Cruises[4].
In 1995 she was renamed Victoria and for the rest of her career with P&O Cruises operated with its UK fleet out of Southampton. The name change was to allow the then new addition to the Princess Cruises fleet to be named Sea Princess[3][4].
In 1999/2000 Victoria was chartered for the Union-Castle Line centenary voyage and had her funnel repainted in that company's livery.[3]
In 2002 she was sold by P&O and sailed for Holiday Kreuzfahrten as Mona Lisa until 2006, bearing a large image of the painting of the same name on her funnel.[3] Holiday Kreuzfahrt was declared bankrupt in 2006.
In 2007, the ship was chartered by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCI) and was renamed Oceanic II. From 30 April to 28 May 2007, Louis Hellenic Cruises sub-chartered the ship as a temporary replacement for the MV Sea Diamond, which went aground off the coast of Santorini, Greece and sank earlier in April. Following this she was operated by Pullmantur Cruises (a subsidiary of RCI since 2006) for the 2007 northern hemisphere summer season.
The ship was refitted to become an educational vessel for The Scholar Ship international education program, a cooperative venture between seven major world universities and RCI. The Scholar Ship offers undergraduate and graduate semester programs during four-month voyages that commence in September and January of each year. The inaugural voyage embarked in September 2007.
Statistics
Launched in 1965, and built by John Brown & Company, Clydebank, Scotland[1]. Unusually for a passenger ship, especially one built as a trans-atlantic liner, she was fitted with slow speed two stroke diesel engines. Her two Swedish built Götaverken 9 cylinder engines have a combined output of 25,200 SHP which gave her a cruising speed of 20 knots, although she achieved 25 knots during her trials. The ship is equipped with Denny Brown stabilizers and currently has a maximum cruising speed of 21 knots. The vessel meets all updated SOLAS requirements as of the 1992 ammendments[2].
Original Gross Registered Tonnage was 26,700. After the P&O remodeling, this increased to 27,670 GRT. Currently, the ship is at 28,891 GRT. She is 201 meters (660 feet) long with a breadth of 26.5 meters.
The ship's passenger capacity was 713 as a trans-Atlantic liner, but only 450 as a cruise ship before the addition of extra cabins increased the number of berths to 730. She carries 417 crew members. The maximum capacity utilizing upper (passenger) and lower (crew) berths is 994 persons.
Currently, the 790-passenger vessel has 397 passenger cabins (292 outside, 105 inside), all equipped with televisions, safe boxes, hairdryers and additional amenities. Sixty-eight of the cabins also have refrigerators.
The ship currently has 8 passenger decks, 4 passenger elevators, 2 outdoor and 1 indoor swimming pool, a sauna and a massage parlor. She has 3 restaurants, 4 lounges, 4 indoor bars, 1 outdoor bar and a 300-passenger capacity theater. There is also a full-service fitness center, hair salon and a fully equipped hospital.
The Future
A letter of intent has been signed between the current owners of Oceanic II and Swedish entrepreuner Lars Hallgren for the acquisition of the ship in 2010. It is planned that certain features of the Kungsholm's original appearance, such as her two funnels, will be restored as part of her conversion to a floating hotel. Her likely mooring site will be in Gothenburg.[5]
References
 | This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. |
- ^ a b c d Clydebuilt Ships Database. "mv Kungsholm built by John Brown Clydebank". Retrieved 2008-03-30.
- ^ a b c d World Meteorological Organization. "World Meteorological Organization Ship's particulars" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-03-30.
- ^ a b c d e f greatoceanliners.net. "TGOL - Kungsholm". Retrieved 2008-03-30.
- ^ a b Peter Knego. "P & O Lines' VICTORIA". Retrieved 2008-03-31.
- ^ Kungsholm hotel plans: Retrieved 2008-03-29
External links
- The Scholar Ship web site
- Royal Caribbean International Scholarship page