For years she was a well known Russian cruise ship used to earn western currency which Moscow needed so badly. She was also used in liner service occaisionally. In 1991 her owners Baltic Shipping company fell on hard times and she was sold to Orient Lines and internally rebuilt. In 2007 she was sold to Greek Global Maritime and from 2008 onwards she will be chartered out to German operator Transocean Tours. Of her four sisters (amongst these Assedo, see below) three went to the scrappers and one sank in Australian waters.

25 photographs, made in 1978 during a ship visit in Rotterdam.

Built in 1957 as Sylvania for Cunard Line, and sold in 1968 to Sitmar Cruises. Renamed Fairwind. Converted from liner to cruise ship in 1971. Sold to Princess Cruises in 1988 and renamed Dawn Princess. V Ships bought the vessel in 1993 and chartered her out to German Phoenix Reisen. In 2004, she suffered serious damage to her main engines and was sent to the breakers in India. Sister vessel to Fedor Shalyapin (see below).

32 photographs, made in 1993 during a ship visit in Amsterdam.

Built in East Germany in 1968. One of a series of five vessels (the others being Ivan Franko, Mikhail Lermontov, Alexandr Pushkin and Taras Shevchenko) Sailed on cruises mostly in European waters mainly for British CTC Cruises and in her later years for Italian Grandi Viaggi. Before her last charter to Russian Metropolis Turs (2001/2003), she spent three years in lay up. Sent to the scrapyard in 2003 although still in a fairly good condition.

22 photographs, made in 2001 during a ship visit in Amsterdam.

Canberra was built in 1961 by Harland an Wolff in Belfast for P&O lines. She was put on the Australian run. When passenger loads diminished in liner service, she was laid up in and there were rumours she might go for scrap only 13 years old! However, she was switched to cruise service and became an immensely popular cruise ship mainly catering for British passengers. In 1982 she performed heroically in the Falklands war together with the Queen Elizabeth2.  In 1997 she was replaced by the new Oriana and sold for scrapping in India. It is said that the breakers lost money on her because scrapping took much longer than expected because of her sturdy construction.

17 photographs, made in 1988 during  a ship visit in Amsterdam.

In 1993 the Lurline was launched and the Matson Line placed her on the San Francisco-Los Angeles-Honolulu service. In WWII she served as a troop transport.  After the war she was refitted to her former glory and redelivered to Matson Line in 1948. In 1963 she suffered turbine trouble and was laid up. Chandris Lines bought her, repaired and refitted her. She was renamed Ellinis and started sailing on the Rotterdam - Sydney - Rotterdam round the world service. After 1975 she became a full time cruise ship. 1980 was her last season, cruising in the Mediterranean. In October Ellinis was laid up and was used as a donor ship to keep her sister Britanis in service. In 1986 she went to the breakers.

48 photographs, made in 1980 during a cruise in the Mediterranean.

Between 1958 and 1964, a series of no less than nineteen small passenger ships were built  in East Germany for employment in the USSR passenger fleet. The government of the USSR frequently used these vessels for military or scientific purposes. However normally they were employed on domestic routes along the Russian coastline and in cruise service. In the seventies and eighties, Estonia (1960) was well known in Western Europe for her mostly two week cruises. Then, she quietly disappeared from the scene as she was transferred to cruising for Soviet citizens. Later, she was employed again on domestic routes under the name of Ekaterina II. She was scrapped in 1997.

23 photographs, made in 1984 during a ship visit in Rotterdam.

 photographs, made in 19.. during a ship visit in Amsterdam.

Built as Ivernia in 1955 for Cunard Line for service on the transatlantic run. Later renamed Franconia. One of a series of four vessels (the above mentioned Albatros being one of these). Sold to the USSR in 1973, she divided her days between  cruising and liner voyages to Australia. All through her career, both her interiors  and exterior remained lagerly unaltered. Scrapped in 2004 after several years in Ilychevsk awaiting a charter.

27 photographs, made in 1994 during a ship visit in Amsterdam.

Ordered in 1959 by British Orient Lines, she was the fastest ship on the Australian run. In 1965 Orient Lines merged with P&O Lines and she became a fleetmate of Canberra (see above). During the latter part of her career, she was used as a cruise ship, based in the UK and from 1981 onwards in Australia. She was taken out of service in 1986 and was sold to become a convention centre in Beppu, Japan and later as a hotel ship in China.  Recently, during a storm, she partially flooded  and listed badly. She has been righted however and repairs are now underway so she can resume her static role.

28 photographs, made in 1981 during a ship visit in Rotterdam.

Lubeck Line's Regina Maris was built in 1966 especially for cruising in remote areas. She quickly established a very high reputation for her cruises in Northern Europe. In 1976 she was sold to a Canadian firm and renamed Mercator One, but spent most of her time in lay up. Deilmann bought her in 1979 and she became the Frankfurt One . After a refit she was renamed back to Regina Maris. Deilmann operated her for several years as a cruise ship before the advent of newer vessels such as Berlin and later Deutschland. She was suddenly sold to shipping tycoon Latsis and renamed Alexander in 1984. Latsis converted her to a private yacht (only 12 passengers....) and invited the Saudi Royal Family, Prince Charles and Lady Di, President Bush sr. to sail in her. She is currently on the yacht charter market.

15 photographs, made in 1980 during a ship visit in Amsterdam.

 photographs, made in 1988 during a cruise in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Built in 1952 Maasdam was one of the so called economy twins (carrying almost exclusively tourist class passengers and just a handful of first class passengers), sailing on the transatlantic run for the Holland America Line together with sister Rijndam. In 1968 she was sold to Polish Ocean Lines and together with Queen Elizabeth2 was the only vessel left on the northern transatlantic run. Taken out of service in 1988, she was used in 1989 as an accommodation ship in Gothenburg, Sweden for persons seeking asylum as Stefan. Later she was laid up in Greece and after plans to rebuild her as a cruise ship failed to materialize, a long period of lay up followed and the badly deteriorated vessel was sent to the breakers in 2000. 

25 photographs, made in 1979 during a ship visit in Rotterdam.

 She spent all of her active life as a ferry sailing for DFDS, a large Danish ferry company. When she came of age, she was occaisionally used as a cruise ship and was used to open up new ferry routes, the Amsterdam-Newcastle route being one of these. After an engine room fire in 1996 she was sold and her new owners planned to use her in the Caribbean  as Mayan Empress. This never materialized however and she was laid up in Norway, slowly rusting away.... In 2003 she left lay up for the scrapyard.

21 photographs, made in 1992 during  a ship visit in Amsterdam.