www.CRUISESHIPODYSSEY.com
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All text and photographs (unless stated otherwise) © Paul Timmerman After
the success of “the economy
twins”, Ryndam and Maasdam
in the early fifties,
Holland America decided to order a ship of basically the same design, but
somewhat larger. Ryndam
and Maasdam were originally planned as freighters, but last minute (re)thinking
of Holland America leaded to these ships being finished as passenger liners.
Although carrying
39 first class passengers, both ships had accommodations for
842
tourist class passengers, quite a novelty then. Of course in these years,
the number of emigrants to the USA was declining rapidly. HAL saw new
opportunities in tourism, mainly Americans visiting Europe for sightseeing. Both
ships turned out to be very successful, and it was decided that a newbuilding
was needed for this trade.
Statendam, an early postcard The new vessel, to be named
Statendam had some significant improvements
incorporated in her design, first because she was designed as a passenger ship
from the start, and second because of her size,
which would be around 24.000 grt,
compared to 15.00grt of the Ryndam and the Maasdam. Statendam
was ordered from the Wilton Fijenoord shipyard and was completed by 1957. She
was built in dry
dock, which is now common
practice, but surely was a novelty in
those days. During
her trials, Statendam developed engine problems, something that
would
haunt her for
most of her life. In her
first year of operation sailing on the North Atlantic together with
fleetmate
Nieuw
Amsterdam, she proved
to be
even more
popular than Ryndam and Maasdam. In 1966,
because of declining passenger traffic on the North Atlantic, Statendam,
together with the
company´s
Rotterdam of 1959, were sent cruising in the winter months,
leaving the Nieuw Amsterdam to operate this service alone. Statendam
proved to be a popular cruise
ship amongst her passengers.
Being of intermediate size, she could enter most ports without difficulty.
In 1971 her interiors were thoroughly modernized, making her even more
suitable for
cruising. She received a new Lido Restaurant, and her enclosed
promenades (to
give passengers
shelter from the angry North Atlantic) were now
added to her
lounges. Furthermore
she became a single class vessel for 740 passengers. Her hull was painted blue,
and she was given an orange funnel with a new logo on it.
Statendam after her 1971-refit Uneventful,
Statendam cruised on. A no-tipping policy and later a cashless system were
introduced. In 1982,
Statendam was sold to Paquet Cruises for a moderate price. Paquet
renamed her Rhapsody. However
the year before her
sale, her
boilers had started to become more and more troublesome.
These boilers were experimental boilers, using new techniques and for that
reason, HAL had been offered these for a bargain price….. Paquet
soon discovered that the
Rhapsody had faulty engines. She suffered engine
breakdowns frequently. And then, to
make matters worse, in
March 1984 she grounded at Grand Cayman in
the Caribbean. It took 3 months before she was refloated and another three to
get her back into service.. In 1986 Rhapsody was sold again for 12 million dollars, this time to Greek Regency Cruises who renamed her Regent Star. They decided to re-engine the Regent Star, using diesel machinery taken form a container ship. Her superstructure was stretched forward, spoiling her silhouette a bit.
Regent Star, Regency Cruises Regent Star sailed in Alaskan and Caribbean waters, and it seemed better times had come for this beautiful ship. Alas, Regency Cruises ran into serious financial problems and her ships were arrested for debt in 1995. Some of her ships were sold to other companies and saw further service. Regent Star has not been this lucky, she was laid up by her new owners Perosa Shipping in Eleusis Bay, Greece as Sea Harmony. I saw her there in 2000, listing a bit to starboard, neglected with some of her windows broken. Indeed in 2004, the scrapyard would be her following (and last) destination, a sad end for a graceful vessel.
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