Cruise Ship Odyssey

Cruise Ships Past & Present

Cruise Ship Odyssey

CSO explores cruise ships past and present, sharing stories of iconic vessels along with those on order and retired. It also covers cruising history with over 10,000 interior photos to browse.

Our Story

About Cruise Ship Odyssey

Having been addicted to cruising since the seventies (my first cruise was onboard the Soviet vessel Shota Rustaveli in 1977), my greatest memories are from my travels at sea and visiting over 200 cruise ships all over the world. CSO is all about cruise ships past and present, telling the stories of iconic vessels, as well as listing those on order and retired. The history of cruising is covered in short and over 10,000 interior photographs are here for you to browse through.

Ships Visited

0 +

Interior photographs

9000 +

Cruising Experience

Since 1977

Worldwide

Coverage

Latest Updates

Articles

Stories & Features

Turbinia (1894 – 1927) Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company Ltd

Normally, ships like Turbinia are not within the scope of this website, but she played such an important role in the development

Canary Islands mail ship La Palma (1912)

For photos of La Palma how she is today docked in Santa Cruz

Ocean Majesty (1966 – present), Majestic International Cruises

Special thanks to Ronald Smallenburg (COA) and Panos Antonelos (Majestic International Cruises) for their support

Queen Anne (2024) – Cunard Line

A stylish cruise ship bringing Cunard into the modern age Queen Anne is Cunard’s newest

MSC Euribia (2023) – MSC Cruises

For over 200 interior photographs of MSC Euribia click here The christening of the MSC

Ship Interior Architects

Discover the visionary architects and designers who have shaped the stunning interiors of the world’s most iconic cruise ships and read about the history of liner and cruise ship interiors in a separate series of articles

Ocean liner interior design history, 1880 – 1914, The Floating Palaces

The start of passenger ship interior design between the end of the 19th century up to

Joe Farcus

Joe Farcus is one of the most famous cruise ship interior architects having designed the interiors

Charles Frederic Mewès (1858 – 1914)

He introduced hotel-style interiors to ocean liners Charles-Frederic Mewès, was born in Strasbourg, Alsace in 1858

John McNeece (1939 – 2015)

Designer who specialised in creating simple, elegant and lavish cruise ship interiors John McNeece was born

Johann Georg Poppe (1837 – 1915)

He brought international flair to ocean liners at the turn of the 20th century using historical

Brian O’Rorke (1901 – 1974)

The architect who introduced Art Deco in passenger ship interiors on the Australian route Born in

Cruise Ship Interiors

Browse through interior photographs of ships presently in active service.

Adventure of the Seas

AIDAaura

AIDAprima

Amadea

Ambition

Amera

Berlin

Birka Paradise

Out of Service

Interior photos of ships that have been taken out of service. These vessels and their classic interiors which are no longer with us, deserve to live on in our memories.

Adriana (1972 – 2019) Plein Cap Croisieres

Built in 1972 for Hellenic Mediterranean Lines as their first cruiseship Aquarius, she

Albatros (1957 – 2004) Phoenix Reisen

24800 GRT, loa 185m, 906 passengers. Built in 1957 as Sylvania for Cunard Line,

Albatros (1973 – 2021) Phoenix Reisen

Royal Viking-class cruise ship built in 1973 for Royal Viking Line as

Costa neoRomantica

Built 1993 Costa Cruises, Italy 178 photographs (2012 ship visit in Amsterdam after the 2012

Winston Churchill (1967 – 2004) DFDS Seaways

8,658 GRT, loa 140m, 398 passengers. She spent all of her active

Topaz (1956 – 2008) Peaceboat Organisation

21,406 GRT, loa 185m, 929 passengers. Built in 1956, in her first

Stefan Batory (1952 – 2000) Polish Ocean Lines

15,024 GRT, loa 153m, 779 passengers Built in 1952 Maasdam was one

Regina Maris (1966 – present) Reederei Deilmann

5,813 GRT, loa 118m, 276 passengers. Lubeck Line’s Regina Maris was built

Sadly gone forever...

Retired

An overview of ships retired since 1985 (it seems we are the only non-commercial website with this info…).

Part 1: Retired from 1985 to 1990

Principal passenger/ cruise ships retired since 1985 1985 Ship/ Ex-name(s)/ Year built/ Reason retired Columbus-C, ex-Kungsholm,

Retired from 1991 to 2000

1991 Ship/ Ex-name(s)/ Year built/ Reason retired Ionian Express, ex-Svea Corona, 1975, Fire Oceanos, ex-Jean Laborde,

Retired from 2001 to 2010

2001 Ship/ Ex-name(s)/ Year built/ Reason retired Amerikanis, ex-Kenya Castle, 1952, Broken up Classica, ex-Provence, Enrico

Retired from 2011 to 2020

2011 Ship/ Ex-name(s)/ Year built/ Reason retired Discovery Sun, ex-Freeport I, Freeport, Svea Star, Caribe, Scandinavian

History

It is interesting to follow the journey of cruising itself, from the humble beginnings of the mid nineteenth century up to the present day. Here is the development of cruising in a nutshell, along with articles on the remains of the liner age still present in many ports.

Daniel Adamson “The Danny” (1903 – present)

She started life in 1903 as Ralph Brocklebank, having been built for

Cunard Building – New York

The former classic Cunard building is situated at 25 Broadway in Manhattan’s

ss Normandie (1935) – French Line Dining room medallions

Normandie was a French ocean liner built in Saint-Nazaire, France, for the

Preserved Maritime Treasures

Static Ships

Some classics manage to escape the breakers torch, and are – sometimes having been meticulously restored – open to the public as a museum or hotel. From the SS Rotterdam V to Queen Mary, these maritime treasures await your visit.