MS ''Regal Empress'' was a

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours know ...

that recently operated for Imperial Majesty Cruise Line. She was built in 1953 by Alexander Stephen & Sons at

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

, Scotland as the

ocean liner An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). C ...

SS ''Olympia'' for the Greek Line. Greek Line withdrew the ''Olympia'' from service in 1974. Following an extended lay-up period and reconstruction into a diesel-engined Caribbean cruise ship, the ship re-emerged in 1983 as MS ''Caribe I'' for

Commodore Cruise Line Commodore Cruise Line was a United States -based cruise line that was in operation from 1968 until 2001. It was founded in 1966 by Sanford Chobol and Edwin Stephan. Following multiple changes in ownership, the company declared bankruptcy in 200 ...

. In 1993 she was sold to Regal Cruise Line and received her final name. She operated for Imperial Majesty Cruise Line from 2003 until 2009. The ''Regal Empress'' was also the last vintage passenger ship to regularly sail from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

Service history

One of the longest serving passenger ships in history, and the only ship expressly built for the Greek Line was initially named ''Olympia''. ''Olympia'' was completed by Alexander Stephen & Sons, on the

River Clyde The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...

, in 1953. She was initially measured at , and carried 138 First Class, and 1169 Tourist Class passengers. She was registered in

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and southwest. It ...

. Parsons turbines of 25,000 shp drove her at a service speed of 21 knots (23 knots maximum). The maiden voyage left

for

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

on 20 October 1953. Her first voyage on the intended route from

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Sar ...

as an

did not take place until March 1955 due to legal complications. In 1961, the route was extended to

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropoli ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. Her voyages to New York usually included numerous intermediary stops. ''Olympia'' was a frequent caller with immigrant families to

Pier 21 Pier 21 was an ocean liner terminal and immigration shed from 1928 to 1971 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Nearly one million immigrants came to Canada through Pier 21, and it is the last surviving seaport immigration facility in Canada. The fac ...

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...

making 86 calls at Halifax. In 1968, Olympia was registered in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

, and spent an increasing number of voyages cruising, this becoming her exclusive occupation in 1970. By this time she had been re-measured at . She was laid up at Piraeus in 1974, and the Greek Line suffered financial collapse the following year. In 1981, the ''Olympia'' was bought by Sally Shipping with the plan was to use the ship as both a floating hotel and for occasional Caribbean cruises. She was renamed ''Caribe'' and refitted with Klockner-Humboldt-Deutz diesels of 20,270 shp replacing the

steam turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turb ...

s. The Diesel engines would reduce her service speed to approximately 18 knots. In addition to the new power plant, extensive interior modifications were carried out. These modifications included but were not confined to: Removal of the ''Agean pool'' and converting that space into the ''Mermaid Bar'', conversion of the ''Calypso Room'', ''Card Room'' and ''Drawing Room'' into suites. The ''Derby Room'' and ''Taverna'', aft of the ''Olympian Hall'' restaurant on restaurant deck was converted into a casino. One public room that remained untouched throughout her life was her gorgeous, paneled library on Promenade deck. When the hotel plan was cancelled she returned to cruising and was renamed ''Caribe I'' in 1983, in the

fleet. The ship's original funnel had been replaced by exhaust pipes decorated in a framework design. In 1988, this was replaced by a more traditional funnel. In 1993 she was sold to Regal Cruises and renamed ''Regal Empress'', and began sailing out of

Port Manatee SeaPort Manatee is a county-owned deepwater seaport located in the eastern Gulf of Mexico at the entrance to Tampa Bay in northern Manatee County, Florida. It is one of Florida's largest deepwater seaports and also regarded as the closest U.S. ...

in the winters and

during the summers. She is now described as being only . Following the collapse of Regal Cruises, the ''Regal Empress'' was purchased by Imperial Majesty Cruise Line for their two-night cruise service to

The Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the arc ...

, the ''Regal Empress'' being cheaper to operate and carrying more passengers than their own ship ''OceanBreeze''. The ''Regal Empress'' was featured in a late-2007 episode of the TV show ''

MythBusters ''MythBusters'' is a science entertainment television program, developed by Peter Rees and produced by Australia's Beyond Television Productions. The series premiered on the Discovery Channel on January 23, 2003. It was broadcast internation ...

'', where it was used to demonstrate that it is possible to waterski from the back of a cruise ship. In September 2008, the ''Regal Empress'' was removed from service to be used as an aid in the recovery of the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. She was laid up in Texas for about 2 months. She returned to service in December 2008. Her last voyage took place on 6 March 2009. On 9 March 2009 the ''Regal Empress'' was retired by Imperial Majesty Cruise Line. She was laid up for sale and inspection in

Freeport, Bahamas Freeport is a city, district and free trade zone on the island of Grand Bahama of the northwest Bahamas. In 1955, Wallace Groves, a Virginian financier with lumber interests in Grand Bahama, was granted of pineyard with substantial areas of s ...

until late March. It was reported by Maritime Matters on 26 March that the ''Regal Empress'' was sold for scrap. The ''Regal Empress'' was replaced by a newer ship, the '' MS Bahamas Celebration''. The new ship carried on the same cruise itineraries as the ''Regal Empress'' did. The ''Bahamas Celebration'' operated for a new cruise line, Celebration Cruise Line, until the company ceased operations in early 2015 following the ship's accidental grounding in 2014. Celebration Cruise Line was owned by the same company that had operated the ''Regal Empress''. The ''Regal Empress'' departed Freeport in early April to sail to her final destination in Alang. Her voyage took over three months to complete. She was beached on 24 July 2009. In October, scrapping began starting from the bow of the ship. The demolition of the ship was completed in early 2010.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Regal Empress 1953 ships Ships built on the River Clyde Cruise ships Ocean liners Maritime incidents in 1953