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 ...

Messageries Maritimes ''Messageries Maritimes'' was a French merchant shipping company. It was originally created in 1851 as ''Messageries nationales'', later called ''Messageries impériales'', and from 1871, ''Compagnie des messageries maritimes'', casually known as ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label= French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.SS Viet Nam and SS Laos (all three were nicknamed 'les blancs'/the 'whites' by their crews, because of their colour). She made her first voyage in 1953. After the 1970s, she was bought by a Greek company and converted into 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 ...

. Most of her working life was spent as a cruise ship in the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans an ...

and she also made frequent

transatlantic Transatlantic, Trans-Atlantic or TransAtlantic may refer to: Film * Transatlantic Pictures, a film production company from 1948 to 1950 * Transatlantic Enterprises, an American production company in the late 1970s * ''Transatlantic'' (1931 film ...

voyages to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

and the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

. Few major damaging incidents happened to ''Stella Solaris'', and she quickly became one of the more popular cruise vessels of the time. An economic crisis in the cruise ship trade in 2003–2004 caused many older vessels, such as ''Stella Solaris'', to be sold for scrap. After 54 years of service, she was retired in December 2003 and broken up in

Alang Alang is a census town in Bhavnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Because it is home to the Alang Ship Breaking Yard, Alang beaches are considered the world's largest ship graveyard. Demographics As of the 2001 Indian census, Ala ...

,

Bhavnagar District Bhavnagar District is a district of southeastern Gujarat, India, on the Saurashtra peninsula. It is also known as Gohilwar as a major portion of Bhavnagar district was ruled by Gohil Rajputs. The administrative headquarters is in the town of B ...

, India.

Construction

The French shipping company Messageries Maritimes ordered three identical ships to be built around the late 1940s to provide passenger and mixed-freight service on a route between

Marseilles Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

and

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of ...

''via'' ports in South Asia. The first to be completed was in 1952, followed by ''Cambodge'' in 1953. ''Cambodge'' was built by Société des Ateliers & Chantiers in

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label= French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Nord Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to: Acronyms * National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization * New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US Film and televis ...

, in northern France. The name was derived from

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

. Her keel was laid down in 1949 and she was launched on 8 July 1952, then completed and delivered to Messageries Maritimes in July 1953. The third ship, , was not completed until 1954. ''Cambodge'' and her sisters were mid-sized liners. The ship was , long with a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy * Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy ** Laser beam * Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized g ...

of . She was powered by twin

Parsons geared 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 turbi ...

s, which gave her a cruising speed of . ''Cambodge'' could carry 347 passengers on 7 decks — 117 in first class, 110 in second (tourist) class, and 120 in third (steerage or cabin) class. First class cabins occupied the majority of the passenger space in the central portion of the ship, the second class in the stern, and third class in the bow. First class passengers also had a large pool for their private use. A large amount of artistic flair was employed in the design of ''Cambodge''. A French style predominated, but some Asian decorations were also incorporated. Italian artist Nino Zoncada was hired to design some of the interior of the ship.

Layout as an ocean liner

F deck was the topmost deck, housing the ship's bridge. Berths for officers occupied most of this deck, but a children's playroom was in the aft starboard corner. The ship's

lifeboat Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen ...

s were also on this deck. E deck was the middle deck of the ship's

superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...

. Most of E Deck consisted of first class cabins. The

Drawing Room A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained, and an alternative name for a living room. The name is derived from the 16th-century terms withdrawing room and withdrawing chamber, which remained in use through the 17th cent ...

near the front had a row of windows said to "rival those of Atlantic liners of the time". Aft of the Drawing Room a first-class

promenade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...

surrounded nearly the entire interior of the deck. The Bar,

Smoking Room A smoking room (or smoking lounge) is a room which is specifically provided and furnished for smoking, generally in buildings where smoking is otherwise prohibited. Locations and facilities Smoking rooms can be found in public buildings such ...

and Writing Room were further astern, past the first class cabins. Aft of the public rooms were the outdoor first class swimming pool and

lido deck In British English, a lido ( , ) is a public outdoor swimming pool and surrounding facilities, or part of a beach where people can swim, lie in the sun, or participate in water sports. On a cruise ship or ocean liner, the lido deck feature ...

area. The interior of D deck also primarily consisted of first class cabins, many with private balconies. ''Cabine de Luxe #5'', with a separate bedroom and sitting room, was on the forward starboard portion of the deck and was the most luxuriant single berth on the ship. The back portion contained "studio" class cabins that were narrower and smaller than the other first class rooms. The deck also had the

forecastle The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is the phrase " b ...

of the ship and the primary navigation equipment. Aft of the fo'c'sle was a third class outdoor area. Aft of the private balconies of the interior first class cabins was a second promenade deck. C deck was the highest deck within the ship's hull. Third class cabins were in the starboard bow section, and the third class dining room was opposite of the cabins. After the third class area were more first-class cabins, terminating at a stair tower. Aft of the stairwell were second-class berths without private bath facilities, and aft of the second-class rooms was a sheltered promenade. B deck consisted mostly of public space. The first class and tourist class dining areas were both located amidships, separated by the ship's galley. The first class dining saloon was lit with

fluorescent light A fluorescent lamp, or fluorescent tube, is a low-pressure mercury-vapor gas-discharge lamp that uses fluorescence to produce visible light. An electric current in the gas excites mercury vapor, which produces short-wave ultraviolet lig ...

s and equipped with apparatus to minimize sensation of the roll of the ship. The second-class dining area was similar to the first-class area, but not as lavish, and also doubled as the ship's cinema. The bow section of B Deck had more third-class accommodations and the third-class ship entrance. A deck had mostly crew's quarters, storage rooms, and had the ship's engines. There were also third class cabins in the bow. Notably, ''Cambodges original steam turbine engine never suffered significant breakdowns and never had to be replaced.

Layout as a cruise ship

The Sports deck (topmost) was mostly an outside recreation area. Two walkways in the aft section abutted the swimming pools on the deck below. The section closest to the bow lay atop the ship's bridge. Most of the sports deck was a spacious rooftop space.''Cruise Travel'', p. 36 ''(Deck plans for Stella Solaris)'' Lido deck constituted the pool area of the ship and also housed the bridge closer to the bow. There were two nearly oval-shaped swimming pools surrounded by a spacious lido area. Ahead of the lido section and behind the officers' quarters aft of the wheelhouse was a small buffet. The interior portion of the deck continued around the lido area via glass-enclosed walkways. These walkways were just inboard of the ship's lifeboats. Boat deck contained most of the first class cabins and there were 34 that were especially luxurious. The Card Room and Reading Room were aft of the passenger accommodations. A

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panicl ...

promenade encircled the entirety of Boat Deck, designed to slope towards its amidships section as a way to compensate for the swaying of the vessel. Solaris deck consisted almost entirely of public spaces. The main dining room was located just aft of the ship's galley. The much smaller Bar Grill extended aft off the starboard side of the dining area. Amidships, the

purser A purser is the person on a ship principally responsible for the handling of money on board. On modern merchant ships, the purser is the officer responsible for all administration (including the ship's cargo and passenger manifests) and supply. ...

's office and ship's reception area were located in the primary entrance area of ''Stella Solaris''. The Solaris Lounge and Piano Bar were located aft of the entrance hall, both used for various forms of entertainment. Golden deck was the lowest deck on the superstructure and was used for passenger accommodations. The ship's Beauty Parlor and hospital were directly aft of the cabins in the bow section, which contained the forecastle. Amidships were 16 "Deluxe Cabins". The aft of Golden Deck had the ship's gym and spa area, and the

poop deck In naval architecture, a poop deck is a deck that forms the roof of a cabin built in the rear, or "aft", part of the superstructure of a ship. The name originates from the French word for stern, ''la poupe'', from Latin ''puppis''. Thus the ...

and

fantail Fantails are small insectivorous songbirds of the genus ''Rhipidura'' in the family Rhipiduridae, native to Australasia, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Most of the species are about long, specialist aerial feeders, and named as ...

. Ruby deck, the highest deck in the ship's hull, also had passenger cabins and 16 Deluxe Cabins below those on Golden Deck. Emerald deck had further cabins and the main entrance area of the ''Stella Solaris''. The entrance area had recessed circular lighting inspired by 1950s Italian ocean liners. Sapphire Deck had the lowest passenger cabins on the ship, divided into two portions. The ship's cinema was located in the back, as was the Discothèque, a public room located underneath the cinema.

Career

''Cambodge'' started her maiden voyage in July 1953. Her route linked Marseilles with various ports along the Suez Canal,

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...

,

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...

,

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...

, and western

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

. From Marseilles, she sailed across the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

and through the Suez Canal and Red Sea to

Port Said Port Said ( ar, بورسعيد, Būrsaʿīd, ; grc, Πηλούσιον, Pēlousion) is a city that lies in northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal. With an approximate population of ...

and

Suez Suez ( ar, السويس '; ) is a seaport city (population of about 750,000 ) in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez (a branch of the Red Sea), near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same b ...

in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

, Aden in

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast an ...

;

Djibouti Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Re ...

; across the Indian Ocean to

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the '' de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the sec ...

,

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

;

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

,

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

; and the island of

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

; through the South China Sea to

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,

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

;

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital city, capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is Cities of the Philippines#Independent cities, highly urbanize ...

,

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

;

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

, and along the Pacific coast of Asia to finally reach

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, w ...

and

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of ...

in Japan. Along with ''Viet Nam'' and ''Laos'', she sailed without major incident on this route until 1967, when the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...

closed the Suez Canal. In 1962, ''Cambodge'' took French troops from

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , religi ...

to France after the

Algerian War The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

, and was used as a

hospital ship A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones. ...

in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. With the ever-increasing popularity of air travel, she withdrew from regular passenger service and was rebuilt in 1962 to run cruises from Australian ports to destinations in the Indian Ocean. The vessels third class was replaced by space for an additional 214 tourist class passengers. On 13 July 1965, ''Cambodge'' was damaged after the vessel collided with the MV ''Kerbsia'' in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, and was subsequently repaired in

Keppel Harbour Keppel Harbour (; ms, Pelabuhan Keppel), also called the Keppel Channel and formerly New Harbour, is a stretch of water in Singapore between the mainland and the southern islands of Pulau Brani and Sentosa (formerly Pulau Blakang Mati). Its natur ...

. In 1967, Messageries Maritimes renamed ''Viet-Nam'' as ''Pacifique'', and in 1970 the company put all three ships up for sale.Lanfant, commandant. (1997). ''Histoire de la flotte des Messageries maritimes.'' Cholet: Hérault. ''Cambodge''s sister ships were bought by Compania Navegacion Abeto to carry Muslim

pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the adherent of ...

s, and remodelled to carry over 1,600 passengers. Both were destroyed by fire in the mid-1970s. ''Cambodge'', however, was bought by Sun Lines, a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

cruise line, for conversion into 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 ...

. In 1970 ''Cambodge'' sailed to

La Spezia La Spezia (, or , ; in the local Spezzino dialect) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second largest ci ...

in northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, where she was renamed ''Stella V'' and her interiors were partially gutted for a massive planned remodelling. When plans were completed, ''Stella V'' sailed to

Perama Perama ( el, Πέραμα) is a suburb of Piraeus. It is part of Athens urban area and belogs to the Piraeus regional unit. It lies on the southwest edge of the Aegaleo mountains, on the Saronic Gulf coast. It is 8 km northwest of Piraeus ...

, in southern Greece for conversion into ''Stella Solaris''. Her passenger accommodations were revised to 765—all first class—and nearly twice the original capacity. Her gross register tonnage was reduced to . Her funnel was replaced with a more finned and streamlined one, her superstructure was terraced, lengthened and expanded, her cabins were fitted with

air conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...

and private baths, and her pool and lido section was expanded and moved. Many of the French and Italian decorations were replaced with Greek-themed artwork, including ceramic, metal and

velour Velour, occasionally velours, is a plush, knitted fabric or textile similar to velvet or velveteen. It is usually made from cotton, but can also be made from synthetic materials such as polyester. Often, it contains a percentage of elasta ...

features. Upon incorporation into Sun Lines' fleet, she was the largest vessel. From then, ''Stella Solaris'' sailed the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans an ...

and the eastern Mediterranean Sea during the summer, and operated cruise excursions in the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

and the

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

n Atlantic coast in the winter. ''Stella Solaris'' soon became one of the most popular cruise ships of the time. In 1982 she was featured in two episodes of

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy/drama television series that aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986; in addition, four three-hour specials aired in 1986, 1987, and 1990. The series was set on the luxury passenger cruise ship MS ''Pa ...

on a Mediterranean cruise. She was featured on ''Cruise Travel'' magazine in July 1989 as "Ship of the Month", and was said to have a "repeat passenger ratio that was the envy of her competitors". In 1995, Sun and the rival

Epirotiki Lines Epirotiki was a shipping company that began in 1850. Epirotiki Line operated cruise vessels, cargo and tanker vessels. Foundation Anastassios Potamianos began his first shipping venture in 1850 transporting cargo and passengers along the Danu ...

merged to form Royal Olympic Cruise Lines. Soon after, in 1998,

Louis Cruise Lines Celestyal Cruises (formed in 2014) is a succession to Louis Cruises and Louis Cruise Lines. The Cruise line was a subsidiary of Louis plc (Founded in 1935 as the first travel agency in Cyprus) until November 2021 when Searchlight Capital Partners ...

, the final owner, bought most of the shares in Royal Olympic. Due to the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the w ...

the following year, ''Stella Solaris'' was temporarily laid up at Piraeus. In 2001 an accident damaged one of her propeller shafts, which was repaired soon after, but continued to cause problems.

Fate

After the damage ''Stella Solaris'' suffered in 2001, she was planned for yet another remodelling and further cruise service. However, in the years following, modern cruise ships began to overtake older ships in popularity. Maintenance costs rose and ''Stella Solaris'' was taken out of service in 2002. Along with hundreds of other relatively old ocean liners, she was sold for scrap around late 2003. She sailed for

Alang Alang is a census town in Bhavnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Because it is home to the Alang Ship Breaking Yard, Alang beaches are considered the world's largest ship graveyard. Demographics As of the 2001 Indian census, Ala ...

,

Bhavnagar District Bhavnagar District is a district of southeastern Gujarat, India, on the Saurashtra peninsula. It is also known as Gohilwar as a major portion of Bhavnagar district was ruled by Gohil Rajputs. The administrative headquarters is in the town of B ...

,

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

under the delivery name ''S Solar'', arriving on December 8, 2003, alongside another, smaller, Sun Lines ship, . Much of the artwork and furnishings from ''Stella Solaris'' was auctioned, some materials and fittings were also recovered and sold, while the rest of her hull was broken up and turned into scrap metal.

Artworks

''Stella Solaris'' was said to be "a ship of enormous quality and detail." Many historic artworks from the ship were auctioned off during the remodeling and after her destruction. This is a list of some of them: *Works of

La Fontaine Jean de La Fontaine (, , ; 8 July 162113 April 1695) was a French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his ''Fables'', which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Eur ...

, rendered by Camille Hillaire. (in Children's Playroom) *''Italian Comedy Figures,'' a series of murals by

Jean Souverbie Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Je ...

(in Drawing Room) *Vases by

Luc Lanel Luc or LUC may refer to: Places * Luc, Hautes-Pyrénées, France, a commune * Luc, Lozère, France, a commune * Le Luc, France, a commune * Luč, Baranja, Croatia, a settlement People and fictional characters * Luc (given name) * Luc (surname) ...

(in the Hall) *''Gardens and Chateaux of Ile de France'' by Camille Hillaire (in Writing Room) *''Pentecote de Honfleur'' by Hamburg (in Tourist Class Saloon) *''Naides reliefs'' by

Guy Revol Guy or GUY may refer to: Personal names * Guy (given name) * Guy (surname) * That Guy (...), the New Zealand street performer Leigh Hart Places * Guy, Alberta, a Canadian hamlet * Guy, Arkansas, US, a city * Guy, Indiana, US, an unincorp ...

(in First Class Dining Saloon) *Unnamed painting by Grau Sala, reminiscent of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

(also in First Class Dining Saloon) *Two interpretive paintings by Arthur Fages (Tourist Dining Saloon)

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stella Solaris 1952 ships Cruise ships Ocean liners Passenger ships of France Passenger ships of Greece Steamships of France Steamships of Greece