ROYAL VIKING STAR: Built 1972 for Royal Viking Line, Oslo, Norway, at Wärtsilä, Helsingfors, Finland. Lengthened 1981 at A. G. Weser Seebeckwerft, Bremerhaven, Germany. RVL sold 1984 to Norwegian Caribbean Lines (Klosters R/A), Olso. Continued operating independently. Reflagged in Bahamas 1988. Transferred to NCL 1991, renamed WESTWARD. Transferred to Royal Cruise Line 1994, renamed STAR ODYSSEY. Royal Cruise Line dissolved by NCL 1996. After a short period of operation under NCL brand (keeping same name), sold to Fred Olsen Cruise Line, Nassau, renamed BLACK WATCH. Presently in service.

ROYAL VIKING SKY: Built 1973 for Royal Viking Line, Oslo, Norway, at Wärtsilä, Helsingfors, Finland. Lengthened 1981 at A. G. Weser Seebeckwerft, Bremerhaven, Germany. RVL sold 1984 to Norwegian Caribbean Lines (Klosters R/A), Olso. Continued operating independently. Reflagged in Bahamas 1988. Transferred to NCL 1991, renamed SUNWARD. Sold 1992 to Birka Cruise Ltd., Nassau, renamed BIRKA QUEEN. Chartered back to NCL 1992, renamed SUNWARD. Returned to owner 1993, chartered to Princess, renamed GOLDEN PRINCESS. Returned to owners 1997, sold to Star Cruises, Panama, renamed SUPERSTAR CAPRICORN. Chartered 1998 to Hyundai Merchant Marine, renamed HYUNDAI KUMGANG. Returned to owners 2001, renamed SUPERSTAR CAPRICORN. Presently in service.

ROYAL VIKING SEA: Built 1973 for Royal Viking Line, Oslo, Norway, at Wärtsilä, Helsingfors, Finland. Lengthened 1981 at A. G. Weser Seebeckwerft, Bremerhaven, Germany. RVL sold 1984 to Norwegian Caribbean Lines (Klosters R/A), Olso. Continued operating independently. Reflagged in Bahamas 1987. Transferred to Royal Cruise Line 1991, renamed ROYAL ODYSSEY. Royal Cruise Line dissolved 1996, ship continued operating under same name for NCL. Sold 1997 to Actinor Cruise, Nassau, renamed NORWEGIAN STAR, chartered back to NCL. Transfered to Norweigan Capricorn Line 1999. Transferred to Star Cruises (new parent company of NCL) 2001. Renamed NORWEGIAN STAR I 2001. Returned to owners 2002. Chartered to Crown Investments 2002, renamed CROWN. Arrested at Shanghai 2002, returned to owners. Chartered 2003 to Spanish Cruise Line, to be renamed MARE NOSTRUM CROWN and recommence service June 2003.

ROYAL VIKING SUN: Built 1988 at Wärtsilä, Åbo, Finland, for Royal Viking Line (Kloster Cruise Ltd), Nassau, Bahamas. Sold 1994 to Cunard Line, Nassau, continued operation under same name. Cunard Line sold to Carnival Corporation 1999. Renamed SEABOURN SUN 1999, operated by Seabourn Cruise Line (Cunard Line subsidiary). Renamed PRINSENDAM 2002, transferred to Holland America Line, Rotterdam, Netherlands. Presently in service.

ROYAL VIKING QUEEN: Built 1992 for Royal Viking Line (Kloster Cruise Ltd), Nassau, Bahamas, at Schichau-Seebeckwerft, Bremerhaven, Germany. Renamed QUEEN ODYSSEY 1995 and transferred to Royal Cruise Line. Sold 1996 to Seabourn Cruise Line, Olso, Norway, renamed SEABOURN LEGEND. Reflagged in Bahamas 2002. Presently in service.

Seeing as none of these ships are very old, they certainly have had enough owners and identities ! In researching this thread I found changes of ownership I didn't even know existed - for instance ROYAL VIKING SKY's stint as SUNWARD after she became BIRKA QUEEN (she was called SUNWARD twice!).

[ 05-09-2003: Message edited by: cruiseny ]

She is probably the perfect size at around 28,000 tons. She is small enough to be very friendly and intimate, yet has a surprising number of public rooms and all of the facilities you could ever need – apart from a climbing wall, fourteen story atrium and an ice skating rink!

She has all the features that make a ship a real ship, including a wrap around teak promenade deck, with lots of interesting levels and secret nooks to sit and relax. She has a charming fantail at her stern with an attractive pool, ideal for deck parties. When onboard you are rarely far from the sea.

Olsen’s food and entertainment is some of the best I have experienced, but there product is aimed very much at the British.

I am very pleased that Olsen is taking good care of this charming vessel.

[ 05-10-2003: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:
I am very pleased that Olsen is taking good care of this charming vessel.

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I think it's rather late for them to be taking good care of her, as from what I understand, maintenance on these ships under Kloster ownership was VERY skimpy! (In fact I have heard rumors that Fred. Olsen is already looking for a replacement!)

I recall a story of one of the three original RVL ships in some far-flung port of call alongside SAGAFJORD in the 1980s. The captains of the two ships were friends, and the captain of the RVL ship was quite embarrassed as he had to ask his friend to lend him some surplus paint in order to cover up the rust on his ship's side... Apparently Kloster refused a request to re-stock her paint locker !

She was an uterly charming vessel, and from all appearances looked in TOP condition and very well maintained. From what i remember she only had a minor refurbishment before starting operations here, but the many times i saw her in Sydney she always looked imaculate on the outside.

When i sailed on her i found the same thing as Malcolm, a close connection to the sea, a WONDERFUL promenade and a surprising array of public rooms. The back deck and pool areas were always tidy and well maintained and provided a wonderful area, especially to look over from the gym. The top decks around all the plant level was well sheltered from wind and there was even a basketball court!

Her accomodations were very comfortable and the interiors generally quite modern if not a little worn - but very homely and relaxing! She provided a great 4 star cruise experience, however she was just a little overpriced for the Australian Market at the time, I think she'd do a lot better in todays market.

As far as i can recall, she had not mechanical or technical problems while she was sailing under the Norwegian Capricorn Line, so im not sure how true these shocking maintanence records are, or perhaps she was not as badly done by as her sisters. EIther this or they have been faithfully restored.

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Originally posted by SydneyBoy:
She was an uterly charming vessel, and from all appearances looked in TOP condition and very well maintained. From what i remember she only had a minor refurbishment before starting operations here, but the many times i saw her in Sydney she always looked imaculate on the outside.

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It is easy for a ship with poor machinery etc. to look immaculate on the outside, or even in her public areas! Give a ship a good cleaning, new "soft" furnishings, and a few coats of bright white paint, and she'll look immaculate, at least for a while .

From what I understand Kloster "skimped" on the technical bits in particular. I suppose the cosmetic stuff was a problem when they were especially tight - but that is not too hard to fix afterward, unlike engines etc.

And yes, during the 90's Kloster/Vard AS ownership, the ships suffered tremendously from a lack of upkeep and maintenance. While the Star and Sea were beautifully refurbished, they couldnt keep up with the maintenance. Conversely, the Sky fared better as she had been sold out from under Kloster ownership relatively early.

As for the "better" ships, I much prefer them post-strectch. I think the profile is much more sleek and handsome and the ships actually rode betetr. The one drawback was the dining room became rather cavernous and struck me as uninviting due to the low ceilings for such and expansive space.

Also you should really reflect that they had different ownership as built. Each ship got a sort of unique personality in the original RVL because of the differences between the three owners.

For example the Star had a slightly different GA and the most modern art works. The Sea I personally thought was the prettiest of the three. She was more nautical in her decor.

The Sky was the poor sister. She had the worst art of the three.

The Sea was always said to have the best food because of her chef but the repeaters developed their favorites based on things like the captains and senior officers.

Also if you look at RVL of the 1960s they purposely rotated which ship went to which part of the world because from of the repeaters only sailed on one of the three.

After NCL took over it all changed. Also two of the three owners bought out the third earlier on saving the third ship from being sold off. I seem to recall HAPAG was about to buy the Sea or was it the Sky before the deal was stopped.

But what made RVL great was the style and service on the ships, not the design or the decor. With 500 they were wonderful little yachts and even after the stretch they were very comfortable. The dining room was broken into two rooms to keep it from becoming one giant space but still have the single open seating. Deck chairs could be tight when they were full but the ships and the passengers were great. Very worldly, well traveled and fascinating to speak to. I even met a woman who had sailed on the Lusitania when I was on the RV Sea!