PRINCESS DAPHNE in the Baltic

Classic International Cruises PRINCESS DAPHNE photographed yesterday (15 July 2009) berthed in Warnemunde, the German Baltic port near Berlin. Photo kindly sent by my friend Manfred Weiss.
The last ship to have joined the fleet managed by Mr. George Potamianos, in November 2007, this ship was built in 1954-1955 in Newcastle for Port Line, London, as the cargo passenger liner PORT SYDNEY. She operated between North Europe and Australia - New Zealand until 1972 when sold to Greek interests "en bloc" with her sister PORT MELBOURNE, also now a member of Classic International Cruises fleet as PRINCESS DANAE. Renamed AKROTIRI EXPRESS by J.C. Karras, she was taken to the Chalkis shipyard for rebuilding into a passenger ferry in August 1972 but plans were reconsidered and she was rebuilt as the cruise ship DAPHNE a process that took three years and led to a maiden cruise from Marseilles in July 1975. She was joined by sistership DANAE in 1977 and both ships were operated world wide by Karras Cruises until chartered to Costa in 1979. Purchased in 1984 and renamed SWITZERLAND in 1996, OCEAN ODYSSEY and OCEAN MONARCH in 2002, becoming the PRINCESS DAPHNE in November 2008.
Texto e imagens /Text and images copyright L.M.Correia. For other posts and images, check our archive at the right column of the main page. Click on the photos to see them enlarged. Thanks for your visit and comments. Luís Miguel Correia