![]() The largest ship in the fleet to date, and with her deep draft, she was not without her maneuvering difficulties (an incident where she collided with the pier at Kusadasi in the summer of 1997 would be testament to that fact), but she was beautifully maintained and loved by her passengers. In the handsome livery of Epirotiki, she emerged in the spring of 1995 as the OLYMPIC for that company's Aegean-based cruise program. In a concessionary move, Carnival traded the FIESTA MARINA to the Greek company and withdrew from the deal.įIESTA MARINA quietly sailed for Perama and the waters from which she was retrieved by Carnival eighteen years earlier. Meanwhile, a planned merger with Mediterranean-based Epirotiki Cruises (in order to strengthen Carnival's "Euro" presence) was fizzling. In a bold move, the company formed a new Latin-themed subsidiary, Fiesta Marina Cruises, and took the redundant CARNIVALE to Miami for a re christening as the FIESTA MARINA in October of 1993.Īfter a mere three months, she was withdrawn. With an increasing number of newbuilds joining the fleet, Carnival finally opted to divest itself of the former EMPRESS. Museum quality fittings and fixtures were covered up or disposed of, and the warm wood veneers were replaced with acres of magenta and violet Formica surfacing crisscrossed by flashing lights and neon. It was as if the company had done everything they could to hide the fact that CARNIVALE was 35 years old. In 1990, CARNIVALE was given a major refit that sadly saw the removal of most of the polished woods and nickel in her public rooms and cabins. Carnival did not have the funds to completely restyle a somewhat dated looking ocean liner, so she was "tarted" up in certain cosmetic respects. Some of the rich wood paneling, brass fixtures, etched glass panels, and linoleum decking were covered in shiny wallpaper or hidden underneath festive carpeting. The former part-time two class ship was permanently transformed into a one class cruise ship with a new capacity of 1,297 passengers. Despite this, Carnival advertised her as "27,250 tons of fun," and placed her on weekly Miami service. The rust-streaked QUEEN ANNA MARIA was purchased, pulled from mothballs, sent to Newport News,VA for a refurbishment, and delivered to Carnival Cruises as the CARNIVALE in February of 1976.Īlthough her refit entailed little structural change, the CARNIVALE's tonnage was officially listed at 18,952 GRT according to Panamanian standards. In 1975, Greek Line fell deeply into debt, and QUEEN ANNA MARIA abandoned her New York cruise program, fleeing to Greece for lay-up at Perama, where she was arrested. The newly-measured 21,716 GRT ship was used for the New York-to-Mediterranean service (Piraeus, Palermo, Naples, Lisbon, Halifax, New York, returnng via Boston, Lisbon, Naples, Palermo, Piraeus, Limassol, and Haifa) and off-season cruises, being fully diverted to cruises by the 1970's. On cruises, she carried 742 passengers in one class. Her new passenger capacity of 1,313 was divided accordingly for crossings: 109 first, 59 interchangeable, and 1145 tourist. She was renamed QUEEN ANNA MARIA, after the second monarch to christen her, in March of 1965. Underneath the expanded lido, a large nightclub was built aft of the Cinema, wrapping around the stern in a fashion outwardly similar to the 1960 ORIANA's Stern Gallery. Her stern area was enlarged to incorporate four outdoor pools and a lido that stretched all the way aft, and her capacity was increased by 200. In November of 1964, the EMPRESS OF BRITAIN ended her CPR service and sailed to Genoa's Marriotti Yard to be refitted for her new owners, Greek Line. She was built to carry 160 first and 894 tourist class passengers and 464 crew. Her two sets of double reduction geared Fairfield Pametrada turbines were designed to achieve a combined output of 27,000 SHP (30,000 max) to drive her twin screws at a service speed of 20 knots (21 maximum). The first of three handsome liners built for the Liverpool-Montreal run, she entered service in April of 1956.ĬP's third EMPRESS OF BRITAIN measured 25,516 gross tons, and was 640 by 85.3 feet, with a draft of 29 feet. On 22 June, 1955, HM Queen Elizabeth sent the hull of the Canadian Pacific Steamship Co's first all new post war liner EMPRESS OF BRITAIN down the ways at the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering yard at Glasgow, Scotland. Throughout five decades of service, she evolved from a cold weather transatlantic liner to a full-time cruise ship. Having been launched by a queen and later named for a queen, the majestic THE TOPAZ was a rare survivor of the great postwar British shipbuilding era. ![]()
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