P&O "SEA PRINCESS"

MV "SEA PRINCESS"
P&O Cruises

Postcard bt P&O Cruises.
Photograph by Paul Campbell.

Swedish ship built in the 1960s and named “Kungsholm”. In August 1978 the ship was handed over to the British-American company P&O, and she would be extensively rebuilt into almost a completely different looking in Bremen (Germany) by Vulcan Shipbuilders & Machine Factory. Officially renamed “Sea Princess”. On January 20, 1979 she departed the Bremen shipyard and headed for her homeport of Southampton (England). The new MV Sea Princess accommodated 750 passengers in comfort and in style and she was registered as being 27,670 GRT. When she arrived for the very first time in Southampton and she was made ready to sail, her first passengers boarded, with most of who were bound either for Singapore or going all the way to Sydney (Australia) to replace one of P&O retiring ships.

In November 1986 the “Sea Princess” was transferred to Princess Cruises, and externally the only visible change was that the funnel was painted all white with the typical Princess blue Sea Witch logo on it. Princess cruises gave her an extensive refit upgrading her lounges but especially her cabins.

On Australia’s Bi-Centennial Day’s celebrations in 1988 the “Sea Princess” was anchored in the middle of Sydney harbour opposite the Sydney Opera House and close to the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

In 1995 the Sea Princess was transferred back to P&O UK fleet and was renamed “Victoria”. After seven years with P&O and with new ships being built it was in 2002 that the MV “Victoria” was sold by P&O to a Greek Company by the name of Leonardo Shipping, being officially registered in the Bahamas. This company purchased her mostly to charter her to other operators. She was renamed MV “Mona Lisa” and her funnel was painted white with a large oval painting of the famous Mona Lisa.

The “Mona Lisa” was quickly taken up and chartered by a German company named Holiday Kreuzfahrten and she operated for them for four years, until they were declared bankrupt in September 2006. “Mona Lisa” was laid up at Piraeus, Greece for just a few weeks, during which time her funnel was repainted in that famous Maroon-red colour scheme. In November she was again chartered and she headed for Doha in Qatar for the Asian Games, and there she was used as a Hotel ship until January 1, 2007. Thereafter she was chartered by Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCI) who renamed her “Oceanic II” for their purposes.

Soon she was transferred to Pullmantur Cruises, being is a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean International (RCI) for the 2007 northern hemisphere summer season and thus hey repainted her funnel in the Pullmantur traditional blue funnel as well as the logo along the ships hull. Having returned to Pullmantur Cruises she continued operating cruises for the Spanish market, however it became known that the Scholar Ship organisation was in need of a ship and they decided to charter her. She was refitted to become an educational ship for the Scholar Ship international education program, being a cooperative venture between seven major world universities and RCI.

In June 2008 returned to the Leonardo Shipping Company and her previous name “Mona Lisa” was restored as well as receiving a comprehensive refit. Once again she was returned to the German charter market and another far more successful tour operator now took charge of the “Mona Lisa”, this being the Giant; Lord Nelson Seereisen. This agreement ran from April 28 to August 31, 2008.

Mona Lisa was to continue her cruises with Lord Nelson Seereisen in 2010 from May until August. However, the tragedy was, just with so many great classic built ships her future was uncertain for she no longer complied with the new SOLAS (Safety Of Life At Sea) regulations that came in effect in October 2010, thus it was decided to sell this forty four year old ex classic liner and cruise ship.

The Mona Lisa sold to DSME of Oman and she is currently in Oman renamed “Veronica”. She has been rebuilt into a luxury hotel ship and will be berthed in the port of Duqm. The completely refurbished “Veronica” now offers just 261 luxury rooms all of which and are comfortable and spacious with every possible amenity. Hotel Veronica officially opened in July 2011.