Ocean Countess
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Ocean Countess is a cruise ship operated by Monarch Classic Cruises. She was completed in 1976 as the '4-star - premium' style Cunard Countess for Cunard Line. Cunard Countess was well known for her amenities, which were of a high standard, and included an onboard hospital. Countess had an almost identical sister ship: the Cunard Princess. The pair are the only non 'Queen' purpose-built Cunarders still in existence, along with Louis Cruise Lines' Coral (formerly Cunard Adventurer).
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[edit] History
Cunard Countess was built in Denmark in 1974-75. The ship was prepared for passenger use at the INMA shipyard at La Spezia, Italy. Completed in July 1976, the vessel was initially registered in Southampton, England. On the eve of entering full commercial service in August 1976, Cunard Countess was christened at San Juan, Puerto Rico by Mrs Armstrong, wife of Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon.[1]
Cunard Countess became one of the better-known cruise ships to ply the Caribbean sea and middle Atlantic ocean, becoming a staple at the San Juan ship dock and later at Miami, Santo Domingo and many other places around the area. Cunard Countess was notably one of the few ships to regularly visit the Caribbean island of Grenada during the revolutionary period of that island (1979–1983) and thus played a major role in supporting the local tourist industry during those years.[citation needed]
One of her strongest competitors in the Caribbean during the 1980s was the equally famous Carla C, of similar dimensions (most recently built cruise ships are much larger).
In 1990 Cunard Countess's port of registry was changed to that of Nassau, The Bahamas.
In 1996 - before Carnival’s buy-out of Cunard Line in 1998 - Cunard Countess was sold to Awani Cruises and renamed Awani Dream II. The Awani cruise company ran into financial trouble and, in 1998, the ship moved to Royal Olympic Cruises, as Olympic Countess. First re-named Ocean Countess in 2004, the vessel was chartered as Ruby to Louis Cruise Lines in May 2007, resuming the name Ocean Countess in December of that year.
From April 2010 the vessel will sail from a number of British ports for the newly formed company, Cruise & Maritime Voyages. [2]
[edit] About the ship
The ship has deluxe cabins and suites as well as standard cabins. She also has a casino, several bars, a swimming pool, two jacuzzis, a hospital, a gym, a movie theater, a shop, a hair spa, a dance floor (that can also be utilised as a meeting room) and a dining room. The decks of the ship are named after the Greek Pantheon.
The ship's Canaries usually depart from Piraeus, visiting destinations like Mykonos, Patmos, Crete and Santorini in Greece as well as Kusadasi in Turkey.
[edit] References
- ^ http://chriscunard.com/archives5.htm Cunard Countess on: Cunard in the 1990's - Trafalgar House, Expansion and Decline
- ^ http://cruiseind.wordpress.com/2009/08/13/new-cruise-line-formed/ CruiseInd, 2009.
[edit] External links
- Cunard’s home page
- Page about the Cunard Countess
- A video clip of Ruby (ex Cunard Countess) leaving Rhodos
