Chandris
Cruises MV The Victoria
Please
Note: Firefox and some other search engines are not suitable
– Use “Internet Explorer” for this page to load
perfectly!
With
Reuben Goossens
Maritime
Historian, Cruise‘n’Ship Reviewer, Author &
Maritime Lecturer
Please
Note: All ssMaritime and other related maritime/cruise sites are
100% non-commercial and privately owned. Be assured that I am NOT
associated with any shipping or cruise companies or any
travel/cruise agencies or any other organisations! Although the
author has been in the passenger shipping industry since 1960,
although is now retired but having completed around 680 Classic
Liners and Cargo-Passengers Ships features I trust these will
continue to provide classic ship enthusiasts the information the
are seeking, but above all a great deal of pleasure! Reuben
Goossens
Page
Eight
Following the
collapse of MS Victoria owners, the superbly maintained ship was
laid up and placed on the market and she soon sold to Victoria
Shipping SA,
What we need to
understand is that Chandris at first obtained her in order that,
what is known as to “cannibalize” her and use her
fittings for some of the other Chandris Cruises ships. However,
the overall ship and her accommodations where of such a high
standard, Chandris decided keep her in service after a slight
refurbishment.
After her refit,
she retained the name “
Here
we see a rare photograph of the Chandris MV Victoria during her
very first series of cruises, for soon she would be renamed
Sent
in by a supporter photographer is unknown - Please see photo
notes at bottom of page
MV Victoria
commenced her first Mediterranean cruise from her new home port;
Her
Inaugural 1976 Brochure covering the cruises mentioned above
She would conclude
her series of cruises on November 1, and she would operate a
Trans-Atlantic cruise to
When
A
stunning photograph of the MV The Victoria whilst she was at
anchor
In 1984 MV The
Victoria was again transferred again to Phaidon Navigation SA
(Chandris), and was registered in
Other changes made
was the complete removal of the Bamboo Club aft on Sapphire Deck,
on port and starboard sides 7 new cabins were added and in the
middle was a new long Library and Card Room with windows looking
out aft. Up on Rendezvous Deck the previous magnificent Card Room
had become a Casino, whilst the port side Gallery come writing
Room was still a walkway but the exterior along the port wall
there was now a Shop. Directly aft of the Galleon Bar, aft of the
Promenade Deck which was glassed in became the new yellow themed
Wintergarden, the perfect place to relax in a comfortable chair
and enjoy a coffee of a drink and read a good book or meet
friends. Whilst far aft on this deck the Riviera Club was
completely built in.
However, up on Pearly Deck a Sauna was installed as well as a new Children’s Play Room and of course the Gym remained!
MV
The Victoria Photo Album
This
is one of my favourite photographs of MV The Victoria as it
reveals her magnificent hull plates
that
date back to the ship originally built, the
Here
we what has become of what used to be the magnificent Card Room,
I call this Tragic!
The
newly installed Wintergarden on Rendezvous Deck
Please
note, this is the original photograph from the Incres days as I
have not located one from the Chandris time!
Cabins
and Suites all received a comprehensive refurbishing with new
soft furnishings and other new facilities!
Photograph
by & © Philip English
The
Containing
MV The Victoria 15 Day “Fly and Cruise Programmes”
The next day, Day
2, a Monday all guests would board MV The Victoria for a cruise
visiting, Day 3, St Thomas, Day 4, Martinique, Day 5, Grenada,
Day 6, La Guaira, Day 7, Curacao, Day 8, at Sea, and on Day 9, a
Monday 8 AM return to San Juan and return to the hotel. Then have
almost all of Day 9 and Days 10 to 13 in this wonderful holiday
location! Return to the
The first of the 15
Day Cruise and Stay” Programmes” commenced on February
2, 1986 and they very much continued to the end of 1987 proving
the immense popularity of the ship and the Programme in the UK!
At the conclusion
of this series she returned to Europe and she operated a series
of
MS
The Victoria is seen in
These commenced on
May 1, 1989 and continued throughout the years, with the usual
occasional Cruises to Europe and back, fro
The
“Cruise and Stay” details for 1989
MV
The Victoria arrives into a port somewhere in the
Photograph
by & © Philip English
After an excellent
career with Chandris for 18 years, the sad fact for The Victoria
was that Chandris was about to enter into a brand new venture and
that was a 6 Star Super Luxury Cruise Line with larger and
grander ships and the new company was to be named “Celebrity
Cruises” a name created by this author in the early 1980s,
but that is another story! Therefore, Chandris Cruises were
slowly selling their fleet of ships, including the beautifully
maintained, and let me say a ship in perfect condition, MV The
Victoria!
Early January 1993
she was laid up in
Page One …
RMS Dunnottar 1936 to 1958, also her identical sister the
Page
Two …
MS Victoria
Page Four …
Brochure Page 2
Page Five …
Brochure Page 3
Chandris
Cruises
Page
Eight …
MV The Victoria
Page Nine …
Deck Plan
Louis
Cruise Line
Page Eleven …
Photographs by Stephen William Storey
Page Twelve …
Deck plan
Page
Thirteen …
MV Victoria I - 2004 - Sad scenes of her beached and being
scrapped.
I watched them come, I watched them go and I watched them
die.”
Where
you will discover around 690 Classic Passenger &
Passenger-Cargo Liners!
Where
the ships of the past make history & the 1914 built MV Doulos
Story
Photographs
on ssmaritime and associate pages are either by the author or
from the author’s private collection. In addition there are
some images and photographs that have been provided by Shipping
Companies or private photographers or collectors. Credit is given
to all contributors, however, there are some photographs provided
to me without details regarding the photographer or owner
concerned. Therefore, I hereby invite if owners of these images
would be so kind to make them-selves known to me (my email
address can be found at the bottom of the page on www.ssmaritime.com), in order that due credit
may be given.
ssMaritime
is owned & © Copyright by Reuben Goossens - All Rights
Reserved