Song of Norway (ship)

Ocean Pearl in 2011.
History
Name:	1970–1997: Song of Norway 1997–2004: Sundream 2004–2006: Dream Princess 2006–2007: Dream 2007–2008: Clipper Pearl 2008–2009: Clipper Pacific 2009–2010: Festival 2010–2011: Ocean Pearl 2012–2013: Formosa Queen
Owner:	1970–1997: Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines 1997–2004: Airtours Sun Cruises 2004–2006: Tumaco Navigation 2006–2007: Lance Shipping 2007–2009: Pearl Owner Ltd. 2009–2012: International Shipping Partners 2012–2013: Formosa Queen Corp.
Operator:	1970–1997: Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines 1997–2004: Airtours Sun Cruises 2004–2007: Caspi Cruises 2008: Peace Boat 2009: Caspi Cruises 2010–2011: Quail Travel Group 2012–2013: Asia Star Cruises
Port of registry:	1970–1997: Oslo,  Norway 1997–2004: Nassau,  Bahamas 2004–2006: Limassol,  Cyprus 2006–2009: Nassau,  Bahamas 2009–2012: Majuro,  Marshall Islands 2012–2013: Panama City,  Panama
Builder:	Wärtsilä Helsinki Shipyard, Finland
Yard number:	392
Launched:	2 December 1969
Acquired:	5 October 1970
In service:	7 November 1970
Identification:	Call sign: 3FLU9 IMO number: 7005190 MMSI number: 538003398 → 373524000
Fate:	Broken up
General characteristics (as built)
Type:	Cruise ship
Tonnage:	18,416 GT 3,202 DWT
Length:	168.32 m (552.23 ft)
Beam:	23.96 m (78.61 ft)
Draught:	6.70 m (21.98 ft)
Installed power:	Four 9-cylinder Sulzer-Wärtsilä diesel engines, 14,560 kW (combined)
Speed:	20.5 knots (38.0 km/h; 23.6 mph)
Capacity:	724 passengers
General characteristics (as of 2013)
Type:	Cruise ship
Tonnage:	22,945 GT 4,525 DWT
Length:	194.32 m (637.53 ft)
Beam:	24.00 m (78.74 ft)
Capacity:	1,196 passengers
Crew:	423
Notes:	Otherwise same as built

MS Formosa Queen (formerly Song of Norway, Sundream, Dream Princess, Dream, Clipper Pearl, Clipper Pacific, Festival, Ocean Pearl) was a cruise ship which was converted into a gambling ship later in her career. She was one of the first modern cruise ships, entering operation in 1970. She was eventually sold for scrap in 2013 and broken up in 2014.

The vessel originally had a gross tonnage of 18,000 tons, and could carry 724 passengers. Following the 1978 refit, she was lengthened by 85 feet, to provide for 1024 passengers and increasing her size to 23,000 gross tons.

The vessel was constructed in Helsinki, Finland in 1970. Named Song of Norway, she was the first ship built for cruise line Royal Caribbean International. The vessel was lengthened in 1978, due to the high demand for cruising, and sailed on seven- and fourteen-day cruises out of Miami. As Song of Norway she was the first vessel to service the Royal Caribbean proprietary resort of Labadee, Haiti.

In 1996, surpassed by the significantly larger ships in the Royal Caribbean International fleet, the ship was sold to Sun Cruises part of the Airtours/MyTravel (which has now merged with Thomas Cook AG), who operated the vessel under the name Sundream. Before the ship entered service for her new owners, the sky lounge around her funnel was removed.

In October 2004 she was sold, refitted and became MS Dream Princess for Caspi Cruises (Israel) and operated the 2005 season from Haifa.

In November 2007 the ship was sold to Pearl Owner Ltd., a company in the Bahamas-based Clipper Group of Denmark, which put the management of the ship in the hands the Miami, Florida based company International Shipping Partners, Inc. (ISP). After refitting in Turkey and Malta, the ship was chartered to the Peace Boat organization and renamed the Clipper Pacific. The ship was in service touring the world, from Japan to Japan, as part of Peace Boat's mission. After numerous repeated problems with the ship, however, the world tour was broken off in Piraeus, Greece. Afterwards, the ship was sold to ISP and renamed to Festival. She came into service again as a cruise ship, first in 2009 for Caspi Cruises and as of 2010 for Quail Travel's Happy Cruises. Quail Travel has renewed the charter for the 2011 season. The charter ended when Happy Cruises ceased operations.

...
Wikipedia