About Cruise Ship Odyssey
Having been addicted to cruising since the seventies (my first cruise was onboard the Soviet vessel Shota Rustaveli in 1977), my greatest memories are from my travels at sea and visiting over 200 cruise ships all over the world. CSO is all about cruise ships past and present, telling the stories of iconic vessels, as well as listing those on order and retired. The history of cruising is covered in short and over 10,000 interior photographs are here for you to browse through.
Ship Interior Architects
The Floating Palaces
The start of passenger ship interior design between the end of the 19th century up to World War I During the mid nineteenth century travelling by ocean liner was seen as a highly uncomfortable and dangerous mode of transportation. A
Joe Farcus
Joe Farcus is one of the most famous cruise ship interior architects having designed the interiors of over 50 cruise ships starting with the Carnivale for Carnival Cruise Line in 1975 Farcus had always had a keen interest in ships
Charles Frederic Mewès (1858 – 1914)
He introduced hotel-style interiors to ocean liners Charles-Frederic Mewès, was born in Strasbourg, Alsace in 1858 and grew up in Paris after his family had fled the Prussian invasion. He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts with Jean Louis Pascal being
John McNeece (1939 – 2015)
Designer who specialised in creating simple, elegant and lavish cruise ship interiors John McNeece was born in Govan, Glasgow within sight of the ship yards at the river Clyde. Excelling at sketching and art in general, he studied at The
Johann Georg Poppe (1837 – 1915)
He brought international flair to ocean liners at the turn of the 20th century using historical revival styles like neo-baroque and -renaissance Poppe was born in Bremen into a family with a heritage as architects. From 1855 to 1859, he
Brian O’Rorke (1901 – 1974)
The architect who introduced Art Deco in passenger ship interiors Born in Christchurch , New Zealand, Brian O’Rorke moved with his family to the UK in 1911. He studied engineering and architecture at Cambridge University, At the start of his
Articles
In the Articles, section, there are short stories of iconic cruise ships and (former) operators. I will cover ships of the past, but also profiles of modern vessels will be added, as not only their interiors are gorgeous, often having been designed by famous architects, but also because their amenities are stunning: parks, picknick lawns, bars moving up and down decks, go-cart tracks, you name it and it’s there for passengers to enjoy.
Celebrity Edge – Celebrity Cruises
The spectacular new Celebrity newbuilding Celebrity Edge, to be followed by Celebrity Apex in 2020 and two more in 2022, is recognizable from
Aranui 5 – Aranui Cruises
Aranui Cruises started around 65 years ago operating a freighter service out of Tahiti carrying goods to Tuamotus and Gambiers
Explora I, Explora Journeys
Photographs courtesy of MSC/ Explora Journeys On June 10 more details were revealed of their new ultra luxury brand which
Ancerville – Cie de Navigation Paquet (1962 – 1973)
Interior photographs of Minghua, ex-Ancerville in her current role at Sea World in Shenzhen, China here Compagnie de Navigation Paquet (CNP) approaching
MSC Euribia (2023) – MSC Cruises
For over 200 interior photographs of MSC Euribia click here The christening of the MSC Euribia in June 2023 marked
Costa Smeralda (2019) – Costa Cruises
With their new Costa Smeralda it seems that Costa has returned to their Italian roots again, which has always been their trademark
Recent Posts
Giovanni “Nino” Zoncada (1898-1988)
Italian furniture and passenger ship interior designer Giovanni
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Cruise ship interiors
This site is dedicated to both cruiseships of today as well as those of yesteryear. In the section Cruise ship interiors, interior photographs of ships presently in active service are featured. Sometimes these photos were taken a long time ago, as far back as the seventies. However, the current name and owners are also mentioned if the ship has switched owners.
Adventure of the Seas
261 photographs (2010 western Mediterranean cruise)
AIDAaura
Built 2002, Aida Kreuzfahrten, Germany, 75 photographs (2019 ship visit in Hamburg)
AIDAprima
Built 2016, Aida Kreuzfahrten, Germany, 145 photographs (2016 ship visit in Rotterdam)
AIDAstella
Built 2013, Aida Kreuzfahrten, Germany, 148 photographs (2014 ship visit in Amsterdam)
Amadea
Built 1991. Phoenix Seereisen, Germany 61 photographs (2006 ship visit in Bremerhaven)
Ambition
Built 1999, Ambassador Cruise Line, UK, 229 photographs (taken during the day of her renaming ceremony on May 11, 2023
Amera
Built 1988, Phoenix Reisen, Germany, 252 photographs, taken during ship visit in Bremerhaven in 2019
Berlin
Built 1980. Reederei Deilmann (until recently she sailed for German FTI Cruises, but after FTI ceased trading she has been
Out of service
Out of service contains interior photos of ships that have been taken out of service, but these vessels and their classic interiors which are no longer with us, deserve to live on.
Adriana (1972 – 2019) Plein Cap Croisieres
Built in 1972 for Hellenic Mediterranean Lines as their first cruiseship Aquarius, she sailed for them until 1987 when she passed
Albatros (1957 – 2004) Phoenix Reisen
24800 GRT, loa 185m, 906 passengers. Built in 1957 as Sylvania for Cunard Line, and sold in 1968 to Sitmar Cruises. Renamed Fairwind.
Albatros (1973 – 2021) Phoenix Reisen
Royal Viking-class cruise ship built in 1973 for Royal Viking Line as the 5-star luxury vessel Royal Viking Sea. She was
Amerikanis (1952 – 2001) Chandris Lines
17.000 GRT, loa 176m, 250 crew, 911 passengers. Union Castle took the Kenya Castle into service in 1952. She was
Static ships
Some classics manage to escape the breakers torch, and are -sometimes having been meticulously restored- open to the public as a museum or hotel. Many of these I have visited, ranging from the SS. Rotterdam V, Queen Mary, Hikawa Maru, Brunel’s Great Britain and several former Norwegian coastal express ships and you can board them too, by browsing through the Static Ships section.
Birger Jarl
Birger Jarl was built in Sweden in 1953 for Redieri AB Svea. In 1973 she was sold to Jakob Lines,
Bore
MS Bore is a museum and hotel ship docked permanently in Turku, Finland. She was originally built in 1960 by
Britannia
Former Royal Yacht from 1953 until 1997. She made Queen Elizabeth II the world’s most travelled monarch. Her last offical voyage was in
Cap San Diego
Freighter with passenger accommodation, built 1962 for Hamburg-Sud. Spent most of it’s seagoing years on the run to South America.
History
It is interesting to follow the journey of cruising itself, in the History section, from the humble beginnings of the mid nineteenth century up to the present day, here is the development of cruising in a nutshell. Also, articles will be added on the remains of the liner age still present in many ports.
Daniel Adamson “The Danny” (1903 – present)
She started life in 1903 as Ralph Brocklebank, having been built for the Shropshire Railways & Canal Company. She was used to tow barges and
Cunard Building – New York
The former classic Cunard building is situated at 25 Broadway in Manhattan’s Financial District. It is a vast, 22-story limestone office building with a facade
ss Normandie (1935) – French Line Dining room medallions
Normandie was a French ocean liner built in Saint-Nazaire, France, for the French Line Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (CGT). She entered service in 1935 and at
Present day cruising
During the years from 1970 onwards, the cruise industry has developed into an important holiday product. In the 1960’s, at the start of this new
Annual news review
Check out Annual News Review, which gives a compact overview of important events since the 1970’s in the cruise industry.
Annual news review 2022
The end of the pandemic: cruising restarts MSC Magnifica is an excellent example of the way cruise ships returned to service after the pandemic. She was
Annual news review 2023
2023 has turned out to be a most successful year for the cruise industry with a grand total of 31.5 mio passengers which is
Ships on order
Those On order, which is a spectacular number nowadays (over 50 vessels!).
Cruise ships on order 2024 – 2028
The ever growing cruise industry will see 14 new cruise ships entering service. Among them, Icon of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship and
Retired
An overview of cruise ships retired since 1985 (it seems we are the only non-commercial website with this info)
Retired from 1985 to 1990
Principal passenger/ cruise ships retired since 1985 1985 Ship/ Ex-name(s)/ Year built/ Reason retired Columbus-C, ex-Kungsholm, Europa, 1953, Broken up Regina Prima, ex-Panama, President Hoover,