Danae and Daphne were originally built in 1955 as the fast cargo liners Port Melbourne and Port Sydney for Port Line’s UK-Australia express service. Being fast ships, they were suitable for conversion to passenger ferries and in 1972 they were sold to Greek shipowner John Karras for conversion to car ferries, as Akrotiri Express and Therissos Express. But Karras changed his mind and and instead they were fully rebuilt as the ultra-luxury cruise ships Danae and Daphne, operated by Delian Cruises. The venture was not a success and they were chartered out, Danae to Costa Cruises who purchased her outright in 1984. In 1990, Danae and Daphne were transferred to Prestige Cruises, a joint venture between Costa Lines and Sovcomflot.Sovcomflot ended the agreement and she returned to Costa. In 1997 she was sold to Leisure Cruises, a subsidiary of airline Swissair and renamed Switzerland. However Swissair went bankrupt in 2001 and she was sold on to Majestic International Cruises who renamed her Ocean Monarch. They chartered her to Page & Moy and Hansa Kreuzfahrten. In 2004 she served as a hospital ship in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka for tsunami victims as the Hellenic Aid. She was then laid up in Greece and put up for sale. It looked like the end of the line for her but she was chartered by Golden Sun Cruises which turned out to be so successful that Majestic operated her again for the 2007 season. That same year Classic International Cruises from Portugal acquired her, refitted her and renamed her Princess Daphne. CIC went bankrupt in 2012 and after being arrested for unpaid bills in Souda, she was later sold to Indian scrappers and was broken up in 2014 in Alang.

56 photographs (2005 ship visit in Amsterdam)