Amsterdam, Netherlands on 25 July 2007
IMO no. 6416043, MMSI no. 3086264000 and call sign C6ZU. Summer 1960 was the original design handed over to the French shipyard Société Novelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée although the contract was not earlier signed on 24 September 1962 two year later, her keel was laid down on 19 June 1963 with yard no. 1366and a year later on 13 June was she launched, between May and September 1965 were the trials at sea and she was baptized on 18 September and departed already on 2 October from Oslo on her maiden voyage towards New York. The building costs were 30 million US dollars causing large financial problems for the yard.
Build on behalf of the Norwegian America Line as the ocean liner-cruise ship Sagafjord. Between 1983 and 1996 was she operated by the Cunard Line under her own name and then as the Gripsholm operated by the Transocean Tours. She became in 1997 property of Saga Shipping/Saga Tours and was renamed in Saga Rose until she was paid off in October 2009 and broken up a year later at Jiangyin, China. She was between 1965 and 1983 registered at Oslo, Norway and since then at Nassau, Bahamas.
With a gross tonnage of 24,474-24,528 tons and a deadweight of 6,353 tons were her dimensions 188,88 x 24,46 x 8,25-8,30 metres or 620.1 x 80.1 x 26.1 feet. Her crew numbered 350 men while she had accommodation for 789 passengers. The2 9-cylinder Sulzer diesels supplied 17.650 kW allowing a speed of 20,0 knots.
