MS Saga Ruby is owned and operated by Saga Cruises. She was built as the combined ocean liner/cruise ship MS
Vistafjord in 1973 by Swan Hunter Shipbuilders in the United Kingdom for the Norwegian American Line. In 1983 she was sold to Cunard Line, retaining her original name until 1999 when she was
renamed MS Caronia. In 2004 she was sold to her current owners.
On 22 May 1973 the Vistafjord set on her maiden voyage, a crossing from Oslo to New York. After this initial crossing she
was used exclusively in cruise service from New York to the Bahamas. At the time the Norwegian-flagged Vistafjord was considered to be amongst the most luxurious cruise ships in the world,
sharing the top 5 in Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising.
Although their ships were high-rated, Norwegian America Line had trouble making profit. In 1983 Trafalgar House, the owners of
Cunard Line, purchased the company and in October 1983 the Vistafjord joined the Cunard fleet. She retained her original name and the grey NAL hull colour, but received Cunard Line funnel colours
and was re-registered to the Bahamas. Despite the flag change she retained Norwegian command staff.
In 1999 the decision was made to rename the Vistafjord with a more traditional Cunard
Line name. On 10 December 1999 she was renamed MS Caronia and re-registered in the United Kingdom. She continued service with Cunard until November 2004, when she was sold to Saga Cruises.
Following a £17 million refit at Valetta in Malta the Caronia reappeared as MS Saga Ruby in March 2005. In the Saga Cruises fleet she joined her former Norwegian America Line fleet mate Sagafjord
(now named Saga Rose.
As Saga Ruby her hull was repainted dark blue and her funnel yellow, with a dark blue top and a narrow white stripe separating the two colours.
Displacement: 5,954 metric tons
Length: 191.09 m (626 ft 11 in)
Beam: 25.00 m (82 ft 0 in)
Ice class: 1 C
Installed power: 2 × Sulzer diesels 17,650 kW Propulsion: 2 propellers
Speed: 20 kn
(37.04 km/h; 23.02 mph) Capacity: 670 passengers (maximum)
Tonnage: 24,492 Gross tonnage
Draught: 8.23 m (27 ft 0 in)
Decks: 9 (passenger accessible)
Capacity: 655 passengers (maximum)
Crew: 380
Information and images courtesy of Wikipedia |
