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Royal Cruise Line
These pages are devoted to postcards of the Royal Cruise Line. An
alphabetical list of ships
covered on this page is shown below.
The Table
below this gives links to complete postcard history pages on selected individual ships. Below the table are
postcards of the fleet
in chronological order.
Royal Cruise Line was formed in the early 1970s. Their first ship, the
Golden Odyssey
, was the first purpose-built Greek cruise ship, and she entered service in 1974. A second ship, the
Royal Odyssey
, was added to the fleet in 1982. The line developed a loyal following, and had a very high reputation. They ordered two new ships, of which the
Crown Odyssey
was delivered in 1988 (the second ship was not built).
Royal Odyssey
was sold in the same year as the arrival of the new ship, although postcards showing the fleet with all three were issued. The line was acquired by
Norwegian Caribbean Line
(Kloster) just one year later in 1989.
NCL
was in a period of rapid expansion at the time. Within two years,
Norwegian Caribbean
was in financial difficulties, and began selling off various assets. Royal Cruise Line initially retained its separate identity, but
Golden Odyssey
was sold in 1994, and
Crown Odyssey
became part of the
NCL
fleet as
Norwegian Crown
in 1996.
NCL
had managed to lose the excellent reputation of Royal Cruise Line, which was no longer worth maintaining as a single ship operation. In the late 1990s however,
NCL
acquired the new
Orient Lines
, and
Norwegian Crown
was transferred to that line, regaining her original name
Crown Odyssey
in the process. In November 2002, it was announced that
Crown Odyssey
would return to the
NCL
fleet in September 2003.
Ships on This Page:-
Crown Odyssey
(1988-1989)
Golden Odyssey
(1974-1994)
Royal Odyssey (1)
(1981-1988)
Royal Odyssey (2)
(1990-1996)
Star Odyssey
(1993-1096)
Associated Pages:-
Deutsche Atlantik Line
Home Lines
Norwegian Cruise Line
Regency Cruises
Royal Viking Line
Cruise Ship Postcards
Ocean Liner Postcards
Simplon Postcards Home Page
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Table of Ship Histories
Name
Other names
Built
Crown Odyssey
Norwegian Crown
1988
Royal Odyssey (1)
Shalom, Hanseatic, Doric, Regent Sun, Sea Venture
1964
Royal Odyssey (2)
Royal Viking Sea, Norwegian Star
1972
Star Odyssey
Royal Viking Star, Westward, Black Watch
1972
Royal Cruise Line Fleet List
Golden Odyssey (1974-1994)
Royal Cruise Line was founded with the
Golden Odyssey
, built in Denmark in 1974. She was only 6757 grt, and carried just 460 passengers. She initially operated in the Greek islands and on America's west coast, but later cruised worldwide, as Royal Cruise Line created an excellent reputation, winning numerous awards. She was acquired, with the Royal Cruise Line name, by NCL in 1989, but was sold by them in 1994, subsequently serving as
Astra II
for various German cruise operators. In 2001 she is named
Omar 2
.
Official Royal Cruise Line postcard of the
Golden Odyssey
.
Official Royal Cruise Line postcard of the
Golden Odyssey
.
Official Royal Cruise Line postcard of the
Golden Odyssey
.
Official Royal Cruise Line postcard of the
Golden Odyssey
.
Official Royal Cruise Line postcard of the
Golden Odyssey
.
Official Royal Cruise Line postcard of the
Golden Odyssey
.
Official Royal Cruise Line postcard of the
Golden Odyssey
.
An official Royal Cruise Line fleet postcard (oversized) of the
Royal Odyssey
and
Golden Odyssey
.
An official Royal Cruise Line fleet postcard (oversized) of the
Royal Odyssey (2), Golden Odyssey
and
Crown Odyssey
. This card must have been issued in 1993-94.
An official Royal Cruise Line fleet postcard (oversized) of the
Crown Odyssey
and
Golden Odyssey
.
Royal Odyssey (1) (1981-1988)
The Zim Israel liner
Shalom
was built in 1964. After only three years, she was bought by the
Deutsche Atlantik
group in 1967 and renamed
Hanseatic (2)
. She was sold again to
Home Lines
in 1973, and named
Doric
(Home Lines needed to find a replacement for the fire-damaged
Homeric (1)
)
.
She served with Home Lines until the new
Atlantic
was delivered in 1981, when she was sold to Royal Cruise Lines as their
Royal Odyssey
. She was given a new single funnel during refurbishment. In 1988 she became the
Regent Sun
in the
Regency Cruises
fleet. She has been inactive since the
Regency Cruises
bankruptcy, despite an announced sale to Royal Venture cruises as their
Sun Venture
. Current name is listed just as
Sun
, with owners Canyon Ranch. She is currently stripped and out of service, having been intended for use as a floating hotel.
Complete history of
Royal Odyssey (1)
An official Royal Cruise Line postcard of
Royal Odyssey
.
An official Royal Cruise Line fleet postcard of the
Royal Odyssey
and
Golden Odyssey
.
Commercial postcards of the Royal Odyssey (1)
Chantry Classics postcard CC/S120 of
Royal Odyssey
, photographed by Wil Moojen.
Harold Jordan postcard L4 of
Royal Odyssey
.
Crown Odyssey (1988-1989)
Crown Odyssey
was built by Meyer of Papenburg, and was delivered to Royal Cruise Line in 1988, a year before the line was sold to
NCL
. In 1996 the various NCL fleets were reorganised, and
Crown Odyssey
became the
Norwegian Crown
in the main
NCL
fleet. More recently , she has been transferred to NCL-owned
Orient Lines
, and reverted to her original name
Crown Odyssey. Crown Odyssey
returned to the
NCL
fleet in September 2003 as
Norwegian Crown
. In 2006 she was sold to
Fred.Olsen
as the
Balmoral
, remaining on charter to NCL until 2007.
Complete history of
Crown Odyssey
Official Royal Cruise Line postcard of the
Crown Odyssey
.
Official Royal Cruise Line postcard (oversized) of the
Crown Odyssey
.
Official Royal Cruise Line postcard (oversized) of the
Crown Odyssey
.
An official Royal Cruise Line fleet postcard (oversized) of the
Royal Odyssey (2), Golden Odyssey
and
Crown Odyssey
.
This card must have been issued in 1993-94.
Official Royal Cruise Line fleet postcard of the
Crown Odyssey
and
Golden Odyssey
.
Simplon Postcards sc2009 (released March 1992) of
Crown Odyssey.
Photographed by Wil Moojen at Ijmuiden, 14/8/91.
CT Postcards 029 (released 1993) of
Crown Odyssey.
Photographed by Nils Wegener at Copenhagen in 1989.
Chantry Classics CC/S109 of
Crown Odyssey.
Photographed by Clive Harvey on the Thames.
Royal Odyssey (2) (1990-1996)
Royal Odyssey
originally built as the
Royal Viking Line
cruise ship
Royal Viking Sea
in 1973.
Royal Viking Line
were acquired by Kloster (
NCL
) in 1984, and initially retained their separate identity.
Royal Viking Sea
was transferred to Royal Cruise Line in 1990 as the
Royal Odyssey (2)
. The
Royal Viking Line
name was sold to
Cunard
in 1994.
Royal Odyssey
was transferred into the main
NCL
fleet in 1996 as
Norwegian Star
. She briefly operated for the
NCL
subsidiary Norwegian Capricorn Line in the Australian market, and in 2001 is part of the
Star Cruises
fleet.
Complete history of
Royal Odyssey (2)
Official Royal Cruise Line fleet postcard of the
Royal Odyssey (2)
.
An official Royal Cruise Line fleet postcard (oversized) of the
Royal Odyssey (2), Golden Odyssey
and
Crown Odyssey
. This card must have been issued in 1993-94.
Official Royal Cruise Line fleet postcard (oversized) of the
Royal Odyssey (2)
.
Official Royal Cruise Line fleet postcard (oversized) of the
Royal Odyssey (2)
.
Harold Jordan's Chantry Classics
postcard CC/S356 of the
Royal Odyssey (2)
.
Photo: © Marvin Jensen.
Star Odyssey (1993-1996)
Star Odyssey
originally built as the
Royal Viking Line
cruise ship
Royal Viking Star
in 1972.
Royal Viking Line
were acquired by Kloster (
NCL
) in 1984, and initially retained their separate identity.
Royal Viking Star
became the
Westward
in the main
NCL
fleet in 1990, and was then transferred to Royal Cruise Line in 1993 as the
Star Odyssey
. The
Royal Viking Line
name was sold to
Cunard
in 1994.
Star Odyssey
was sold to
Fred Olsen
in 1996, becoming the
Black Watch
.
Complete history of
Star Odyssey
Official Royal Cruise Line fleet postcard of the
Star Odyssey
.
Official Royal Cruise Line fleet postcard (oversized) of the
Star Odyssey
.