Regency Fleet History

In response to another thread about the fate of Regency Cruises' ships, here is a history of the entire Regency fleet (I originally compiled this a couple of years ago for the old boards, and have updated it so that it is, to my knowledge, current):

REGENT ISLE: Built 1956 as CARINTHIA for Cunard Steam-Ship Co. Ltd., Liverpool, at John Brown & Co., Clydebank, Scotland. Sold 1968 to 1968 to Fairland Shipping Corp. (Vlasov Group), Monrovia, and renamed FAIRLAND. Transferred 1971 to Fairsea Shipping Corp., renamed FAIRSEA. Converted to cruise ship 1972, along with FAIRWIND started Los Angeles-based Sitmar Cruises. Sitmar Cruises sold to P&O in 1988, renamed FAIR PRINCESS and sailed under Princess Cruises brand. Retired in 1994 and chartered to Regency by P&O for trading as REGENT ISLE. Never traded for Regency, bankruptcy occurred soon before the charter was to commence. The ship remained laid-up as FAIR PRINCESS for some time before being transferred to P&O's Australian operation. Sold in 2000 to China Sea Cruises, Monrovia, renamed CHINA SEAS DISCOVERY, then CHINA SEA DISCOVERY. Used in several unsucessful ventures in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Presently laid-up at Kaoshiung, Taiwan. To be auctioned off 28 July, 2005, probably for scrap.

REGENT JEWEL: See REGENT MOON (III), below.

REGENT MOON (I): Built 1969 as containership AXEL JOHNSON for Johnson Line, Stockholm, at Wärtsilä Marine Idustries, Turku, Finland. Sold to A. Lelakis, Piraeus for conversion to cruise ship for Regency Cruises, 1986. Renamed REGENT MOON. Project suspended, ship was laid-up and then sold in 1989 to Cia. Nav. Panalexandra, Panama, as ALEXANDRA for further trading as a containership. Laid-up. Sold in 1990 to Costa Crociere S.p.A, Naples, for conversion to cruise ship with Italian government subsidies following successful conversion of sister ANNIE JOHNSON to COSTA MARINA. Initally named COSTA AZZURA but entered service in 1992 as COSTA ALLEGRA; reflagged in Libera 1994 and back to Italy 2000. Presently in service.

REGENT MOON (II): Built 1980 as ferry VIKING SAGA for Rederi Ab Sally, Mariehamn, as a ferry for Viking Line, at Wärtsilä Marine Industries, Turku, Finland. Renamed SALLY ALBATROSS 1986, converted to cruise ship 1988. Fire broke out 9 January 1990 during annual overhaul in Stockholm, Sweden, ship virtually destroyed. The ship was dismantled and machinery and parts of the lower decks were used in construction of a new SALLY ALBATROS in 1990 at Finnyards, Rauma, Finland. The ship was scheduled to enter service in 1992 and an agreement was made to charter the ship to Regency Cruises as REGENT MOON. The deal fell through and the ship entered service in 1992 under the name SALLY ALBATROSS. Grounded and partially sank 4 March 1994. The ship was salvaged and rebuilt and chartered in 1995 to NCL as LEEWARD by her owners Oy Silja Line who had absorbed Rederi Ab Sally several years earlier. The ship was transferred to Star Cruises as SUPERSTAR TAURUS in 2000 and returned in 2002 to Silja Line, reflagged in Sweden, and renamed SILJA OPERA. Presently in service.

REGENT MOON (III): Built 1967 as ferry CANGURO VERDE for Canguro S.p.A, Caligiari, at Italcantieri, Castellammare di Stabia, Italy. Sold 1981 to Fayez Trading & Shipping, Jeddah, renamed DURR. Sold 1989 to Strintzis Lines, Piraeus, renamed IONIAN HARMONY. Sold to Ferry Charter St. Thomas Ltd., Nassau, 1990 for intended service between Puerto Rico and St. Thomas. Renamed SUN FIESTA and laid-up at Mobile, Alabama. Sold 1992 to A. Lelakis, Piraeus, for conversion to cruise ship at Lelakis-owned Avlis Shipyard, Chalkis, Greece. Initially to be renamed REGENT MOON, but entered service 1994 as REGENT JEWEL for Lelakis-owned Regency Cruises, Nassau, following rebuilding, then renamed CALYPSO and chartered to German tour operator Transocean Tours. Charter ended 1998, ship laid-up at Piraeus, Greece and arrested. Auctioned to Louis Cruise Lines, Nassau, 2000, trading on short cruises from Cyprus. Transferred 2005 to Louis subsidiary Louis Hellenic Cruises, Piraeus, and renamed THE CALYPSO, trading on Greek Isles cruises from Piraeus. Presently in service.

REGENT RAINBOW: Built 1957 as SANTA ROSA for Grace Line, New York, at Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Newport News, Virginia. Grace Lines and Prudential Lines merged 1970 to form Prudential-Grace Lines. Laid-up 1971 following cessation of Prudential-Grace Lines passenger service. Sold 1976 to Vintero Corp., New York. Sold 1989 to Coral Cruise Lines Inc., New York, arrived in Greece and renamed PACIFIC SUN, then DIAMOND ISLAND. New owners were apparently connected to Lelakis Group; ownership changed 1993 to Regency Cruises, Nassau, and the ship entered service as REGENT RAINBOW after massive conversion. Sold 1996 to Louis Cruise Lines, Limassol after Regency bankruptcy in late 1995, renamed EMERALD and chartered to UK tour operator Thomson Holidays. Presently in service.

REGENT SEA: Built 1957 as GRIPSHOLM for Ab Svenska Amerika-Linjen (Swedish-America Line), Gothenburg, at Ansaldo, Genoa, Italy. Sold 1975 to Mikhail A. Karageorgis, Piraeus, after cessation of SAL passenger operations, renamed NAVARINO. Grounded in Greece 1981. Sold to Sally Shipping GmbH, Bad Schwartau, partially destroyed by fire while under tow to Skaramanga, Greece for repairs. Floating drydock in which the ship lay at Skaramanga took a list and the ship was declared a total loss. Despite this the ship was salvaged, however Sally withdrew from purchase. Sold to Multiship Italia, SrL, Rome, laid-up at La Spezia, Italy, and renamed SMANTHA in 1983. Sold to A. Lelakis, Piraeus in 1984, repaired and renamed REGENT SEA, becoming first Regency ship in 1985. Reflagged in Panama 1987 and Bahamas 1990. Operated for Regency until bankruptcy in 1995. Laid up at Tampa, Florida as SEA following bankruptcy. Sold for scrapping in South Asia May 2001. Sank off South Africa while under tow to scrappers 11 July 2001.

REGENT SKY: Ordered 1979 as STENA POLONICA for Stena Line as passenger-car ferry from Stocznia Gdanska im Lenina, Gdansk, Poland. Partially completed, order cancelled in 1986 after problems at shipyard. Launched to clear slipway and laid-up. Sold 1990 to A. Lelakis, Piraeus, for conversion to cruise ship REGENT SKY. Never completed, remains at Lelakis-owned Avlis Shipyard at Chalkis, Greece. The ship has been seized by the National Bank of Greece and is currently for sale, minus engines which were reportedly stolen by Lelakis before the ship was seized.

REGENT SPIRIT: Built 1962 as ANNA NERY for Cia Nacional de Navegacao Costeria, Rio de Janeiro. Sold 1978 to Kavounides Shipping Co. SA Ltd. (K-Lines), Piraeus renamed DANAOS, the CONSTELLATION. Laid-up at Eleusis. Cruising in Mediterranean from 1982. Laid-up 1986 after bankruptcy of K-Lines. Sold 1992 to A. Lelakis, Piraeus, renamed MORNING STAR for service in the Pacific along with ROYAL PACIFIC. Following the sinking of the latter vessel transferred to Regency Cruises and renamed REGENT SPIRIT after refurbishment at Lelakis-owned Avlis Shipyard. Laid-up following bankruptcy. Sold 1996 to Salamis Lines, Limassol, and renamed SALAMIS GLORY for short cruises from Cyprus. Presently in service.

REGENT STAR: Built 1957 as STATENDAM for Nederlandsch-Amerikaansche Stoomvaart Maatschappij (Holland-America Line), Rotterdam. Reflagged in Netherlands Antilles 1973. Sold 1982 to Paquet French Cruises, Panama, renamed RHAPSODY. Sold to A. Lelakis, Piraeus in 1986, first voyage as REGENT STAR in 1987 following re-engining. Operated for Regency until bankruptcy in 1995. Laid-up at Eleusis, Greece as SEA HARMONY following Regency bankruptcy, under the ownership of Perosea Shipping. EXA International/Cruiseshares planned to make her their first ship, ROMANCE I, however the deal fell through. Sold for scrap and beached at Alang April 2004.

REGENT SUN (I): Built 1969 as containership ANNIE JOHNSON for Johnson Line Ab, Stockholm, at Wärtsilä Marine Industries, Turku, Finland. Sold to Universal Glow Inc., Limassol for conversion to cruise ship for Regency, 1986; renamed REGENT SUN. Subsequently renamed SEA VENTURE. Sold to Navyclub Italia Srl, Naples, in 1988 and renamed ITALIA, to be converted to cruise ship at T. Mariotti yard, Genoa, Italy with Italian government subsidies. Later that year project taken over by Costa Crociere S.p.A., Naples. Entered service 1990 as COSTA MARINA; reflagged in Liberia 1994 and back to Italy 2000. Presently in service.

REGENT SUN (II): Built 1964 as SHALOM for Zim Israel Navigation Co. Ltd., Haifa, at Chantiers de l'Atlantique, St. Nazaire, France. Haifa-New York service. Sold to Hanseatic Schiffahrts GmbH (Deutsch Atlantik Schiffahrts GmbH), Hamburg, 1967. Renamed HANSEATIC. Hamburg-New York service and cruising. Cruising only from 1969. Sold to Home Lines Inc., Panama, 1973. Renamed DORIC. Sold to Royal Cruise Line Ltd., Piraeus, 1981. Reconstructed at Perama and Neorion, Greece. Entered RCL service 1982. Sold 1988 to Regency Cruises, Nassau; registered owners Regsun Holdings Ltd., Nassau. Renamed REGENT SUN. Laid-up as SUN following Regency bankruptcy 1995. Sold for scrapping in South Asia, sank off South Africa under tow to scrappers 25 July 2001.

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Note that several of the ships above never actually entered service for Regency.

Thanks for the History Doug. The Regent Sun was my first cruise and I was hooked from there! How do you know so much about cruise History?

I really enjoyed my Regency cruises. They had classic ships and great food.

Hi Doug,

Great job from you as always, only one small update that I can think of, considering the REGENT SKY. She is no longer at Avlis Shipyards in Chalkis, but near Piraeus at Ambelakia, Salamina, since June 2004. For photos of her there, see here:

http://www.shipspotting.com/modules/myalbum/viewcat.php?uid=1717&num=6&orderby=titleA&pos=3878

Brgds,

Aleksi

I never sailed on Regency...however with those kinds of ships in the fleet I am glad that I did not...does not surprise me that they are no longer in business...converted container ships???:cool:

I am glad that I did not...does not surprise me that they are no longer in business...converted container ships???:cool:

They didn't actually do the converting - but Costa did. They still have both ships. Rather nice ships actually.

Regency was a very nice cruise line with excellent service.

It was a public company for several years. When it was taken private, they tried to expand too fast and got into financial trouble. Then the cost of bringing the ships up to new SOLAS standards was too much.