M/S Amorella

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M/S Amorella west of Yxlan in the Stockholm archipelago

M/S Amorella is a cruiseferry operated by the Finnish ferry company Viking Line on the route Turku - Mariehamn/Långnäs - Stockholm. She was built in 1988 by Brodogradiliste Split in Croatia.

The Amorella was ordered in 1986 by SF Line, one of the partners in Viking Line consortium. Although Brodogradiliste Split outbid other shipayds, the Finnish State offered to subsidiarise construction of the ship if she was built at a Finnish shipyard. This was a common practice in the 1980's to get more jobs to Finland, but this time SF Line declined and had the ship built in Croatia. The original delivery planned delivery date for the Amorella was in March 1988, but due to delays in construction she wasn't completed until September, which meant SF Line was forced to operate the lucrative summer season with old tonnage.

Except for short periods of time in 1997, 1998 and 2002 the Amorella has always served on the Turku - Mariehamn/Långnäs - Stockholm route, making her longest-lasting ship on that route. Originally she only called in Mariehamn during day crossing, but in July 1999 she had to start calling at the Åland Islands in both directions to maintain tax free sales onboard, and as a result a call at Långnäs was added to the night crossing.

Like all ships the Amorella has suffered an occasional misfortune. In 1993 the ship ran aground near Stockholm. She was able to come off by her own power, but her bottom was damaged in the process and she started taking in water and diesel oil was leaking out from a damaged fuel tank. The ship continued to Stockholm, and after unloading passengers and cargo she sailed to Luonnonmaan Telakka, Naantali for repairs. In 1995, and again in 2001 there was a fire in one of the cabins but the ship's own firefighters managed to put it out. In May 2005 there was a fire in a car parked on the cardeck on Deck 5, but that too was put out by the ship's crew.

[edit] Decks

Engine room
C and economy-class cabins
Cardeck
Cardeck (hydraulic platform that can be lowered to divide the car deck in two giving space for two layers of passenger cars)
Cardeck, A- and B-class cabins
Sauna, hot tubs, swimming pool, A- and B-class cabins
Sea Side Café & Internet, "Air seats", children's playroom, information desk, boarding, Tax-Free shop, Pearl Beauty Shop, B-class cabins, crew accommodations
Viking Buffet, Pub, Food Garden and BBQ House restaurants, conference rooms, Fun Club, Casino
Disco, luxury cabins, suites, crew accommodations, sundeck
Conference rooms, disco, crew accommodations
Crew accommodations, sundeck
Bridge