M/S Silja Serenade

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M/S Silja Serenade sailing past Suomenlinna sea fortress through the Kustaanmiekka strait

M/S Silja Serenade is a cruiseferry owned by the Finnish shipping company Silja Line and operated on a route connecting Helsinki, Finland to Stockholm, Sweden via Mariehamn. She was built in 1990 by Masa Yards, Turku, Finland.

The ship was ordered on October 26, 1987 by Effoa for Silja Line traffic. The ship had a revolutionary interior layout, a promenade-street running alongside the central axis of the ship for nearly her full length. This allowed amongst other things for a larger number of cabins with windows (today such promenades are found in the most recent ships of Royal Caribbean and Color Line). Before the ship was completed Silja Line's owners Effoa and Johnson Line merged to form EffJohn, and it was to EffJohn that the Silja Serenade was delivered on November 15, 1990. On November 18 she began service on the route Helsinki - Stockholm route. Her original homeport was Helsinki, but in 1992 she was reflagged to the Alandian shipregistry, her homeport altered to Mariehamn. This allowed Silja to make more money from her onboard slot machines and casino, due to legislation differences between Aland and the Finnish mainland. When Silja Line acquired M/S Silja Europa in 1993 the Serenade was moved to the Turku - Mariehamn - Stockholm route. Serenade somewhat ill-suited for this route, her accommodations were not meant for daytime crossings and reportedly she steered poorly in the narrow archipelagoes of Stockholm, Aland and Turku. In 1995 it was decided that the Europa and Serenade switch routes, returning the Serenade to her original route, sailing parallel to her sister ship Silja Symphony. In order to keep tax free sales on the Stockholm - Helsinki ships when the EU changed its tax free legislation, a stop at Mariehamn was added to the route in July 1999. In early 2006, just prior to the sale of Silja Line to Tallink, Serenade and her sister had their interiors extensively rebuilt at Luonnonmaan telakka, Naantali.

There are some minor differences between the Serenade and her sister. The Serenade's funnel is constructed of steel whereas the Syhmphony's is made of aluminium. There are also some purely cosmetic differences: the outer decks of the Serenade are painted green (blue on Symphony), the light box with the ship's name is blue (white on Symphony) and the seal's eye in the funnel is white with a blue outline (solid blue on Symphony).

[edit] Decks

Engine room
Engine room, Tourist II-class cabins
Car deck, crew accommodations
Car deck, crew accommodations
Spa, driver's club, Seaside and Tourist II-class cabins
Conference rooms, Bistro Maxime, Café Orient, Buffet Serenade, Tax-free shops
Atlantic Palace night club & casino, tax-free shops, Mundo; el Capitan; Happy Lobster and Bon Vivant restaurants, Tapas & Seafood bar, Old Port Pub, Siljaland children's playroom
Atlantic Palace night club, Seaside and Promenade-class cabins
Suites, Seaside, Promenade and Tourist I -class cabins.
Commodore lounge, Commodore, Seaside, Promenade and Tourist I -class cabins.
Silja suite, Commodore, Seaside, Promenade and Tourist I -class cabins.
Sundeck, Sunflower Oasis sauna, swimming pool and hot tubs, crew accommodations
Bali disco, chill lounge, Silja Dream Theatre cinema