Black Watch (ship)


Black Watch near Cuxhaven, Germany
Career
Name: 1972-1991: Royal Viking Star
1991-1994: Westward
1994-1996: Star Odyssey
1996-present: Black Watch
Operator: 1972-1991: Royal Viking Line
1991-1994: Norwegian Cruise Line
1994-1996: Royal Cruise Line
1996-present: Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines
Builder: Wärtsilä Helsinki New Shipyard, Finland
Yard number: 395
Launched: May 12, 1971
In service: June 26, 1972
Homeport: 1972-1988: Oslo,  Norway
1988-1997: Nassau,  Bahamas
1997-2001: Hvitsten,  Norway
2001-present: Nassau,  Bahamas
Status: In service
General characteristics (as built)
Tonnage: 21,847 gross register tons (GRT)
Displacement: 3,595 metric tons deadweight (DWT)
Length: 177.70 metres
Beam: 25.19 meters
Draught: 7.30 metres
Propulsion: 4 × Wärtsilä-Sulzer 9ZH 40/48 diesels
combined 13240 kW
Speed: 21 knots
Capacity: 539 passengers
General characteristics (after 1981 refit)
Tonnage: 28,221 GRT
Displacement: 5656 DWT
Length: 205.47 metres
Beam: 25.19 metres
Draught: 7.30 meters
Propulsion: 4 × Wärtsilä-Sulzer 9ZH 40/48 diesels
combined 13240 kW
Speed: 21 knots
Capacity: 758 passengers
General characteristics (currently)
Tonnage: 28,221 GRT
Displacement: 5656 DWT
Length: 205.47 metres
Beam: 25.19 metres
Draught: 7.30 metres
Propulsion: 4 × MAN 7L32/40 diesels
combined 14000 kW
Speed: 22 knots
Capacity: 820 passengers

MS Black Watch is a cruise ship, currently owned and operated by Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines. She was built by Wärtsilä Helsinki New Shipyard, Finland for Royal Viking Line as Royal Viking Star, entering service in 1972. She has also sailed for Norwegian Cruise Lines as Westward and Royal Cruise Line as Star Odyssey.

Contents

History

Royal Viking Star

Royal Viking Line was established in 1970 as a joint project between the American businessman Warren Titus and three Norwegian shipping companies (including Kloster Cruises,[1] the owner of Norwegian Cruise Line). The aim of the new company was to offer luxury cruises to destinations around the world as an alternative to Caribbean cruising. For this end the company ordered three purpose-built luxury cruise ships from Wärtsilä Helsinki New Shipyard in Finland.[2]

The first of the new ships, named Royal Viking Star, was launched on May 12, 1971 and entered service on June 26, 1972.[3] Her sisters, Royal Viking Sky and Royal Viking Sea, followed in 1973.[4] The Royal Viking Line brand was clearly a success and the elegantly furbished ships were considered to be amongst the five most luxurious cruise ships in the world at the time, alongside Norwegian America Line's Sagafjord and Vistafjord.[2] In 1981 the Royal Viking Star was lengthened by 27.77 metres at Seebeckwerft, Bremerhaven, Germany.[3]

As the 1980s progressed it became clear that the luxury cruise lines such as Royal Viking could not survive without the support of a larger company, with the operating costs of a handful of luxury ships being too high to be truly profitable.[5] Royal Viking Line was acquired by Kloster Cruises in 1984, but its operations were initially kept separate from those of Norwegian Cruise Line.[4]

Westward / Star Odyssey

In April 1991 the Royal Viking Star was transferred from the Royal Viking Line to the Norwegian Cruise Line and renamed Westward.[3] With NCL the ship was used for cruising from New York to Bermuda and on the Caribbean.[6] In April 1994, the ship was transferred to the fleet of NCL's subsidiary Royal Cruise Line, renamed Star Odyssey and used for cruising around the Mediterranean.[3] Here the ship joined her sister Royal Viking Sea that had sailed as Royal Odyssey since 1991.[7] The career of the Star Odyssey was to prove short however, as Norwegian Cruise Line was facing financial difficulties in the mid-1990s and were forced to sell off various assets.[8] In October 1996 the ship was sold to Fred Olsen.[3]

Black Watch

The ship was renamed Black Watch (a traditional name in Fred Olsen fleet) and entered service for Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines on 15 November 1996. In February 1997 the ship suffered engine problems while outside Marmaris, Greece, and had to be docked for two weeks at Valletta, Malta for repairs.[3] From April 2005 onwards, the ship was docked for two months at Blohm & Voss, Hamburg, Germany. During this time her engines were upgraded and interiors refurbished.[3] In July 2007, the ship was the subject of a Legionnaires Disease outbreak which affected a number of passengers in their seventies and eighties.

Public spaces

The Neptune Lounge is the main show lounge on board, with a stage and dance floor. Entertainment on board includes comedians, musicians and dancers. In the daytime this space is also used for lectures, bingo, etc. Cabaret-style performances can also take place in the Lido Lounge, which also has a dance floor, and the Observatory Lounge above the bridge. The dance shows are usually themed by port destination, from Russian dancing in St Petersburg to Flamenco in the Canary Islands.

The Braemar Room, which occupies the aft-starboard quarter of the original dining room, is a quieter lounge for reading and conversation, with groups of plush chairs and couches and a small bar. The enormous figurehead from the SS Braemar, a former member of the fleet, occupies the inboard wall.

Opposite the Braemar Room on the port side and amidships is the Braemar Garden Cafe (the ship's buffet restaurant) and the Orchid Room, a small dining room offering the same menu as the main restaurant. The latter, known as the Glentenar Restaurant, occupies the space of the ship's pre-expansion restaurant and has buffet stations along its fore and aft walls. There are two seatings for lunch and dinner, and a late-night buffet is offered in the Garden Cafe only.

A small bar called the Piper's Club is decorated with memorabilia of the Black Watch Regiment for which the ship is named.

A cinema, forward on the lowest two passenger decks, is the only double-height space on board. When the ship was built, there was a dedicated chapel just forward of the cinema, but this has been replaced by cabins. Religious services are now held in the cinema.

A fitness center, with sauna and massage room, was added during the ship's Kloster ownership. It is located amidships on the top deck. It is only accessible by outdoor stairways, and features floor-to-ceiling windows on two sides.

Decks

The deck plans provided by Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines only include decks accessible to passengers; therefore the precise layout of decks 1 and 2 is unknown.

  1. Engine room?
  2. Crew accommodations?
  3. Marina Deck: medical center, cabins, lecture theatre
  4. Atlantic Deck: Beauty salon, cabins
  5. Main Deck: Reception, shop, suites, cabins
  6. Lounge Deck: Restaurants, bars, café, showlounge, sundeck, swimming pools
  7. Lido Deck: Suites, cabins, casino, lounge, sundeck
  8. Bridge Deck: Bridge, suites, cabins
  9. Marquee Deck: Observation lounge, bar, swimming pool, suites
  10. Sun Deck: Fitness center, sundeck[9]

References

  1. ^ (Swedish) Fakta om Fartyg: M/S Royal Viking Sky (1973), retrieved 27. 9. 2007
  2. ^ a b Ulrich, Kurt: Monarchs of the Sea - the Great Ocean Liners, pages 209-210. Tauris Parke, year of publishing not stated. ISBN 1 86064 3736
  3. ^ a b c d e f g (Swedish) Fakta om Fartyg: M/S Royal Viking Star (1972), retrieved 27. 9. 2007
  4. ^ a b Simplon Postcards: Royal Viking Star, retrieved 27. 9. 2007
  5. ^ Ulrich, Kurt: Monarchs of the Sea - the Great Ocean Liners, page 218. Tauris Parke, year of publishing not stated. ISBN 1 86064 3736
  6. ^ Miller, William H. Jr: Pictorial Encyclopedia of Ocean Liners, 1860-1994, page 112. Dover Publications, New York, 1995. ISBN 0-486-28137-X
  7. ^ (Swedish) Fakta om Fartyg: M/S Royal Viking Sea (1973), retrieved 27. 9. 2007
  8. ^ Simplon Postcards: Royal Cruise Line, retrieved 27. 9. 2007
  9. ^ Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines: deck plans for Black Watch, retrieved 27. 9. 2007

External links