STANDART'S MARINE TREASURES
Regal Empress was built as the TSS Olympia in Glasgow, Scotland in 1953. She was the first and only ship ever to be built for the Greek Line, as well as being the largest built for Greek interests at the time. Olympia was designed to operate regular transatlantic voyages, between Piraeus and New York, but also became a seasonal cruise ship as of 1961. Olympia was built to accommodate at total of 1,356 passengers, most of these travelling in Tourist Class, carrying only a small number in First Class. She had a number of interchangeable cabins for 146 passengers. The reason she was built as a predominantly Tourist class ship was in response of a demand for cheaper travel during the post-war years. Olympia has eight passenger decks, Sports (Boat) Deck, Sun Deck, Promenade Deck, Upper Deck, Main Deck, A Deck, B Deck, and C Decks. Each ship in the Greek Line fleet was owned by a separate subsidiary company, the registered owners of the Olympia were the Transatlantic Shipping Corporation. She was launched on April 16, 1953, yet she had not as yet been named. This did not occur until October12, 1953, when she was delivered to the Greek Line and was then officially named Olympia.. Read more... |
