Cost $100 million Length 185 m Launched 16 October 1981 Builder Dubigeon-Normandie S.A. | Yard number 164 Construction started 6 April 1981 Beam 27 m | |
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Name 1982–1985 Scandinavia
1985–1990 Stardancer
1990–2002 Viking Serenade
2002–2015 Island Escape
2015–Present Ocean Gala Owner 1982–1985 DFDS
1985–1987 Sundance Cruises
1987–1988 Admiral Cruises
1988–1990 Royal Admiral Cruises
1990–2002 Wilh. Wilhelmsen
2002–2015 Island Cruises
2015-present Cruise Holdings Inc Operator 1982–1983 Scandinavian World Cruises
1983–1985 DFDS Seaways
1985–1987 Sundance Cruises
1987–1988 Admiral Cruises
1988–1990 Royal Admiral Cruises
1990–2002 Royal Caribbean International
2002–2009 Island Cruises
2009–2015 Thomson Cruises
2015-present US Shipmanagers Port of registry 1982–1991 Nassau, Bahamas
1991–2002 Monrovia, Liberia
2002 onwards Nassau, Bahamas | ||
MV Ocean Gala is a floating hotel that was formerly owned and operated by Thomson Cruises as the cruise ship MS Island Escape under their Island Cruises brand. She was built in 1982 by Dubigeon-Normandie S.A., Nantes, France for Scandinavian World Cruises (a subsidiary of DFDS) as the cruiseferry MS Scandinavia. At the time of her construction, she was the largest cruiseferry in the world. After being withdrawn from Scandinavian World Cruises, she briefly sailed for DFDS Seaways. Between 1985 and 1990, she sailed for Sundance Cruises and Admiral Cruises as MS Stardancer. In 1990, the ship was sold to Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and renamed MS Viking Serenade. Between January and June 1991, she was converted into a genuine cruise ship at the former Southwest Marine Shipyard in San Diego, California. The car deck was turned into a passenger deck. In 2002, she was transferred to the fleet of Royal Caribbean's new subsidiary Island Cruises. Island Escape joined the fleet of Thomson Cruises in April 2009, but retained her name and continued with her more informal style of buffet restaurants and relaxed dress code.
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Island Escape operated in the Canary Islands and the Western Mediterranean under Thomson Cruises. In November 2010, Thomson was scheduled to spend a further £4 million in refurbishing Island Escape. Thomson Cruises has operated the Island Escape under their all-inclusive Island Cruises since starting March 2013. In 2016, Thomson cruises will replace Island Escape with Splendour of the Seas.
It was erroneously reported on 5 December 2015 that she has been sold to Diamond Cruise, a startup cruise line aiming to operate out of Shanghai.
On 3 December 2015, it was reported by Cruise and Ferry that the vessel was sold and on her way to Brest, France for dry-dock, to be renamed Ocean Gala.
As of February 2016, Ocean Gala is offered as a floating accommodation facility through the website Floating Accommodations, managed by US Shipmanagers, a Florida company.
It was announced in August 2016 that the ship would not be used for Floating Accommodation (due to the reduction of the refugee crisis in Sweden) and the vessel had been put back on the market for either sale or charter. The vessel is currently in Denmark and has recently completed its five-year survey with class society DNVGL.
Asylum hotel
In February 2016, it was announced that the Swedish Migration Agency have signed a contract with US Shipmanagers to use the Ocean Gala as an asylum hotel for 1790 asylum seekers. Initially, permission is sought for a 4 year stint 2016-2020 in the Harbour of Härnösand.
Ocean Gala arrived to Utansjöverkets hamn at 16:00 local time on 2016-06-14. A police report was filed against the owner of Utansjöverkets hamn by Härnösand Municipality, claiming the facility is missing ISPS classification.
According to media, the compensation from the Swedish Migration Agency at 450 SEK/asylum seeker will generate 805 500 SEK/day if the asylum hotel is operated at full capacity.
The Asylum hotel plans did not come to fruition and the ship was put back on the market for either sale or charter in August 2016.
To avoid increased costs for heating and since "Ocean Gala" does not comply with Finnish-Swedish Ice Class Rules, the vessel left the port 2016-11-03. On its way to Esbjerg, a short stop was made in Tallinn to refuel.
Documentary
Island Escape was featured in a mini-series TV documentary which consisted of 10 episodes. The documentary was initially broadcast in the UK during 2002. Repeats of the documentary were later shown on Bravo. The documentary followed the working lives of crew members and gave insight into what it was like to work on a cruise ship.