Mona Lisa (August 25, 2009)

The beloved Swedish America Line Kungsholm, now Mona Lisa (below), is seen making what is most likely her last arrival to Singapore in early 2009.  

History

Laid down in 1965 as the Kungsholm by the infamous John Brown shipyard in Scotland (the same shipyard that produced the Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth and QE2), the Kungsholm has had a memorably 43 year career and she is still going strong. The Kungsholm served SAL (Swedish America Line) for 12 years before being sold to P&O. She spent 24 years with P&O as the Sea Princess (P&O), Sea Princess (Princess Cruises), Victoria (P&O) before being sold to Leonardo Shipping in 2002 where she has sailed at the Mona Lisa, Oceanic II and finally back to Mona Lisa.

The Mona Lisa's career has been mostly uneventful with the exception of a brief grounding off of Riga, Latvia in May 2008. Luckily, there was minimal damage and she was able to continue her journey after a short 1 day visit to dry dock. 

Vital Statistics

Design 

The Mona Lisa, when originally sketched out on the drawing boards as the Kungsholm, was designed with the specific intent of a being a running mate and distant sister to the 1957 Gripsholm. Like the Gripsholm, the Kungsholm was given 2 funnels and a graceful curving superstructure but with an updated modern feel.

The primary route for the Kungsholm was Stockholm to New York. As such, her design incorporated several features to prepare her to make the arduous and sometimes hazardous (in the case of the Stockholm vs. Andrea Doria) journey. In the photo below, you can see that a crow's nest (with windows) has been built into her main mast, high above the bridge.

Renovation 

As with many older ships, a certain amount of renovation is need to keep them relevant and competitive to current market trends. The majority of refurbishments focus on modifications to enhance the number of cabins in addition to new passenger facilities. Some renovations can be dramatic and make ships almost unrecognizable. The Athena (ex-Stockholm) is an excellent example of a ship that has been transformed into something that has little resemblance to her past.

The Kungsholm, when bought by P&O in 1978, went under the torch to begin her reconstruction process. She emerged as the Sea Princess in 1979 sailing with the familiar yellow buff (corn colored) funnel of P&O. While the Sea Princess was not as extensively modified as the afore mentioned Stockholm, she did receive some serious cosmetic surgery particularly related to her 2 funnels. Her forward dummy funnel was cut in half and her aft one extended upward and narrowed. If one examines the ship carefully, there are some additional discrete changes from her original Clydebank design.

Below is a photograph of the Mona Lisa's funnel today, proudly featuring one of the largest reproductions of Leonardo da Vinci's famous work. Three quarters of the way up the Mona Lisa image, to the right, you will be able to see the weld joint that marries the bottom portion of the Kungsholm's original funnel to that of P&O extension (which includes the vents upward). 

80 new cabins were added to the aft end of her Veranda Deck which has been renamed and is still currently called, Riviera Deck. Her next highest deck now named Lido Deck, originally the Promenade Deck, was extended aft to incorporate a new lounge added directly above the new cabins on Riviera Deck. Her current deck plans can be viewed here. In the picture below, the 2nd and 3rd decks below the funnel running aft to the glass wind break above her stern, have been modified. 

Current and Outlook

Today, the Mona Lisa is owned by Leonardo Shipping and is being marketed specifically to the German market through Lord Nelson Seereisen. Lord Nelson is offering cruises on the Mona Lisa from now until August 2010. The Mona Lisa does not meet the SOLAS 2010 safety requirements which are in effect from October 2010.

There has been talk of returning the Mona Lisa to her original Kungsholm design (with twin funnels) and converting her into a floating hotel in Göteborg, Sweden. To date, there is not a successful example of a large ship being turned into a hotel. The most famous hotel conversion, the Queen Mary in Longbeach, in has passed through many owners and several bankruptcies. The QE2 is now being pawned off to South Africa instead of her planned conversion in Dubai.

Sadly, we do not see a bright future for the Mona Lisa. Another great ocean liner created the fading haze of the transatlantic trade is soon going to have her last sunset. Lucky are we, to have seen her before she is gone.