Stockholm / Astoria — Adieu: Bonjour — L’histoire

Stockholm / Astoria — Adieu: Bonjour — L’histoire

Ahoy!

As someone who lectures on maritime history aboard ships—most recently this past March aboard Koningsdam, and with upcoming voyages this November on Holland America’s Oosterdam and in December aboard Seabourn Encore—I’m often asked: What’s the oldest passenger ship still sailing today?

Now, with the Astoria—better known to maritime buffs as the SS Stockholm—finally on her final voyage to the breakers in Ghent, it’s time to revisit that question and see which venerable vessels still carry passengers either on ocean, river, lake or sometimes preserved on dry land. 

Farewell to the Last of Her Kind: SS Stockholm / MV Astoria:
Launched in 1948 as the Swedish American Line’s SS Stockholm, this plucky ship had one of the longest and most storied careers in maritime history. Most infamous for her 1956 collision with the Andrea Doria, she survived—and thrived—long after most of her peers were scrapped.

Renamed many times over the decades—Volkerfreundschaft, Völkerfreundschaft, Italia I, Italia Prima, Valtur Prima, Caribe, and finally Astoria—she sailed under the flags of multiple countries, bearing witness to changing fashions, technologies, and travel habits. Right up until her retirement in 2020 (another victim of COVID), she was still sailing revenue cruises. For years, she was the “World’s Oldest Cruise Ship.” With her passing into history, we turn the spotlight to the handful of remaining classic passenger vessels.

So, What’s the Oldest Ocean-Going Passenger Ship Still Sailing?:
If we define “sailing” as regularly carrying paying passengers on open-water cruises, the honor now belongs to a few unique and highly specialized seafaring ladies:

Sea Cloud – Launched 1931
This breathtaking four-masted barque—originally built as the private yacht of heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post—still sails today as a luxury cruise ship. Operated by Sea Cloud Cruises, she offers voyages in the Caribbean and Mediterranean. With her elegant woodwork, white sails, and old-world charm, Sea Cloud remains the queen of classic maritime travel. 

Hebridean Princess – Launched 1964
A small, diesel-powered cruise ship once chartered by Queen Elizabeth II herself, Hebridean Princess offers intimate luxury voyages around the rugged isles of Scotland. Though modest in size, her pedigree and authenticity make her a floating time capsule of mid-20th-century British shipbuilding.

Sailing In Memory: Afloat and Landlocked
Several grand dames of the sea are still with us—but they’re no longer under steam or carrying passengers. Listed here chronologically by launch year, they remain powerful symbols of their eras:

MV Doulos Phos (1914)Originally launched as SS Medina in 1914 from Virginia’s Newport News Shipbuilding  (just down the road from my Richmond home, MV Doulos Phos stands as a living testament to maritime history. Built as a fruit-and-vegetable cargo vessel, she later served wartime convoys in WWI, then transitioned to a passenger liner named Roma in 1948 and Franca C in 1953 before being acquired by the German mission group Gute Bücher für Alle in 1977. Rechristened MV Doulos, she sailed as a floating bookstore and library for 33 years, visiting over 100 countries, carrying nearly 20 million visitors, and earning the Guinness title as the world’s oldest active ocean-going passenger ship upon her decommissioning in December 2009.

In 2010, Singaporean entrepreneur Eric Saw purchased her and over the next decade orchestrated a colossal restoration: towed to Batam in 2013, reinforced with bracing for dry-land berthing on a reclaimed “anchor-shaped” islet off Bintan Resort, Indonesia and converted into a boutique hotel. Now up-on-dry land, she is nevertheless still referred to as “The Grand Old Lady of the Seas.” Opened in mid‑2019, the Doulos Phos Ship Hotel now offers 104–105 sea‑view cabins, a maritime museum featuring her original bridge and engine room pool, spa, gym, and multiple dining venues. Alfredo and I are planning an “Asian Adventure” in November / December of 2026 to celebrate my 65th birthday. A night here just might be on the itinerary!

Hikawa Maru (1930): 
Often called the “Queen of the Pacific,” Japan’s Hikawa Maru was built for the NYK Line and sailed the Yokohama–Seattle route before serving as a hospital ship during World War II. Returned to passenger service after the war, she now rests in Yokohama as a beautifully preserved floating museum—a rare and elegant survivor of prewar transpacific travel. 

T/S Queen Mary (1933):
One of my favorites—and one on whose decks I can’t wait to trod. The T/S Queen Mary—not to be confused with the famous ocean liner moored in Long Beach—is the last surviving steam turbine excursion vessel of its kind in the world, built in the same lineage as the pioneering T/S King Edward, the world’s first turbine passenger steamer. Affectionately known as “the Glasgow Boat,” she holds a cherished place in Scottish maritime culture, having defined generations of river cruises and post-war coastal leisure travel. During World War II, she remained in active service, transporting mail, workers, and even dignitaries such as King George VI, Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother), the young Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, and Eleanor Roosevelt. In 1935, she was briefly renamed T/S Queen Mary II to allow Cunard to christen their transatlantic flagship Queen Mary, with the Clyde steamer receiving a royal portrait in exchange. Now under restoration, the T/S Queen Mary is expected to return to passenger service by summer or fall of 2025, marking a triumphant comeback for one of Scotland’s most beloved historic ships.

RMS Queen Mary (1936):
A floating cathedral of Art Deco grandeur, the Queen Mary rests permanently in Long Beach, California, serving as a hotel, museum, and tribute to the golden age of ocean liners. Launched in 1936, she carried royalty, refugees, soldiers, and stars during a service career that spanned prewar luxury and wartime heroism. Since her retirement in 1967, she has remained one of the world’s most iconic and instantly recognizable ships—her silhouette a permanent part of Southern California’s skyline.  While she is not my favorite liner of “The Golden Age”, she is – I believe — the quintessential ocean liner. And, if only ONE of those greats had to be preserved, “The Mary” and her life, legacy and legend makes her the definer of an era.

SS United States (1951):
Once the pride of postwar America and the holder of the Blue Riband for the fastest transatlantic crossing, the SS United States now awaits a dramatic final chapter. When I was 10 years old, my father pulled our small motorboat right up next to her, she was sharing berth space, post retirement,  in Newport, News Virginia (her place of nativity) next to the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy. After decades laid up in Philadelphia and valiant preservation efforts, she was quietly towed to Mobile, Alabama in early 2025. There, pending final environmental approvals, she is slated to be purposefully sunk off the coast of Florida, becoming the world’s largest artificial reef—a poignant and fitting transformation for a ship that once sliced through the Atlantic like a missile. And, of course, while many of us (myself included) worked hard to preserve her as a floating museum, being religiously returned to the ocean — even below her — for millions of people on which to dive, and wonder at her beauty, is an honorable testimony. My scuba tanks will be ready!

MS Rotterdam V (1959):
The beloved former flagship of Holland America Line, Rotterdam V now enjoys a peaceful second life as a floating hotel and cultural center in her namesake city. Sleek, classic, and perfectly proportioned, she represents the bridge between the ocean liner and cruise eras. Fully open to the public, she remains one of the most intact examples of mid-century ship design, and a living tribute to Dutch maritime excellence. Of all the ships to bear that storied name, truly I believe, “V” was the lovelist. 

NS Savannah (1962):
One of the most fascinating vessels ever built, the Savannah was the world’s first nuclear-powered passenger ship—an atomic-age experiment that symbolized peace through innovation. Though never commercially viable, she was a marvel of engineering and remains today a in Baltimore, preserved as a tribute to midcentury technological optimism. Alfredo and I were lucky enough to get a guided tour of her earlier this month. Legions of volunteers continue to work on her complete restoration and hopefully — (knock on wooden decks) — a permanent home can be found for her.

RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 (1967):
Once the jet-age successor to Cunard’s legendary queens, the QE2 is now preserved as a floating hotel in Dubai. Sleek, powerful, and proudly British, she served from 1969 until 2008, carrying celebrities, immigrants, royalty, and cruise passengers alike. Her current life—quiet but dignified—is a reminder of her unmatched legacy as a liner-turned-world-cruiser that spanned four decades of service. I’ll never forget seeing her in 1998 at anchor off  Malé in the Maldives. Glorious.

Expedition Elders – Still Under Sail, Still Working:
There are also some magnificent older vessels still working under sail—vessels that may not offer grand staircases or chandeliers, but still deliver wind-in-your-hair romance and unfiltered adventure on the open sea.

Noorderlicht (1910):
Originally built in Flensburg, Germany, as a lightship for the Baltic, Noorderlicht was later repurposed into a two-masted topsail schooner. Today, she operates Arctic expedition voyages around Svalbard, offering guests the chance to explore glacial landscapes under canvas and stars. With accommodations for just 20 passengers, she brings travelers as close to the natural rhythms of the sea as possible—authentic, intimate, and unforgettable.

Rembrandt van Rijn (1922):
This handsome Dutch schooner started life as a herring lugger before being transformed into a three-masted passenger sailing ship in the early 1990s. Fully refitted for polar waters, she now cruises the Arctic and Antarctic with Oceanwide Expeditions. With room for about 30 adventurous souls, Rembrandt van Rijn combines the durability of a working vessel with the rugged charm of historic sail, inviting guests to navigate ice floes and remote fjords like early explorers.

These aren’t luxury liners, but they are fully certified, ocean-going passenger vessels, crewed by seasoned sailors and expedition guides, and offering a rare chance to experience the polar regions the way the earliest adventurers did—by wind, by will, and by wonder.

What’s in a Definition?:
The end of the Stockholm/Astoria closes a chapter. She was the last classic post-war ocean liner—diesel-powered, transatlantic-capable, and still actively carrying passengers. With her gone, the term “oldest cruise ship still sailing” becomes more nuanced.

If we’re strict about size and engine type, the Sea Cloud (1931) becomes the reigning monarch. If we include small expedition or coastal ships, the Noorderlicht (1910) takes the title. And if we look to ships still afloat but not in service, the venerable Funchal may be the last siren-of-the seas awaiting a second act.

Final Thoughts:
In my “LinerLore” maritime history presentations (both on land, and especially at sea), I often speak of the romance, resilience, and reinvention of these ships. They carry not just passengers, but memory. With the Stockholm’s long journey finally ending in Belgium, we lose more than steel—we lose a survivor of a lost age of seafaring elegance and drama.

But as long as vessels like Sea Cloud, Hebridean Princess, and Noorderlicht still answer the call of the sea, that spirit lives on. See you ’round the promenade deck!
— David Eugene Perry

David’s Upcoming “LinerLore” maritime history presentations aboard ship:
Holland America Oosterdam: November 2 – 17, 2025 /  Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale
Seabourn Encore: December 12 – 29, 2025 / Panama City, Panama to Honolulu, Hawai’i