Palm Beach Princess

The Palm Beach Princess is a gambling ship that sails out of the Port of Palm Beach twice daily for a cruise to nowhere. The ship was originally a 5,171GRT 50-car passenger ferry. She was built by Wärtsila in Helsinki, Finland in 1964 for the Finland SS Co. as their first motor passenger ship under the name Ilmatar. It operated for the Silja Line, operating both as a cruise ship and a ferry. In 1973 she was enlarged by adding additional passenger spaces and 2 new engines were installed. This increased her size to 7,355GRT.In 1979, she received a refit which made her into a cruise ship. The refit included a swimming pool,gym, and a casino. In 1980, the Finland SS Co. sold the ship to the Vesteraalens Steamship Co., which operated her as a Norwegian cruise ship operating under the same name. Operations ceased in 1982. She was laid up from 1982 until 1984, when Crown Cruise Lines purchased her and renamed her the Viking Princess. She operated cruises out of Palm Beach,Florida to the Bahamas. In 1997, she was sold to the MJQ corporation and was converted into a gambling ship. She is currently operated by the Palm Beach Cruises company as the Palm Beach Princess. She sails out of the same port as she had when she was the Viking Princess.