While each new year ushers in a new class of cruise ships, it also graduates some of its oldest ones.
In 2008, the Queen Elizabeth 2 made its final journey, to Dubai, where the 40-year-old Cunard ocean liner will spend its retirement as a floating hotel at the Palm Jumeirah development.
The QE2 was the most famous ship to leave the world's cruise fleet last year, but it was not alone. Many ships retire in obscurity and are mostly sold for scrap.
According to ship historian Peter Knego, among the most memorable of ships that left the seas in 2008 was the Topaz, best known for becoming Carnival Cruise Lines' second ship, the Carnivale, in 1975.
Knego said that because of the popularity of the Carnivale and her former running mate, the Mardi Gras, which was scrapped in 2004, Carnival became the behemoth corporation it is today.
The Topaz is already on a beach in Alang, India, Knego said, where many ships end up being scrapped. It joins the Norway, the 1962-built ship that last sailed for Norwegian Cruise Line several years ago but was scrapped in 2008. Also scrapped last year was the Madagascar, formerly the Stella Maris II. The vessel was the last of the ships that sailed for Sun Line, one of the original Greek luxury lines.
This year, among the ships that will bid farewell is the Maxim Gorkiy, the 40-year-old vessel that was slated to enter service for the rebirth of Orient Line this spring. Instead, German newspapers have reported that after Orient's failure to launch, the ship was sold for scrap, despite a movement to preserve the vessel, which was built in 1969 as the Hamburg.
Retiring with the Maxim Gorkiy will be the Saga Rose, built in 1965 as Norwegian America Line's deluxe Sagafjord and now operated by the U.K.'s Saga Holidays; Fred Olsen Cruise Line's Black Prince, a former ferry built in 1966; and the Regal Empress, built in 1953. The Empress made headlines recently as the ship that was supposed to host a cruise to the presidential inauguration last week; it was ultimately canceled due to low ticket sales.
According to Knego, the Regal Empress, which currently operates roundtrip cruises from Fort Lauderdale to the Bahamas, is the last truly classic passenger ship based in U.S. waters, and one of the most successful cruise ships of all time.
"Originally the Greek Lines' flagship Olympia, she is one of the last vessels afloat with real wood paneling, etched glass, polished brass and nickel fittings," Knego said. "When she finishes up, it will be a very sad day for people who love older ships. But time marches on, and Regal Empress has had a remarkably long and brilliant career."
For more information on these ships and others, check out Knego's blog, Sea Treks, at www.maritimematters.blogspot.com.