1961 – 1997 / The ‘Great White Whale’ of the P&O Line, Canberra was one of the last great liners built in the British Isles. Serving in the Falklands War, she had a long and prosperous career that eventually ended at the shipbreakers.
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1962 – 2006 / Also known as Norway / Another French masterpiece, the third France was built at a time when ocean travel was dwindling. When facing an early retirement, she was instead bought and transformed into the cruise ship Norway that would revolutionise the industry and remain in service into the 21st century.
1965 – 1991 / The first of a stylish pair of Italian liners, the Michelangelo was built in a time when passengers preferred air travel. When failing to turn a profit, she was sold for use as an Iranian accommodation ship.
1965 – 1983 / Like her companion Michelangelo, the Raffaello came into service at a time when the demand for passenger ships was rapidly shrinking. Seemingly tightly bound to her older sister, she too was sold to the state of Iran, but was sadly destroyed during an air raid in the Iran-Iraq war.
1966 – 2015 / Also known as Sea Princess (I), Victoria (II), Mona Lisa, and Oceanic II / The largest and fastest, but also final ship built for the Swedish-American Line, the fourth Kungsholm was the crowning achievement of the ‘White Viking Fleet’. When the company folded, she went on to have a career under many different flags, but was sadly beached at Alang in 2015 and dismantled there.
1969 – Present Day / Considered by many to be the last true ocean liner, the Queen Elizabeth 2 was strikingly modern at the time of her launch, but would eventually come to represent the past. Serving almost 40 years with Cunard, the QE2 became a legend in her own time, but was in the end sold off to make way for newer vessels.