So ... what's going on here? Well ... this ship has 2 names, so let's start at the beginning, shall we?
The ship was built in 1998 for Peter Deilmann Cruises and although not the largest and the most sleek design, she did have nice lines on the outside, however ... her interior is maybe the most exciting as she received interior decorations of the highest standard and the style of the 1920's German liner SS Columbus, the ship that later would be scuttled in the Second World War, however that is a story for some other time maybe.
This means that the ship has incredibly luxurious interiors that remind me of the old times when ships were really "the only way to cross", for this reason the ship has a steady following since she was launched and even a German television drama soap called "Das Traumshiff" has been filmed onboard. She had a pretty good career with Peter Deilmann Cruises and even occasionally was used as an entertainment and hospitality ship during two summer Olympic seasons both in 2000 and 2012. In 2015 however she was sold to a US based company for her to be used as a floating university.
However ... Plantours chartered the ship while their own ship was repaired and more interest for charters was found, this made the company decide upon a very strange arrangement, since 2015 she changes names twice every year.
From April to September, the ship is called Deutschland as she was originally named and sails for the German cruise company Phoenix Seereisen. In September each year she switches her name to World Odyssey and sails as a floating university for Semester at Sea, in this period she is occupied by students spending their time at sea and following classes in her many public spaces and meeting rooms.
When I was in Caen in 2021 when the Covid lockdowns were starting to be relaxed a bit, the ship was still docked and locked down in Caen and I managed to get a few shots from a distance, she was at that time named World Odyssey as seen below.
In 2023 on September 8th, she arrived empty in Antwerp to prepare to take the students onboard the next day for her season as World Odyssey and serve as a floating university once again. It was on this arrival that I managed to see her come in and fly my drone over the river Schelde to photograph her arrival. You can see these results below.
THE END ... for now!
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