History

Grace Line was founded in 1865 by William Russell Grace. The Santa Rosa and her sister Santa Paula were modern and elegant ships built for Grace Line in 1958 to replace their prewar predecessors. The two ships were nicknamed "the Beautiful Sisters".

Design and Construction (1956 - 1958):

In 1956 Grace Line decided to build two new ships to replace the aging 1932 built sisters Santa Rosa and Santa Paula. These new ships were designed by Gibbs & Cox and were named after their predecessors. These two modern and advanced liners were built by Newport News Shipbuilding Company, Newport News, Virginia, USA. The Santa Rosa was launched on the 28th August 1957 and was delivered on the 12th June 1958.

The Grace Line era (1958 - 1971):

The new Santa Rosa and her sister entered service on the New York to Central America service for Grace Line. The Santa Rosa sailed on her maiden voyage from New York on the 26th June 1958. Later they were transferred to the Caribbean service. The two ships were remarkable at the time for having a variety of innovative features, including their interiors being panelled with aluminium as a fireproofing measure. Public rooms and cabins were particularly spacious with all cabins being outside having private facilities. Another innovation on these fine ships was their cargo handling gear for their 4 holds. Especially unique were the side doors fitted to holds 3 and 4 having automatic conveyors to move pallets on and off the ship ensuring rapid turn around at ports.

In 1970 Grace Lines merged with Prudential Lines to become Prudential - Grace Lines. The Santa Rosa soldiered on for a short while. But in 1971 the ships were withdrawn from service and laid up at Hampton Roads in Virginia and put up for sale.

The Wilderness Years (1971 - 1990):

The Santa Rosa was handed to the US Department of Commerce in 1975. In 1976 she was sold to the Vintero Sales Corporation and renamed Samos Sky. She was briefly used for cruising between La Guaira to the Caribbean and Florida. However she was taken out of service for a refit but never re-emerged and instead was laid up at Baltimore. In 1989 she was sold again to Coral Cruise Lines Inc. of New York who had her towed from Baltimore to Greece in December 1989. She arrived at Chalkis in Greece in March 1990 where she was to be modernised. She was first renamed Pacific Sun, then Diamond Island.

The Regency Cruises era (1990 - 1996):

Later in 1990 she was sold again to the Greek Lelakis Group who commenced an extensive rebuild that transformed her appearance totally. When she re-emerged in 1991 she looked totally different with a new superstructure although retaining her original hull and amazingly her steam turbines. She was renamed Regent Rainbow and started cruising with Regency Cruises. She soon became a popular ship, but sadly Regency had overstretched with their large fleet and went bankrupt in 1995. Regent Rainbow was arrested in Tampa, Florida, USA on the 27th November 1995.

The Louis Cruise Lines era (1996 - Present):

In December 1996 she was sold to Louis Cruise Lines based in Malta and is mostly chartered out.

Charter to Thompson Cruises (1996 - 2007):

For most part she was chartered to Thompson Cruises and sailed for the British cruise market. Although much rebuilt the former Santa Rosa continues in service and is likely to until the SOLAS 2010 regulations come in.

Charter to Creative Cruising (2007 - 2008):

From November 2007 to February 2008, the Emerald will be on charter to an Australian cruise company "Creative Cruising". She will operate a positioning "line voyage" from Rome to Sydney departing on the 3rd November 2007. Upon arrival in Sydney on the 12th December 2007 she will undertake a circumnavigation of Australia including visits to Bali and Singapore. Then on returning to Sydney on the 20th January 2008 she will return to Europe arriving in Rome on the 29th February 2008.