MS Silja Serenade

MS "Silja Serenade" is a cruiseferry owned by the Estonian shipping company Tallink Group [ [http://www.tallink.com/mainMenu/company/corporateStructure/ Tallink corparate structure, retrieved 2008-09-08] ] , operated under their Silja Line brand on a route connecting Helsinki, Finland to Stockholm, Sweden via Mariehamn. She was built in 1990 by Masa Yards, Turku, Finland.

History

The ship was ordered on October 26 1987 by Effoa for Silja Line traffic. The ship had a revolutionary interior layout, a promenade-street running alongside the central axis of the ship for nearly her full length. This allowed amongst other things for a larger number of cabins with windows (today such promenades are found in the most recent ships of Royal Caribbean and Color Line). Before the ship was completed Silja Line's owners Effoa and Johnson Line merged to form EffJohn, and it was to EffJohn that the Silja Serenade was delivered on November 15, 1990. On November 18 she began service on the route Helsinki - Stockholm route. Her original homeport was Helsinki, but in 1992 she was reflagged to the Ålandian shipregistry, her homeport altered to Mariehamn. This allowed Silja to make more money from her onboard slot machines and casino, due to legislation differences between Åland and the Finnish mainland. When Silja Line acquired MS "Silja Europa" in 1993 the Serenade was moved to the Turku - Mariehamn - Stockholm route. The Serenade was somewhat ill-suited for this route, her accommodations were not designed for daytime crossings and reportedly she steered poorly in the narrow archipelagoes of Stockholm, Åland and Turku. In 1995 it was decided that the Europa and Serenade switch routes, returning the Serenade to her original route, again sailing parallel to her sister ship Silja Symphony. In order to keep tax free sales on the Stockholm - Helsinki ships when the EU changed its tax free legislation, a stop at Mariehamn was added to the route in July 1999. In early 2006, just prior to the sale of Silja Line to Tallink, Serenade and her sister had their interiors extensively rebuilt at Luonnonmaan telakka, Naantali.

There are some minor differences between the Serenade and her sister. The Serenade's funnel is constructed of steel whereas the Symphony's is made of aluminium. There are also some purely cosmetic differences: the outer decks of the Serenade are painted green (blue on Symphony), the light box with the ship's name is blue (white on Symphony) and the seal's eye in the funnel is white with a blue outline (solid blue on Symphony).

Decks

# Engine room
# Engine room, Tourist II-class cabins
# Car deck, crew accommodations
# Car deck, crew accommodations
# Spa, driver's club, Seaside and Tourist II-class cabins, crew accommodations
# Conference rooms, Bistro "Maxime", "Café Orient", Buffet "Serenade", Tax-free shops
# "Atlantic Palace" night club & casino, tax-free shops, "el Capitan", "Happy Lobster" and "Bon Vivant" restaurants, "Mundo" Tapas & Seafood bar, "Old Port" Pub, "Siljaland" children's playroom
# "Atlantic Palace" night club, Seaside and Promenade-class cabins
# Suites, Seaside, Promenade and Tourist I -class cabins.
# Commodore lounge, Commodore, Seaside, Promenade and Tourist I -class cabins.
# Silja suite, Commodore, Seaside, Promenade and Tourist I -class cabins.
# Sundeck, "Sunflower Oasis" sauna, swimming pool and hot tubs, crew accommodations
# Bridge, "Bali" disco, "Chill lounge", "Silja Dream Theatre" cinema

ee also

*Largest ferries of Europe

References

External links

*http://www.silja.com
* [http://www.siljaweb.com/ SILJAweb.com]
* [http://www.faktaomfartyg.se/silja_serenade_1990.htm Silja Serenade at Fakta om Fartyg] (in Swedish)
* [http://www.valkeatlaivat.net/ Valkeat Laivat / The White Ships] (in Finnish)
* [http://www.serenetti.urli.net/ Serenetti] (in Finnish)

de:M/S Silja Serenade
fi:M/S Silja Serenade
sv:M/S Silja Serenade