MV Leisure World

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MV Leisure World
"Skyward" - Miami, 1980.JPG
MS Skyward leaving the port of Miami, 1980
History
Name
  • 1969–1991: Skyward
  • 1991–1992: Shangri-La World
  • 1992: Asean World
  • 1992–1993: Fantasy World
  • 1993–2021: Leisure World
Operator
  • 1969–1991: Norwegian Cruise Line
  • 1991–1995: Johnson Sembawang Shipmanagement
  • 1995–2000: Queenstown Investments Ltd
  • 2000–2021: New Century Cruise Line
Port of registry
BuilderAG Weser Shipyards
Yard number942
Laid downDecember 6, 1968
LaunchedJune 26, 1969
CompletedDecember 19, 1969
In serviceJanuary 3, 1970
Out of service2021
Identification
FateScrapped in Alang
General characteristics
Tonnage16,254 gross register tons (GRT)
Length528 feet
Beam74 feet
Speed16 knots
Capacity
  • 580 (normal)
  • 850 (maximum)
Crew250
Notes[1]

Leisure World was a cruise ship built in 1969 as Skyward for Norwegian Cruise Line. It subsequently served for several years under various companies, both as a cruise ship and later on as a floating casino. It was finally sold for scrap in 2021.

History[]

Skyward was delivered on December 10, 1969, along with her sister, Starward, as the first purpose-built ships of Norwegian Cruise Line.[2]

During a cruise in 1973 many passengers became ill due to infected water. In 1979 a boiler room fire broke out on board the Skyward, and consequently her engines had to be stopped and her passengers transferred to the Starward.

She was operated by her original owners until 1991, when the Skyward was purchased by in Nassau to become the Shangri-la World.[3] Shangri-la World operated cruises out of Singapore. After going through several name changes in the 1990s, the now renamed Leisure World was rebuilt and renovated in Jacksonville, Florida and sold to in 1995. In 2000 she was sold to , who operate her as a casino/entertainment ship out of Penang. As a casino ship, she was one of at least three casino ships (Long Jie(formerly Omar), Royale Star) operating off Batam. Following the opening of the two legal land casinos in Singapore, ship casinos' business suffered badly. As a result, all the casino ships closed down except for MV Leisure World. In 2014, a new casino ship (Ocean Grand) emerged to compete with Leisure World. Unfortunately, she closed down about six months later despite advertisements in "The New Paper" (a Singapore tabloid). Since then, business has picked up at Leisure World.

In April 2021 New Century Group sold the vessel for US$3.59m for scrap to NKD Maritime, with breaking the ship in Alang.[4] The Leisure World was beached on July 11, 2021.

On board features[]

On board Leisure World there is a karaoke lounge, miniature golf course,[5] sauna, arcade, gift shop,[6] fitness center and hair salon.[7]

References[]

  1. ^ Leisure World Statistics
  2. ^ Skyward
  3. ^ SKYWARD (1969) (in swedish)
  4. ^ Gonzalez, Frank (June 3, 2021). "Leisure World, the latest "great classic", sent to Alang for scrapping". Cruises-Info.com. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  5. ^ "Features 1". Archived from the original on September 28, 2010. Retrieved September 18, 2010.
  6. ^ "Features 2". Archived from the original on September 29, 2010. Retrieved September 18, 2010.
  7. ^ "Features 3". Archived from the original on September 28, 2010. Retrieved September 18, 2010.
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