MS Island Escape was a cruise ship originally built as the cruiseferry MS Scandinavia in 1981.
The ship was renamed MS Stardancer in 1985 and Viking Serenade in 1990 before being converted to a cruise ship in 1991. She was renamed again as MS Island Escape in 2002, again as MS Ocean Gala in 2015, and lastly as MS Ocean Gala 1, before being scrapped in 2018.
History
She was built in 1982 by Dubigeon-Normandie S.A., Nantes, France for Scandinavian World Cruises, a subsidiary of DFDS, as the cruiseferry Scandinavia. At the time of her construction, she was the largest cruiseferry in the world. After being withdrawn from Scandinavian World Cruises, she briefly sailed for DFDS Seaways. Between 1985 and 1990, she sailed for Sundance Cruises and Admiral Cruises as Stardancer.
In 1990, the ship was sold to Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and renamed Viking Serenade. Between January and June 1991, she was converted into a full-time cruise ship at the former[7] Southwest Marine Shipyard in San Diego, California. The car deck was turned into a passenger deck.[1]