Named in honour of Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia, the Kaiser's daughter, the Prinzessin Victoria Luise was the bold idea of HAPAG director Albert Ballin: instead of sending an ocean liner on pleasure trips, he had a ship designed from the outset purely for cruising. She is therefore generally regarded as the first purpose-built cruise ship in the world. Blohm & Voss in Hamburg delivered her in December 1900.
With her clipper bow and elegant lines she looked more like a large private yacht than a liner. She carried first-class passengers only, in around 120 cabins, and offered a library, a gymnasium and even a darkroom for amateur photographers. Her cruises took her to the Mediterranean, Norway, the Baltic and the Caribbean. Her career ended after only six years: on 16 December 1906, approaching Kingston, Jamaica, she struck rocks after a navigational error and was declared a total loss.
