MS Black Watch (1971)

Royal Viking Star in Bermuda in 1989.

Royal Viking Line was established in 1970 as a joint project between the American businessman Warren Titus and three Norwegian shipping companies (including Kloster Cruises,[3] the owner of Norwegian Cruise Line). The aim of the new company was to offer luxury cruises to destinations around the world as an alternative to Caribbean cruising. For this end the company ordered three purpose-built luxury cruise ships from Wärtsilä Helsinki New Shipyard in Finland.[4]

The first of the new ships, named Royal Viking Star, was launched on May 12, 1971 and entered service on June 26, 1972.[5] Her sisters, Royal Viking Sky and Royal Viking Sea, followed in 1973.[6] The Royal Viking Line brand was clearly a success and the elegantly furnished ships were considered to be amongst the five most luxurious cruise ships in the world at the time, alongside Norwegian America Line's Sagafjord and Vistafjord.[4] In 1981 the Royal Viking Star was lengthened by 27.77 metres at Seebeckwerft, Bremerhaven, Germany.[5]

As the 1980s progressed it became clear that the luxury cruise lines such as Royal Viking could not survive without the support of a larger company, with the operating costs of a handful of luxury ships being too high to be truly profitable.[7] Royal Viking Line was acquired by Kloster Cruises in 1984, but its operations were initially kept separate from those of Norwegian Cruise Line.[6]

Black Watch in Liverpool in 2015.

In April 1991 the Royal Viking Star was transferred from the Royal Viking Line to the Norwegian Cruise Line and renamed Westward.[5] With NCL the ship was used for cruising from New York City to Bermuda and on to the Caribbean.[8] In April 1994, the ship was transferred to the fleet of NCL's subsidiary Royal Cruise Line, renamed Star Odyssey and used for cruising around the Mediterranean.[5] Here the ship joined her sister Royal Viking Sea that had sailed as Royal Odyssey since 1991.[9] The career of the Star Odyssey was to prove short however, as Norwegian Cruise Line was facing financial difficulties in the mid-1990s and were forced to sell off various assets.[10] In October 1996 the ship was sold to Fred Olsen.

The ship was renamed Black Watch (a traditional name in Fred Olsen fleet) and entered service for Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines on 15 November 1996. In February 1997 the ship suffered engine problems while outside Marmaris, Turkey, and had to be docked for two weeks at Valletta, Malta for repairs.[5] From April 2005 onwards, the ship was docked for two months at Blohm & Voss, Hamburg, Germany. During this time her engines were upgraded and interiors refurbished.[5] In July 2007, the ship was the subject of a Legionnaires Disease outbreak which affected a number of passengers in their seventies and eighties.[11] A norovirus outbreak infected 130 passengers and crew during a cruise to Scandinavia in September 2013.[12]