Accompanied by Prince Rainier III, the former American actress broke the traditional bottle of champagne over the bow of the refurbished ship to symbolize a new life for the 31-year-old liner, officially reborn at the Kaohsiung Shipyard, Taiwan, Republic of China, April 20, 1982.
For Princess Grace, the long trip to the Republic of China was a rendezvous with memory. She and Prince Rainier were, in turn, dinner hosts and dinner guests of ROC Premier Sun Yun-suan. And they took time out to visit many special places, such as the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and The National Palace Museum. But her supreme moment came as she rechristened the newly rebuilt luxury liner. This ship is "close to my heart," she said, recalling the voyage, 26 years ago, which took her from sparkling stardom in Hollywood to a storybook royal marriage.
One of the largest and most modern passenger ships to cross the Atlantic Ocean, the S.S., Constitution, first christened and launched in 1951 in the U.S., was once camouflaged for war duty during World War II. The disguised passenger liner carried whole divisions (about 10,000 soldiers) each trip as a military transport for Allied Forces during the war.
Princess Grace-A fairytale voyage. (File photo)
The movie “An Affair to Remember," starring Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant, was shot aboard the ship, and her elegance and grandeur were displayed magnificently in the film. But after 20 years of service, the S.S. Constitution began losing money and was sold to the Atlantic Far East Lines, part of the C. Y. Tung group of Hong Kong.
While the ship lay idle in waters off Hong Kong, the late C.Y. Tung – who passed away several days before the christening ceremony - never forgot his ambition to return the liner to her former glory.
For complete remodeling and redecoration, the 30,000-ton vessel was towed to Kaohsiung, Taiwan, in February last year. It was put into the hands of the China Shipbuilding Corp. (CSBC), which has an international reputation for technique, quality products and efficient service. The S.S. Constitution was so badly worn that workmen in the shipyard had presumed she would be scrapped.
Instead, she was reconstructed from bows to stern, inside out.
Over one-third of the ship's hull was replaced, "Totally, an estimated 200 tons of steel plate was used," said Chu Huey-chiun, chief engineer of CSBC. Four boilers and two dynamos now operate smoothly after replacement of 40,000 pipe lengths and fittings. The ship will again attain a vaunted cruising speed of 26 knots, a standard for high-class passenger liners.
Princess Grace and Prince Rainier III sport red lei's of welcome as they tread the traditional red carpet (top left); The Rainiers - Not any old country family (top right); The Prince and Princess meet with famed classical artist Chang Dai-chien (bottom). (File photo)
In 30 years, living standards and entertainment styles have changed so greatly as to necessitate rearrangement of the ship's interior to cater to modern desires. Thus, after three months' work, a disco club, instead of a ballroom for the waltz, took shape in the area of the second main floor, near the stern, Next, workmen began restoring a night club and building a swimming pool. “It took us another three months to convert an old hold into a beautiful pool," said Mr. Chu.
After 14 months of work and a cost in excess of US$20 million, the S.S. Constitution has not only been returned to the luxury she knew on her maiden voyage, but has also been transformed into a technologically up-to-date abode. Within her nine stories of accommodations are 423 rooms for up to 1,085 passengers, seven automatic elevators, two swimming pools, one children's recreation center, a night club, a 600-seat movie house, a 700-seat restaurant, and a hospital fit for surgical operations.
As an old Chinese saying has it, “A man looks elegant only after being dressed up; a Buddha appears all-powerful only after being gilded." The S.S. Constitution could not become so magnificent without elaborate redecoration.
A few years ago, people's tastes in interior decoration were relatively conservative, Now, three decades since the ship's original launching, people are again fond of design luxury. After consulting experts from the U.S, and Japan, CSBC decided to redecorate the S.S. Constitution in a classical romantic style.
“We had prior experience working on the S.S. Independence, the sister ship of the S.S. Constitution, so we had little trouble with basic reconstruction. But we really had a difficult time with the redecorating work," commented a CSBC executive. High quality and good prices led first to local materials. But to meet ship fireproofing standards of the U.S Coast Guard, foreign products were finally used for decoration.
Before: Rebuilding the ship (top left); The S.S. Constitution Regained glory for a famed liner (top right); Interior design- A keynote of luxury (bottom).(File photo)
Decorative items were imported from Italy, America, and other countries. Even lamp shades were imported. The cost of decoration approached US$10 million. For instance, the inlaid French windows in the main lobby cost US$10,000 apiece, and long-fiber rugs, on which a lighted cigarette will extinguish automatically, cost at least US$5,000 a-roll. Color TVs, stereos, and sea-to-land direct dial telephones are provided in each guest room.
In the middle of May, the S.S. Constitution was delivered by the Kaohsiung Shipyard to her new owner, American Global Line Inc. Flying an American flag, the ship will offer 7-day cruises off the Hawaiian Islands.
Carrying the memories of Princess Grace and other famous personages, the S.S. Constitution will now serve a new generation of travelers into the future, satisfying the vision of the late C.Y. Tung and repaying the effort and dedication of the men who worked to rebuild her. -By Jennifer Chu.