Built by Vickers-Armstrongs of Walker-on-Tyne, England in 1961, the Empress of Canada was a slightly larger cousin to the two identical Empress's that preceded her. The Empress of Canada was designed to be used on the companies transatlantic route between Montreal and Liverpool in the summer months and cruises out of New York to warm water destinations during the winter.. The vessel sailed for the Canadian Pacific until 1972 when she was sold to Carnival Cruises, which operated the ship until 1993 when she was sold to the Greek interests. She was sold for scrap in 2003 after 42 years of service. Interestingly enough her external appearance changed little throughout her career.
The Empress of Canada as it appeared between 1961 and 1967. Depicted here as it appeared in Malta, March 1962, on a 62 day cruise out of New York
In 1967, the Canadian Pacific updated its corporate image. The companies trains, planes, trucks and ships received the "multimark" logo in a variety of bright colors.
In 1972 the ship was sold to the Carnival Cruise Line and reflagged to a Panamanian registry. During her time with Carnival two sets of cargo cranes were removed and bow thruster was installed 1990. Carnival sold the vessel in 1993
The vessel operated briefly and unsuccessfully as casino ship between 1994 and 1995 before the its owner merged with the Epirotiki Line to form Royal Olympic Cruises. The ship was named Apollon and resumed cruising in 1995.
During her 2000 overhaul she was repainted one final time. She would make her final revenue voyage in August 2001, the cruise market crashed shortly after and the vessel found itself laid up. It would remain that way throughout 2002 and it was determined that a major refit would be needed for any return to service. In the end there would be no refit and no return to service, and she was sold to Indian ship breakers in 2003, and on November 12, 2003 she departed for one last voyage to India. She arrived on December 4th and was broken apart.