For this end the company ordered three purpose-built luxury cruise ships from Wärtsilä Helsinki New Shipyard in Finland.

[7] The first of the new ships, named Royal Viking Star, was launched on 12 May 1971 and entered service on 26 June 1972.

[7] In 1981 Royal Viking Star was lengthened by 27.77 metres (91 ft 1 in) at Seebeckwerft, Bremerhaven, West Germany.

[13][14] The career of 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.

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.

[8] In July 2007, the ship was the subject of a Legionnaires' disease outbreak which affected a number of passengers in their seventies and eighties.

[24] In June 2022, Fred Olsen secured a last-minute stay of execution for its former vessel seeking its return to Turkey to be properly recycled per its agreement of sale.