In 1994 she was renamed Pride of Cherbourg2 for P&O and continued under this name until she was sold to El Salam Maritime in 2002.

In 1984, Townsend Thoresen moved its western channel passenger services from Southampton to Portsmouth.

After two years sailing from Portsmouth, Viking Valiant was sent to Bremerhaven in 1986 to be enlarged in a process known as jumboisation.

The enlarged vessel re-entered service later that same year and sailed between Portsmouth and Le Havre.

She continued to sail under that name until 1994 when she was transferred to the Portsmouth-Cherbourg route as a result of the larger Pride of Le Havre 2 and MS Pride of Portsmouth being chartered for the Le Havre route.