As Stockholm, she was best known for an accidental collision with Andrea Doria in July 1956, resulting in the sinking of the latter ship and 46 fatalities off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, United States.

[7] When delivered, the ship would replace the aging SS Drottningholm, and run an alternating transatlantic service with MS Gripsholm.

[6] She made her maiden voyage on February 21, 1948, under the command of Captain Waldemar Jonsson, from Gothenburg arriving in New York on March 1.

A 1953 refit expanded Stockholm's capacity to 548 people by infilling the outdoor aft and forward end of "A" Deck with passenger cabins.

[11] On the night of July 25, 1956, at 11:10 p.m., in heavy fog in the North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Nantucket, Stockholm and Andrea Doria of the Italian Line collided in what was to become one of history's most notorious maritime disasters.

[12] Although most passengers and crew survived the collision, the larger Andrea Doria luxury liner capsized and sank the following morning.

However, a number of ships, including SS Ile de France, responded and provided assistance, which averted a massive loss of life.

In September 2020, New Jersey–based Atlantic Wreck Salvage announced that their ship, D/V Tenacious, had discovered Stockholm's bow and anchors.

[17] Völkerfreundschaft made her new maiden voyage on February 23, 1960, and was home-ported in Rostock, Germany, eventually operating in tandem with the newly built Fritz Heckert.

Carrying German and Czech holidaymakers, she passed through the American blockade line, accompanied by a United States Navy destroyer at a distance of two nautical miles.

[18] In 1964 the ship was put under the management of the Free German Trade Union Federation, but would be chartered out to western European countries for a majority of the year.

[19] Völkerfreundschaft made an appearance as the luxury liner Astoria in the 1979 East German Film Die Rache des Kapitäns Mitchell.

The ship had made an unexpected turn after Semming had fallen into the sea, resulting in a collision as Najade attempted to avoid running over the man.

Sailing on surface in rough seas, the commander of the submarine ordered the boat to be navigated via periscope and without the use of radar – a common procedure at the time during the Cold War in the vicinity of naval vessels of the Warsaw Pact.

In 1989, ex-Stockholm was officially sold to the Italian Star Lauro Lines, who intended to convert the liner into a luxury cruise ship.

On a transatlantic cruise in October 2006 the ship was caught in two violent hurricanes, causing a fatality and passengers threatening mutiny.

On September 17, 2012, reports announced that she and her fellow ship Princess Danae were detained in Marseille, France, for unpaid fuel bills.

The charter began in March 2014 with a cruise from Lisbon, Portugal, to Bremerhaven, Germany, and concluded in November 2014 in Genoa, Italy.

After Portuscale's collapse, the administrator of the ship's formal owner, Island Cruises—Transportes Marítimos, Unipessoal Ltda., secured a charter to Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV).

[38] Astoria was scheduled to begin winter cruising the Sea of Cortez from the port of Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point) Mexico from December 2019,[39][40] but this sailing only took place until January 2020 due to unspecified delays in dry dock.

[44] Astoria was later moved to Rotterdam in December 2020 and put up for auction on 1 March 2021, with a minimum sale price of €10 million, but received no offers until July 2021.

[citation needed] As of October 2024, Astoria's current status on the S&P Global International Ships Register is listed as “to be broken up.” [53]