It appeared prominently in the German science-fiction film Gold, starring Hans Albers and Brigitte Helm.

In 1938, the Turkish government acquired the yacht and gifted it to ailing leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who spent only six weeks aboard before dying a few months later.

In fall 2010, many Turkish media published news about the alleged presence of underage prostitutes in some of those cruises, causing a scandal.

[4] However, it was not until March 4, 2015 that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had the first official reception on board, including a short cruise along the Bosporus, with his guest the Bosnian politician Bakir Izetbegović.

[2] Savarona features a swimming pool, a Turkish bath, a 282-foot (86 m) gold-trimmed grand staircase that survived from her original construction, a movie theater, and a library suite dedicated to Atatürk, which is furnished with many of his personal artifacts.