The facilities on the ship were described as a "floating palace" when it was owned by White Star Line, and were similar to RMS Oceanic, but were slightly modernised.

When Thomas Henry Ismay established White Star Line in 1867, he came to an agreement with Gustav Christian Schwabe in return for financial assistance.

As a result of this incident, White Star Line changed their policy towards the stowage of lifeboats in rough weather, as it had been observed that the boats which had been tightly tied down were smashed by the waves, while those which were given more freedom of movement suffered less damage.

[7] Faced with this offensive, the Pacific Steam Navigation Company attempted to construct a vessel capable of competing with Republic, the Tacora.

[8] Both ships participated in a race between Liverpool and Callao in October 1871; the Tacora was unable to travel beyond Montevideo, but Republic successfully completed the journey.

[11] In December of the same year, the Republic faced rough seas during a crossing of the Atlantic, and its smokestack was damaged and had to be repaired by the crew.

[12] On 9 February 1883, Republic rescued 44 survivors from the Warren Line steamship Glamorgan, which had foundered in the Atlantic Ocean.

[8] On 20 September 1885, the Republic collided with the Cunard Line steamer Aurania while leaving the port of New York, following the error of a coast pilot.

[16] In January 1889, the ship began its final voyage with White Star Line under the command of Edward Smith, who later became the captain of the RMS Titanic.

Renamed Maasdam, it was immediately sent to G. Forrester & Co. in Liverpool for an overhaul of machinery (for more economical and effective machines) and a reorganisation of its facilities.

[16] From 15 March 1890, it served on a route between Rotterdam and New York, and was not damaged during its service with the Holland America Line, which satisfied the company.

[17] In 1902, it was sold to Italian company La Veloce, which first renamed it Vittoria, before quickly switching it to Città di Napoli.

[19] The ship transported migrants from Genoa, Naples, Palermo, and Gibraltar to New York, and underwent an overhaul which increased its capacity to 1,424 steerage passengers.

[16] After the 1908 Messina earthquake, La Veloce lent Città di Napoli, North America, and Savoia to the Italian government, in order to shelter the victims.

It could be powered by sail, with four masts,[5] but also had funnels painted the colours of White Star Line, brown and black.