The Sagafjord was built by Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée, France, who received the original plans and specifications for the vessel from the Norwegian America Line during the summer of 1960.

[3] On 11 June 2008, during a visit to Southampton, the second bosun died after entering a ballast tank which had a reduced oxygen atmosphere due to corrosion.

[7] The Saga Rose was retired from service in October 2009[6] due to her not fulfilling the requirements of the new SOLAS 2010 regulations[8] and was left with an uncertain future.

In early April, Saga Rose finally put to sea, with Port Elizabeth, South Africa, listed as her destination.

On 29 April, Saga Rose docked in Durban for refuelling, and was under-way again with her destination now reported to be Maputo, Mozambique.

The Saga Rose currently holds the record for the most world cruises ever completed by a ship with 44 altogether, of which most were achieved under her original name Sagafjord, even surpassing the Queen Elizabeth 2.

In Armistead Maupin's Further Tales of the City, two groups of characters evade from San Francisco by taking the same cruise with the Sagafjord to Alaska.