"Star of the Sun",[6] formerly SS Cambodge) was an ocean liner built for Messageries Maritimes in 1953.

She mainly provided passenger service between France, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Japan.

Few major damaging incidents happened to Stella Solaris, and she quickly became one of the more popular cruise vessels of the time.

An economic crisis in the cruise ship trade in 2003–2004 caused many older vessels, such as Stella Solaris, to be sold for scrap.

Cambodge was built by Société des Ateliers & Chantiers in Dunkirk, Nord, in northern France.

Aft of the public rooms were the outdoor first class swimming pool and lido deck area.

Cabine de Luxe #5, with a separate bedroom and sitting room, was on the forward starboard portion of the deck and was the most luxuriant single berth on the ship.

The first class dining saloon was lit with fluorescent lights and equipped with apparatus to minimize sensation of the roll of the ship.

Notably, Cambodge's original steam turbine engine never suffered significant breakdowns and never had to be replaced.

[9][10] Lido deck constituted the pool area of the ship and also housed the bridge closer to the bow.

A teak promenade encircled the entirety of Boat Deck, designed to slope towards its amidships section as a way to compensate for the swaying of the vessel.

The Solaris Lounge and Piano Bar were located aft of the entrance hall, both used for various forms of entertainment.

The ship's Beauty Parlor and hospital were directly aft of the cabins in the bow section, which contained the forecastle.

From Marseilles, she sailed across the Mediterranean Sea and through the Suez Canal and Red Sea to Port Said and Suez in Egypt, Aden in Yemen; Djibouti; across the Indian Ocean to Bombay, India; Colombo, Sri Lanka; and the island of Singapore; through the South China Sea to Saigon, Vietnam; Manila, Philippines; Hong Kong, and along the Pacific coast of Asia to finally reach Kobe and Yokohama in Japan.

Along with Viet Nam and Laos, she sailed without major incident on this route until 1967, when the Six-Day War closed the Suez Canal.

With the ever-increasing popularity of air travel, she withdrew from regular passenger service and was rebuilt in 1962 to run cruises from Australian ports to destinations in the Indian Ocean.

On 13 July 1965, Cambodge was damaged after the vessel collided with the MV Kerbsia in Singapore, and was subsequently repaired in Keppel Harbour.

[3] In 1970 Cambodge sailed to La Spezia in northern Italy, where she was renamed Stella V and her interiors were partially gutted for a massive planned remodelling.

Many of the French and Italian decorations were replaced with Greek-themed artwork, including ceramic, metal and velour features.

She was featured on Cruise Travel magazine in July 1989 as "Ship of the Month",[13] and was said to have a "repeat passenger ratio that was the envy of her competitors".

She sailed for Alang, Bhavnagar District, India under the delivery name S Solar, arriving on December 8, 2003, alongside another, smaller, Sun Lines ship, Stella Oceanis.

Much of the artwork and furnishings from Stella Solaris was auctioned, some materials and fittings were also recovered and sold, while the rest of her hull was broken up and turned into scrap metal.