Oxfordshire made an average of four trips per year between Britain and the Far East, calling en route at Ceylon, Aden, Port Said and Suez in Egypt.

However, by the early 1960s the use of aircraft to fulfil transport requirements and the declining number of overseas British garrisons meant that trooping by sea was soon to be redundant.

In 1962 the British Government finally decided to rely entirely on air trooping, so the long-term charters of Oxfordshire and near sister-ship Nevasa were terminated and the vessels withdrawn from service.

The Vlasov Group passenger division, SITMAR Line, was already well established as a migrant carrier to Australia and they quickly showed an interest in the idle Oxfordshire.

The complex plan to convert the Oxfordshire into a ship that was suitable for both liner voyages and cruises was one of the most ambitious projects to be overseen by the Vlasov engineers.

The handsome, new-look ship was quite changed from her former image: the superstructure was lengthened both fore and aft, three pairs of cargo booms were replaced by cranes, also the signal mast and funnel housing were redesigned.

Internally, the vessel was completely transformed, with contemporary 'One Class Tourist' accommodation for a maximum of 1,868 passengers in 488 cabins, all but 68 of which were equipped with private shower and toilet facilities.

On 19 May 1964 the Fairstar left Southampton with a full complement of passengers, mostly migrants, on her maiden voyage to Sydney, Australia, joining older company vessels Fairsky, Fairsea and Castel Felice already operating in the same role.

After almost another full year of liner voyages from the UK to Australia, Fairstar sailed on another cruise from Sydney, departing on 22 December 1965 and visiting Nouméa and Suva.

Both ships remained in service together for a further three years, until the sudden unfortunate demise of Fairsky in June 1977, after the vessel struck a submerged wreck near Jakarta, Indonesia and was found to be beyond economic repair.

On 21 January 1997, Fairstar sailed on her last ever cruise, visiting Amédée Island, Nouméa, Lifou, Vila and Havannah-Boulari Passage before finally returning to Sydney.