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| The Artania - just eight passengers completed the voyage |
GRIMSBY'S German twin-town is the final port of call for the last cruise ship in the world still carrying passengers.
Just eight passengers disembarked from the MV Artania when, after a six-month odyssey, it arrived in Bremerhaven earlier this month.
The ship has set sail on an 140-day world cruise from Hamburg on December 21, 2019.
In March, coronavirus caught up with her when 36 passengers tested positive for the virus following a check from Australian health officials when the ship arrived in in Fremantle, Western Australia.
Some passengers remained quarantined on board while others were flown back to Germany
Three people who were on the ship have since died - two male passengers, one aged 69 and one aged 71, and one 42-year-old male crew member.
But eight passengers decided to travel back home via ocean.
En route, the Artania made unscheduled stop-offs at bvarious points in South-east Asia in order to repatriate many of its remaining crew members.
Around 75 crew members stayed on board until it reached Bremerhaven.
The Artania was originally the Royal Princess, christened on 15 November 15, 1984 at a ceremony in Southampton, by Diana, Princess of Wales.
The event was attended by P&O Princess Group staff, plus dignitaries including the president of Finland and the Bishop of Southampton who performed a blessing prior to the naming.
The ship - all of whose cabins look out on to the sea - was the most expensive passenger ship when built.
In April, 2005, she was transferred to the P&O fleet and renamed Artemis by actress Prunella Scales.
In 2010, a British captain, Sarah Breton, took charge of Artemis, becoming only the second female in the world to command a major cruise ship.
In August this year, she is scheduled to leave Bremerhaven for a 23-day trip around the waters of Greenland.
Photo: Pjotr Mahhonin via Wikimedia Commons
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