Island Cruises was a cruise line that was founded as a joint venture between Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and First Choice Travel PLC , each of whom owned 50% of the company. The company operated in Europe , the Caribbean , and South America , aiming its products primarily at markets in the United Kingdom , Brazil and Argentina . First Choice was later acquired by TUI Travel . In 2008, Royal Caribbean sold its stake in the company to TUI, and the cruise line's only fully owned ship, the Island Escape , was transferred to TUI's Thomson Cruises . Island Cruises was discontinued in 2015.
18-558: Island Cruises was founded in 2001 by Royal Caribbean and First Choice Holidays PLC, and began operations in 2002 with one ship, the Island Escape . Initially, Island Cruises had planned to operate in Europe during the summer season ( Northern Hemisphere ), and out of California during the winter. Before the first winter season began however, the decision was made to change the winter schedule to 3- and 4-night cruises out of Brazil. During 2002,
36-402: A cruise ship in 1991. She became MS Island Escape in 2002 being renamed once more as MS Ocean Gala in 2015. She was finally renamed MS Ocean Gala 1 before being scrapped in 2018. She was built in 1982 by Dubigeon-Normandie S.A. , Nantes , France for Scandinavian World Cruises (a subsidiary of DFDS ) as the cruiseferry MS Scandinavia . At the time of her construction, she was
54-558: Is under the Ministry of Justice and operates nationwide from about 40 offices. It is headquartered in Norrköping in Östergötland and is led by a Director General, currently Anders Danielsson . In 2014, the agency received 81,301 applications for asylum , of which 31,220 were granted. In 2017 according to calculations done by weekly magazine Fokus , the agency's budget for unaccompanied minors alone at 27 billion krona represented 37% of
72-463: The Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine sv: Rättsmedicinalverket (RMV) started aiding the agency with determining the age of migrants claiming to be under 18. The first batch of 518 investigations indicated that 442 were likely adult and the rest retained their status as unaccompanied minors , which gave access to education, better housing and greater likelihood of refugee status. Of
90-507: The UNHCR :s budget for managing refugees over the entire planet. The Swedish Migration Agency has come under criticism for its opaque handling of expatriate work permit applications and inordinate delays coupled with over-zealous, often controversial, readings of Swedish regulations related to insurance requisites for work permit extensions. The Agency continues to process applications with delays extending up to 10 months in some cases. In May 2016
108-464: The 442, 430 were men and 12 women. RMV was tasked with doing the backlog of 3000 - 14000 age investigations which had been obstructed by Swedish Bar Association lawyers, doctors, dentists and officials of National Board of Health and Welfare .<\ref> In June 2016 the SMA expressed doubts about 70% of asylum applicants purportedly 15-17. In July 2018, the agency together with municipalities of Sweden
126-463: The Island Cruise brand was discontinued after the sole ship Island Escape completed her last scheduled cruise with Thomson Cruises, now operating as Marella Cruises. Island Escape MS Island Escape was a cruise ship originally built as the cruiseferry MS Scandinavia in 1981. In 1985 she was renamed MS Stardancer and in 1990 MS Viking Serenade before being converted to
144-857: The Island Escape was featured in the reality television series Cruise Ship, commissioned by ITV . Island Cruises targeted the British family market, offering casual "totally relaxed" cruising; in South America, the company aimed at a younger audience. In 2005 a second ship joined the Island fleet, when the Island Star was chartered from Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. On 6 October 2008 Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. sold their share in Island Cruises to TUI Travel PLC, who had previously acquired First Choice Holidays PLC. At
162-661: The former Southwest Marine Shipyard in San Diego, California . The car deck was turned into a passenger deck. In 2002, she was transferred to the fleet of Royal Caribbean's new subsidiary Island Cruises as MS Island Escape . She joined the fleet of Thomson Cruises in April 2009, but retained her name. Island Escape operated in the Canary Islands and the Western Mediterranean under Thomson Cruises. In November 2010, Thomson
180-407: The largest cruiseferry in the world. After being withdrawn from Scandinavian World Cruises, she briefly sailed for DFDS Seaways . Between 1985 and 1990, she sailed for Sundance Cruises and Admiral Cruises as MS Stardancer . In 1990, the ship was sold to Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and renamed MS Viking Serenade . Between January and June 1991, she was converted into a full-time cruise ship at
198-615: The same time the Royal Caribbean announced they would be ending the charter of Island Star to Island Cruises in April 2009. Sailings of the Island Star after April 2009 were cancelled, and the ship was re-deployed to Pullmantur Cruises , another subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd as the MV Pacific Dream . Island Escape ' s sailings were unaffected, but sold under TUI's existing Thomson Cruises brand. In October 2015,
SECTION 10
#1732884330314216-801: The vessel left the port 3 November 2016. On its way to Esbjerg , a short stop was made in Tallinn to refuel. The vessel was in Denmark and completed its five-year survey with class society DNVGL. After months off Suez as channel workers floating accommodation and calls at Limassol she finally passed through the canal on 2 May 2017, heading down the Red Sea, it was speculated she was heading to Alang for Scrapping. The next port turned out to be Khalifa, Abu Dhabi, for continued service. In March 2018, after spending several months laid up in Khalifa, she set sail for Alang, where she
234-419: Was beached for scrapping on 4 April 2018 at Kaya plot 103. In February 1988, chiropractor Scott Rolston murdered his wife, Karen Waltz, by strangling her and dumping the body overboard in order to make it look like a drowning. Karen was either thrown or pushed from the balcony of their cabin and fell straight down into the water below. Rolston was later convicted of her murder. On May 25, 2006, Micki Kanesaki
252-682: Was filed against the owner of Utansjöverkets hamn by Härnösand Municipality , claiming the facility was missing ISPS classification. According to media, the compensation from the Swedish Migration Agency at SEK450/asylum seeker would generate SEK805,500/day if the asylum hotel was operated at full capacity. The asylum hotel plans did not come to fruition and the ship was put back on the market for either sale or charter in August 2016. To avoid increased costs for heating and since Ocean Gala did not comply with Finnish-Swedish Ice Class Rules,
270-551: Was like to work on a cruise ship. Swedish Migration Agency The Swedish Migration Agency ( Swedish : Migrationsverket ; previous English name: Swedish Migration Board ), is a Swedish government agency , established on 1 July 1969. Its task is to evaluate and decide on applications from people who want to seek a temporary residence permit, acquire permanent residence or citizenship in Sweden. This makes it involved in immigration to Sweden The Swedish Migration Agency
288-561: Was murdered by her ex-husband, Lonnie Kocontes, while aboard the Island Escape . Kanesaki was murdered in the same manner as Karen Waltz 18 years earlier. Island Escape was featured in a mini-series TV documentary which consisted of 10 episodes. The documentary was initially broadcast in the UK during 2002. Repeats of the documentary were later shown on Bravo . The documentary followed the working lives of crew members and gave insight into what it
306-567: Was offered as a floating accommodation facility through the website Floating Accommodations, managed by US Shipmanagers, a Florida company and it was announced that the Swedish Migration Agency have signed a contract to use the Ocean Gala as an asylum hotel for 1790 asylum seekers. Initially, permission was sought for a 4 year stint 2016–2020 in the Harbour of Härnösand . Ocean Gala arrived at Utansjöverkets hamn at on 14 June 2016. A police report
324-510: Was scheduled to spend a further £4 million in refurbishing Island Escape . Thomson Cruises has operated the Island Escape under their all-inclusive Island Cruises since starting March 2013. In 2016, Thomson cruises replaced Island Escape with Splendour of the Seas . On 3 December 2015, it was reported that the vessel had been sold and was on her way to Brest , France for dry-docking, to be renamed Ocean Gala . In February 2016, Ocean Gala
#313686