Leisure World

The 1969-built (as "MS Skyward) cruise ship Leisure World entered service on December 10, 1969. Together with the sistership Starward (1968-built/2018-scrapped as Aegean Queen/Louis Aura), both vessels were purposely built for NCL-Norwegian Cruise Line.

The vessel (IMO number 6921828) was owned by the Hong Kong China-based New Century Group (via the subsidiary New Century Maritime Ltd) and operated by New Century Cruise Lines (travel brand and part of the subsidiary New Century Tours Corporation Pte Ltd).

When operated by New Century Cruise Lines, Leisure World was initially Tuvalu-flagged (MMSI 572282000, registered in Funafuti) and later reflagged to Panama (MMSI 374139000, registered in Colon).

History - construction and ownership

The 800-passenger ship Skyward (Leisure World) was operated by her original owners until 1991 when she was sold to Johnson Sembawang Shipmanagement in Nassau and received the name "Shangri-la World". The boat was used mainly for voyages out of Singapore. Over time, the vessel changed her name several times until she received the name "Leisure World" after a renovation in Jacksonville Florida USA. The vessel was last drydock-refurbished in 2013.

(accidents) In 1973, many of the ship's passengers became ill due to infected water. In 1979, a boiler room fire caused the ship to shut down its engines and all passengers were transferred to MS Starward.

During its service, the ship was named Skyward (1969-1991/owned by NCL-Norwegian Cruise Line), Shangri-La World and Asean World (1991-92/operated by Johnson Sembawang Shipmanagement), Fantasy World (1992-93/Johnson Sembawang), Leisure World (1993-2021). Shipowners change in 1995 (when NCL sold it to Queenstown Investments Ltd) and in 2000 (when Queenstown Investments sold it to New Century Group's Queenston Maritime Ltd).

The vessel was built by AG Weser Werk Seebeck (in Bremerhaven Germany) and had min passenger capacity 580 (lower berths), max capacity 900 (all beds), 9 passenger-accessible decks (4 with cabins), powerplant with 2x MAN diesel engines (total power output 12,8 MW), propulsion system based on 2x CPP (controllable pitch propellers), service speed 14 knots (max 16 KN).

As a casino ship, Leisure World's itinerary program was based on cruises to nowhere leaving roundtrip out of homeport Singapore.

In late-April 2021, New Century Cruise Lines (NCCL) retired two of Asia's longest-serving cruise ships - Leisure World (52-year-old) and Amusement World (54-year-old). Commenting on the disposal of both vessels, NCCL said that the COVID crisis had severely affected the operations of the cruise ships, which had been unable to generate charter revenue while at the same time continuing to incur maintenance costs. Coupled with strong scrap steel prices, the company decided to sell the boats to realize its investment in an uncertain market environment.

• Leisure World was sold to NKD Maritime Ltd (India) for USD 3,59 million (~EUR 2,98M/~GBP 2,59M), gaining ~HKD 6,37M (~USD 0,82M) on the sale / based on its book value HKD 21,3M.
• Amusement World was also sold to NKD Maritime Ltd.
• Both ships were sold for scrap metal and departed their anchorage (off Singapore) heading to Alang India.
• Leisure World's AIS transmitted for the last time on July 2, 2021 (at 1:51 UTC), showing the boat at anchorage off Alang's coast.

The New Century Maritime-owned cruise ship Aegean Paradise (1990-built as "Orient Venus") was sold to Victor Restis (Greece) in 2015 for USD 22 million.

Shipboard facilities and amenities

Leisure World's Atlantic Deck was devoted to standard Inside and Outside cabins for overnight passengers who purchased a stateroom for a nominal fee.

Leisure World Restaurant (an original Skyward venue) was adjacent to the Galley (kitchen and storage rooms) at the aft end of Rainbow Deck. For breakfast, lunch and dinner, Chinese buffets were available for a nominal charge, with stations in the dining room's forward and central sections. The simple but pleasant restaurant had picture windows on both sides.

The boat was very popular among older Singaporeans, who paid only $23 on weekdays for a day trip with price-inclusive unlimited buffet meals. Those under 55 years old had to pay $43. Another appeal was the low minimum bets at Lido Casino's 40 gaming tables. Bets started at $2 - rather than $25 minimums at Singapore's land-based resorts. Unlike its land-based casinos, the Lido Casino didn't require Singaporeans to pony up $100 to cross the threshold.

The ship's Lido Casino also had 200 gaming machines, but they were less popular.