The Clipper Lines MV Stella Polaris was the first custom-built cruise ship to call at St. Maarten. Completed in 1927, it was considered the crème de la crème of cruising right into the 1960s. She was perhaps the most famous cruise ship of its time. Owned by Norway s Bergen Line during the first part of her sailing career, she looked more like a royal yacht, unrivaled with her clipper bow, bowsprit, well deck, and lavish accommodations for only 200 passengers. It carried more than one crew member per passenger when it sailed around the world but also sailed to the Mediterranean, North Cape, and the Caribbean.

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