After their crews arrived to take them back to Austria-Hungary in early 1886, both vessels were taken into the navy's shipyard in Pola, where their armament was installed over the course of 1887, to include their torpedo tubes. Both ships took part in the Barcelona Universal Exposition, which saw a squadron of ironclads and cruisers sent to represent Austria-Hungary at the opening ceremonies. Coincidentally, both ships ran aground during training operations in late June 1888. The two cruisers spent much of the early 1890s laid up, with "Panther" being reactivated in 1896 for a major training cruise in the Pacific Ocean from May 1896 to February 1898, and "Leopard" returning to service in 1897 to participate in an international naval demonstration off the island of Crete during the Greco-Turkish War. "Leopard" went on a training cruise in the Pacific in 1900–1901 for naval cadets, while "Panther" spent those years in reserve. The latter went on a cruise to Morocco in 1902, and to eastern Africa in 1905 to arrange a trade treaty with Ethiopia before embarking on another cruise in the Pacific. In the meantime, "Leopard" served with the main Austro-Hungarian fleet in home waters in the mid-1900s.