page_title: SS Deutschland (1900)
section_title: Second career as cruise ship Viktoria Luise
hierarchical_section_title: SS Deutschland (1900) / Second career as cruise ship Viktoria Luise
caption_attribution_description: English: Victoria Luise arrived at New York
context_page_description: SS Deutschland was a passenger liner built in Stettin and launched in 1900 by the Hamburg America Line of Germany. The rival North German Lloyd line had launched Germany's first four funnel liner, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse in 1897, and SS Deutschland was built by Hamburg America as Germany's second four-funnel liner in order to compete.
  Although SS Deutschland was able to capture the Blue Riband from Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, crossing the Atlantic Ocean in just over five days, she suffered from persistent engine issues, and was withdrawn from transatlantic service in 1910 after just ten years. At this time she was renamed Viktoria Luise and converted to a dedicated cruise ship. As Viktoria Luise she saw brief service in World War I. Because of the bad condition of the ship after the World War, it was not seized by the Allies and was for a time the only remaining large steam ship sailing under a German flag. In 1921 she was converted again into an immigrant ship and renamed Hansa, although changes in United States immigration laws reduced the value of this trade, and ultimately she was sold for scrap in 1925.
context_section_description: In 1910, Hamburg America withdrew Deutschland from transatlantic service and converted her to a dedicated cruise ship — one of the first liners of the 20th century to operate as such. Her original engines were derated as a high service speed was no longer needed. At the same time, the exterior of the ship was repainted in all white and her passenger capacity was also reduced to only 500 first-class passengers. She was also given a new name, Viktoria Luise. She replaced their first purpose-built cruise ship of similar name (Prinzessin Victoria Luise) that ran aground and was destroyed off the coast of Jamaica in 1906.
  On 8 June 1914, Viktoria Luise ran aground in the Elbe and developed a list. Her engine rooms flooded. She was later refloated, repaired, and returned to service.
  In World War I Viktoria Luise was converted for use as an auxiliary cruiser, but because of her still-troublesome engines, she was not used as such by the Imperial German Navy.
caption: Viktoria Luise in New York
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