SS Santa Rosa ( 1932 ) SS " Santa Rosa ( later SS " Athinai ) was a passenger and cargo ocean liner built for the Grace Line . She was one of four sister ships ( the others being , " Santa Lucia " and ) ordered in 1930 from the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company of Kearny , NJ . Her regular route included inter - coastal service between the east coast and the west coast of the USA via the Caribbean and the Panama Canal . She was the second of ultimately three vessels to bear the name " Santa Rosa " for the Grace Line . ( The first " Santa Rosa " was a 1917 - built ship that was sold in 1925 . ) Design and construction . Designed by Gibbs & Cox , " Santa Rosa " bore some resemblance to their later ships , the and . such as his signature winged funnel . The public rooms were all on the promenade deck . The dining room was located on this deck between the two funnels and had an atrium stretching up two and a half decks . Unique for its day was a retractable roof which allowed the passenger to dine under the tropical sky . The Grace Line also employed female waitresses instead of male stewards . All first class cabins were outside twin beds and private baths . Prewar Grace Line service . The " Santa Rosa " sailed on her maiden voyage on 26 November 1932 . Her East - West coast route of New York - Seattle was 20 days and included a one day call in Los Angeles and two days in San Francisco . The ship ' s service speed of 20 knots and her superior accommodation made her very popular compared to that offered by Pacific Coast shipping . In 1936 however the intercoastal service ended and " Santa Rosa " and her sisters transferred to service to the Caribbean . World War II service . Upon the entry of the United States into World War II , the vessel was requisitioned by the US government for troop service . Even in wartime gray , the ship retained her elegant oceanliner lines : Designated USAT " Santa Rosa " , she made 21 voyages from the east coast of the US from 1942 - 1945 : one to Europe , one to Australia , one to India , and three to Africa . Her wartime voyages included : Postwar Grace Line service . After her war service she underwent repair and refit at the Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Company prior to redelivery to her owners . " Santa Rosa " returned to Grace Line and resumed the Caribbean service on 7 February 1947 . In 1958 , after 26 years of service , " Santa Rosa " was replaced by a larger liner of the same name . The older ship was laid up at Hoboken , NJ until 1961 when she was sold to Greek owners . Typaldos Lines service . " Santa Rosa " was renamed " Athinai " and began a new career as a cruise ship for Typaldos Lines . A refit increased her accommodation and converted her to carry three classes of passengers . She entered service for her new owners for voyages in the Mediterranean , Black Sea and Adriatic . Athinai in her Typaldos Line livery appears briefly in a scene of the port of Piraeus , Greece , in the 1963 film " The Bullfighter Advances " . In 1968 the Typaldos Lines owners were arrested and the company disbanded after the Greek government investigation of the incident found them guilty of manslaughter and negligence . The company ' s ships were taken over and sold except for two , including SS " Athinai " , who attracted no buyers and were subsequently laid up at Phaleron Bay . 1966 – 89 . " Santa Rosa / Athinai " never returned to active service . In 1978 she was towed out of layup for use as a film set for " Raise the Titanic " . After a decade of neglect , and with fittings that did not appear to be out of place on a 1912 built ship , " Athinai " needed very little conversion work for filming the Titanic ’ s interiors . Her bows were painted to resemble " Titanic " and she was sprayed with concrete to simulate 68 years on the ocean floor . After the filming she was returned to at Phaleron Bay . She remained for another ten years until 1989 , when she was towed for scrapping at Aliağa , Turkey in a purge of derelict shipping .