“What is the name of the aircraft carrier that became a cruise ship?” The answer is the USS Long Island (aircraft carrier) to M/V Seven Seas (cruise ship).
The Long Island was built as a cargo ship at Sun Shipbuilding in Chester,PA. Before completion, she was sent to Norfolk and in 77 days was converted into the United States’ first “baby flattop”. She served throughout WW2 as an aircraft ferry and as a carrier pilot training ship. After the war, she was sold for scrap but at the last minute was sold to a Panamanian Company and sent to Italy for conversion to an immigrant ship carrying passengers from Italy to Australia.
M/S Seven Seas – Image from the private collection of Reuben Goossens
In May of 1953, she was sent to Bremerhaven, Germany were she was completely rebuilt as the M/V Seven Seas. She sailed for 10 years in the European market. In 1963, she became a college cruiser with instructors from colleges and universities all over the world. Her career ended in 1977 when she was sent to Belgium for scrapping.
