Ordered by Sweden's Birka Line for short cruises out of Stockholm, construction of what was to be named MS Birka Queen began at the Wärtsilä Marine facility in Turku, Finland; however, with that yard's bankruptcy in 1989, construction of the vessel was completed by Finland's Kvaerner Masa-Yards.
With construction costs eventually totalling $229 million, a significant increase over the original forecast, Birka Line refused to take delivery of the vessel, which was launched on 15 November 1991. With the build contract sold to Majesty Cruise Line, the ship entered service as Royal Majesty on 2 July 1992. Christened in New York City on 21 July 1992 by singer Liza Minnelli, Royal Majesty was sold to Norwegian Cruise Line in 1997 following the dissolution of Majesty Cruise Line. Along with a change of name to Norwegian Majesty, the ship was also lengthened by 33.76 metres (110 feet 9 inches) at Germany's Lloyd Werft shipyard in 1999.
In April 2008, the ship was sold to Louis Cruise Lines and, following a charter back to Norwegian Cruise Line until October 2009, was renamed Louis Majesty and based out of Piraeus, Greece. During a Mediterranean cruise on 3 March 2010, Louis Majesty was hit by three 8-metre (26 foot) rogue waves which slammed into the side of the ship, breaking saloon windows and killing two passengers; the ship returned to Barcelona for repairs.
From May 2012, the vessel was chartered to Thomson Cruises, operating under the name Thomson Majesty. On 13 February 2013, five crew members were killed and three others injured during a safety drill when their lifeboat fell into the sea, trapping them.
In November 2017, Louis Majesty was transferred to Celestyal Cruises and re-named Majesty. In late 2018, the ship was sold to Israeli cruise line Mano Maritime and underwent a major refurbishment and rebuild which saw its length increased to 216 metres (708.66 feet). Re-entering service as Crown Iris in early 2019, the ship is based out of Haifa, Israel for cruises in the Mediterranean and Black Sea and to destinations in Europe.
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| The front side of a postcard from the M/S Norwegian Majesty. |
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| The reverse side of the postcard depicted above. |