Pier 88 New York - On March 20^th at 8 p.m., a ship once well-known to the port returned to service sporting new colors, a new name and performing the very different role of an overnight gambling and entertainment ship.

The 28,078-ton SuperStar Capricorn, chartered by Manhattan Cruises from Star Cruises, Singapore for a period of at least one year, was originally built for the Royal Viking Line in 1973 as their Royal Viking Sky.

Enlarged in 1982, the 674-foot ship, with Scandinavian officers and an international crew, carried up to 1,000 passengers and provided higher standards than Manhattan Cruises’ initial ship, the Edinburgh Castle, which following engine problems and an interruption of service, repositioned to Britain for the UK market.

The SuperStar Capricorn’s 425 cabins have TVs and radios and the ship offered buffet and full service dining. The full range of cruise amenities included two casinos with 37 gaming tables and 200 slot machines, plus a showroom with name entertainment on weekends, karaoke, bar, full-length films, fitness center, library, gift shop, and two outdoor swimming pools. Children had a video arcade, films and a child care center, and the casinos were off limits to anyone under 18 years of age.

Cruises sailed at 7 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and returned at 8 a.m., except for Friday morning when the ship docked at 6:45 a.m. an incentive for Wall Street traders to get them to their desks on time. The President and C.E.O. said he attracted 75 traders during the first week and 150 the second when the Edinburgh Castle went into service. Friday and Saturday departures had to be scheduled an hour later at 8 p.m. because many people were literally missing the boat because of bridge and tunnel traffic holdups. The SuperStar Capricorn returned Saturdays at noon and Sundays at 3 p.m. The fares were $99 per person Sunday to Thursday and $199 on weekends.

Because the ship, flying the Panamanian flag, must sail to a foreign port once every 29 days, three or four-night weekday cruises were planned to begin in May that would call at Halifax and maybe Bermuda, if docking could be arranged. However, she began her casino cruises on March 20, 1998
and suspended them on May 2.

SuperStar Capricorn at Pier 88.
(Photograph Ted Scull)

My wife, Suellyn, and I arrived at the pier about 4:45 p.m. to a scene of utter chaos. Nobody had boarded because the tickets had just arrived, and they got handed out when you were able to shout out your name louder than the person next to you.

The assigned cabin was uninhabitable as the temperature hovered close to 100 degrees. Furniture was piled up on the beds and empty vodka bottles littered the bathroom. Searching for the man-in-charge, we found him besieged by angry passengers, but he recognized me from the Edinburgh Castle and gave us keys to Cabin 15 up on the Boat Deck.

We were greeted by a delightful Chinese steward with a most courtly manner. The cabin was most peculiarly outfitted with five bunks. One upper was placed at right angles above the two lowers, and an upper was at right angles to the sofa bed. The TV had two channels and the radio a music station. The bathroom had a tub bath and original Royal Viking Line plumbing. As it turned out only 294 of the 425 cabins were available on this inaugural sailing, and some 200 Chinatown Chinese had to leave the ship.

The author in Cabin 15 on the Boat Deck.
(Photograph Suellyn Scull)

A tour of the ship revealed a puce and purple Galaxy of the Stars show lounge; the Starlight karaoke lounge; StarShip Disco; a library with many Chinese language books; children’s room; fitness room, and some nice decorative features such as a dozen lacquer panels depicting flowers and birds on the stairwells, brass abstract wall sculptures, and terra cotta bas-relief plaques. Outside, there were two swimming pools with outdoor dining planned, a sports deck and a delightful wide promenade under the lifeboats.

The Star Club casino had a $5 minimum and a $25 maximum while the Admirals’ Club, reserved for invited high rollers, had a $25 minimum and a $10,000 maximum. The most private room had the atmosphere of an opium den, heavy with smoke and inhabited by mostly Chinese- and Russian-speaking gamblers puffing away and seated around a table lit by low overhead lights. Literally, carpets of $100 bills were laid out for betting.

The buffet up here was almost entirely Chinese food and not the Upper West Side kind, but the real thing from the narrow streets of Chinatown. I am reasonably familiar with Chinese food from four trips to the Peoples Republic but most dishes, and their flavors, were entirely new to me. Seated in the forward observation lounge for about an hour observing the scene, we did not hear one word of English and apart from the Manhattan skyline, we were not in America by any stretch.

The main dinner buffet in the Ocean Palace restaurant was as excellent a spread as had been the case on the Edinburgh Castle, with items such as smoked salmon and smoked trout, filet mignon, roast sliced pork, chicken breasts, grilled fish, a wide choice of vegetables, salads and desserts. Dinner was served between 7 and 9 p.m.

Breakfast was continental style from 6 to 9 a.m. then a brunch from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The latter featured fresh squeezed orange juice, smoked salmon, bagels and cream cheese, croissants, pastries, cold cuts, cheese, eggs benedict, omelets to order, sausage, and steak.

The night passed quickly with some rough seas off the New Jersey coast. In the morning, gambling ceased at 11:15am, and we docked at 1:30pm. While not gamblers, we enjoyed the overnight cruise and were sad to learn that the operation shut down six weeks later. The powers to be did not want big-ship gambling cruises sailing from the New York City.