The 2003-built ferry, which serves the weeklong North Atlantic Cruise, has been fitted with 50 new luxury cabins as well as a new outdoors sky bar and a panoramic view lounge on the top.

The DKK100m-worth (around €13.5m) retrofitting, carried out at the Danish Fayard shipyard in Munkebo, saw the crew quarters moved to a different location, while the old shared cabins were removed altogether.

Naval architects from the also Danish Hauschildt Marine were responsible for the design process, which was based on a 3D model of the ship.

Norröna's decks nos. 5 and 6 have been upgraded earlier, and plans to modernise and give the upper deck more capacity emerged in 2019. "There were several different parameters that could have developed into obstacles, including whether the ship could carry more weight, but it turned out to be an extremely interesting retrofit," Jóhan av Reyni, Maritime Director, Smyril Line, explained.

"COVID-19 hit and sent shock waves through the industry as Smyril was bidding on the project in March last year," the Faroese shipping company said in a press release. "It seemed hopeless at first, but we discussed it and chose to move forward because the COVID crisis is going to pass at some point," av Reyni added.

According to Smyril Line, passengers used to buy tickets for berths in shared four-person cabins, but these sales have more or less disappeared. At the same time, Norröna's 12 luxury cabins are often sold out. "We have gradually got more comfortable cabins, and there is no doubt that the new 50 cabins will be highly sought-after," the company's MD stated.

The retrofitted ship will set sail for Hirtshals on 1 March in the morning, where the ship will resume its North Atlantic Cruise itinerary (Hirtshals-Tórshavn-Seyðisfjörður-Tórshavn-Hirtshals) from 6 March.

Photo: Smyril Line/Hauschildt Marine