From Ancona to Split with the Ancona of Blue Lines.

Blue Lines’ Ancona is the former Knossos of Minoan Lines, and before that the Saga, Hispania and originally the Svea of the Rederi AB Svea and latterly Swedish Lloyd. Today she plies the route between Ancona and Split year-round, accompanied in peak season by her fleetmate, the Split 1700. Presented below are a series of pictures of and on board the ship from the Summers of 2007 and 2008.
See also this deckplan photograph of the ship as the Ancona, and here in her original guise as the Svea.



Really fantastic pictures here! She looks really nice to me. I will maybe see her in Split during summer 2009, because me and my girl are planning to have vacation in Croatia and then mayby in Split…
Hi Christopher. I hope you manage to see her – or even better sail on her somehow. I would say she is the best classic (let’s say 35+ years old) overnight ferry in Europe and can’t last forever – sadly.
Matt
We will be sailing on her next month. Did you happen to see the “VIP” cabins? Are the berths any bigger in those then the regular cabins?
Fantastic pictures and review!
Living in Southampton I have very fond memory’s of her sister ship ‘Patricia’ that operated for Swedish Lloyd from Southampton to Bilbao from 1967 to 1977.
I also sailed on Ancona in 1980 when she was Olau Lines ‘Olau Finn’, a great ship and the last her kind!
The ships bell on Anconna bearing the inscription SAGA is possibly explained by the fact that when the Hispania (ex Svea) was renamed Saga when her sister ship Saga (the same class as Svea & Patricia) was sold and Hispania renamed the ships bell was transferred.
I have a short piece of cine now as digital file from 1967 of this ship in Bilbao
We went from Bilbao to Southampton at the end of the easter holdays after a holiday in south france
The name of the ship is very fuzzy but the lines are clear and resemble photos in this article
I traveled with Ancona (ex-Knossos) many times from Piraeus to Heraklion and vice verca (1978-1986).
I believe that was the best ship at this line ever.
1st class cabins were made from teak, very luxuries.