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| Peace Boat organizes its voyages on chartered passenger ships, adapting
the onboard spaces to provide a unique and dynamic environment for its participants. Since 2003, Peace
Boat has been chartering TSS The Topaz for its global voyages. |
| History |
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| TSS The Topaz, formerly the “Empress
of Britain”, was christened by Queen Elizabeth in 1955, and began life as a cruise ship
in the North Atlantic, sailing between Quebec, Greenock, Liverpool and Montreal. In 1964 she
was sold to the Greek Line and after a refit was renamed “Queen Anna Maria.” After
a colourful and well travelled history with several different names and cruise lines, including
Carnival, Fiesta Marina and Thompson, TSS The Topaz was chartered by Peace Boat in 2003 for
its future voyages. |
| Details |
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| At 31,500 tons, The
Topaz is the largest
ship Peace Boat has ever chartered, and has a maximum capacity of over 1600 passengers and nearly
500 crew. With a beam of 26 meters, a draft of almost 9 meters and length of 195 meters, TSS
The Topaz is classed as a large ship, and is equipped with all the amenities of a modern cruise
liner. |
| Onboard
Spaces |
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The array of public spaces on the ship have
been adapted to serve as lecture halls, classrooms, offices, workshop rooms and rehearsal areas.
Students from the Global University, International Student and Global English Training programs
use the classrooms, and the ballroom and show lounge are ideal venues for public speaking, functioning
both as lecture halls and stage spaces.
Participants are also free to use the various areas around the ship for self planned events,
such as educational presentations, displays of artwork, sports clubs, dance practice or planning
campaigns for peace activism. The area at the center of the ship has been converted from a casino
into a meeting space.
At the hub of Peace Boat’s activities is the Peace Center or “P-Cen,” an office
space used by both staff and participants to coordinate onboard events, edit videos, produce
posters, plan campaigns and publish the Peace Boat newspaper.
As well as these working spaces, the ship also offers a variety of places to relax, including
a sports deck, gym, library, cinema, Jacuzzi, swimming pool, bars and a sunbathing deck. |
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