Editing MS Achille Lauro (section)

==Concept and construction==
Ordered in 1938 to replace the aging ships on the [[Dutch East Indies]] route, she was [[Keel laying|laid down]] in 1939 at [[:nl:Koninklijke Maatschappij De Schelde|Koninklijke Maatschappij 'De Schelde'. Scheepswerf en Machinefabriek]] in [[Vlissingen]], [[Netherlands]], for Rotterdamsche Lloyd (now part of [[Nedlloyd]]). Interrupted by [[World War II]] and two bombing raids, the ship was finally launched in July 1946, as ''Willem Ruys''. The ship was named after the grandson of the founder of Rotterdamsche Lloyd, whom the Germans had taken hostage and shot during the war.

''Willem Ruys'' was completed in late 1947. At that time, the Rotterdamsche Lloyd had been granted a royal prefix in honour of its services during the war. ''Willem Ruys'' was {{convert|192|m|ft|0}} in length, {{convert|25|m|ft|0}} in beam, had a draught of {{convert|8.9|m|ft|1}}, and measured 21,119 [[tonnage|gross register ton]]s. Eight [[Sulzer (manufacturer)|Sulzer]] engines drove two [[propeller]]s. She could accommodate 900 passengers. She featured a superstructure very different from other liners of that era; ''Willem Ruys'' pioneered low-slung aluminium lifeboats, within the upper-works' flanks. The next ship to adopt this arrangement was the {{SS|Canberra||2}} in 1961. Today, all cruise ships follow this layout, with fibreglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) used for lifeboat hulls.