CLIPPER ODYSSEY is a small Japanese-built expedition cruise ship completed in 1989, whose career has evolved through several distinct identities and cruise concepts.
Originally built as OCEANIC GRACE for the Japanese luxury cruise market, she later became OCEANIC ODYSSEY and then CLIPPER ODYSSEY. In 2014 she entered the Silversea Expeditions fleet as SILVER DISCOVERER, before being acquired by French cruise company CroisiEurope in 2019.
Today she sails under the Belgian flag as:
LA BELLE DES OCEANS
and remains fully active in 2026, operating intimate cruises around the Mediterranean, Atlantic islands and other destinations.
Vessel Details
Current Name: LA BELLE DES OCEANS
Former Names: SILVER DISCOVERER, CLIPPER ODYSSEY, OCEANIC ODYSSEY, OCEANIC GRACE
IMO: 8800195
Current MMSI: 205788000
Current Call Sign: ONKI
Type: Small Cruise / Expedition Passenger Ship
Current Flag: Belgium
Current Port of Registry: Brussels
Built: 1989
Builder: NKK / Nippon Kokan, Tsu Works, Japan
Yard Number: 112
Keel Laid: 22 August 1988
Launched: 31 October 1988
Completed: April 1989
Gross Tonnage: 5,218 GT
Deadweight: 938 t
Length Overall: approx. 103 m
Beam: approx. 15 m
Draught: approx. 4.4–4.5 m
Current Passenger Capacity: 130
Current Cabins / Suites: 65
Passenger Decks: 7
Current Operator: CroisiEurope
Current Status: Active.
Built as OCEANIC GRACE
The vessel entered service in 1989 as:
OCEANIC GRACE
She was built in Japan for the high-end domestic cruise market.
Unlike the giant resort-style cruise ships that would come to dominate the industry, OCEANIC GRACE was conceived as a small, destination-oriented vessel capable of reaching ports and anchorages inaccessible to much larger ships.
This basic concept would remain central to her career for decades.
OCEANIC ODYSSEY
During the second half of the 1990s, the vessel became:
OCEANIC ODYSSEY
and operated for Spice Island Cruises.
This identity lasted until 1998.
CLIPPER ODYSSEY
In 1998, the vessel was acquired for approximately USD 16 million by Clipper Cruise Line and renamed:
CLIPPER ODYSSEY.
Under this name she developed the expedition-cruise identity by which many ship enthusiasts still remember her.
Rather than concentrating on conventional major cruise ports, CLIPPER ODYSSEY operated destination-intensive voyages in remote regions and smaller ports around the world.
From CLIPPER ODYSSEY to SILVER DISCOVERER
In 2013, Silversea announced arrangements to bring the vessel into its expedition fleet.
Following refurbishment, the former CLIPPER ODYSSEY entered Silversea service in 2014 as:
SILVER DISCOVERER
The vessel became part of the company's specialist expedition division, offering small-ship voyages to destinations where conventional cruise liners could not easily operate.
Her name history had now become:
OCEANIC GRACE → OCEANIC ODYSSEY → CLIPPER ODYSSEY → SILVER DISCOVERER
Silversea Expeditions
As SILVER DISCOVERER, the vessel was employed on expedition itineraries across regions including:
Asia
Australia
the Pacific
and remote island destinations.
Her small dimensions and shallow draught were particularly useful for expedition cruising.
The vessel carried only around 120–130 passengers rather than the several thousand typical of modern mainstream cruise ships.
Sold to CroisiEurope
In May 2019, French cruise operator CroisiEurope announced the acquisition of SILVER DISCOVERER.
The company planned to expand beyond its traditional river-cruise business into genuine ocean cruising.
The vessel was renamed:
LA BELLE DES OCEANS.
LA BELLE DES OCEANS
CroisiEurope initially described its new ship as having:
7 decks
60 suites
and capacity for:
120 passengers.
Following later accommodation arrangements, the company's current 2026 specification lists:
65 cabins and suites
with capacity for:
130 passengers.
All passenger accommodation has exterior views.
Small-Ship Cruising
At approximately 103 metres in length, LA BELLE DES OCEANS is tiny compared with modern mass-market cruise ships.
This is central to her appeal.
She can operate destination-intensive itineraries involving relatively small ports and provides a significantly higher passenger-space ratio than large resort vessels.
Current facilities include:
a restaurant,
lounges,
a swimming pool,
fitness facilities,
spa and wellness areas.
Still Active in 2026
LA BELLE DES OCEANS remains fully active in 2026, 37 years after construction.
CroisiEurope's current programme includes Mediterranean itineraries around:
Corsica
Sardinia
Italy
Spain
and the French Riviera,
followed by autumn and winter programmes toward:
Morocco
and the Canary Islands.
Current AIS information in September 2026 continues to show the ship actively cruising in the western Mediterranean under the Belgian flag.
Piraeus Connection
The vessel also forms part of the PiraeuShips archive.
The dedicated July 2016 entry was published under her well-known former identity CLIPPER ODYSSEY, while noting that IMO 8800195 had already become SILVER DISCOVERER.
At that time she remained under the Bahamas flag and was classed by Bureau Veritas.
PiraeuShips Record
The vessel now sailing as LA BELLE DES OCEANS was recorded in the PiraeuShips archive through her former CLIPPER ODYSSEY identity. Built in Japan in 1989 as OCEANIC GRACE, she subsequently became OCEANIC ODYSSEY and CLIPPER ODYSSEY before joining Silversea Expeditions as SILVER DISCOVERER in 2014. Acquired by CroisiEurope in 2019 and renamed LA BELLE DES OCEANS, the 103-metre ship remains commercially active in 2026, carrying just 130 passengers on destination-intensive cruises. The PiraeuShips record therefore preserves an earlier chapter in the career of a small cruise ship that has remained remarkably adaptable across almost four decades.
Original video footage © PiraeuShips. All rights reserved.
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