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Article: Floating-hotel ferries prosper between Finland and Sweden
- Article from:
- Chicago Sun-Times
- Article date:
- October 26, 1986
CopyrightCopyright (null) Chicago Sun-Times. (Hide copyright information)
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HELSINKI A fleet of floating first-class hotels offering everything
from tax-free liquor to conference halls is ferrying more and more
people between Finland and Sweden.
The 38,000-ton Mariella, named passenger ship of the year by the
American maritime journal Marine Engineering-Log in 1985, boasts a
lobby called the Marble Hall for its beige Italian floor, illuminated
by a 23-foot Swedish crystal light column soaring three decks high.
It's hard to believe you are on a boat.
Take the elevator to your room, go to a pub, a bar, a video-game
arcade, a casino, a disco, the smorgasbord buffet, a gourmet
restaurant. Dive into the swimming pool, retreat to a sauna.
This is a car ferry. But ...