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Boat of the Week: This Historic 325-Foot Superyacht Hosted JFK, Winston Churchill, and Elizabeth Taylor

Christina o , owned by aristotle onassis, has a rich past that includes visits by prime ministers and presidents, love affairs with famous opera singers, and 42 phone lines. it is now available for charter., julia zaltzman, julia zaltzman's most recent stories.

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It wasn’t always a glamorous superyacht . The vessel started out as Canadian Navy Frigate,  HMCS Stormont , built in 1943 by Vickers of Montreal. It played an active role in World War II. In 1952, Onassis acquired it for $34,000 as part of a block purchase of ten ships that he intended to convert into a fleet of whaling vessels. When plans fell through, he kept Stormont for himself, spending $4 million (or about $46 million in today’s dollars) to convert it into a luxury superyacht—the first true gigayacht. He lengthened the hull by 29 feet and named it Christina after his daughter.

No expense was spared for its rebirth. Powered by steam engines that delivered a top speed of 21 knots, the yacht was equipped with five fast launches, a glass-bottomed boat for underwater observation, a small dinghy, two kayaks, a Fiat 500, and a five-seater Piaggio P.136L-2. (This was the same seaplane that crashed in 1973, killing Onassis’s 24-year-old son Alexander.)

Christina was one of the few yachts of its time to have an elevator, not to mention a surgical operating theater with radiography equipment. The mosaiced swimming pool also broke molds, with a minotaur-themed lifting floor that converted into a dance floor.

A close-knit group of Onassis’s friends and family partied alongside powerful figures and stars of the silver screen, including Marilyn Monroe, Margot Fonteyn, Frank Sinatra, the Rockefellers, the Rothschilds and Paul Getty. Ex-King Farouk of Egypt referred to the yacht as “the height of opulence.” The guests were entertained in reception lounges that are now famous with whispered stories.

The wood-paneled Jackie O Lapis Lounge on the main deck—named after a lapis-lazuli fireplace rumored to have cost a princely sum of one dollar per square centimeter—is stocked with rare books and a self-playing electric piano. The fake El Grecos that Onassis hung during his ownership—“If people want to believe they are authentic, why spoil their pleasure,” he once quipped—have been switched for real masterpieces by Renoir, Le Corbusier and Chirico.

Adjacent is Ari’s Bar where orca teeth serve as armrests for stools and are engraved with scenes from Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey . Wood from a sunken Spanish galleon was used for the bar. On the walls hang portraits of John Wayne, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, all guests aboard the boat.

Christina was also a place where Onassis conducted business, thanks to the network of 42 telephone lines across the boat. John F. Kennedy and Winston Churchill had their first encounter on the yacht. Britain’s wartime Prime Minister enjoyed eight voyages between 1958 and 1965 and was the only guest for whom Onassis gave up his own suite. The Library is named in his honor.

The 16 additional guest cabins are named after and inspired by Greek islands. The Ithaca suite was Christina’s cabin, which she surrendered to Greta Garbo, Maria Callas and Jackie Kennedy (prior to her marriage to Onassis in 1975) whenever they visited. They each feature wood, marble and gold bathroom fittings. The pastel color schemes were selected by Jackie O, who was renowned for her restoration of the White House.

Maria Callas embarked on a nine-year-long love affair with Onassis in 1959. The Maria Callas Lounge contains her original grand Steinway piano. Her wedding rings from her first marriage and a solid silver Tiffany dish presented to her by JFK are displayed by the entrance, and the entire collection of her operatic recordings are available to play. For film nights, there is a remote-controlled projector.

After Onassis’ death in 1975, his daughter gifted the boat to the Greek government and a slow deterioration ensued. In 1999, a new owner, Onassis family friend John Paul Papanicolaou, undertook a sizable refit estimated at $50 million that replaced 65 percent of the steel hull. He also renamed the vessel Christina O .

Subsequent refit work from 2016 to 2018 added an aft deck bimini system and a boarding platform for easier guest transfers. Two sets of Vosper stabilizer fins were installed, along with cold rooms, an incineration chamber and garbage compactor for the lower deck galley. A split-level Jacuzzi deck now overlooks a bar and large dining table with intricate marquetry inlays depicting the tales of Ulysses.

A pair of restored mahogany HackerCraft tenders sit alongside original features, such as the circular staircase with its onyx and silver handrail, vintage wall lights and leather settees.

The vessel has recently been a case of life imitating art. Christina O played a starring role in the Netflix series  The Crown and 2022 comedy  Triangle of Sadness . The 1956 wedding reception held on board for Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly was echoed in 2019 when supermodel Heidi Klum was married on board. Most recently, Rupert Murdoch chartered the yacht in July for a family reunion in Positano, Italy.

Other amenities include a spa with two full-time therapists forming part of the 38 crew and a chest of water toys, including an inflatable slide and Flyboard. Those weren’t toys that were available when Onassis acquired the vessel and turned it into a superyacht, but one imagines he would’ve approved.

Christina O can be chartered around $768,500 per week with Morley Yachts.

Click here to see more images of Christina O.

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The real story behind the Triangle of Sadness superyacht

When an unhinged captain, celebrity model couple and an elderly arms dealer find themselves on a luxury cruise ship, things take a turn for the worse in Ruben Östlund's Triangle of Sadness. As the glossy satire is released in theatres, we dive into the colourful history of the film's true star (no, not Woody Harrelson), the 99.15 metre superyacht Christina O .

Christina O is no stranger to celebrity fanfare. With classic lines and a trademark yellow funnel, some might say she was destined for the screen and even secured a role in Netflix drama The Crown , starring as the 121.95 metre Alexander , before landing the part of a luxury cruiser in the 2022 comedy Triangle of Sadness. Even in her early years she was often found in the company of A-listers. The former warship was famously rescued and rebuilt by Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis and her guest list reads like a who's who of Hollywood's finest, the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Greta Garbo and Grace Kelley having all graced her decks.

Spending $4 million on a yacht in the years of austerity after the Second World War seemed an act of frivolity by Onassis , but it was shrewd philosophy that underpinned what appeared to be a wasteful extravagance. The Canadian anti-submarine frigate HMCS Stormont , which he bought for its scrap value of $34,000 in 1954, was transformed into Christina O : a pleasure palace that vastly enhanced his status – and wealth – as film stars, politicians, bankers and businessmen answered his invitation to ‘come aboard’. 

What sets Onassis apart from the more patrician yacht owners of the day, who valued their privacy above all else, is that he virtually wrote the manual for today’s superyacht lifestyle. Espadrilled, tanned and always with an eye open beneath his sunglasses to the possibilities of a little publicity, he epitomised the roguish glamour of the mega-rich. Who didn’t aspire to a lifestyle that revolved around beautiful women, yachts and film stars? Yet, as a shrewd businessman, he was among the first to realise the potential of a yacht as a business tool. Who knows how many lucrative doors a few days’ hospitality aboard Christina O opened up for the man who began his career as a refugee from Turkish Anatolia with $250 in his pocket and a ticket to Argentina, where he made his first fortune.

Christina O was named after his first-born child, who inherited her father’s yacht at his death in 1975. However, with the memories of those carefree days perhaps too poignant, Christina donated her namesake to the Greek government in 1978, and a period of slow deterioration followed. Greece was in the hands of a left-wing regime, and the former plaything of a capitalist millionaire was embarrassing.

The yacht was rescued in 1999 by an Onassis family friend, John Paul Papanicolaou, who set about restoring her. The work was more extensive than first thought – 560 tonnes of new steel were required to replace corroded plating – but now with MAN diesels in place of her original steam turbines and many of her original fittings retained, she charters extremely successfully, her 17 cabins putting her into the exclusive mini-cruise liner market, a role that suits her perfectly.

Christina O has undergone numerous refits in recent years, which saw some mechanical and repair work undertaken, including careful restoration of her famous Minotaur mosaic swimming pool/dance floor. A new ‘Callas stage’ was also constructed and installed around the base of the funnel. Although there is an official concert room below – for events like the Maria Callas opera recitals that showcase the yacht’s links to the famous soprano – it was considered that in view of all the available Mediterranean sunshine going to waste, an alternative outdoor space would be a sound investment.

The most preserved areas are the Onassis Suite, the famous Ari’s Bar and the concert room. All guest cabins have been completely refurbished in similar style and still use the names of Greek islands, as accorded by Onassis. The pastel colour scheme in all of the cabins was selected by Jackie O and her choice of colour schemes and décor.

Ari’s Bar is one of the most historical parts of the Christina O . Engraved orca whale teeth provide places to hang a handbag, or hold on to, around the circumference of the bar, whose surface is still the original massive piece of timber from a sunken Spanish galleon. Similar orca teeth offer footrests on the stool columns, which are covered with the whale penis skin that Aristotle loved to tell his guests about.

Countless reams have been written about this famous yacht in gossip columns, scandal sheets, fashion magazines and yachting journals – probably more so than any other yacht afloat. Christina O is a celebrity in her own right and represents a golden age, an era of giants, from those who owned her to those who trod her decks and gave everlasting ambience to her interior spaces.

While she is truly an icon of her time, her legacy lives on both on and off the screen.

Christina O is available for charter with Morley Yachts from €700,000 per week.

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In pictures: all aboard iconic superyacht Christina O

Her storied history includes serving in WW2 and hosting Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly’s wedding reception 

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The superyacht Christina O did not start her life on the seas as a playground for the rich and famous. Constructed in 1943 by Montreal-based shipbuilder Canadian Vickers, the 99m Canadian frigate - originally called HMCS Stormont - was first used to serve in the Second World War and was present at the D-Day landings in Normandy in 1944.

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Acquired in 1954 by Aristotle Onassis, it was the Greek billionaire shipping magnate that transformed the Stormont into one of the world’s most luxurious superyachts . Renamed after his daughter, Onassis spent $4m on the refurbishment of a ship that would become an elite and exclusive entertainment destination.

From John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Winston Churchill to Marilyn Monroe and Jackie Kennedy, who Onassis later married, Christina O hosted some of the world’s most influential people during her glory years. The wedding reception of Monaco’s Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly was also held on board, while legendary Hollywood couple Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor were regular guests.

Today the Christina O can be hired for corporate events and be chartered for private use. Charter prices start from €560,000 (£492,900) a week in low season to €630,000 (£554,700) a week in high season. See morleyyachts.com

‘Greatest yacht of them all’

After a number of refits, the ship has been meticulously restored. It can sleep up to 34 guests who can enjoy the same luxury experienced by the famous visitors of yesteryear. Designed to the highest standard, Onassis’s “unique taste is everywhere”, says Boat International magazine. Christina O is regarded by many as the “greatest yacht of them all”.

Swimming pool

One of the highlights aboard the superyacht is the beautiful swimming pool. Designed with a tiled bull mosaic, the pool can turn into a dance floor at the flip of a switch.

Jacuzzi deck

Relaxation is the top activity on the Christina O. As well as the Jacuzzi deck (pictured) the ship also has an indoor air-conditioned gym and a spa which offers beauty treatments and massages.

Callas Lounge

The surroundings inside the yacht are as plush as the exteriors. The Callas Lounge (pictured) is named after the American-born Greek soprano Maria Callas. Regarded as one of the influential opera singers of the 20th century, it’s said that her “opera notes still play in the Callas Lounge”.

Ari’s Bar

The legendary Ari’s Bar is christened in tribute to Aristotle Onassis himself as “this was one of his favourite places in which to enjoy a drink”, says Yacht Charter Fleet .

Ranked 56 in the Top 100 Largest Yachts in the World list, Christina O is the “epitome of elegance and luxury”, says Superyachts.com . “Its capacious deck can host up to 250 guests beneath extensive canopies, perfect for a special occasion or one-off corporate incentive.” Other amenities include the Galaxy Bar on the Compass deck and the large Jacuzzi on the Promenade deck.

Onassis’ Suite

The expansive and luxurious Onassis Suite is situated on the bridge deck and holds a spacious bathroom with Jacuzzi tub and a private en-suite lounge, says Superyachts.com .

Spiral staircase

Christina O’s elegant marble-railed spiral staircase covers three decks and at the bottom is the floor depicting Onassis’ Omega emblem.

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Mike Starling is the former digital features editor at The Week. He started his career in 2001 in Gloucestershire as a sports reporter and sub-editor and has held various roles as a writer and editor at news, travel and B2B publications. He has spoken at a number of sports business conferences and also worked as a consultant creating sports travel content for tourism boards. International experience includes spells living and working in Dubai, UAE; Brisbane, Australia; and Beirut, Lebanon. 

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