The M/Y Grace — built 1928, gifted to Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier of Monaco in 1956, now sailing the Galápagos for Quasar Expeditions — accommodates 16 guests across 9 cabins on 8-day and 15-day itineraries from US $10,950 per person.
From Monaco to the Galápagos: The History of Grace
In the spring of 1956, the world watched as Hollywood actress Grace Kelly became Princess of Monaco. What fewer people know is that the honeymoon vessel was itself a piece of living history — a 1928 Camper & Nicholsons motor yacht that had already served in two world wars, hosted statesmen and billionaires, and survived a German E-boat attack off the coast of Britain.
Origins: Built for an Argentinean Gentleman (1928)
Commissioned by Jacques ‘Santiago’ Soulas, a French-Argentinean entrepreneur, the yacht was delivered in 1928 from Camper & Nicholsons’ Southampton yard and christened Monica — after his daughter. She measured 147 feet (44.8 m) and weighed 298 gross tons, a substantial vessel by the standards of her era. Four years later, Soulas sold her to Zarch Couyoumbian, a Greek gentleman who renamed her Rion.
By 1938 she had passed to Sir George Tilley, chairman of the Prudential Insurance Company, who enjoyed her until the autumn of 1939 — when the British government conscripted her for the war effort.
A Warship in the Channel (1939–1945)
Enrolled into the Royal Navy on 21 October 1939, the vessel’s teak panelling and soft furnishings were stripped out and replaced with machine guns, hammocks, and anti-submarine warfare equipment. She earned the name HMS Rion and was immediately deployed on coastal patrols.
On 26 May 1940, she was dispatched to Dunkirk as part of Operation Dynamo. She made three 39-mile runs from Dunkirk to Dover, delivering approximately 300 soldiers each time. On the third run, a blast off the starboard bow killed 14 soldiers and one sailor and punched holes in her hull. She was repaired at Portsmouth, returned to active duty, and in November 1940 was involved in the capture of a German E-boat. By 1941 she was serving as a floating annex to the Royal Naval Hospital, by then renamed HMS Noir. She was decommissioned in October 1945.
Aristotle Onassis and the Royal Gift (1951–1956)
After restoration at Camper & Nicholsons and a brief return to Sir George Tilley’s ownership, the yacht was acquired by Aristotle Onassis’ charter firm following Tilley’s death in 1951. Onassis renamed her Arion and added her to his charter fleet — reportedly hosting Winston Churchill aboard her during this period.
In 1956, Onassis gifted Arion to Prince Rainier III and Grace Kelly as a wedding present. The newlyweds rechristened her Deo Juvante II — ‘God willing’ — and sailed into Monaco harbour to a rapturous welcome. Their seven-week honeymoon took them along the coasts of Corsica and Sardinia. Two years later, in 1958, the royal couple parted with the yacht.
Subsequent Ownership and the Road to the Galápagos (1958–2007)
After Monaco, the vessel passed through several hands — a Monegasque businessman (renamed Daska, 1958), a Caribbean charter operation (renamed Angela, 1965), a Jamaican government seizure for unpaid taxes (1983), and eventually discovery at auction in 1985 by John Issa, chairman of SuperClubs, who refitted her extensively in Tampa, Florida and named her Zein after one of his daughters. She operated from Negril, Jamaica until 2006.
Quasar Expeditions acquired the M/Y Zein in 2007 and — over two years of refitting — brought her to the Galápagos Islands, renaming her Grace as an acknowledgement of her most famous chapter. The most recent refit was completed in 2023. She now holds a full name chain: Monica → Rion → HMS Rion → HMS Noir → Arion → Deo Juvante II → Daska → Angela → Daska → Zein → Grace.
