Built to replace the three "V" class passenger liners lost in World War I, she was the first of two vessels to come from the Belfast yard of Workman Clarke & Co. Ltd. Comprising five hold for refrigerated and general cargo, and accommodation for 300 First, 150 Second and 230 Third Class passengers. She entered the New York - South America trade, bringing the passenger fleet up to five ships, on a fortnightly service on the route.

After the tragic loss of the Vestris (12th November 1928) some 300 miles off Hampton Roads, with the loss of 112 passenger and crew and the depression increasing. She was laid up in the River Blackwater in 1929. Brought out of lay up in the spring of 1932, she sailed on a series of cruises from Southampton and Liverpool. These proved extremely successful that she was specially fitted out for this purpose and the hulls painted white as shown in the postcard above. She was employed cruising to just before the outbreak of  World War II, cruising to the Mediterranean, Atlantic Islands, West Africa, West Indies, Norwegian Fjords and Baltic.