The mv Queen of Scandinavia was the first in a pair of large overnight vessels built for Silja Line in 1981 by Wartsila, Turku. Entering service as the Finlandia on the 31st March 1981 on the flagship route between Stockholm and Helsinki and although acquitting themselves will in the ice during their first winter on the route, they were less at home in the autumn gales and quite extensive surgery was undertaken on their bows to improve sea keepting qualities during the spring 1982. The work had the desired effect yet did spoil the line of the bow, the extra sheer forward leaving the ship looking for all the world as if a giant slice had been chiselled away. At the end of October 1987 the replacement for the Finlandia was commisioned and with two months the sale had been announched for the Findlandia to DFDS with a delivery date when the new ship enters service.

Renamed mv Queen of Scandinavia and following an extensive refurbishment she entered service on the Oslo to Copenhagen route, which was to become her home route for the next few years until she was replaced again in 2001 and transferred to the Newcastle to Amsterdam route. Since her introduction on the North Sea route her sea keeping qualities have once again come into question, and until the introduction of the mv ing of Scandinavia in 2005 she was the leading ship on the route.

Early 2007 saw the mv Queen of Scandinavia transferred to the Newcastle to Bergen route replacing the mv Princess of Norway.