In 1993 , Costa Cruises bought Paquet and all of its assets , but continued to operate '' Mermoz '' under the Paquet brand name on cruises targeted at the French market . In 1996 Carnival Cruise Line bought Costa . Carnival subsequently dissolved Paquet and laid up '' Mermoz '' . In 1999 Carnival sold '' Mermoz '' to the Cyprus based Louis Cruise Lines , who renamed her '' Serenade '' . '' Serenade '' operated two-night cruises , starting in Limassol and calling in Israel and Egypt . Due to the Israeli – Palestinian conflict she was switched to a two-night cruise from Malta to Italy . '' Serenade '' later served as a floating hotel for the 27th G8 summit in Genoa . Throughout the rest of her career with Louis she spent considerable amounts of time laid up at Eleusis Bay , because Louis operated the vessel only during the summer months . In 2003 she began an itinerary of short cruises from Cyprus to the Greek Islands and Egypt
27th G8 summit
27th G8 summit
MV Serenade