Hit the High Seas Like Ari and Jackie O

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (TheStreet) -- You may not know the Christina O by name, but most likely you'd recognize the famous luxury yacht once owned by Aristotle Onassis through the photographs of its famous passengers, including everyone from wife Jackie O, to Princess Grace. While many would think the historic boat long in Greek scrapyards or docked at a relative's home on a Greek island such as Scorpios, the iconic yacht can actually still be seen in the South of France and various Mediterranean ports looking far younger that its octogenarian age would suggest.

Not your usual motor yacht, now or even in the 1950s, Christina O (named after Onassis' daughter) was actually a Canadian surplus ship that worked through much of World War II. In 1954, the yacht was bought by Onassis for a mere $34,000, then converted into the most luxurious private yacht of its day at a price of $4 million -- a staggering sum at that time. Over the subsequent decades the ship was a paparazzi fixture, having hosted the marriage reception of Grace Kelly and Monaco's Prince Rainier in 1956 as well as accommodating such celebrity guests as John Wayne, Frank Sinatra, Maria Callas and ultimately Jacqueline Kennedy, whom Onassis married in 1968 on the boat.

The famed yacht of Ari and Jackie O hasn't been retired. It's in the South of France, ready for big-ticket rentals.

Upon the death of Onassis in 1975, the ship was passed on to its namesake Christina Onassis, who in turn gifted the ship to the Greek government. Following years of government neglect, the ship was acquired by its current owners in 1998. They put the ship in dry dock to undergo an unprecedented retrofit to bring the ship up to today's engineering standards and renew its luxury aesthetic to the days of Ari and Jackie. Now the revamp can be enjoyed by the lucky few who can afford the privilege.