Shortly after her 1879 maiden voyage, Arizona won the eastbound record for a Sandy Hook-Queenstown run of seven days, eight hours, 11 minutes (15.96 knots).
However, despite her greater power and coal consumption, she failed to take the westbound "Blue Riband" record from Germanic.

On 7 November 1879, Arizona suffered a collision with an iceberg en route to Liverpool.
Stephen Guion was on board with two of his nieces.
It was found that the ship was holding an insufficient watch in the bow, with most of the deck crew positioned on or around the bridge.
Fortunately, while she was going at full speed, the ship's top speed was only about 15 knots, so the damage was not threatening.
As such, she remained afloat and was able to proceed to St. John's where she underwent temporary repairs before returning to Scotland.
Guion advertised this near disaster as proof of Arizona's strength.

While uncomfortable, Arizona proved popular with American passengers because the Guion Line was majority owned by Americans.
Stephen Guion died in December 1885, and the line was reorganized as a public stock corporation to settle the estate.
The company did not invest in new units and by 1894 when Guion stopped sailings, Arizona and her running mate, Alaska of 1881 were hopelessly outpaced by the latest twin-screw liners from Cunard, White Star and Inman.

It was on the Arizona that Oscar Wilde first sailed to America, arriving in New York on 2 January 1882.
On 23 October 1882 he welcomed his friend Lillie Langtry on her arrival in New York on the Arizona.

Arizona was laid up in Scotland until 1897 when she was sold to a British flagged San Francisco-China service.
 She was extensively rebuilt and her two funnels were replaced with one enormous funnel that dominated her profile.
 After a few Pacific voyages, Arizona was sold to the War Department and used designated U.S.Army Transport (USAT) Arizona.
Shortly after her 1879 maiden voyage, Arizona won the eastbound record for a Sandy Hook-Queenstown run of seven days, eight hours, 11 minutes (15.96 knots). However, despite her greater power and coal consumption, she failed to take the westbound "Blue Riband" record from Germanic.
On 7 November 1879, Arizona suffered a collision with an iceberg en route to Liverpool. Stephen Guion was on board with two of his nieces. It was found that the ship was holding an insufficient watch in the bow, with most of the deck crew positioned on or around the bridge. Fortunately, while she was going at full speed, the ship's top speed was only about 15 knots, so the damage was not threatening. As such, she remained afloat and was able to proceed to St. John's where she underwent temporary repairs before returning to Scotland. Guion advertised this near disaster as proof of Arizona's strength.
While uncomfortable, Arizona proved popular with American passengers because the Guion Line was majority owned by Americans. Stephen Guion died in December 1885, and the line was reorganized as a public stock corporation to settle the estate. The company did not invest in new units and by 1894 when Guion stopped sailings, Arizona and her running mate, Alaska of 1881 were hopelessly outpaced by the latest twin-screw liners from Cunard, White Star and Inman.
It was on the Arizona that Oscar Wilde first sailed to America, arriving in New York on 2 January 1882. On 23 October 1882 he welcomed his friend Lillie Langtry on her arrival in New York on the Arizona.
Arizona was laid up in Scotland until 1897 when she was sold to a British flagged San Francisco-China service.  She was extensively rebuilt and her two funnels were replaced with one enormous funnel that dominated her profile.  After a few Pacific voyages, Arizona was sold to the War Department and used designated U.S.Army Transport (USAT) Arizona.
SS Arizona