Alaunia was built by John Brown & Company in Scotland to augment the transatlantic passenger fleet of the Cunard Line. The ship entered service in July 1925 and was primarily employed on the Canadian route running from Southampton to Quebec and Montreal during the warm weather months and Halifax during the winter. She was one of a number of so-called intermediate liners built with fuel economy in mind. Designed with a single stack and straight stem bow with four passenger decks, the ship was propelled by two screws powered by four double reduction geared steam turbine engines that gave her a service speed of fifteen knots. Safety features included twelve watertight compartments divided by eleven bulkheads and twenty-eight lifeboats.
