Jump to content

Your first cruise ship


Copper10-8
 Share

Recommended Posts

hello our first cruise was to alaska in (ihope 2003)i had virtually nothing to do with the planning . my darling but slightly bossy daughter in law phoned one evening and said guess what i just booked everyone on a cruise to alaska. it was ncl's wind which left the fleet a few months later.. an older ship and looking back i can see why ncl sold her off. the wind desperately needed dry dockand some new everything. we enjoyed every minute and y. since then we have been on princess. and 2 cruises(31 days total on the ncl sun. . never a bad meal and huge amounts of enjoyment . are we hooked yein the last 2 years e have had to cancell 2 cruises-health problems.but as soon as my doctor lets me driveagain( we have to get to the nearest airport and my wife refuses to drive in large cities0 either the south pacific or eastern europe are planned. i would like to try HAL(a shorter cruise to start but I feel we would issues withsome of hal's rules and likly with other passengers. so we stay with ncl or princess for now

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hello our first cruise was to alaska in (ihope 2003)i had virtually nothing to do with the planning . my darling but slightly bossy daughter in law phoned one evening and said guess what i just booked everyone on a cruise to alaska. it was ncl's wind which left the fleet a few months later.. an older ship and looking back i can see why ncl sold her off. the wind desperately needed dry dockand some new everything. we enjoyed every minute and y. since then we have been on princess. and 2 cruises(31 days total on the ncl sun. . never a bad meal and huge amounts of enjoyment . are we hooked yein the last 2 years e have had to cancell 2 cruises-health problems.but as soon as my doctor lets me driveagain( we have to get to the nearest airport and my wife refuses to drive in large cities0 either the south pacific or eastern europe are planned. i would like to try HAL(a shorter cruise to start but I feel we would issues withsome of hal's rules and likly with other passengers. so we stay with ncl or princess for now

 

Windward (1993-present) Built in 1993 by Chantiers de l’Atlantique, St. Nazaire, France as ms Windward for Klosters Rederi A/S-owned Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL). Windward was the second of a pair of identical sister ships, the other was Dreamward (1992). Windward is 164 feet tall, has a draft of 22 feet, an average speed of 20 knots and a maximum speed of 21 knots. She was launched at the French yard on 14 November 1992 and delivered to her new owners on 4 May 1993. She crossed the Atlantic without passengers, arriving in Ft. Lauderdale, Fl on 13 May 1993 and then departed on her maiden cruise, a Panama Canal transit to Los Angeles, CA and San Francisco, CA on 14 May 1993. Upon arrival at Los Angeles (San Pedro) in June 1993, she was officially christened and named by her godmother, then former First Lady Barbara Pierce Bush.

 

Ship+Photo+Norwegian+Wind.jpg

 

Originally both Dreamward and Windward carried the early-nineties Norwegian Cruise Line livery with a white funnel and red & blue decorative stripes on the hull. Sometime before 1998 they received the new NCL livery consisting of a dark blue funnel and an all-white hull. As with the rest of NCL's fleet, Norwegian Wind operated with the "Freestyle" cruising concept, which allows guests to dine in any number of restaurants, in casual attire, at times of their own choosing.

 

Ship+Photo+Norwegian+Dream+-+lenghtening+%281%29.jpg

 

Both sisters were planned with a gross register tonnage of 39,127 and a maximum passenger capacity of 1,246 persons. However, they were also designed from the start with the concept of lengthening in mind, making it possible for the company to easily expand their capacity without having to order entirely new ships. The lengthening was accomplished between March and May 1998 when Windward was split in two at the Lloyd Werft shipyard in Bremerhaven, Germany and a new 131-foot, 3-inch midsection was inserted to bring her new length to 754 feet. In the process she acquired 256 new cabins of which twelve were balcony cabins (six on each side) on Deck 11, the Marina Buffet restaurant on Deck 9 and four additional lifeboats (two on each side). These additions allowed her to carry 512 additional lower berth passengers, increasing her passenger capacity by 29%. In addition to the ‘stetching”, the ship's funnel and radar mast were adapted so that they could be folded down, allowing her to pass under the bridges of the Kiel Canal.

 

Ship+Photo+Norwegian+Wind.jpg

She re-emerged at 51,039 gross registered tons and with a new maximum passenger capacity of 2,156. Coinciding with this lengthening, the ship also emerged with a new name, Norwegian Wind. Her older sister underwent the same process and became Norwegian Dream. Norwegian Cruise Line was purchased by Malaysia-based Star Cruises in 2000 and shortly thereafter the fleet was systematically rationalized with new builds going to NCL and older tonnage being transferred to Star.

 

Ship+Photo+Norwegian+Wind.jpg

 

Besides Alaska from Vancouver, Norwegian Wind has operated western Caribbean cruises (Georgetown, Grand Cayman, Roatan, Honduras, Belize and Cozumel, Mexico) from both Miami, Fl and New Orleans, La. Between October and December 2001, Norwegian Wind made her first-ever series of cruises to Southeast Asia. After a 21-day "Northern Circle" cruise from Vancouver to Beijing, China she made port calls at Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Singapore, combining five different seven-night cruise itineraries with land packages. Norwegian Wind has also operated from San Francisco, CA, Los Angeles, CA, Miami, FL and New Orleans, LA. Norwegian Wind was also the NCL ship who pioneered Hawaii cruises offering voyages from Honolulu to Hilo, the gold coast of Kona on the Big Island, the rainforest near Nawiliwili, Kauai and the volcanoes that rise above Lahaina and Kahului, Maui, then finishing up with a trip to Fanning Island in order to satisfy the infamous Passenger Service Act.

 

In 2004 ownership of the Norwegian Wind was transferred to parent company Star Cruises, in anticipation of an internal transfer of the ship to the Star Cruises' fleet. This transfer was realized in April 2007, when the ship joined the Star Cruises fleet under the new name SuperStar Aquarius. She received a refit and refurbishment in Singapore in order to cater to the Asia-Pacific market, as well as a new livery to match the rest of the Star Cruises fleet. The ship came out of that refit with two significant changes. The first was that a large portion of her public rooms were converted for use as gambling venues. Secondly, due to superstition, (especially when it comes to gambling), the vast majority of her cabins were re-numbered to exclude the number 4. In Chinese, the number 4 means 'die', as in death. As a result, none of her cabins contain the number 4 except for those on the lowest passenger level which is deck 4. SuperStar Aquarius can accommodate around 2,100 passengers in all berths, with approximately 1,000 staying in the lower berths. She has a crew of approximately 700 personnel and ten decks that are all accessible to her passengers.

 

800px-HK_TST_Ocean_Terminal_Star_Cruises_SuperStar_Aquarius_2.JPG

 

SuperStar Aquarius offers a wide variety of international cuisines; Thai, Chinese and Western. Thai and Chinese food can be found at the Grand Ocean Palace Restaurant while the Marco Polo Restaurant offers Italian dishes. The Blue Lagoon Café, open 24 hours, offers an open-air barbecue. Additional dining establishments on the ship are the Champ's Bar, Oceana Barbecue, Mariner's Buffet, Dynasty Restaurant and Spices Restaurant. The Lagoon Bar and Aquarius Lounge offer cocktails and pre-dinner drinks.

 

superstar_aquarius_1993_3.jpg

SuperStar Aquarius is normally home-based at the Ocean Terminal in Hong Kong with her itineraries including one-night high sea cruises and occasionally, two-night cruises to Xiamen and Haikou, China. Between March and October 2008, SuperStar Aquarius was based in Singapore from where she offered a variation of one-night, two-night, and four-night cruises. She returned to Hong Kong in late October 2008 and resumed her current itinerary.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

John - All I can say is WOW!! Thank you so much for the indepth information on Matson's 2 ships. I'm fairly certain my grandmother's trip to Hawaii was before 1957 so she must have been on Lurline. I'm going to print your wonderful history lesson and pictures and add it to her travel journal folder so her family can see the luxury liner of old that she sailed on.

 

For a woman born in 1889, she was one of the most well-traveled independent gals around...most of it done solo...all over the world and U.S. Her travel journal would make most on this board extremely jealous. Imagine a grey-haired lady, always in a dress with corsette and black pumps, jumping in her car on a whim and driving across the U.S. alone (several times), riding a donkey to the bottom of the Grand Canyon in the same attire, roaming all over the Holy Land, Europe, Asia, Africa, etc. from the late 1940s to the late 1960s. One of the true Renaissance Women, for sure.

 

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this addition to her Hawaii cruise. :)

 

Diane

Link to comment
Share on other sites

John - All I can say is WOW!! Thank you so much for the indepth information on Matson's 2 ships. I'm fairly certain my grandmother's trip to Hawaii was before 1957 so she must have been on Lurline. I'm going to print your wonderful history lesson and pictures and add it to her travel journal folder so her family can see the luxury liner of old that she sailed on.

 

For a woman born in 1889, she was one of the most well-traveled independent gals around...most of it done solo...all over the world and U.S. Her travel journal would make most on this board extremely jealous. Imagine a grey-haired lady, always in a dress with corsette and black pumps, jumping in her car on a whim and driving across the U.S. alone (several times), riding a donkey to the bottom of the Grand Canyon in the same attire, roaming all over the Holy Land, Europe, Asia, Africa, etc. from the late 1940s to the late 1960s. One of the true Renaissance Women, for sure.

 

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this addition to her Hawaii cruise. :)

 

Diane

 

Obviously a fascinating woman, Di! Thanks for the props and YW!;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1975 - Alaska....inside passage with mom, dad, and my grandmother. I hope someone bought her.

 

Someone did, but unfortunately, for a number of years, she's not been doing so well! Things are looking up again, though! Working on her history!

01-ROTATE-faithful-gone-but-not.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Someone did, but unfortunately, for a number of years, she's not been doing so well! Things are looking up again, though! Working on her history!

 

01-ROTATE-faithful-gone-but-not.jpg

Miss Xanadu is looking tired. I learned that she was in Calif. last. Bless you and all of your reserch. Aloha, Doreen

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1975 - Alaska....inside passage with mom, dad, and my grandmother. I hope someone bought her.

 

mv Wappen von Hamburg (1955-present) Built in 1955 by Steinwerder Industrien AG, a subsidiary of the better known Blohm + Voss AG, Hamburg, (then) West Germany as mv Wappen von Hamburg for Hafen Dampfschiffahrt Aktien Gesellschaft, commonly known as HADAG-Lloyd AG. She was the yards and West Germany’s first post-war seagoing passenger vessel and was launched on 1 February 1955 and delivered to her owners on 14 May 1955. When she emerged from the German yard, Wappen von Hamburg, loosely translated into ‘Coat of arms of Hamburg’, came in at 2,599 gross registered tons but, being a day cruiser, could accommodate up to 1,600 passengers.

wappen_von_hamburg_1955_3.jpg

HADAG-Lloyd, not to be confused with HAPAG-Lloyd, was a Hamburg-based company which owned small vessels such as harbor ferries and excursion boats and used them on day cruises. Beginning in 1952, they took over a service from Hamburg to the north German off-shore resort island of Helgoland. This service proved very popular so HADAG decided to order a new-build which became Wappen Von Hamburg.

wappen_von_hamburg_1955_1.jpg

The ship attracted full passenger loads on her route for HADAG (Hamburg-Cuxhaven-Helgoland-Hörnum) resulting in a near sister ship being ordered which became the Bunte Kuh (‘Colored Cow’ in English) in 1957. The drawback for both sister ships, however, would turn out to be their speed. At 17.5 knots, their passengers had a very limited time at Helgoland so HADAG-Lloyd was forced to charter additional tonnage to serve the island straight from Cuxhaven. This allowed Wappen von Hamburg and Bunte Kuh to sail directly to Helgoland from Hamburg which saved time and allowed their passengers to have a longer stay on the island.

delos_1955_1.jpg

In 1960, HADAG suddenly sold Wappen von Hamburg to the Hellenic Star Greek Maritime Co. Ltd. owned by Petros M. Nomikos for 375,000 pounds sterling. He had her converted/rebuilt for cruising at the Blohm + Voss yard. Among other improvements, she was refitted with a swimming pool, air conditioning and cabins for 186 passengers.

1_1d3a094971285ba71acb28b42d951ec4.jpg

Under the new name of ‘Delos’ she departed Hamburg on 28 April 1961 for Piraeus, Greece arriving at her new home port on 9 May 1961. Nomikos Lines used her on a regular run from Piraeus to the Aegean islands of Delos, Mykonos and Rodos/Rhodes where she quickly earned herself a high reputation.

In 1967, the vessel was sold again, this time to a Seattle/Vancouver-based company by the name of the Alaska Cruise Line for $2,155.000 million U.S. She departed Piraeus on 14 October 1967 on a long journey, bound for Vancouver, BC. Alaska Cruise Line was a company run by Chuck West. In 1947, it was West who designed a series of land excursions as Arctic Alaska Tours (from 1954 known as Westours Inc., and in 1977 taken over by Holland America Lines) for the passengers of the Alaska Steamship Company. When that company left the passenger trade in 1964, West went on to establish his own cruise line, Alaska Cruise Line. He renamed Delos as ‘Polar Star’ and she became one of the first “cruise ships” to serve the Alaska market from Vancouver and Seattle during the 1968 summer season. During the summers, she cruised in Pacific waters to Mexico and as far south as Tahiti under the West Line name. In 1970, she received yet another name, ‘Pacific Star’ full-time for West Line, basically continuing her same itineraries to Alaskan and North Pacific waters in the summer and to Mexican Pacific as well as South Pacific destinations in the winter. It was felt that ‘Pacific Star’ was a better fit for the winter cruises in warmer climes.

May 1972 saw her on the move again, this time to a company by the name of Donald L. Ferguson Cruises Ltd. who renamed her ‘Xanadu’. After a refit at Esquimalt (Victoria), BC on Vancouver Island, she began operating for Seattle-based Xanadu Cruises on 14 May 1973 on Alaska cruises. The winter season saw her cruising from Los Angeles to Mexico, Panama and the Galapagos Islands. Xanadu Cruises had both style and sophistication but the energy crisis of the seventies effectively ended her cruise line career. On 13 December 1973, Xanadu was purchased by Seattle-based Joel Eisenberg and the vessel continued to sail her itineraries. Her new owners developed financial problems so in 1977 Xanadu ceased operations. While in Vancouver in June 1978, she was arrested for non-payment of mortgage bills to the First National Bank of Seattle and subsequently laid up in Vancouver. In October 1978, the bank took ownership of the vessel by auction and she was towed to Seattle, WA where she was laid up.

She was then purchased by the Seattle-based Pan Alaska Seafood Company who had her towed to Dutch Harbor, AK and once there and after a rebuilt, used her as an accommodation ship for the crab fishery industry. In 1983, Xanadu was towed to Tacoma, WA and laid up once again. A case can be made that this is when her downward spiral began when in subsequent years she was being passed from owner to owner, none of which improved her status and overall condition.

In December 1984 she was purchased by the Xanadu Cruise Ship Corporation Inc. who brought the vessel to the Port of Los Angeles’ outer harbor where she lay at anchor. Their Long Beach, CA-based owners, under the name 'Project Expex Inc.', had plans to turn her into a floating exhibition and trade ship under the name of ‘Expex’. They even had a date in March 1986 picked out when Expex would set sail on an 18-month 'trade show cruise' to market American technology to developing nations, She did receive the new name but was then neglected as well as vandalized.

In 1991, Expex was sold to ‘World Ministries’ aka ‘The Friendship’, a non-profit charitable organization from California who renamed her ‘Faithful’. Their idea was to restore and renovate her and use her as a medical relief/care ship for service in the Caribbean. In 1994, Faithful was moved to Wilmington, CA (still part of the Port of Los Angeles) for continued renovation which included the addition of a large meeting room. While at her berth, she was illegally occupied by missionaries. The renovation work was never completed due to lack of funding and the vessel was returned to an anchorage in the outer harbor where she deteriorated for several more years. In 2003, she was reportedly sold to Florida-based James Mitchell and the ship was moved to Southwest Marine, a ship repair facility on Terminal Island (also part of the Port of L.A.) and had plans to rebuild her into a hospital ship for children by the name of ‘Xanadu 2’. Mitchell reportedly heads a non-profit group known as Project Hospital Ship Oceanic Incorporated. This plan, as so many others before involving the ship, never materialized.

Faithful%20-%20IMO%205088227%20388592M.jpg

On 20 September 2005, after being sold once again, Faithful was suddenly towed to an estuary on the northern waterfront of the City of Alameda in the San Francisco Bay area where she was to undergo conversion into a private luxury yacht with the name ‘Aurora’. Her new owners were on record as Al Boraq Aviation however, numerous attempts by the Alameda City Attorneys Office to contact Al Boraq in order to inquire as to their intentions with the vessel were ignored. After eighteen months of trying to have the owners take away their deteriorating hulk from the former Naval Fleet Industrial Supply Center, the city of Alameda shelled out $200,000 in hard cash to have Faithful towed by private ship salvager Kurt Lind of Cal Equipment, who also received the title/lien to the ship. On 17 February 2008, two tugboats towed her to a mooring point, first to Decker Island, then to the bank of the Sacramento River at former U.S. Army, now City of Rio Vista property, in Solano County, CA.

01-ROTATE-faithful-gone-but-not.jpg

Since that time, the ship’s current caretakers, salvager Kurt Lind and Christopher Wilson, have organized a number of volunteers, who live onboard, to clean and renovate the Faithful. Her hull and superstructure have recently been repainted white by them and her flooring is in the process of restoration. Estimates for a full restoration of the 55-year old ship run from $10 million U.S. to $60 million. Future plans for the ship have ranged from a floating condominium to a museum. Only time will tell!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks, DizzyDallasDi for bringing up the subject of the Matson Liners, and many thanks to Copper 10 - 8 for all the history! This brings up such wonderful memories.

 

My father was a career Coast Guard officer, and our family moved to Honolulu from San Francisco by sailing on the SS Lurline in the summer of 1962. Back then it was common for ships to be used as routine transportation between Hawaii and the mainland. Though the airlines may have begun taking business from ships in the early 1960's, it seemed to me that it wasn't until the advent of the jumbo jet that sailing to and from the islands truly became outmoded.

 

We lived in Hawaii for three years, and then sailed back to San Francisco in 1965, also on the SS Lurline, when my dad was transferred to New York. Though the ships had the same name, I realize now from your history that they were actually two different ships. I do recall that during that time period, Matson operated four ships - the Mariposa and the Monterey on the longer cruises to the South Pacific, and the Lurline and the Matsonia between LA/San Francisco and Honolulu. I always wondered what happened to those ships, especially when I see those shipping containers labeled "MATSON" in ports or on freight trains today.

 

If I ever mention to anyone that when we lived in Hawaii, we sailed to and from Honolulu on a ship, they think I must be referring to the 1800's and the days of old-fashioned sailing ships.

 

I can't say that started a love of cruising, as I did think of those trips as transportation, though they were of course, also luxury cruises for those times. I didn't get hooked until we sailed out of Seattle on the Zaandam in 2006 on a cruise to Alaska. Now I am really hooked, and I am slowly convincing DH.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks, DizzyDallasDi for bringing up the subject of the Matson Liners, and many thanks to Copper 10 - 8 for all the history! This brings up such wonderful memories.

 

My father was a career Coast Guard officer, and our family moved to Honolulu from San Francisco by sailing on the SS Lurline in the summer of 1962. Back then it was common for ships to be used as routine transportation between Hawaii and the mainland. Though the airlines may have begun taking business from ships in the early 1960's, it seemed to me that it wasn't until the advent of the jumbo jet that sailing to and from the islands truly became outmoded.

 

We lived in Hawaii for three years, and then sailed back to San Francisco in 1965, also on the SS Lurline, when my dad was transferred to New York. Though the ships had the same name, I realize now from your history that they were actually two different ships. I do recall that during that time period, Matson operated four ships - the Mariposa and the Monterey on the longer cruises to the South Pacific, and the Lurline and the Matsonia between LA/San Francisco and Honolulu. I always wondered what happened to those ships, especially when I see those shipping containers labeled "MATSON" in ports or on freight trains today.

 

If I ever mention to anyone that when we lived in Hawaii, we sailed to and from Honolulu on a ship, they think I must be referring to the 1800's and the days of old-fashioned sailing ships.

 

I can't say that started a love of cruising, as I did think of those trips as transportation, though they were of course, also luxury cruises for those times. I didn't get hooked until we sailed out of Seattle on the Zaandam in 2006 on a cruise to Alaska. Now I am really hooked, and I am slowly convincing DH.

 

Thanks Doctork! Here's Zaandam:

 

ms Zaandam (2000-present) Built in 2000 as ms Zaandam by Fincantieri - Cantieri Navali Italiani S.p.A., Marghera (Venice), Italy for Holland America Line. Her keel was laid on 26 June 1998 and she was floated out of her building dock on 30 April 1999.

 

2340_1698_zaandam01.jpg

 

After running successful technical trials in the Adriatic, Zaandam was delivered to Holland America Line on 6 April 2000. She then crossed the Atlantic via the Adriatic and Mediterranean under the command of Captain Jean “Jack” van Coevorden. Uniquely, Zaandam was originally intended to serve as Holland America's bid to attract younger passengers. Consequently, upon her arrival in Ft. Lauderdale, FL she was christened by her then 13-year old godmothers, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, known to television viewers of the late 80's and early 90's from the sitcom "Full House",in a ceremony on 4 May 2000. She departed that afternoon on her maiden voyage to the Caribbean, alternating Western and Eastern itineraries.

 

Ship+Photo+Zaandam.jpg

 

Zaandam was named after the city of Zaandam located in the Dutch province of Noord Holland (North Holland), the main city in the municipality of Zaanstad. Zaandam, the city, was once a small settlement built on the river Zaan near a dam. ms Zaandam is the third ship in HAL history to bear the name Zaandam and also the third ship of the four vessel “R” class, Rotterdam (1997), Volendam (1999), and Amsterdam (2000) are her sisters. The “R” class really should be divided into two separate classes due to internal and external differences; Rotterdam & Amsterdam as one class and Zaandam & Volendam as the other. Holland America Line, however, considers the four ships as one class.

 

The first Zaandam, built by the Nederlandsche Stoomboot Maatschappij/Netherlands Steamboat Company, at Rotterdam, the Netherlands, was launched on 20 July 1882 as a 3,063 ton combination steam and twin-masted sail ship. Zaandam I, HAL’s first ship built in the Netherlands, would sail between Rotterdam and New York through 1897 and also opened HAL’s new route to Buenos Aires, Argentina. In June 1897, she was purchased by the Austro-Americana Steamship Company and renamed Styria. In 1902 she was sold to the New York-based Luckenbach Steamship Company, renamed Julia Luckenbach, and converted into a petroleum carrier. In January 1913 while in Chesapeake Bay, she collided with another steamer and subsequently sank.

 

The second Zaandam was laid down on 22 December 1937 at Wilton-Feijenoord at Schiedam, the Netherlands. She was a 10,909 ton combo cargo-passenger vessel which departed Rotterdam for New York on her maiden voyage on 7 January 1939. When the Netherlands were invaded and occupied by Germany in May 1940, Zaandam was repainted in camouflage colors. In 1942 she was requisitioned by the British Ministry of War Transport and then assigned to the United States War Shipping Administration. In November 1942, Zaandam was torpedoed by a German U-boat, some 300 miles off the coast of Brazil and sank, tragically with 130 of her occupants killed or missing at sea. There were 169 survivors.

 

Ship+Photo+Zaandam.jpg

 

 

Essentially a stretched-out and slightly larger version of HAL’s “S” class, Zaandam has three design changes that distinguish her from that earlier class: Her aft swimming pool was moved from Navigation Deck up one level to Lido Deck, an alternate restaurant, at the time of her delivery called the Marco Polo, later changed into the Pinnacle Grill, was incorporated, and a mid-ship elevator bank and stairwell was added. Zaandam is similar to the lead ship of the “R” class, Rotterdam, but is slower (she basically has the same speed as the four “S” class ships). Zaandam also has a single funnel, however the stack is of a different design than the “S” class funnels. Rotterdam and Amsterdam have a twin-funnel, side-by-side arrangement. Unlike Rotterdam, one of HAL’s two flagships designed for longer, world-wide cruises, Zaandam was designed for yeoman duty in the Caribbean and Alaska but has also found her way to Hawaii, the South Pacific, Australia and Asia. Her home ports so far have been Ft. Lauderdale and Port Canaveral, Fl, San Diego, CA and Vancouver, BC.

 

The basic layout of Zaandam’s public rooms are the same as that of ms Volendam, including her two-tier Rotterdam dining room, Lido buffet-style restaurant, an alternate 88-seat Marco Polo (Pinnacle Grill) restaurant, as well as a Club HAL children’s room on her Sports Deck that can also be used as a meeting or reception room. Her main two-story show lounge is named after Dutch abstract painter Pieter Cornelis “Piet” Mondriaan. The lounge glitters with bright white, gray, and silver decor with somewhat darker furniture providing contrast (the tables feature lamps with miniature musical instruments). Zaandam’s trade mark Ocean Bar attracts the pre- and post-dinner cocktail crowd and her 205-seat Wajang theater, the place for movies, meetings and presentations. The Crows Nest observation lounge has a 320-degree view for taking in port departures and arrivals. She has an Ocean Spa fitness center with a gymnasium and separate massage, sauna and steam rooms. Zaandam also came out with an Explorers Lounge, Java Café coffee bar, Piano Bar, a 24-seat Erasmus Library, an Internet center, shops stocked with duty-free goods, and a Casino with Casino Bar which doubles as the ship’s sports bar.

 

img_atrium.jpg

 

 

 

Zaandam’s theme is loosely tied to the world of music with related memorabilia scattered throughout the ship in fabrics, posters and real instruments. Zaandam’s center piece is a giant 22-foot high Baroque-style Dutch pipe/street organ with mechanical figures “playing” violins, drums and horns that can be found in her three-deck high atrium. The organ “performs” on sea days at 11:00 am and at 12 Noon and at 2:00 and 4:00 pm.Zaandam sports a collection of rock 'n' roll memorabilia that would do credit to a Hard Rock Cafe: a Fender Squire Telecaster guitar, signed by the Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Ronnie Wood and Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones, is located in a glass display case on the Deck 4 staircase. An Ariana acoustic guitar signed by David Bowie and Iggy Pop, a Fender Stratocaster guitar signed in silver ink by the members of Queen and a Bently Les Paul-style guitar signed by various artists, including Carlos Santana, Eric Clapton, BB King, Robert Cray, Keith Richards and Les Paul can also be found in the hallway near the lower entrance to the Rotterdam dining room. The rear wall of the Explorers lounge has a Conn saxophone with a mouthpiece signed by former U.S. President Bill Clinton. There are two somewhat unusual piano art pieces on board that have been painted by modern Dutch artists; one by Henk van Vessem painted in a colorful abstract design located in the ship’s Lido Restaurant, the other, made to look like “shipwreck wood” is located in the Seaview Lounge (outside the Piano Bar).

 

Ship+Photo+Zaandam.jpg

 

The artwork and artifacts onboard Zaandam are valued at more than U.S. $2 million, including antiques, paintings, prints and photography centered around a theme of Dutch and Holland America Line seafaring exploration and cruise travel. There are a series of black & white photos of the line’s early cruise ships in some of the passenger corridors. Zaandam also exhibits works created specifically for the vessel by world-class artists and has a collection of Egyptian artwork (including a wooden model of the third coffin of King Tutankhamen) permanently displayed in the Art Gallery. Usually an “eye catcher” is the large reproduction of the New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art’s “Yellow Jasper”, actually a fragment of an Egyptian queen’s face (commonly referred to as “the yellow lips”) located on the outside of the Explorers Lounge. Like all other HAL ships, great paintings of the line’s ships by Captain Stephen Card can be found in the forward stairwell, and some public rooms are decorated in Dutch colonial motif. A bronze sculpture of a group of five leaping white-sided Pacific dolphins by British artist Susanna Holt is located at Zaandam’s mid-ships magrodomed Lido pool. A pair of boldly colored life-size ceramic cows by Dutch artist Jackie Bouw lie contently by the ship’s rear/Sea view swimming pool.

 

Zaandam’s Java Café, originally found outside her Wajang Theater, has been converted into a wine tasting bar and her original Marco Polo Italian alternate restaurant into the Pinnacle Grill serving Pacific Northwest fare. In November, 2003, Holland America Cruise Line announced a U.S. $225 million program of up-scaling their cruise ships, cruise line image and passenger cruise experience called the 'Signature of Excellence program'. This enhancement program included stateroom amenities (luxury beds and bed linens upgrades, Euro-style mattresses, waffle-weave bathrobes and Egyptian cotton towels to all cabin categories), new massage-type showerheads and professional-grade hair dryers in all bathrooms, new flat-screen LCD televisions with DVD players, make-up mirrors with halo lightning, fresh flowers and complimentary fruit baskets in all cabins, a Culinary Arts Center (inside the Wajang Theater) presented by Food & Wine magazine, with an on-stage kitchen for gourmet cooking demonstrations and interactive classes; an Explorations Café (taking in the Erasmus Library and original internet center and adding a coffee bar); a Neptune concierge lounge for the exclusive use by Deluxe Verandah and Penthouse suite occupants; an expanded Greenhouse Spa and Salon offering thermal suite treatment, a hydrotherapy and thalassotherapy pool and heated ceramic lounges; and the ”Loft” and the “Oasis”, respectively, an interior and exterior area designed exclusively for teens (ages 13-17). Zaandam had her SOE part 1 enhancements installed while in dry-dock in January 2005 at Freeport, the Bahamas.

 

During the first week of February 2005, Zaandam, her sister Volendam, HAL's Vista class Zuiderdam, Carnival Miracle and Radisson's Seven Seas Navigator were chartered by the Jacksonville, Fl. Super Bowl Host Committee as accomodations/hotel ships. Jacksonville, the smallest market ever to host a Super Bowl, rented the five ships for U.S. $11.5 million and "parked" them along the St. Johns River for five days to assist with hotel room space for National Football League affiliates and sponsors for Super Bowl XXXIX. The three HAL ships were berthed at the city's newly upgraded Talleyrand Marine Terminal. Rooms aboard the five ships cost $200 to $550 a night.

 

Ship+Photo+Zaandam.jpg

 

On 21 January 2009, Zaandam gained a Digital Workshop program by Microsoft which is comprised of complimentary classes led by a Microsoft-trained “techspert”. As part of the program, located in the Queen’s Room, her passengers can learn to use computers to enhance photos, produce and publish videos onto a DVD and create personal web pages or blogs. In addition, one-on-one coaching, called “Techspert Time” is available for more than 20 hours each week. On 18 November 2009, on the east-bound portion of her Circle Hawaii cruise, Zaandam also gained a second alternate restaurant, "Canaletto", serving Italian cuisine. Canaletto, named for the famous 18th century Venetian artist, which debuted on the ms Eurodam in 2008, will come to life for dinner nightly between 5:30 and 9:30 pm when a section of the ships' Lido restaurant is transformed into the Italian restaurant. Canaletto's menu begins with an antipasti plate that changes nightly, followed by soup choices, salad, four pasta dishes and entrees like veal Milanese, chicken Marsala

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks, DizzyDallasDi for bringing up the subject of the Matson Liners, and many thanks to Copper 10 - 8 for all the history! This brings up such wonderful memories.

 

You are so very welcome. I've done lots of research on the Matson Line but none of it comes close to the details and pictures that John has provided. What a wealth of ship history that man can provide...very impressive!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You are so very welcome. I've done lots of research on the Matson Line but none of it comes close to the details and pictures that John has provided. What a wealth of ship history that man can provide...very impressive!

 

That is the truth! John you do an amazing job of collecting all the long ago history for each ship.

 

You probably even have the scoop on my next ship, the Veendam. This is the sure sign that I am now hooked. The Lurline was transportation, my three previous cruises were HAL charters arranged by Garrison Keillor for fans of his radio show Prairie Home Companion. But now I'm heading for South American and Antarctica next January on the Veendam - that is now just "Hooked on HAL"!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My first cruise was in 1969 around the Greek islands on the Epirotiki Orpheus with a bunch of high school kids from around the U.S. (we were touring and studying in Europe/Greece/Israel for 6 weeks during the summer before my senior year). I laugh when I look at photos of how small she was and how small our inside cabin was. But what a blast we had!

 

http://cruiseshipodyssey.com/orpheus.htm

 

I didn't have an opportunity - or really any interest - to sail again until my DH and I sailed on the second sailing of the Westerdam out of Venice in 2004. THAT was when I got hooked. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My first cruise was in 1969 around the Greek islands on the Epirotiki Orpheus with a bunch of high school kids from around the U.S. (we were touring and studying in Europe/Greece/Israel for 6 weeks during the summer before my senior year). I laugh when I look at photos of how small she was and how small our inside cabin was. But what a blast we had!

 

http://cruiseshipodyssey.com/orpheus.htm

 

I didn't have an opportunity - or really any interest - to sail again until my DH and I sailed on the second sailing of the Westerdam out of Venice in 2004. THAT was when I got hooked. :D

 

ms Irish Coast (1952-1989) Built as Irish Coast in 1952 by Harland & Wolff Ltd, Belfast, Northern Ireland for Coast Lines Ltd. (Great Britain). Coast Lines had been formed in 1913 as a result of the merger of three Liverpool coaster companies. Irish Coast was delivered to her owners on 16 October 1952 and placed with one of Coast's subsidiaries, Burns & Laird Lines. The passenger ship/coaster was placed on the Belfast, Northern Ireland to Liverpool, England run. During her career with Burns & Laird, she often was used as a replacement for ships who were in overhaul, so could frequently be found on routes to/from Cork, Ireland - Fishguard, Wales - Dublin, Ireland and Glasgow, Scotland.

 

On 2 October 1966, Irish Coast was operated by yet another Coast Lines' subsidiary, the Belfast Steamship Company, again for service between Belfast and Liverpool

 

irish_coast_1952_1.jpg

On 16 August 1968, she was purchased by Greece-based Epirotiki Steamship Navigation Company aka Epirotiki Line who renamed her Orpheus (2). She departed Birkenhead along the river Mersey opposite Liverpool on 22 August 1968, bound for Piraeus, Greece.

 

In 1969, she received three consecutive name changes in quick succession; from Semiramis II to Achilleus, before her owners settled on Apollo XI, no doubt inspired by the first manned mission to land on the Moon in July 1969.

apollo_XI_1952_1.jpg

 

Epirotiki operated her from Piraeus on cruises to the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, calling at Crete, Rhodes, Kos, Patmos, Delos and Mykonos.

 

ApollonXI04.jpg

 

Yet one more name change, although minor, in Epirotiki service was received in 1980 when Apollo XI was changed to the Greek Apollon 11.

 

Ship+Photo+APOLLON++II.jpg

 

In 1981, she was sold to Corporacion Naviera Intercontinental de Panama, SA. and renamed Regency. On 11 October 1989, she was at Batangas City, on the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, when typhoon 'Dan' struck the area. Regency suffered severe damage as a result and was subsequently sold for scrap. She was towed to Manilla, where she was ultimately broken up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting info but there seems to be some discrepancies. I sailed her in early August of 1969 (right after the moon landing) and she was most definitely still named Orpheus. And from what I can tell, she started life in 1948 as the Munster, was one of the most popular Greek cruise ships ever to sail under Epirotiki, nee Swan Hellenic, nee Royal Olympic, and returned to Greece in the last 1990's where she was finally laid to rest in 2000.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

First cruise: October, 1955 on the Princess Norah/Queen of the North, from Ketchikan down the inside passage to either Prince Rupert or Vancouver (I forget which), and then by train back to Seattle. There were five of us sharing two cabins. My dad and I shared a room with bunk beds. Best (and only) memory: my little sister ordered the trout for dinner on board the ship one night and wouldn't eat it because, as she so eloquently put it, "it's staring at me".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Copper: Great information and pics. Thanks, don't know why I never started to read this thread before.:(

 

First voyage (other than overnight ferries,) transatlantic on the ??? Maru, a Japanese freighter in 1957. 11 pax, we took it so we could arive in NY with our VW (4 guys). Loved every minute on board and had the opportunity to visit the bridge for a couple of hours while land and a lot of ships were still visible, and the engine room. Both before and after I delivered stores to Jap freighters in the LA harbor area, and always found the ship and crew to be immaculate.. No exception on this ship. Everybody dined with an officer, and one was a DR.:) A retired DR. for max 12 pax on a freighter!

 

First cruise: DW won it and I can't remember when. A 4 day NCL cruise from Miami to the Bahamas. Unfortunately, we had kids to raise (Well not that bad, lot's of fun but no money to cruise with all) so it was a while before we started cruising.

 

Favorite ships: NCL Crown last year before she left the NCL line. Most comfortable ship we've been on. Star Clippers Royal Clipper, most beautiful ship by far.

Edited by Taxguy77
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You're right taxguy! This thread is really cool, just packed with fascinating info. Thanks Copper for doing al the research.

 

I vaguely remember sailing on a day trip to the Greek islands out of Pireaus; I'm pretty sure it was Epirotiki lines, but not sure which ship.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting info but there seems to be some discrepancies. I sailed her in early August of 1969 (right after the moon landing) and she was most definitely still named Orpheus. And from what I can tell, she started life in 1948 as the Munster, was one of the most popular Greek cruise ships ever to sail under Epirotiki, nee Swan Hellenic, nee Royal Olympic, and returned to Greece in the last 1990's where she was finally laid to rest in 2000.

 

Yup, you're right! What I gave you was Orpheus II which also operated for Epirotiki right before Orpheus III and then was given a succession of different names by the Greek line. The former B&I Munster joined the Epirotike fleet in 1968 and, after a short stint as Theseus, became Orpheus III. Here she is:

mv Munster (1948-2000) Built by Harland & Wolff Ltd., Belfast, Northern Ireland as mv Munster (IV) for British & Irish Steam Packet Company (B&I). She replaced the Munster III of 1938 which was lost in the Second World War after striking a German mine off Liverpool in 1940.

munster_1948_2.jpg

Munster IV was launched at the Northern Irish yard on 25 March 1947 and delivered to her new owners, who were part of the Coast Lines Group, in January 1948. After a somewhat short run on B&I’s Fishguard, Wales to Cork, Ireland run, she settled in that same year on the line’s nightly express Liverpool, England to Dublin, Republic of Ireland passenger service across the Irish Sea. A route she would make her own, along with her slightly older sister Leinster IV. Both ships were very similar to their predecessors Munster III and Leinster III, but differed externally in that their stump main masts were shorter and mounted in front of their well decks. Two derricks were located in the well. The windows below the boat deck had round portholes compared to rectangular on the pre-war sisters

In October 1961, Munster collided with the commercial tanker Jakinda near Liverpool, resulting in injuries to a few of her passengers. Munster was out of service for repairs for several weeks.

munster_1948_1.jpg

Like many other commercial passenger ships in the sixties, the advent of the much faster and more economical passenger airliners as well as more modern ‘roll on, roll off’ ferries spelled doom for the almost twenty-year old ship and on 15 October 1967, she was removed from service, laid up in Liverpool and offered for sale.

In 1968 a buyer was found in the Piraeus, Greece-based Epirotiki Navigation & Steamship Company. On 8 April 1968, she departed Liverpool for her new home base of Piraeus where, upon arrival, she entered dry-dock in Eleusis for conversion to a full-time cruise ship. As a side note, Leinster was renamed Aphrodite and ran for Mediterranean Sun Lines until she was scrapped in 1988. When Munster emerged from the Greek yard later in 1968, what was immediately noticeable was he more raked bow. She also received a swimming pool. She was initially called Theseus and put to work on Aegean cruises for Epirotiki Lines.

Still that same year however, a name change to Orpheus, after the famed poet/singer of Greek mythology, followed and she continued operating Mediterranean cruises.

orpheus_1948_4.jpg

In 1970, she was chartered on a year round basis by West Line Ltd and brought to the west coast of the United States where, on 18 May 1970, she began operating Alaskan cruises from Seattle, WA. At the conclusion of the Alaska season, she was sailed south to Los Angles, CA (San Pedro) from where she sailed Mexican Riviera cruises from August 1970 until May 1971.

orpheus_1948_2.jpg

West Line, aka Alaska Cruise Line, was a company run by Chuck West. In 1947, it was West who designed a series of land excursions as Arctic Alaska Tours (from 1954 known as Westours Inc., and in 1977 taken over by Holland America Lines) for the passengers of the Alaska Steamship Company. When that company left the passenger trade in 1964, West went on to establish his own cruise line, Alaska Cruise Line. In the summer of 1971, she operated another Alaska season from Seattle before sailing back to Greece where she arrived in Piraeus in November 1971. For many years starting in 1974, Epirotiki also operated Orpheus on behalf of Britain-based Swan Hellenic Cruises, which later would become part of P&O Cruises, on Med cruises and, later on circumnavigation cruises of the British isles.

orpheus_1948_3.jpg

In 1996, Epirotiki merged with fellow Greek operator Sun Lines to become Royal Olympic Cruises. The end was near for the little ship however, and in 1999 she was laid up off Piraeus at Eleusis Bay. Orpheus was ultimately purchased by Indian breakers in October 2000. She assumed the transportation name of Orpheu for her final voyage to Alang, India where she arrived on Christmas Eve 2000. Her breaking up process started shortly after and was completed in early 2001.

orpheus_1948_5.jpg

Edited by Copper10-8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is the truth! John you do an amazing job of collecting all the long ago history for each ship.

 

You probably even have the scoop on my next ship, the Veendam. This is the sure sign that I am now hooked. The Lurline was transportation, my three previous cruises were HAL charters arranged by Garrison Keillor for fans of his radio show Prairie Home Companion. But now I'm heading for South American and Antarctica next January on the Veendam - that is now just "Hooked on HAL"!

 

ms Veendam (1996-present) Built in 1996 as ms Veendam by Fincantieri - Cantieri Navali Italiani S.p.A., Marghera (Venice), Italy for Holland America Line. She is the fourth ship in HAL history to bear the name Veendam and the last of the four ships in the 'S' class (Statendam, Maasdam and Ryndam are her sisters). She was named after the town in the northeastern Dutch province of Groningen ('veen' means 'peat' in Dutch).

 

The four ships are just about identical, having only small changes in their internal layout. However, each one has a different decorative theme. Veendam has the distinction of being the first HAL ship built at Fincantieri's Marghera yard (all of HAL's new-builts since then have been constructed at Marghera). Her three sisters had all been constructed at the builder's Monfalcone yard.

 

Veendam’s center piece located in her atrium, is a tall glass sculpture created by Luciano Vistosi, the same Italian artist who crafted the Maasdam's atrium sculpture. For the Veendam, Vistosi, one of Italy's leading contemporary artists, created a crystalline tower of blue-and-gold blocks, called "Jacob's Staircase." Each glass block was hand-crafted in Murano, Italy. Veendam has an abundance of objects that reflect Holland America's 123-year maritime history. Her collection of Oriental antiques are combined with pre-Columbian objects from Latin America, items that Dutch sailors might have seen while traveling in distant lands. Among the more interesting; a blue Samurai coat of armor from 17th-century Japan; brightly colored feather masks and headdresses used by Amazonian Indians in 20th-century Brazil; and a large, ornate metal barbecue or "Trionfi" from the mid-18th century which, while Spanish in origin, is from a Tuscany castle.

Veendam's midship Lido swimming pool has a bronze sculpture of five jumping dolphins, created by British artist Susanna Holt, located beneath a retractable glass roof, known as a magrodome. Specially commissioned modern artwork also enhances several of the public rooms.

Veendam's Rotterdam Dining Room, located on Promenade and Upper Promenade decks, seats 657 on two levels connected by a pair of staircases with brass railings. The “S” class ships were all designed with somewhat of a novelty at sea, an escalator that could be used by embarking passengers on Main deck to reach their cabins on Lower Promenade deck (It was removed while in dry-dock at Freeport, the Bahamas in late March 2009). In the Rubens Show Lounge, forward on Promenade and Upper Promenade Decks. Joe Farcus, well known for his interior designs of Carnival Cruise Lines ships, chose the art of Pieter Paul Rubens, the 16th-century Flemish painter. The main floor of the Rubens Lounge is similar to that of the Vermeer Lounge on board the Ryndam, with a dance floor in front of the stage.





Farcus also designed the 249-seat Wajang Theater, located on Promenade Deck, which is used for lectures, meetings and religious services, as well as for viewing current movies. Near the movie theater used to be the 37-seat Java Cafe, where espresso and cappuccino were served for informal coffee breaks (The Jafa Cafe was converted into a Wine Tasting Bar/Gourmet Shop and Art Gallery). Forward on Sports Deck is the Crow's Nest Lounge, which is significantly different in design from the dual purpose lounges of the same name on the Veendam's three sister ships, which were designed by Joe Farcus. On this ship, F.C.J. Dingemans, the principal architect for all public rooms on the Veendam, except the main show lounge, took over the Crow's Nest design. Like its namesakes on the Statendam, Maasdam and Ryndam, the Crow's Nest is located high atop the ship, overlooking the Bridge. By day, it's an observation lounge; at night, it's the ship's nightclub.



Ship+Photo+VEENDAM.jpg



While the Crow's Nest on board Veendam's sister ships have an overall theme for the entire room, Dingemans divided the Veendam's 5,100-square foot U-shaped room into three separate areas. On the starboard side, Dingemans, of VFD Interiors of Utrecht, Netherlands, created a "Captain's Area," which has the atmosphere of an English club. It is furnished with burgundy leather sofas and lounge chairs in brown leather. On the port side of the Crow's Nest is the "Tea Area". Located in the forward, central portion of the Crow's Nest is the bar area, with a dance floor, bandstand and disk jockey control booth. Besides seating for eleven on bar stools, seating arrangements in the remainder of the bar are directed toward the dance floor or toward the windows. A continuous sofa borders the windows, while armchairs with foot stools can be used to view the sea. Nautical antiques are featured throughout the lounge.

After running technical trials in the Adriatic, Veendam was handed over to her owners on 1 May 1996. She then commenced a transatlantic crossing, with crew but without passengers, to Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. under the command of Captain W.H. Eulderink. After a christening and naming ceremony there by her godmother, actress Debbie Reynolds, on 15 May 1996, she commenced her inaugural/maiden ten-day cruise. Her "area of operations" has been the Caribbean, Alaska as well as European itineraries. For a while, Veendam had the distinction of being routinely commanded by a non-Dutch, and more specifically, a British captain. In addition, she was the only HAL ship not homeported in Rotterdam until 10 January 2006 when she switched from a Bahamian flag and registration (Nassau) to a Dutch one (Rotterdam - see pics below).

 

 

veendam%20bah.vlag.jpgveendam%20ned%20vlag.jpg

 

In November 2003, Holland America Cruise Line announced a U.S. $225 million program of up-scaling their cruise ships, cruise line image and passenger cruise experience called the 'Signature of Excellence program'. This enhancement program included stateroom amenities (luxury beds and bed linens upgrades, Euro-style mattresses, waffle-weave bathrobes and Egyptian cotton towels to all cabin categories), new massage-type showerheads and professional-grade hair dryers in all bathrooms, new flat-screen LCD televisions with DVD players, make-up mirrors with halo lightning, fresh flowers and complimentary fruit baskets in all cabins, a Culinary Arts Center (inside the Wajang Theater) presented by Food & Wine magazine, with an on-stage kitchen for gourmet cooking demonstrations and interactive classes; an Explorations Café (taking in the Erasmus Library, Puzzle Corner and Card Room and adding an internet center and coffee bar); A Pinnacle Grill alternative restaurant, a Neptune concierge lounge for the exclusive use by Deluxe Verandah and Penthouse suite occupants; an expanded Greenhouse Spa and Salon offering thermal suite treatment, a hydrotherapy and thalassotherapy pool and heated ceramic lounges; and the ”Loft” and the “Oasis”, respectively, an interior and exterior area designed exclusively for teens (ages 13-17).

 

In order to install the Pinnacle Grill restaurant on the “S” class ships, HAL had the existing small private dining room, known as the Kings Room on Veendam, as well as a small 'Video Arcade' located on Upper Promenade Deck, starboard side, in between the main dining room and the Explorers Lounge gutted and converted that space to PG restaurants with 'sea views’. After a dry-dock period in Freeport, The Bahamas, from 3-28 January 2006, Veendam initiated her SOE enhancements on a western Caribbean cruise in late January 2006

 

Ship+Photo+Veendam.jpg

 

In August 2008, HAL announced further enhancements to, as well as new features on, five of the line's ships as part of its ongoing Signature of Excellence program. The four 'S' sisters as well as the lead ship of the 'R' class, ms Rotterdam, will undergo extensive dry-docks to create new venues, new staterooms and new decor. The 18-month, $200 million program began when Veendam sailed without passengers from Tampa, Fl to Freeport, the Bahamas where she arrived on 28 March 2009. On 2 April 2009, she entered Dry-Dock #3 of the Grand Bahama Shipyard.

 

While at Freeport, Veendams’ aft Lido deck was expanded to create "The Retreat" including wading pool, hot tub, outside bar, band stand, giant LED screen and Slice pizzeria. Her Sea View pool on Navigation deck was gutted and moved up one deck (as Retreat pool) while in the space created by this move, twenty six new verandah and five inside staterooms were added.

Thirty-eight new Lanai staterooms were created on Lower Promenade deck whose large sliding glass doors provide direct access to the outside deck's walk-around teak promenade. Each Lanai room offers its passengers two reserved lounge chairs just outside the cabin on LP deck, while their glass doors have a one-way-mirror coating to ensure privacy.

 

Veendam's third set of new staterooms are known as Spa staterooms, a total of fifteen (twelve outside with verandahs and three inside) of which were created on Verandah Deck forward. With earth-toned decor and a variety of in-room spa amenities such asyoga mats, an iPod docking station, and an in-room countertop water feature, those cabins also offer their occupants exclusive spa treatments and a spa room service menu from the nearby (two decks up) Greenhouse Spa and Salon.

 

With the installation of balconies on the spa cabins located on Verandah deck, the bridge officers were no longer able to see aft down the sides of the ship making docking more difficult. In order to solve this, Veendam received new bridge wings which protrude out farther to regain the lost visibility . In order to be able to carry the extra weight added to the back of the ship, a section called a 'duck tail' was added to Veendam's rear end.

 

 

Ship+Photo+VEENDAM.jpg

 

All of Veendam's existing staterooms were upgraded with new decor, modern wall sconces, carpeting, drapes, pillows and bed runners, resurfaced desks and vanities, and new vanities and cabinetry in the bathrooms.

The Retreat is a new resort-style pool area on Lido deck aft. The Retreat’s pool is divided into three main sections separated by low, curving walls running the length of the pool. The middle section is 16 inches deep so guests can sit on built-in benches in the water. The two side sections feature forty-four lounge chairs in eight inches of water. Water falls and spouts were added to enhance the overall decor and located at the aft end of the pool a hot tub was installed.

 

Slice, an upscale pizzeria, serving signature pizzas, whole pies and/or slices to order, has been incorporated into the area. Tables and padded chairs under a sunscreen were added to provide a place to dine al fresco. In order to provide live music, a stage was added near the pool, while for additional entertainment, an LED screen and sound system was integrated into the ship's superstructure, providing both movies and video to The Retreat.

 

Veendam's original Piano and Casino Bars were gutted and reconfigured into a multi-themed new bar concept called "Mix". It features three separate areas where either Champagne, for mid-day mimosas or anytime celebrations, Martinis, for Grey Goose cocktails and martini flights and/or Spirits & Ales for microbrews, single malts and sports updates are served. A number of Microsoft Surface tables can be found inside Mix on which electronic games can be played. In addition, the entertainment area on Upper Promenade deck has been opened up (walls have literally been knocked down) to create a better flow between shops, bars and the casino.

 

Inside a section of the Lido restaurant (port side forward), Canaletto a complimentary casual-style Italian restaurant for dinner was created. Canaletto, named for the famous 18th century Venetian artist, which debuted on the ms Eurodam in 2008, will come to life for dinner nightly between 5:30 and 9:30 pm when a section of the ships' Lido restaurant is transformed into the Italian restaurant. Canaletto's menu begins with an antipasti plate that changes nightly, followed by soup choices, salad, four pasta dishes and entrees like Putanesca, Penne alla Vodka, Veal Milanese and Chicken Marsala

 

Veendam's main show lounge was transformed into the Showroom at Sea with the ambiance of a nightclub and a new slate of shows and lastly, a Merabella luxury jewelry shop was added midship adjacent the Explorers Lounge on Upper Promenade deck. When Veendam emerged from the Freeport yard on 1 May 2009, she measured 57,092 gross registered tons and carried 1,350 passengers (up from 1,266).

 

Ship+Photo+VEENDAM.JPG

 

In June 2009, Veendam gained a Digital Workshop program by Microsoft which is comprised of complimentary classes led by a Microsoft-trained “techspert”. As part of the program, located in the Queen’s Room, her passengers can learn to use computers to enhance photos, produce and publish videos onto a DVD and create personal web pages or blogs. In addition, one-on-one coaching, called “Techspert Time” is available for more than 20 hours each week.

 

Besides Veendam, Rotterdam, the lead ship of the "R" class, also received the SOE part II enhancements from 18 November through 16 December 2009. For the remaining three "S" class ships (Statendam, Maasdam and Ryndam) the enhancements are scheduled to be completed in two phases. First, in a series of drydocks in 2010 and 2011, Statendam, Maasdam and Ryndam will receive the stateroom upgrades and the addition of Mix, Showroom at Sea, Canaletto and Merabella. The second series of drydocks in 2012 and 2013 will add the Lanai rooms as well as the forward Spa staterooms. Passenger capacity of the five ships, based on a two per cabin, will be increased to 1,350 for the 'S' class and to 1,404 for the Rotterdam.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was either the Cunard Adventurer or the Navarino, Not sure it was so many years ago. But I do remember I was in my early teens with my sister. We were in a room they just got done renovating. It used to be a luggage storage room. Me and my sister were having a life jacket fight before heading up to the Muster station. The alarm went off and we went to leave our room and we were locked in. This was overlooked in the renovation process. I called the operator and he thought is was a joke, Me a young kid saying I am locked in my room and him saying just unlock the door. After some convincing someone came down and let us out. We got to miss the lifeboat drill and I spent the rest of the cruise helping the Purser. They let me sit behind the counter and work.. Boy things have changed. We would go down and hang out with the crew also, back in the day It was much more fun below the deck then up top. I wish someone, sometime that has had cruise staff experience would write a book or a movie called "Below the Deck" and it could be the crews perspective of a cruise, not so much after 9/11 but before when passengers had a little more freedom to hang out with the crew.. Anyway this is a great thread keep em coming And one stupid question that I ponder... Why do people get stuck going on only one cruise line? It is a shame because they all have something different to offer, I have been on 12 different lines and will go on more I am sure....Happy cruising

Gripsholm_2_19_Nav_b.jpg.765067834983ea28847a420a4365b25f.jpg

4560.jpg.351e75e1cd40d1f2c436ed7fbc1a8e47.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was either the Cunard Adventurer or the Navarino, Not sure it was so many years ago. But I do remember I was in my early teens with my sister. We were in a room they just got done renovating. It used to be a luggage storage room. Me and my sister were having a life jacket fight before heading up to the Muster station. The alarm went off and we went to leave our room and we were locked in. This was overlooked in the renovation process. I called the operator and he thought is was a joke, Me a young kid saying I am locked in my room and him saying just unlock the door. After some convincing someone came down and let us out. We got to miss the lifeboat drill and I spent the rest of the cruise helping the Purser. They let me sit behind the counter and work.. Boy things have changed. We would go down and hang out with the crew also, back in the day It was much more fun below the deck then up top. I wish someone, sometime that has had cruise staff experience would write a book or a movie called "Below the Deck" and it could be the crews perspective of a cruise, not so much after 9/11 but before when passengers had a little more freedom to hang out with the crew.. Anyway this is a great thread keep em coming And one stupid question that I ponder... Why do people get stuck going on only one cruise line? It is a shame because they all have something different to offer, I have been on 12 different lines and will go on more I am sure....Happy cruising

 

Cunard Adventurer (1971-present) Built as ms Cunard Adventurer in 1971 by the Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij (RDM), Rotterdam, the Netherlands for the Cunard Line. Initially, she was intended to become part of a company by the name of Overseas National Airways, a charter airline carying both passengers and freight, founded in June 1950 and based at Idlewild Airport (now John F. Kennedy International) in New York. Along with what would evantually become the Cunard Adventurer, ONA had grand plans to operate seven other small, cruise-oriented vessels.

 

Because of the vast amount of money being put into this project with so many ships, Overseas National Airways soon ran into financial dificulties, which forced them to abort their plans. Cunard saw the opportunity and quickly took over the project, although only partionally.

 

cunard_adventurer_1971_1.jpg

 

The original eight cruise ships were soon reduced to only two, the Cunard Adventurer of 1971 and the Cunard Ambassador of 1972. Cunard Adventurer ran her technical trials in the North Sea beginning on 28 August 1971 and was delivered to Cunard on 19 October 1971. After christening at Southampton, England, she departed on 19 November 1971, bound for San Juan, Puerto Rico. She and her sister Cunard Ambassador were intended for seven-day cruises, from New York City to Bermuda, from San Juan to other Caribbean ports in the winter, and from Vancouver, BC to Alaska during the summer seasons.

 

Ship+Photo+Cunard+Adventurer.jpg

 

Cunard Adventurer operated for Cunard for less than five years, In February 1977, she was purchased by Knut Kloster's company Klosters Redri A/S aka Norwegian Caribbean Line (NCL), Kloster had been looking for a ship to replace his first vessel, the 1966-built Sunward. After the purchase, she again crossed the Atlantic, this time in an easterly direction, and from 8 March until 24 April 1977, she was rebuilt at the Hapag Lloyd Werft, Bremerhaven, (then) West Germany. She emerged as the Sunward II, having received the, at the time, characteristic NCL twin-flared funnels.

 

sunward_II_1971_1.jpg

 

NCL would operate her on three and four-night cruises from Miami, Fl to the Bahamas and back. In 1986, Royal Viking Line, an upscale cruise line with three ships (Royal Viking Sea, Royal Viking Star and Royal Viking Sky) was purchased by Kloster. Initially, he ran Royal Viking as a separate crusie line but eventually the three ships were absorbed into Norwegian Caribbean Line. Royal Viking Sky was transferred to NCL on 14 September 1991. She took over Sunward II's Bahama itinerary and her name, Sunward (III). Sunward II was subsequently sold to Greece-based Epirotiki Line in November 1991

 

triton_1971_1.jpg

 

Epirotiki, at the time, the largest cruise ship company in Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean, renamed her Triton. The line had been in financial trouble however, during the eighties and early nineties. In August 1995 Epirotiki agreed to merge its operations with Greece-based Sun Line, creating a new company named Royal Olympic Cruise Lines, changed into Royal Olympia Cruises in 2003 after continued protests to the first name by the International Olympic Committee.

 

Ship+Photo+TRITON.jpg

 

Royal Olympia Cruise Line collapsed due to ongoing financial problems in early 2004. Triton was subsequently purchased by Cyprus-based Louis Cruises for U.S. 9.5 million at public auction on 6 April 2005. They renamed her "Coral" and initially placed her under their Greek arm, Louis Hellenic Cruise Line, out of Piraeus. She is currently sailing as Coral for Louis on western Mediterranean cruises out of Barcelona, Spain.

 

Ship+Photo+Coral.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

SS France, 1972, Transatlantic, First Class. I was 13 and what I remember the most was the grand entrance to the dining room and how totally amazing the food was. Also getting dressed up every night for dinner and how awkward I felt as a young adolescent descending those stairs. Another thing I remember were the rolls at dinner time: us kids each ate a least 5 of them every night. I also remember that the ship was very elegant and beautiful. I wish I could remember more!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

SS France, 1972, Transatlantic, First Class. I was 13 and what I remember the most was the grand entrance to the dining room and how totally amazing the food was. Also getting dressed up every night for dinner and how awkward I felt as a young adolescent descending those stairs. Another thing I remember were the rolls at dinner time: us kids each ate a least 5 of them every night. I also remember that the ship was very elegant and beautiful. I wish I could remember more!

 

ss France (1962-2008) Built in 1962 as ocean liner ss France by Chantiers de l'Atlantique, St. Nazaire, France for La Compagnie Generale Transatlantigue (CGT) aka the French Line. She was constructed to replace the line's other, by then considered old and outdated ships, ss Ile de France and ss Liberte.

 

On 11 May 1960, she was blessed by the Bishop of Nantes, Monseigneur Villepelet, and launched by Madame Yvonne de Gaulle, wife of the French President, and was then named France, in honor both of the country, and of the two previous CGT ships to bear the name. After her launch, her propellers were installed (the entire process taking over three weeks), the distinctive funnels affixed to her upper decks, her superstructure completed, life boats placed in their davits, and her interiors fitted out. She then undertook her sea trials on 19 November, 1961, and averaged an unexpected 35.21 knots. With the French Line satisfied, the ship was handed over, and undertook a trial cruise to the Canary Islands with a full complement of passengers and crew.

SS_France_Hong_Kong_74.jpg

 

Her maiden voyage to New York took place on 3 February 1962, with many of France's film stars and aristocracy aboard. Once in service, ss France served as the line's flagship from 1961 until 1974 on the Le Havre to New York run, as well as gaining the distinction of being the world's longest liner of all-time (1,035 feet long). This record remained unchallenged until the construction of the RMS Queen Mary 2 in 2004. In service, ss France would combine regular transatlantic crossings - six days and nights - with occasional winter cruises, as well as two world circumnavigations.

 

 

After a little more than a decade of service that included 377 transatlantic crossings, the economics that doomed the North Atlantic ocean liner generally caught up with the ss France. It was decided to take her out of service resulting in massive protests from the French population and even a hijack by her crew. On 7 December 1974 however, she was moored at a distant quay in Le Havre, known colloquially as the Quai de l'oubli - the pier of the forgotten. The ship sat in the same spot for approximately five years, with her interiors, including all furniture, still completely intact.

 

Ship+Photo+France.JPG

 

There were no plans to scrap her, nor to sell her. However, in 1977 Saudi Arabian millionaire Akram Ojjeh expressed an interest in purchasing the vessel for use as a floating museum for antique French furniture and artworks, as well as a casino and hotel off the coast of the south-east United States. Though he did purchase the ship for $24 million U.S., this proposal was never realised, and others were rumored to have floated, including bids from the Soviet Union to use her as a hotel ship in the Black Sea, and a proposal from the People's Republic of China to turn her into a floating industrial trade fair.

In June 1979, Knut Kloster and Norwegian Caribbean Line came calling and purchased the France for $18 million U.S. She was towed from Le Havre to Lloyd Werft shipyard in Bremerhaven, Germany for an extensive and expensive (close to $65 million U.S.) refit to make her suitable for cruising as the largest cruise ship afloat. At Bremerhaven, among other renovations, she would receive a set of five side thrusters, upgraded air-conditioning and reinforced hull plating. Her former black hull was repainted in a medium-dark blue. She emerged from Bremerhaven in the spring of 1980 as ss Norway and made a special visit to the City of Oslo, Norway before once more crossing the North Atlantic to arrive in New York City on 16 May 1980.

 

Ship+Photo+SS+NORWAY+in+Miami+1989.jpg

 

Once she reached her new home port of Miami, Fl. on the north side of the Dodge Island cruise terminal, NCL put her to work on the seven-night Caribbean run which included a stop at St. Thomas, USVI. Her size, passenger capacity, and amenities revolutionized the cruise industry and started a building frenzy as competitors began to order bigger and larger ships. As cruise competition attempted to take some of Norway's brisk business, the Norway herself was upgraded several times in order to maintain her position as the "grande dame" of the Caribbean, including the addition of new decks to her superstructure.

 

Competition eventually overtook the Norway, and she even started taking a back seat to other ships in NCL's lineup. No longer the "Ship amongst Ships", her owners severely cut back on her maintenance and upkeep. She experienced several mechanical breakdowns, fires, incidents of illegal waste dumping, and safety violations for which she was detained at port pending repairs. Despite the cutbacks, the ship remained extremely popular among cruise enthusiasts, some of whom questioned the owner's actions in light of the continuing successful operation of the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2, which had become a well-maintained rival operating 5-star luxury cruises for Cunard.

 

Ship+Photo+Norway.jpg

 

 

On 25 May 2003, after docking in Miami at 5:00 a.m., the Norway was seriously damaged by a boiler explosion at 6:30 a.m. that killed eight crew members, and injured seventeen, as superheated steam flooded the boiler room, and blasted into crew quarters above through ruptured decking. None of the passengers were affected. On 27 June, 2003, NCL and her parent, Malaysian-based Star Cruises, decided to relocate her. She departed Miami under tow headed towards Europe and eventually arrived in Bremerhaven, Germany on 23 September, 2003.

 

Ship+Photo+Norway.jpg

 

In Bremerhaven she was used as accommodation for NCL crew training to take their places on board the line's new Pride of America which was being build there. Due to large amounts of asbestos aboard the ship (mostly in machine and bulkhead areas), the Norway was not allowed to leave Germany for any scrap yards due to the Basel Convention. However, after assuring the German authorities that she would go to Asia for repairs and further operation in Australia, she was allowed to leave port under tow on 23 May 2005 arriving at Port Klang, Malaysia on 10 August 2005.

 

In December 2005, Norway was sold to an American naval demolition dealer for scrap value and she was to be towed to Alang, India for demolition. However, in light of protests from Greenpeace, potentially lengthy legal battles due to environmental concerns over the ship's breakup, and amidst charges of fraudulent declarations made by the company to obtain permission to leave Bremerhaven, her owners cancelled the sale contract, refunded the purchase price, and left the ship where she was.

 

She was eventually sold in April 2006 to Bridgend Shipping Limited of Monrovia, Liberia, and renamed ss Blue Lady in preparation for scrapping. One month later she was again sold, to Haryana Ship Demolition Pvt. Ltd., and was subsequently left anchored in waters off the Malaysian coast after the government of Bangladesh refused her entry into their waters due to the onboard asbestos. Three weeks later, the ship began its journey towards Indian waters, and mid-July 2006 found her anchored 100 km off the Indian coast.

 

After lengthy court battles, and the arrival of Blue Lady at Alang, India, the Indian Supreme Court ruled on 11 September 2007 (the 33rd anniversary of the ss France's last day on the Atlantic), that she was safe to scrap. By 4 December of the same year, the tip of her bow had been cut; a ceremonial move done to most ships that end up in Alang just prior to the full scale breaking of a ship. On 20 January 2008, scrapping of Blue Lady had commenced on the forward part of the sun deck. The suites added during the 1990 refit were gone by March. By 12 July 2008, the bow and the stern of the ship had been removed, with little of the ship's famous profile still recognizable. By September 2008, most of what remained above the waterline had been cut away, and the ship's destruction was essentially completed by late 2008.

 

 

Bluelady07.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some additional pics of a legend:

 

france_1961_4.jpg

 

As France at Le Havre, France

 

france_1961_1.jpg

 

As France for La Compagnie Generale Transatlantigue (CGT) aka the French Line

 

norway_1961_3.jpg

 

As Norway for Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL)

 

norway_03.jpg

 

Departing Lloyd Werft in Bremerhaven, Germany under tow to Port Klang, Malaysia on 23 May 2005 and passing NCL's new Pride of America

 

norway_02.jpg

 

Departing Lloyd Werft in Bremerhaven, Germany under tow to Port Klang, Malaysia on 23 May 2005

Edited by Copper10-8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...