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Saga Rose Greenland Voyager August 2007


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Is anyone going on this cruise? Would anyone have any recent passenger thoughts on Saga Rose? The food and Filipino staff have always been excellent and I assume it still is. By the bye, I've heard that the Lido Deck Cafe on Rose is open to the outside - how do you keep from freezing in northern climes while going thru the buffet line? Wear a jumper?:)

 

As you can see, I'm a big fan of Saga and am thrilled to finally be sailing on Rose. I had hoped to do the Rose/Antarctica run in '08, but the World itinerary didn't work out.

 

Any thoughts or current information you may have on Rose will be greatly appreciated.

 

Happy sails!

Ruby

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  • 1 month later...

We have booked on the British Isles Explorer cruise of Saga Rose (August 30). Sorry we won't be on your trip. A friend of ours was on the Saga Rose last summer and had a great time. We both had traveled on her when she was the Sagafjord of Norwegian America Line. My last trip was in 1975. She looks better now. We're looking forward to our trip. Six months and counting.

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I am intrigued with your screen name which I assume is the ship, not the European specialty grocer.

 

I looked up your cruise list and see that you have been sailing the high seas for many years, as have I. My cruising experience started in 1957 with the Empress of Britain out of Montreal to Liverpool. I was 13 and have continued with voyages, seeking out small upscale ships. I sailed on the two "fjords" back in the day and I sailed on the first Stella Solaris cruise out of Galveston.

 

I'm thrilled to have a reply to this thread so thanks for speaking up. I've just returned in December from a 25-day cruise on Oceania Nautica from Istanbul to Singapore. It was a great ship with excellent service. But dashing around Egypt, Oman, Dubai, Mumbai, and Phang Nga Bay required a lot of advance research and high-energy independent tours.

 

This Greenland/Iceland cruise should be a relaxing one which suits me down to the ground. Sitting on the Rose's deck, wrapped in winter gear, watching the icebergs float by will be a pleasure.

 

All the best,

Ruby

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Well, like you, I've been at this for a long time. Luckily my parents loved to travel and so my "first time" (you always remember your first), was a transatlantic crossing as a teenager on the Leonardo da Vinci. I still consider myself a refugee from the Italian Line, always looking for a similar experience. The new cruisers have a very different experience these days, but nothing seems to have changed once you're in the deck chair staring out across the water.

We also favor smaller ships, however, I must say that a crossing on QM2 last summer definitely had the ambience of the great liners of the past. I think we will have the same feeling about Saga Rose and are looking forward to traveling with the British pensioners. Back in 2000 we made a crossing aboard Oriana and were adopted by an English couple from Plymouth.

Conte Di Savoia does refer to the ship. I am not old enough to have sailed aboard her but, in my travels, did speak to people who had.

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I have a friend who is a ship historian in Boston who still wears a black armband after the Italian Line closed down. And you and I have sailed on many of the same ships.

 

Royal Viking was "my" line for 10-12 years in the 80s and early 90s until they hauled up the gangway for the last time. I tried the Constellation (Celebrity) but was unhappy with the size of the behemoth. It is unpleasant to don rollerblades to get from forward to aft on a ship. I tried other cruise lines but nothing was a fit.

 

Then I was referred to Saga Cruises by an astute friend. I sailed on Saga Ruby to the North Pole (edge of the icepack) and we were lucky enough to watch one polar bear stroll the crags for 3 hours, then I watched another bear in the water right by the side of the ship as it swam to shore. I felt like I was back on RVL with the superb service and staff. By the bye, both Saga ships have binoculars in the cabins for your use and everyone used them to "bear watch."

 

I sailed on Oceania last fall and it is excellent. Good size, superb service, all the positives and almost no negatives. As a lifelong nonsmoker, what a pleasure to be onboard a virtually nonsmoking ship. I was considering Oceania to Antarctica but the itinerary doesn't include that continent after the end of this year. As you may know, there are pax limitations on Antarctica cruises so the cruise is expensive and the ship is half empty to conform to international agreements.

 

It is my personal belief that Saga Rose will be leaving service forever in 2010 due to SOLAS regulations. So I jumped at the chance to sail on the Greenland Voyager this summer and am eagerly anticipating the voyage, plus being the usual token US passenger.

 

How did you learn about Saga?

 

Ruby

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I'm one of those ocean liner nuts. Ever since my first voyage at the age of 14 I fell in love with ships and have never let go of the obsession. I have friends who suffer from the same psychosis. We follow the careers of all of the ships which we have traveled on. The house has memorabilia tucked into spare corners. After 46 years there is quite a bit of it. Old menus, hat bands and loads of brochures. One of my original Norwegian America Line folders had detailed deck plans which helped us pick one of the larger cabins in the category we selected. There's nothing so detailed in the brochures that the lines put out now.

We are also members of the Steamship Historical Society. The Long Island chapter here in New York is very active and so we are able to get on board various ships for lectures, luncheons etc.

We are aware of Saga Rose's ultimate fate and felt we would like to go on board one more time before she is turned into razor blades and/or paperclips.

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How do you bear the pain of the magnificent old ships going to the breakers? I intend to bawl all the way down the Rose's gangway when I leave her in August.

 

About Rose, you said "go onboard one more time." Have you been on Saga before? I'm keen to hear about the Lido Cafe on Rose being either open to the elements -or not - as stated in the original post above. I had to shake my head painfully when you mentioned razor blades and paperclips. It is too gruesome to contemplate.

 

On the Island Princess, prior to booking my cruise, I realized there was a huge 4-person inside cabin in the bow. On a lark, I requested that cabin as a solo passenger. It was assigned to me, but when I boarded, I expected to be moved. I was not. For 28 days, I lolled around happily in this huge cabin like a pachinko ball in play. With modular construction nowadays, it is much harder to play that game. Everything is so cookie cutter.

 

Which is why I love the Saga Sisters. They give a splendid cruise experience on magnificent sailing ships.

 

One of the grand highlights of sailing out of Dover on Saga is that they use that wonderful old Victorian cruise ship terminal. I like to sit on a wooden bench by the red Phone Booth and watch the pax arriving by taxi under ancient wrought-iron and glass-panel ceilings - marvelous.

 

Ruby

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I haven't sailed on her as Saga Rose but did take a 16 day Caribbean cruise in 1975 when she was the Sagafjord of Norwegian America Line. It was not all together the best cruise experience I ever had. She was then 10 years old and the soft fittings were in need of replacement. I was less then happy with the cuisine that NAL served up and it didn't help to have a waiter who arrived in the dining room inebriated. The layout of the ship was terrific (very influenced by the appearance of the Italian ships of the 1950's and 1960's). I think she looks much better now and have heard only very good reports.

Yes, it's always sad to hear about the demise of another ship. I recently found pictures of the Michelangelo in Iran, partially dismantled as she was being towed to Pakistan for the coup de grace. They were difficult to look at but also to ignore. I copied them for my files on this most lovely of ships.

I agree with you that the current cabins are cookie cutter, however, in the end I think they are actually more comfortable than most cabins on the older ships, even old first class cabins. It's great to have a small sitting area with couch , minibar and TV. In the old days we had usually one or two chairs and a berth which served as a sofa. TV's were only in the most expensive suites...not that there was very much to watch. There was only the occasional movie or a crew member reading the evening news headlines.

As for the Lido Cafe, I believe that it opens to the deck but is enclosed from the elements. Their brochure says we may have breakfast or lunch there or "perhaps" eat alfresco. I will try to get in touch with my friend, who I first met aboard the Sagafjord in 1975 and was on board her last year, to confirm.

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Your musings about the cabins in days gone by made me smile. I believe my RVL cabin was "big" at 140 sq. ft. with a sofa/bed. It seemed huge to me. No doubt I have become spoilt with the newer "cookie cutter" cabins, especially Oceania. But on the Saga Sisters, you walk from cabin to bathroom without that annoying step-up which covers the plumbing underneath.

 

I chose an inside cabin on Saga Ruby for my trip to Far North in 2005 and it turned out to be one of those "ha-ha" cabins. It was a whopping 110 sq ft. which is tight, but it had several small problems like the heater turning on full blast at 1:00am, making me feel like a rotiserrie chicken. I called Reception and they sent a full complement of crew to fix the problem. In the event, I came to be quite fond of the maintenance crew because they were good at what they did, concerned for my comfort, and, most times, fixed the problem.

 

In the same cabin, there was also an annoyingly loud steel-popping sound in the interior walls at the join of the two cabins. I found that it kept waking me up as it popped depending on the sea conditions outside. I was soon moved to a Cat D which was so large I christened it my bowling alley.

 

Ruby has flatscreen TVs with built-in DVD players. Rose does not except for the most expensive cabins. Ruby has an actual desk, Rose has a chair parked next to the dresser which pretends it is a desk.

 

As I said, my family sailed on the Empress of Britain in 1957 from Montreal to Liverpool. The RAF pilots had a grand time chasing my 16 yr.-old sister around the decks. But my greatest memory of that ship was the afternoon tea served on the promenade deck. We wore steamer blankets over our laps, had assigned deck chairs, and were presented with sterling silver trays containing sterling silver miniature flatware - tongs, spoons, sugar bowls, and plates, with steaming hot, delicious tea and biscuits. We enjoyed our feast as we chugged thru the North Atlantic with quite large icebergs in the far distance.

 

Another memory is being first class pax and, if we were in the second-class corridor, the British stewardess would call out and say, "Dearie, you can take this door to your cabin!" I was embarrassed to be "different" from the other pax and, to this day, am glad that to some extent, ships are a classless society.

 

Did you and or your family ever do that kind of afternoon tea? I would love to hear a few of your own memories.

 

Ruby

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We did do and still do teas from time to time. No one does them like the British. Of our more recent trips, I would say that Seven Seas Mariner has the best scones by far.

 

Your encounter with the British stewardess reminded me of my own attempts to get into the other classes. I always felt that passage in First Class should allow me to "filter down" to Cabin and Tourist Classes. Pretty snotty in retrospect. We're all equal in the eyes of God, which reminds me that the chapel was the best place to find the always open passageways to the worlds below.

 

There are so many memories after so many years. I love nostalgia cruising. The ships were often like private clubs. The waiters would peruse the passenger list so that they could snap up those who were good tippers on previous trips. We could always rely on one of our former waiters to see to it that we were at our favorite table in the dining room. I remember looking up across at the table next to us only to see the same people who had been at that table the year before. I understand that the Rotterdam was like that on its annual world cruise.

 

Other memories:

I remember that one year the kennel on board the Leonardo da Vinci was so heavily booked that the crew thought that one fine afternoon it would be great fun to have a dog show around the swimming pool. It was great to have the pooches of the rich and famous paraded around the Lido. They were for the most part, well behaved and the accidents were few.

 

Meeting interesting people is another important part of ship travel. On one crossing (I abhor the term transatlantic "cruise") aboard the Raffaello in 1972 a fellow passenger was George Kelly, the uncle of Princess Grace. He was a Hollywood screenwriter and Pulitzer Prize winning playwright. One sunny afternoon at sea I saw him standing at the railing on the boat deck so I decided to go over and speak to him. He was a very unassuming person who seemed more than willing to speak to a young man. Never mentioning her by name, he told me that he was returning home from Monte Carlo where he had spent the summer with his niece. I will always remember him as the master of understatement when he casually added "she lives there."

 

I'm really enjoying what has become our own private thread.

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HELLO RUBY...HELLO CONTE!!!

 

I am a friend of Ruby's (the one from Boston) so I thought I would just say hello. I looked at your signature Conte...WOW!!! You are one of a kind. There are a few of us on Cruise Critic who can actually talk about ships that sailed in the 1930's. I guess we are now considered "The Old Guard"...as John Maxtone Graham would say. My first crossing was on the QUEEN ELIZABETH...the original QE running mate to the original QUEEN MARY. I was 16 years old and hooked on liners for life...we call it "ship daft". I have so much memorabilia and so many books that I have run out of room.

 

My big regrets were not having more cruises on the Italian Line and not being able to cruise on the NIEUW AMSTERDAM when she was cruising in the early 70's.

 

We soldier on but it is not the same...there is nothing like the classics.

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I am indeed enjoying our private thread. Safe to say that the "British pensioners" are not glued to this website - nor any other, for that matter.

 

The story about the parade of dogs on the Leonardo da Vinci was lovely. Can you imagine the negative reactions amongst today’s pax if that were to occur? One woman passenger would loudly protest to the Purser’s Desk (oh, pardon me, Reception) about hygiene and the entire cruise line would, by corporate memo, banish all such events in the future. If it doesn’t involve the sale of liquor, it isn’t going to happen.

 

I loved your story about George Kelly returning from Monte Carlo. His niece lived there. What a gentleman.

 

Reminiscing - for an August 1962 cruise, my father booked a Greek Island cruise on the S.S. Acropolis, a Typaldos line ship. The brochure stated that the ship was air-conditioned. When we boarded in Venezia, it was hot and stuffy so my father opened up the ceiling vents to cool off our suite. After 15 mins., it was still very hot.

 

The cruise director responded to my father’s irate call to the Purser’s Desk, telling this very angry Texan that the ship was air-cooled, not air-conditioned. So for 2 weeks, my parents sweltered while my sister and I enjoyed the attentions of the officers.

 

I was invited by the First Officer to join him for an evening’s entertainment in Athens and my parents agreed to let me go out with this dashing officer. We disembarked in Piraeus and went into Athens to enjoy some small local cafes where he ordered appetizers and dinner for us. I had never had sliced fresh tomatoes spread with pate before. Then we went to a park across from the Acropolis where we enjoyed the son et lumiere show at the Parthenon.

 

Since you are a member of the Historical Society, you are probably aware of the horrendous fire, loss of life, and sinking of the SS Yarmouth Castle in the 60s. We sailed on her out of Miami to Nassau and Cuba. Even at a young age, I could tell that the ship was a real tub.

 

Years later, that ship caught fire, burned to the waterline and sank. The first lifeboat to reach the rescue ship carried four passengers and 16 of the ship’s Bridge staff, including the YC’s captain and some of his officers. The Finnish captain of the rescue ship forbade the YC’s captain from boarding, telling him that he was to return and do his duty to his passengers and ship. 87 people died in that conflagration, the worst loss of life at sea in decades.

 

That Finnish captain is as much a hero to me as is the Master of the Seaborne ship that was attacked by Somali pirates a year ago.

 

What is the Valtur Prima? I don’t know that name at all. What cruise line and where did you sail?

 

Ruby

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Island Princess is still enjoying life as Discovery with excellent cruises

 

Thanks for telling me about the Island Princess. It's good to know she hasn't gone to become razor blades or paperclips, as Conte so aptly put it. Have you been on board her as Discovery?

 

Ruby

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What is the Valtur Prima? I don’t know that name at all. What cruise line and where did you sail?

See here. Today she is technically the oldest large passenger ship still sailing, but there is nothing left of the original ship except the hull.

 

Club Valtur was a tour operator that chartered the ship for cruises to Cuba. By some legal loophole, she was one of the only ways for Americans to go to Cuba legally, though I believe most of the passengers were German.

 

The ship herself was Italian-owned - rather ironic as she was the ship that sank the ANDREA DORIA in 1956!

 

When she arrived in Italy in the 1990s for the conversion that would turn her into ITALIA PRIMA, the newspaper headlines read "la nave della morte è arrivato" - "the ship of death has arrived"!

 

Have you been on board her as Discovery?

You should take a look at Peter Knego's recent report on her here.

 

It was interesting that you mentioned her in the context of modular construction - in fact, her cabins were modular. The one you stayed in was an anomaly - at least 90% of the cabins were (and are) identical.

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Since some others have joined this wonderful conversation, I would like to add my brief message. I, too am ship daft, and it gets worse every day. Thanks to Cruise Travel magazine, which arrived this week, I fell in love with Saga Rose, and have been devouring any information about her. So I'm sad -- but not surprised -- to hear that she will be retired in 2010. I say "retired" because I cannot bear the thought of classic ships being beached and cut apart. My husband and I have a HAL cruise planned for October of this year, and it will financially irresponsible of us to book a cruise on Saga Rose, but when it comes to ships, reason flies, doesn't it?

 

Thank you for letting me eavesdrop on your memories. I've never sailed on a classic ship (unless you count the original Love Boat, the Pacific Princess), but my husband and I were married aboard the moored Queen Mary in Long Beach in 1978. My sister, also ship daft, recently married in the same wedding chapel on the Queen Mary. If we can't sail aboard the Saga Rose in time, or the Saga Ruby, we'll save our pennies for the Victoria. If the designers have listened to us at all, they'll make sure that Victoria is stately and traditional, and that there won't be a rock wall or bungee jump in sight.

 

Here's to the ships of the 1930s!

 

Mrs Muir

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Welcome to all newcomers to our remembrances of ships past.

 

Thank you CGTNormandie for your kind remarks. Wouldn’t it have been lovely to travel aboard Normandie, the holy grail of ocean liners. I had a cousin who stowed away aboard her, smuggled into the US by members of the French seamens’s union. He was holed up in the paneling above the First Class dining room from where he would watch the passengers having their magnificent meals. Cousin John, who is no longer with us, was quite a guy! Unfortunately, he had to disembark quickly and didn’t have time to collect any memorabilia.

 

I never got to sail aboard either of the original Queens, although my father was among the mass of troops who traveled to Europe aboard Queen Mary. Being an officer, he was able to share a cabin. He was aboard the ship on D-Day as it zigged and zagged across the Atlantic. In a foreshadowing of what was to come, he returned to the US by air.

 

Living in the New York area I would go into Manhattan and after paying a quarter, get aboard the Queens for a visit. In those kinder days security was not an issue of course. I didn’t even have to know anyone who was sailing, although once I did run into Ed Sullivan on the QE. He was departing for Europe (to sign up the Beatles?). I used to love to sit in the First Class lounge and listen to the band play for the bon voyage parties. I can still hear them when I close my eyes. We did finally have the opportunity to stay aboard her in Long Beach. Definitely worth the trip. In addition to the ships I actually sailed aboard, there were many more classics that I was able to visit: Berlin (ex Kungsholm), Italia (ex Gripsholm), Saturnia, Cristoforo Colombo, United States, Argentina, Gripsholm, Queen of Bermuda and others.

 

Ruby, I’m impressed that you were on the Acropolis (ex Santa Paula). I still have my brochures from that line, which unlike most, richly deserved to go out of business. I had a waitress aboard the Santa Rosa of 1958 who had served on the old Santas. She described them as decrepit, often having engine problems which prevented them from making port. The dining room, as you must remember was between the funnels and had a roof which, like a Magrodome, could be opened for al fresco dining. One Caribbean evening it started to shower. The roof couldn’t be closed. Anyone need their water glass refilled?

 

I could go on and on……

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Since some others have joined this wonderful conversation, I would like to add my brief message. I, too am ship daft, and it gets worse every day. Thanks to Cruise Travel magazine, which arrived this week, I fell in love with Saga Rose, and have been devouring any information about her. . . . If the designers have listened to us at all, they'll make sure that Victoria is stately and traditional, and that there won't be a rock wall or bungee jump in sight.Mrs Muir

 

You are most welcome to our small group. Anyone who admires the classic ships can pull up a chair and join us any time.

 

I do have one bit of information which may have been in the Cruise Travel article. Saga Cruises (Rose & Ruby) sail full most of the time because, in the UK, the ships appeal to a specific market which responds enthusiastically. UK citizens get free transport to the ship, free travel insurance (which costs me at least $500), and of course they deal in Pounds Sterling. At this time, the currency market is not in our favor from Pounds Sterling to US Dollars.

 

It is to your advantage that few cruisers in the States have heard of Saga. It is harder for Saga to fill their cabins for cruises along our Coasts. There are good sales available. Remember that you still have at least two years to sail on Rose and many more years to sail on Ruby.

 

I would refer you to "sagacruises.com" where you can ask to be put on the Saga mailing list. It is fun to receive Royal Mail containing the most lovely Saga brochures on metric paper. Even if you do not sail on Saga, you will certainly learn more about the Saga experience.

 

I hope that you and your husband can book passage on one of the Saga Sisters and am confident that you will enjoy them as much as I have.

 

Ruby

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I miss the streamers that we threw from ship to loved ones and friends on the pier, making gaily-coloured ribbons which connected us until the ship's forward motion broke the ties to land.

 

I miss the Bon Voyage parties. My parents sailed out of NYC on the SS France in the early 60s and threw a swell party. They had a suite with living room and curtained-off bedroom. I still smile as I remember the Art Deco furnishings and the Howard Johnson colors in their cabin.

 

About the Acropolis, her sister ship the Athena, and the Stella Solaris. As an adult and a long-term cruiser, I became more interested in the reality of the ships rather than the "stars in our eyes" of a sea voyage. When I boarded the Stella Solaris in Galveston, it didn't take long to realize that the davits were frozen in place by at least 22 layers of paint. I watched the Captain and his officers chasing skirts all the live-long day for 18 days. I knew that, if there were an emergency, no one was going to leave the ship safely. This particular cruise inspired me to find another cruise line and I "came home" to RVL and Norwegian Bridge officers who always run a tight, professional, safe ship.

 

On a lighter note, one ship that gave me the giggles was the Cunard Countess in 1988. My father generously hosted a family reunion onboard with 16 family members in our group. If memory serves, we could not walk from forward to aft without going one deck down because of the deck configuration (please refresh my memory if you will) and I know the CCountess was not the only ship with that strange lay-out. The greatest fun was the Purser's Office area. From floor to ceiling, from side to side, every single wall, piece of furnishing, and carpet was royal blue. It was like being in the Blue Grotto in Italy.

 

For your enjoyment, another story about the Acropolis. My father was so angry about the lack of air-conditioning that my parents came up with a costume for me to wear to the "Masquerade Ball." They borrowed a bikini from a Swedish passenger for me to wear and put a banner across my chest that read, "Miss Acropolis 1962." I drew the line at wearing a plastic wastebasket on my head meant for an air-conditioning grill and wore sunglasses instead. It is the one and only time in my life that I wore a bikini and I still have the black-and-white photos of me dancing with a passenger who was having trouble finding a place to put his hands on my very exposed back.

 

The cruise director groaned when he saw my "costume" but the officers displayed sheer delight at my entry and wanted to award me the grand prize. It was overruled by the cruise director. And yes, I remember that strange arrangment of funnels versus dining room. I think our table was out in an alcove toward, if not on, the teak deck?

 

How regrettable that Cousin John failed to liberate souvenirs from his "cruise." Another opportunity lost.

 

Ruby

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If we can't sail aboard the Saga Rose in time, or the Saga Ruby, we'll save our pennies for the Victoria.

Fortunately, SAGA RUBY should be around for many, many years to come. So even if you miss out on ROSE, don't give up on SAGA.

 

As for QUEEN VICTORIA, I'm afraid I can't get too excited about her. If you want to go on Cunard and want a classic liner, take QE2...

 

If the designers have listened to us at all, they'll make sure that Victoria is stately and traditional, and that there won't be a rock wall or bungee jump in sight.

Well, no rock wall or bungee jump, but she will be a modern cruise ship, and no amount of faux-Victorian decor can hide that.

 

Berlin (ex Kungsholm), Italia (ex Gripsholm), Saturnia, Cristoforo Colombo, United States, Argentina, Gripsholm, Queen of Bermuda and others.

I'm afraid you've got BERLIN and ITALIA backwards - BERLIN was GRIPSHOLM and ITALIA was KUNGSHOLM.

 

Norwegian Bridge officers who always run a tight, professional, safe ship.

Always?

 

I don't mean to doubt your STELLA SOLARIS experience (though it was highly unusual) but I must contest your assertion that Norwegians somehow are better at running cruise ships than Greeks.

 

I have no doubt that not every Norwegian officer is a good one. I'm sure most are, just like any other nationality, but there are bad apples in every bunch, including Norwegians and Greeks.

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I have no doubt that not every Norwegian officer is a good one. I'm sure most are, just like any other nationality, but there are bad apples in every bunch, including Norwegians and Greeks.

 

Harumph! How 'bout this - Based upon personal experience, I feel safe and secure on a ship with Norwegian officers as opposed to Greek officers. Both nations have long and honourable service at sea. I happen to trust the Norwegians who do, based on personal experience, indeed, have operational davits.

 

For those of you who don't know Host Doug, he is incredibly accurate. Being fallible, he must make the occasional mistake, I just haven't caught him yet. I invite those more experienced than I to review his information.;)

 

For those of you with deck plans of Typaldos Line ships, can anyone tell me about the dining room diagram? I'm trying to remember how all that worked on the Acropolis because I keep thinking we were seated for dinner on the exterior (sea) side of Promenade Deck's windows with the table and chairs placed on a teak decking. SSHSA anyone?

 

Ruby

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Harumph! How 'bout this - Based upon personal experience, I feel safe and secure on a ship with Norwegian officers as opposed to Greek officers. Both nations have long and honourable service at sea. I happen to trust the Norwegians who do, based on personal experience, indeed, have operational davits.

If you feel safer with Norwegians, who am I to argue ;) ?

 

Personally I would prefer to judge based on the individual person (or, collectively, the group in question) rather than the nationality which, to me, doesn't mean a whole lot.

 

Anyhow, these days with a lot of cruise lines there is no telling where the Captain or any of the other officers are from. There are a number of cruise lines where you might well have Greeks and Norwegians on the same ship - Oceania, for example.

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Apologies to Host Doug for getting my Kungs and Grips reversed.

 

Ruby, I checked my Typaldos brochures, but they did not include the detailed plan of the dining room. I can’t help you on this one.

 

Just a few words on the Valtur Prima, now sailing as the Athena of Classic International Cruises. It is ironic that as an Italian Line refugee I wound up aboard the old Stockholm but we felt much safer with Italians at the helm. (I would refer you to the new book Andrea Doria by Maurizio Eliseo. Although it is written entirely in Italian, it presents the opinion and supporting evidence that the third mate of the Stockholm, Ernst Carstens-Joahnnsen miscalculated the relative positions of the ships. I hesitate to introduce this element into this thread because it is sure to generate discussion, but so be it) .

 

As Host Doug pointed out, this cruise aboard Valtur Prima was a legal way for Americans to get to Cuba, a trip which I was suppose to make in the summer of 1960 until the political situation turned sour. The ship was populated with some North Americans, and many Europeans, mostly Italians, who boarded the ship in Havana. We joined the cruise in Montego Bay. The wait staff in the restaurant, which still had the original port-hole-over-port-hole configuration from Swedish America Line days, were very friendly and accommodating. Los Habañeros bore us no ill-will and the vintage American cars put us into a 1950’s time warp. It was a memorable trip. I would love to hear your recollections of the cruise to Havana.

 

I enjoyed reading about your adventure in Athens. When we were there aboard the Silver Cloud, we did the usual tours, the Acropolis and plaka (sans officers from the ship). The next day we hired a taxi to take us out to Perama Bay to see the decaying passenger ships around the harbor. It was a unique trip for both us and the taxi driver who never had tourists ask to go to this out of the way harbor graveyard.

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HI GANG!!!

 

Isn't this fun...I always love it when I can converse with those who know about the "Oldies But Goodies"...lol.

 

CONTE...great stories...especially "Cousin John"...what a great story...and we all know that back in the 1930's stowaways were very common. I would have loved to have been on the great SS NORMANDIE. She is the holy grail of liners and that is why I chose the moniker...CGT NORMANDIE...not just for the NORMANDIE but also for our beloved COMPANIE GENERAL TRANSATLANTIQUE.

I have a French Line collection of memorabilia...dating all the way back to the original NORMANDIE from the 1800's. I also have quite an extensive NORMANDIE collection...the original wine lists are more than 36 pages long!!! The NORMANDIE was sensational in every way. How lucky you were Conte...to have been able to take those 50c tours of the great liners when they were in NY Harbor. Another one of my all time favorites was the TS BREMEN of 1958. The BREMEN had to be one of the most comfortable ships to ever sail. Everything on her was top shelf...and the service was just out of this world...she was a wonderful ship. To this day...however...we use the LEONARDO DAVINCI as our yard stick. If you wanted to have fun...you had to sail with the Italians. Of course the French Line was extraordinary too. The SS FRANCE was too modern though...not enough classic decor but the Chambord Dining Room was spectacular...that elm wood paneling was just gorgeous and the dome was aboslutely DE TROP!!!

 

Why can't Cunard get it right and give us a ship with classic interiors??? I am not impressed with the new QM 2 or the VICTORIA and I was never crazy about the decor in the QE II. :(

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