Your first cruise ship

[cruzin girl]

What was your first cruise ship? What cruise line, the year and the itinerary? (if you remember;) ) Did it get you hooked?

 

Ours was Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's m/s Viking Serenade, a converted car ferry, back in NOV 1991, a 3-day L.A. - Catalina Island - Esenada, Mexico - L.A. cruise. Never forget our first impressions - we were hooked from that day on!

 

 

 

Viking Serenade (still sailing today as Island Escape)

 

 

 

This was our first as well, only we took the 4 night, with the stops you mentioned plus San Diego. Our boys were very young at the time and we were all crammed into a tiny inside cabin, but it didn't matter. I remember our waiters name was Ray~ Noel and he always had a magic trick to show the boys every night in the dining room. We were hooked!

[Copper10-8]

This was our first as well, only we took the 4 night, with the stops you mentioned plus San Diego. Our boys were very young at the time and we were all crammed into a tiny inside cabin, but it didn't matter. I remember our waiters name was Ray~ Noel and he always had a magic trick to show the boys every night in the dining room. We were hooked!

 

 

 

ms Scandinavia (1982-present) Build in 1982 as ms Scandinavia by Dubigeon-Normandie S.A., Nantes, France for Scandinavian World Cruises (the United Steamship Company, Ltd.), a subsidiary for Copenhagen, Denmark-based DFDS D/S Seaways. At the time of her construction, she was the largest cruise-ferry in the world. Upon her delivery to Scandinavian World Cruises on 20 August 1982, she crossed the North Atlantic, arriving in New York City on 25 September 1982 after courtesy visits in Miami and Port Canaveral, Fl, Philadelphia, Pa, Boston, Mass and Port Jefferson, NY. Three days later on 28 September 1982, she was named/christened in New York harbor.

On 02 October 1982, Scandinavian World Cruises began operating her on a cruise-ferry service from New York City to Freeport and Nassau in the Bahamas. Upon arrival there, Scandinavia’s passengers and their vehicles wee transferred to other ships for their intended destinations which included South and North Florida. The ship could accommodate 1,606 passengers and 530 cars. This turned out not to be a successful operation, however, with the run terminated on 29 November 1983 and a decision made to return Scandinavia to Europe.

Upon arrival in Copenhagen, she was inserted on the DFDS Seaways’ overnight Copenhagen to Oslo run effective 9 December 1983 continuing on that route until April 1985.

In November 1984, she was sold to Sundance Cruise Corporation/Sundance Cruises as a replacement for their stricken pioneer ship, the Sundancer (sunk after striking an underwater rock off the coast of British Columbia, Canada on 29 June 1984), with a 2 April 1985 delivery. Sundance send her to the Blohm + Voss GmbH Schiffbau Werften/ shipyard in Hamburg, Germany where she arrived on 15 April 1985 for a refit making her more compatible for cruising however, keeping her ability to transport vehicles in addition to passengers. She was also given a new name, Stardancer. She departed the yard on 29 April 1985 and, after a transatlantic crossing and Panama Canal transit, she arrived at her new (summer) home port of Vancouver, BC.

She would spend that summer of 1985 doing Alaska inside passage cruising to Skagway, Ak and back. She was known as a deluxe alternative to the Alaska State Ferry system. After the Alaska season, her home port became Los Angeles (San Pedro) for cruising as far south as Puerto Vallarta on the Mexican Riviera taking cruise passengers, their cars and campers. In 1986 Sundance Cruises merged with Eastern Cruise Lines and Western Cruise Lines to form Admiral Cruises.

When Admiral Cruises was purchased by Royal Caribbean Cruise Line in 1990, she became Viking Serenade, the only ship in the fleet that was not originally designed and built for the line. RCCL sent her to a two-week dry-dock at Southwest Marine Shipyard in San Diego, CA in January 1991 where she was converted into a genuine cruise ship with a new gross registered tonnage of 40,143. Among other things, her interior was extensively renovated, she lost her car deck which was replaced with accommodation for several hundred passengers, her funnel was shortened and an RCCL trademark Sky lounge (Viking Crown Lounge) was fitted.

After emerging from the yard and being christened by her godmother, actress-comedienne Whoopi Goldberg on 27 January 1991, RCCL started operating her on 3 and 4-night cruises from Los Angeles to Mexico’s Baja California; L.A. – Catalina Island – Ensenada, Mexico on three, and L.A. – Catalina Island – San Diego – Ensenada on her four-day itineraries.

On 26 March 2002 she was renamed Island Escape and internally transferred to RCCL and First Choice Holidays’ new subsidiary, Island Cruises. As Island Escape, she was marketed to the British market as a casual ship designed for the young and active crowd and operated in the Mediterranean out of Palma de Mallorca, on one of Spain’s Balearic Islands in the Western Med, during the northern hemisphere summer. During the southern hemisphere summer season, she crossed the Atlantic Ocean to Brazil for South American cruises based out of Santos (Sao Paulo).

In April 2009 Island Escape joined the fleet of British-based Thomson Cruises but retained her name. Her primary area of operation is the Western Mediterranean and Canary Islands. Thomson describes the ship as the most laidback ship in their fleet, taking a more informal approach to life at sea.

Edited February 2, 2010 by Copper10-8

[Copper10-8]

Some additional pics of the former Scandinavia:

 

As Stardancer in Admiral Cruises colors in Alaskan waters in 1988

 

As RCCL's Viking Serenade departing San Francisco in June 1991

 

As Viking Serenade for RCCL at the Los Angeles (San Pedro) Cruise Terminal in 1993 with the Vincent Thomas Bridge behind her

 

As Island Escape for Island Cruises arriving in Santos, Brazil in 2003

 

As Island Escape for Island Cruises (different colors) at Ajaccio, Corsica in 2006

 

As Island Escape sailing for Thomson Cruises and departing Toulon, France in October 2009

Edited February 2, 2010 by Copper10-8

[broberts]

Certainly not a cruise in the modern sense of the word but my first was aboard the Elder Dempster Aureol in 1957 sailing Liverpool (England) to Apapa (Lagos, Nigeria). Not sure of the stops but I believe they were Freetown (Sierra Leon) and Takoradi (Ghana).

[Copper10-8]

We were on the NCL Starward in August of 1974 for our belated honeymoon with the same itinerary. We lived in Florida then but the cruise could have been the same week as yours. Small world. It was great! My first cruise, however, was on the Ariadne to Cozumel about 5-6 years before that one. She exists no more. She was more like an overgrown yacht, but I still have the pictures somewhere. Very elegant with lots of wood.

 

 

ts Patricia (1951-1997) Built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd, Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1951 for Rederi AB Svenska Lloyd/Swedish Lloyd. She was delivered to her new owners on 4 May 1951 and three days later placed on their Gothenburg-London (Tilbury) service as a passenger ferry. That winter season, on 13 September, Swedish Lloyd operated her on Caribbean cruising out of New York City. This pattern would repeat itself during the following years and in 1953 she also ran a service between New York and Bermuda as well as a charter to an unknown shipping company for more New York-Caribbean cruises that winter and the next. In September 1955, Patricia was to be chartered to German-based Hamburg-Amerikanische Paketfahrt Aktien-Gesellschaft (HAPAG-Lloyd) aka Hamburg-Amerika Linie/Hamburg America Line for two Mediterranean cruises. As a result of the Suez crisis, that charter fell through.

Eventually however, the Swedish Line felt that she was just too large for the route, and on 2 January 1957, Amerikanische Paketfahrt Aktien-Gesellschaft made sure they had another shot at her, purchasing her outright. HAPAG took possession of the ship in October 1957 and immediately placed her in dry-dock at Blohm + Voss, Hamburg for a refit. When she emerged from the yard on 1 February 1958, she had been renamed Ariadne, using her for luxury cruising around the world.

In November 1960 Ariadne was purchased by Miami-based Eastern Shipping Corporation which were controlled by the McCormick Shipping Company and considered to be the pioneers of Florida cruising. Beginning in 1961, with a capacity of only 239 passengers, she was initially used by them on longer, more diverse cruises from Miami into the Caribbean and she became one of the first ships to sail to Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico. She was then moved to three and four-day run from Port Everglades/Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. to Nassau and Freeport in the Bahamas. On 26 May 1961, Eastern Shipping Corporation changed ownership (McCormick out and W.R. Lovett, the owner of the Winn-Dixie supermarket chain, in) and became Eastern Steamship Corporation. After a few years, the operating name was once more changed to Eastern Steamship Lines, a revival of the old Boston, Mass-based company’s name. Before leaving Eastern, Ariadne would also cruise to such new ports as Jacksonville, Fl and Charleston, SC, San Juan, Puerto Rico and Charlotte Amalie, St.Thomas, USVI.

In 1972, Eastern Steamship Lines (now owned by the Norwegian Gotaas-Larsen Corporation, one-third owner of Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, established in 1968) entered into an agreement with Greek-based Chandris Lines to exchange Ariadne for their (Chandris’) Atlantis (to become Emerald Seas). Chandris promptly chartered Ariadne out to Bahama Cruise line as Freeport II from May until the end of 1973, cruising out of Miami to Nassau in the islands. Upon her return to Piraeus in December 1973, she was placed in dry-dock for a refit. She emerged in April 1974 after having been renamed Bon Vivant and was operated by Chandris Bon Vivant/Flagship Cruises on Mediterranean and Caribbean itineraries. 1975 found her once again chartered by Bahama Cruise Line.

In the spring of 1976, Chandris operated her on cruises from Venice, Italy to Dubrovnik, (then) Yugoslavia, the Greek islands, Istanbul, Turkey and Alexandria, Egypt. Chandris sold the Bon Vivant in December 1976 to the Panama-registered March Corporation Inc. who would use her as a hotel ship in Dubai effective 8 January 1977. Eleven months later she was back in Piraeus/Eleusis Bay where she was placed in layup. In September 1978, the ship was once again in dry-dock in order to get her back and ready for full-time cruising.

On 10 March 1979, she was transferred to the Greece-based Gilda Mar Corporation who renamed her Ariane and who began operating her on short cruises out of Piraeus during the summer and early fall of 1979. From 15 October 1979 until May 1982, she could be found in a long lay-up out of Piraeus/Eleusis Bay which was interrupted for one month (May to June 1982) by a charter, cruising from Genoa, Italy. Her layup at Piraeus/Eleusis Bay then continued until 1989.

In 1989, she was purchased by Cyprus-based Nios March Corporation Ltd/Tanfil Shipping & Trading SA who renamed her Empress Katerina. On 22 March 1991 she departed Piraeus enroute to Singapore. Her final destination in the Far East however, would be Ho Chi Minh City (the former Saigon) and the People’s Republic of Vietnam where she became a barracks ship. Apparently, someone liked her in that capacity because in January 1995, the Fortune Regent Maritime Ltd purchased her and assigned her as a barracks ship in Subic Bay in the Philippines.

Her time was running out however, and in 1997 she was purchased for scrap by the St. Vincent-based Thanfil Shipping & Trading SA. For her final voyage to the breakers she was given the transport name of Empress 65. On 18 December 1997, she arrived off the infamous Alang, India beaches where she was eventually broken up.

[Copper10-8]

Some additional pics of the former Patricia:

 

 

As Patricia for Rederi AB Svenska Lloyd/Swedish Lloyd

 

As Ariadne of Eastern Steamship Lines departing Nassau in 1967 and laying on her whistle

 

And entering Port Everglades, Fl

 

As Ariane at Genoa, Italy in the seventies

 

 

As Ariane off Mykonos, Greece in 1982

[Copper10-8]

Certainly not a cruise in the modern sense of the word but my first was aboard the Elder Dempster Aureol in 1957 sailing Liverpool (England) to Apapa (Lagos, Nigeria). Not sure of the stops but I believe they were Freetown (Sierra Leon) and Takoradi (Ghana).

 

Pretty sure, this is her departing Southampton in 1973:

 

 

I'll add her to the list

[Copper10-8]

1st cruise - SS Veracruz ~ 1978 - 14 days 11 ports

 

Any pictures of this ship or information? The company was Strand Cruises and embarked from Barbados.

 

 

ss Theodor Herzl (1957-1991) Built in 1957 by Deutsche Werft, Hamburg, Germany as Theodor Herzl, she was part of a special reparations pact between what was then West Germany and the state of Israel. She was designed for Mediterranean service

 

Named in honor of the founder of the Zionist movement, she operated for Zim Israel Navigation Company aka Zim Israel Lines on routes from Marseilles, Naples and Venice to Haifa, carrying both immigrants and budget tourists. In the winter season, she could be found on Mediterranean cruises. She also had at least one season to the Mexican Riviera as well as a celebratory maiden voyage to New York and, in later years, made several immigrant crossings to South America, to Rio de Janeiro, Montevideo and Buenos Aires.

 

 

 

During the 1958-1959 winter season, Zim entered the international cruise market from the United States to the Caribbean Islands with three cruises per season. In 1964, she was converted into a one-class cruise ship, which saw all cabins converted to two bedded/two berth cabins, all having private facilities.

She completed her final voyage for Zim on on 27 November 1969 and was sold to the American International Service Travel Services (AIST) - Yes, there is a Ted Arison/Carnival Cruise Line connection here - who renamed her Carnivale (not to be confused with the later CCL Carnivale, the former Empress of Britain) and employed her in the Caribbean as a floating luxury hotel. Nothing else came to pass for her and she did not sail again until late 1975, when she was sold to New Horizons Shipping Ltd. who renamed her Freeport, rebuilt her, and used her on the Miami-Nassau-Freeport run.

 

In 1976, she was renamed Veracruz I and was largely responsible for making New York via Eastern Canada to the St. Lawrence River cruises popular.

 

 

In 1978, New Horizons Shipping Ltd became Freeport Cruises Lines and she became Veracruz Primero and in 1985, under Bahama Cruises Inc./Bahama Cruise Line management, just plain Veracruz.

 

 

In 1987, Bahama Cruise Line became the Bermuda Star Line and in 1990 was bought out by Commodore Cruise line. That same year, Veracruz was sold to Festival Shipping & Tourist Enterprises and was renamed Sun Ambassador however this did not last long and she was laid up in Florida.

 

Then in 1991, newly-formed Greek-based Fiesta Cruise Lines came calling. She was brought over to Greece as "Fiesta" and, once moored in Perama Bay near Piraeus, her resurrection began. She was to emerge as yet another "new" cruiseship, taking travelers around the Eastern Mediterranean in summers and in Caribbean waters in wintertime. But it all went astray when on 24 October 1991, she caught fire, burned out and then, overloaded with firefighters' water, capsized.

[Copper10-8]

Add me to the list of first cruise on the SS Azure Seas (3 nights LA-Ensenada - 1983)

 

ss Southern Cross (1955-2004) Delivered in 1955 by Harland & Wolff, Belfast, Northern Ireland as ss Southern Cross for UK-based Shaw, Savill & Albion Line for service between Europe and Australia. She was the first passenger ship of over 20,000 gross register tons built that had her engine room (and as a result of that, her funnel) located at the rear of the ship, rather than midships. She started a trend of aft-engined ships, and today all passengers ships are built this way.

 

Although designed as an all-tourist-class vessel for an immigrant route, she was designed with fairly luxurious facilities for her time. All passenger cabins were air-conditioned, fitted with hot and cold running water, and inside cabins had circular lights that were switched on gradually in the morning, mimicking the rising of the sun. However, only the most expensive cabins had private bathroom facilities. The aft-funnel arrangement made it possible to build a large open lido deck midship, including a 5,000 square feet sports deck area. In addition to the two outdoor pools there was one indoor pool. All inside public spaces were air conditioned, and included a two-deck high cinema (also used as a dancing venue), two large public lounges, two restaurants, a writing room/library and a smoking room. Externally the ship was of a completely new design. The bridge was placed far back, being closer to midship that the bow. The meant the superstructure extended quite far more forward than the bridge. Like all Shaw Savill ships of the time, the Southern Cross sported a grey hull, light green superstructure and an orange funnel with a black top.

 

In 1953 Queen Elizabeth II was approached and asked if she would be willing to launch the ship and choose a name for her from a list of suggestions. The Queen agreed to launch the ship, and chose the name Southern Cross for the ship. When the ship was launched on August 17, 1954, she became the first passenger liner to be launched by a reigning monarch.

 

On February 23, 1955 the Southern Cross was delivered to her owners. After a series of shakedown cruises she left for her first trip from Europe to Australia and back again. Taking 76 days for one circumnavigation, the Southern Cross sailed from Southampton to Capetown, from there to Australia and New Zealand, and then continuing eastwards across the Pacific to Europe via the Panama canal. Normally she made four such circumnavigations every year.

The Southern Cross enjoyed great success during the early years of her Shaw Savill service, and in the late 1950s a second ship of similar design but larger dimensions was ordered, and entered service in 1962 as ss Northern Star. When she entered service, the Northern Star replaced the Southern Cross on the eastwards Australian run, and the Southern Cross took over the westwards itinerary, visiting the same ports as before but in reversed order.

Throughout the 1960s the competition from jet passenger aircraft increased on the Australian run and as a result, the around-the-year service to Australia became no longer financially viable. Southern Cross was then used for cruising from Liverpool to the Mediterranean from June 1971 onwards. Although her design was otherwise well suited for cruising, the ship did not have toilet facilities in all cabins, which made her an unpopular cruise ship, and after just five months of cruising Shaw Savill decided to lay up the ship in November of the same year.

 

 

 

After spending over a year laid up, first in Southampton and then at River Fal, Cornwall, Southern Cross was sold to Greek-based Ulysses Lines in January 1973. Renamed ss Calypso, she sailed to Piraeus where she was rebuilt into a proper cruise ship. Painted in cruise-like whites with an attractive blue/white funnel, Calypso entered service for Ulysses Lines in March 1975, initially cruising around the Mediterranean with Piraeus as the starting point. After a few months, she was chartered to UK-based Thomson Cruises and used for cruising from Tilbury and Southampton. Thomson withdrew from the cruise business in 1976 and Calypso returned to Ulysses Lines, who used her for cruising around the Mediterranean, as well as a season for cruising around South America in 1978-1979, and seven-night cruises from Miami to the Caribbean from 1979 onwards. At some point she was also used for cruises from New York City to Bermuda. In 1980, she was renamed ss Calypso I and used for cruises from Los Angeles to Alaska.

 

 

In late 1980, she was sold again, this time to U.S.-based Eastern Cruise Lines, who used her to start west-coast of U.S. service under the name Western Cruise Lines. Renamed ss Azure Seas, she had her funnel painted dark blue and she was placed on three-and four-night cruises from Los Angeles to Catalina Island and Ensenada, Mexico and soon became highly popular.

 

 

In 1986 Western Cruise Lines and Eastern Cruise Lines merged with their west-coast competitor Sundance Cruises to form Admiral Cruises. Azure Seas continued her popular west-coast cruises until 1991, when she was transferred to cruising from Ft. Lauderdale to the Bahamas. However, in the same year, Admiral Cruises was bought by Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. The new owners had little interest in keeping the old Azure Seas in service, and she was sold to Dolphin Cruise Line.

 

 

Renamed ss OceanBreeze and sporting a new white-funneled livery with curving blue stripes along the hull, the 36-year-old ship started cruising on a seven-night itinerary from Aruba in 1992. In 1996, she was moved to New York (summer) and Florida (winter).

Another change of ownership was in order for the ship in 1997 when Dolphin Cruise Line, Premier Cruises and Seawind Cruises merged to form Premier Cruise Line. OceanBreeze was repainted in the new company's colors, with a dark blue funnel and a blue and yellow hull, but otherwise her service continued as it had before.

 

 

In 1999, Premier Cruise Lines chartered the OceanBreeze to the newly founded Imperial Majesty Cruises. Her old name, crew and hull colors were maintained, only the company name (on the hull) and the logo on the funnel was changed. Imperial Majesty placed her on two-night cruises from Ft. Lauderdale to Nassau where she proved to be very popular. Later in 1999/early 2000, Imperial Majesty Cruises decided to purchase her outright. In October 2000 she was rebuilt at Newport News, Va at a cost of $3,500,000 with more up-to-date interiors. OceanBreeze was expected by many to continue sailing until the new SOLAS-regulations come in effect in 2010, but this was not to be.

 

Running a steam turbine powered ship on two-night itineraries was highly expensive, and an additional $5 million would have been needed to rebuilt the ship to conform to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In addition, Ocean Breeze not being equipped with bow thrusters, required the assistance of a tug every time she visited a port. The end was in sight for the old lady and on 27 June 2003 she was laid up at the Grand Bahama Shipyard in Freeport, the Bahamas.

Imperial Majesty Cruises found a buyer in Ahmed Muztaba Steel Industries and sold her for scrap. On 25 August 2003, she left Freeport under her own power bound first for Gibraltar and then for Bangladesh. On 13 October reports from Chittagong, Bangladesh' capital, reported that OceanBreeze, on her approach to the country, had encountered a heavy storm and had taken on water which had resulted in a list. Regardless, on 5 November 2003, her ferry crew managed to beach her at the Ahmed Muztaba Steel Industries Yard in Chittagong, where she was broken up in April 2004.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Copper10-8]

Some more pics of the former Southern Cross in her various identities:

 

 

As Southern Cross for Shaw, Savill & Albion Line

 

 

As Calypso for Ulysses Lines

 

As Calypso for Ulysses Lines

 

As Ocean Breeze for Dolphin Cruise Line

 

 

As Ocean Breeze for Imperial Majesty Cruises

 

Another one as Ocean Breeze for Imperial Majesty Cruises

[Copper10-8]

My first cruise was in 1987 on Holland-America's Niew Amsterdam; western caribbean out of Tampa, FL. Flew there the same day from Los Angeles (would any of us fly that far the same day now? Air travel has changed in may ways since then) with my grandmother and 5 cousins. She was taking her single grandchildren on a cruise, the married ones had already been on one to Alaska the previous summer. A few years later she took all 10 of us and spouses on a trans-canal cruise out of Acapulco on Princess Lines Royal Princess, that was a beautiful cruise ship with probably the best dining room I've experienced at sea. Grandmother has been gone since 1993 and we all agree that was some of the best memories we have of her.

 

 

m/s Nieuw Amsterdam III (1983-present). Built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard, St. Nazaire, France and delivered to Holland America Line on 1 July, 1983 as the first of two identical sisters which would be known as the "N"-class with HAL. Her younger sister, Noordam followed just under a year later from the same yard. They would be the last new-builds for the, at that time, Dutch-owned Holland-Amerika Lijn.

 

After some difficulties, including a main switchboard that burned out and a twice postponed dedication ceremony in Le Havre, France, at which she was named by her godmother, HRH Princess Margriet of the Netherlands, she left on her maiden voyage from Le Havre to New York City on 10 July 1983. She would operate for them until 2000, cruising in the Caribbean in the winter and cruising to Alaska in the summer season.

 

On August 10, 1999, American Classic voyages, parent company of Delta Queen and American Hawaiian Cruises, announced that it had purchased Nieuw Amstedam from Holland America Line for $114.5 million dollars, to operate an inter-island Hawaii service alongside their ss Independence. After her final Alaska season in 2000, Nieuw Amsterdam sailed, without passengers, to Sydney, Australia where she served as a hotel ship for the 2000 Summer Olympics. Following those games, She sailed to Honolulu, where about 60 crew came aboard from the newly formed United States Lines (under American Classic Voyages).

 

On October 18, 2000 American Classic Voyages officially acquired the ship with the transfer occurring in an usual ceremony at sea, approximately fourteen miles off Portand, Ore. At the same moment her registry was changed to Honolulu, she reverted to the U.S. flag, and was renamed ms Patriot.

 

Patriot proceeded to Cascade General Shipyard in Portland, Ore arriving on 18 October, 2000 where she underwent a multi-million dollar drydocking and refurbishment. The existing casino was replaced with a Destination Learning Center, where passengers would be able to explore the heritage of the Hawaiian Islands; hear "talk story" from the onboard kumu (Hawaiian teacher); learn the Hawaiian language, hula, arts and crafts; and read about the five ports and four islands visited during the seven-night cruise. Other renovations included a new 464 square foot Presidential Suite; an upgraded Conference and Business Center with Internet portals; and modern family activities areas, including Kaleidoscope, a kids' club, and a teen center. Two new bow thrusters were added along with one stern thruster. Her hull was painted blue and a new funnel logo appreared. On November 8, 2000 she was refloated and remained at wet dock in Portland while work progressed.

 

She began operating cruises from Honolulu for United States Lines on 9 December 2000, every Saturday evening to Nawiliwili, Kauai, Kahului, Maui, Hilo, Hawaii, and Kona, Hawaii, before returning to Honolulu. .

On 19 October, 2001, American Classic Voyages, Inc. announced that it had filed for bankruptcy court protection and would cease most sailings. Both ss Independence and ms Patriot stopped sailing on Saturday, 20 October after completing their cruises and were laid up at pier 24 in Honolulu. On 27 January 2002, she was auctioned off at the federal court in Honolulu, purchased by Carnival Corporation/Holland America Line and reverted back to her original HAL name of Nieuw Amsterdam (III). She left Honolulu on 15 March, initially for drydock at Freeport, the Bahamas but then arriving at Charleston, NC on 23 April 2002 for a wetdock.

 

 

She left Charleston for Piraeus, Greece on 7 May 2002 after Carnival reached a bareboat charter agreement with Cyprus-based Louis Cruises. Upon arrival there, she underwent an extensive refit at Piraeus and was initially named Spirit.

 

 

Louis subsequently sub-chartered the ship to Britain-based Thomson Holidays for ten years for which she became Thomson Spirit. In May 08, Louis aquired the ship permanently from Carnival Corp (the sub-charter to Thomson continued/is continuing until November 2011). She can be found mainly in the Mediterranean.

[AlohaPride]

Noordam, December 2006. BEST momento? Our now 2 year old daughter ;)

[Copper10-8]

Noordam, December 2006. BEST momento? Our now 2 year old daughter

 

 

Ms Noordam (2006-present) Built in 2006 as ms Noordam (IV) 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 Noordam and the last of the four ships in the 'Vista’ class (Zuiderdam, Oosterdam and Westerdam are her sisters). All four ships are named after/represent points of the compass: Noord (North), Oost (East), Zuid (South) and West (West). The Vistas were designed mainly for shorter, less than two week long, cruises in the Caribbean, Alaska, and Europe.

The four ships are equipped with a diesel-electric power plant and an Azipod propulsion system. They were designed so that eighty-five percent of their staterooms have ocean views and sixty-seven percent have verandas; the extensive use of glass in the superstructure of the Vista-class ships is also reflected in the class name. The Vista’s feature "exterior glass elevators," located on both sides of the vessels and vertically traversing 10 decks, providing guests with panoramic sea views.

 

 

At 82,500 grt, Noordam is almost 30% larger than HAL's "R" class and almost 35% larger than their "S" class ships. The Noordam has a length of 950ft and a 105.8ft beam. She has a speed of 24 knots, with a service speed of 22 knots. Noordam has a passenger capacity of 1,918 souls and she has 800 crew members. There were originally five Vista’s planned for HAL but that fifth hull was first transferred to Cunard Line in 2003 and then a second time to P&O Cruises to become their ms Arcadia.

 

 

Noordam was the first Vista built to incorporate all of HAL’s 2003 Signature of Excellence enhancements into its design. As such, she came out with new stateroom amenities (luxury beds and bed linens upgrades, Euro-style mattresses and waffle-weave bathrobes to all cabin categories), new massage-type showerheads in all bathrooms, new flat-screen LCD televisions and DVD players in all cabins, a Culinary Arts Center, presented by Food & Wine magazine, for gourmet cooking demonstrations and interactive classes; a Greenhouse Spa & Salon, offering thermal suite treatment, a hydrotherapy and thalassotherapy pool and heated ceramic lounges; an Explorations Cafe to serve as a multidimensional venue for onboard programming, Pinnacle Grill alternate restaurant, a ”Loft” for teens, an area designed exclusively for teens (ages 13-17). In addition, Noordam differs from her three older sisters in certain ways: she has a Pinnacle Bar in place of the Windstar Café, a redesigned Ocean Bar as well as thirty-five additional cabins near her stern which, in turn, meant a redesigned aft end.

 

 

Noordam’s Atrium is dominated by a large Waterford Crystal gyroscope that changes color as it rotates. Examples of her onboard art include museum-quality paintings such as an oil painting of the city of Utrecht in the Netherlands, painted in 1842, as well as contemporary art such as a series of photographs of music greats Dizzy Gillespie and BB King. One of the most valuable pieces of furniture onboard the ship is an inlaid chest flanked by carved wooden 17th-century Baroque columns. Made in Germany in 1885, the chest is inlaid with ebony and precious stones.

 

After running technical trials in the Adriatic and having been accepted by her new owners, Noordam crossed the Atlantic under the command of Holland America Line Captain John Scott. This brought her to New York City where on 22 February 2006, she was christened by her godmother, actress Marlee Matlin. She later departed on her maiden voyage, a ten-day cruise to the Eastern Caribbean. For the 2006 summer season, Noordam operated in European/ Mediterranean waters before returning to New York and the Caribbean in the fall. She has since been homeported out of Ft. Lauderdale, Fl for her Caribbean cruises and had spent her summers back in Europe.

 

 

 

From 9 June through 11 July 2010, Noordam will be berthed at Durban, South Africa, where she will act as a chartered floating hotel during the FIFA World Cup Football (Soccer) events. During the tournament, Noordam will also be making two visits to Port Elizabeth for the quarter final and the 3rd and 4th place playoffs.

[Copper10-8]

Norway in 1985 to the Caribbean. I loved watching Love Boat and decided to do it for real. I knew it wouldn't be like the TV show but thought it would be great. It was.

 

I shared an inside cabin via Singleworld. Remember the wonderful great open spaces, dining rooms and the entertainment (they did a full Broadway play). Magnificent.

 

Did the Norway one more time in 1994 -- I really miss that ship.

 

More than a dozen cruises later . . .

 

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.

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

 

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.

 

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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.

 

 

[Copper10-8]

Some additional pics of a legend:

 

 

As France at Le Havre, France

 

 

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

 

 

As Norway for Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL)

 

 

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

 

 

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

[Copper10-8]

Premier Oceanic, "The Big Red Boat". I fell in love with cruising, despite sleeping in an upper bunk in the same inside stateroom as my parents! I was about 13 at the time, I think.

 

 

 

s/s Oceanic (1965-present) Built in 1965 by Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico in Monfalcone, Italy. She was the first newbuild to be purpose-built for Home Lines and was designed as a two-class liner. Planned in the twilight years of the age of the ocean liner, she had many features that are commonplace in cruise ships today, like an engines-aft design, balcony suites, and a midships swimming pool with a "Magradome", a retractable roof over the pool.

 

She was to operate in summer on the Homes Lines' Canadian route from Cuxhaven, Germany, Le Havre, France and Southampton, England to Montreal, Quebec, Canada. However, by the time of her delivery and due to the increasing popularity of the jet airliner, the company had dropped the their regular trans-Atlantic line voyages. So, she headed for New York instead, where she operated seven-day cruises to Nassau, the Bahamas throughout the summer, whilst in the winter she operated extended cruises throughout the Caribbean. When leaving from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada for New York City on her maiden voyage, an interesting incident occurred when she arrived in NYC. The stevedores happened to be on strike and thus would not accept the ropes required for docking. They were there on the wharves, but they just kept throwing them back in the river. However, her captain was able to dock Oceanic just the same.

 

 

 

After 21 years of service, Home Line decided to sell the Oceanic, and she was sold to Premier Cruises in 1985, renamed StarShip Oceanic and in 1986 was initially placed on three and four-day cruises from Port Canaveral, Fl to Nassau, the Bahamas. This cruise could be combined with a stay at Walt Disney World.

 

 

Later during her career with Premier Cruises she was often marketed as "The Big Red Boat", and in 2000 she was renamed Big Red Boat I, with no change to her itineraries. When Premier folded in the fall of 2000, the ship was detained by port authorities and then laid up. Premier Cruises was forced to put the ship up for sale.

 

The ship was purchased by the Spanish-owned Pullmantur Cruises in late 2000. Her hull was painted white and she reverted back to her original name, beginning service with Pullmantur in May 2001 on cruises around the Mediterranean with Barcelona as her starting port.

 

 

In March 2009, Pullmantur sold Oceanic to Japanese interests. She left the Pullmantur fleet in April 2009 and is currently on charter with the slightly ajusted name of "The Oceanic" to the Japan-based Peace Boat organization for world wide cruising. On 23 April 2009, she departed Yokohama, Japan on Peaceboat's 66th "Global Voyage for Peace" which, for the first time, featured extensive visits to various ports in Scandinavia. During that voyage, The Oceanic was detained by the U.S. Coast Guard in New York City on 26 June 2009 for having 16 deficiencies, including a cracked hull. After being released, she was detained again, this time by the Canadian Coast Guard in Vancouver, BC on 30 July 2009 for having discharged a large quantity of heavy oil in the harbor. The ship is currently conducting the 68th "Global Voyage for Peace"

 

[Bescotti]

My first cruise was on the ss Australis (Chandris lines), sailing from Southampton to Sydney in 1975. Two years later when a friend sailed home on her the crew were still talking about my cruise - 1 death due to extremely rough seas around the Cape of Good Hope when a passenger slid along the corridor and hit lift doors which opened and she fell down the lift shaft, another death on the dance floor (he was buried at sea one night of the cruise!), a 'mutiny' when the crew went on strike at sea and the passengers at second seating had to raid the kitchens to get food, a stowaway .... and the list goes on.

 

 

The Australis started out as the ss America in 1936 and ended life as the American Star, going aground and breaking up near the Canary Islands in 1993.

 

Despite such an 'eventful' voyage, I've kept cruising - one whiff of sea air and I want to be off!!!

[Copper10-8]

My first cruise ship voyage was on the HAL Ryndam II as a part of a 6 week summer program with the Foreign Study League in July of 1969. We flew from NYC to Rome and traveled by bus and train to Switzerland, France, Belgium and England. We then boarded the Ryndam II for a 7 or 8 day transatlantic crossing back to NYC.

 

What a great trip is was but a little on the cold side even in July. It was a far cry from the cruise ships of today!

 

Lynn

 

tss Ryndam (1951-2003) Built in 1951 as tss Ryndam by N.V. Dok en Werf Maatschappij (Dock and Shipyard Co.) Wilton-Feijenoord N.V., Rotterdam, the Netherlands for Holland Amerika Lijn (Holland America Line) and their Rotterdam-New York service. The interesting part of her history is that she was initially planned and designed as refrigerated freighter Dinteldyk, sister of Diemerdyk. During the building process however, the powers to be at HAL in Rotterdam made a decision to convert her into a passenger ship instead, and that’s how name got changed to Ryndam. Her keel was laid on 17 December 1949 and she was named/christened on 10 December 1950 in Rotterdam by her godmother, Mrs. Christine van Starkenborgh Stachouwer-Marburg, wife of the last Dutch colonial Governor-General of the Netherlands East Indies (now Indonesia), A. W. L. Tjarda van Starkenborgh Stachouwer.

After being delivered to her owners on 15 July 1951, she departed Rotterdam the next day on her maiden voyage and traveled down the 'Nieuwe Waterweg' (New Waterway) to enter the North Sea. That voyage would take her first to Le Havre, France and Southampton, England, then across the North Atlantic to New York.

 

Ryndam, at 15,015 gross registered ton, 503 feet long and a passenger capacity of 39 in First Class and 836 in Tourist Class, was the second ship in HAL history to bear the name Ryndam and the lead ship of a two-ship class, Maasdam IV (1952) being her only sister. The novelty of these two HAL ships was that they restricted First Class to their top deck area, thereby giving the Tourist Class the run of the remainder of the ships, with new standards for budget travelers. This new HAL concept of a maximized tourist class turned out to be a success and the two sisters would soon be known as the “Economy Twins” by HAL. Ryndam was also the first ship in the Holland America Line stable to sport their new house colors of the dove grey hull and white superstructure and the first Atlantic liner with the Strombus aerofoil-type funnel, designed to prevent soot from failing on her decks.

 

The ship was named after the river Rhine (Ryn or Rijn in Dutch) and after the dams built by the Dutch in that great river. (There is no city or town called Ryndam but the Dutch like building dams and dikes and are pretty good at it too!).

The first Ryndam was built by Harland & Wolff, Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1902 and served Holland America Line for twenty one years transporting up to 286 First, 292 Second and 1,800 Third-Class passengers on runs between Rotterdam and New York. During World War I, she struck a German sea mine in the North Sea, unfortunately resulting in three fatalities. Between March 1918 and October 1919, she was known as the troopship USS Ryndam after being requisitioned by the U.S. Government. After the war, she was returned to HAL. In 1923, she was chartered to Swedish American Line and renamed Kungsholm. She was scrapped at Hendrik Ido Ambacht in the Netherlands in 1926/1927.

In 1956, Ryndam (II) made a trip back to the yard at Wilton-Feijenoord where a pair of Denny Brown side stabilizers were installed, improving her overall ride in open seas. In July 1958, she added the port of Galway, Ireland to her itinerary before crossing the big pond. In 1960 after her bigger and newer stable mate Rotterdam V took over, her final destination on the North American continent was changed from New York City to Montreal, Quebec (via Ville de Québec/Quebec City), departing Rotterdam on that new run on 30 March 1961. In 1961, Ryndam received full air conditioning.

On 6 May 1964, Ryndam departed Rotterdam for Holland America Line’s first ever around the world service to Australia. On that ten week voyage, she would call at Southampton, Suez, Egypt, Fremantle, Melbourne and Sydney, Australia and Wellington, New Zealand. Her return leg would continue eastbound, across the Pacific, via the Panama Canal, and then across the Atlantic and via Southampton, back to her home base in the Netherlands. In December 1965, she underwent a major refit at theNorddeutsche Lloyd (NDL)/North German Lloyd (now Happag Lloyd) in Bremerhaven, then (West) Germany, where she received a 280-seat movie theater.

On 14 September 1966, Ryndam received an internal transfer to Holland America Line Bremen, (West) Germany-based subsidiary Europa Kanada Linie/Europe Canada Line. That line placed her on student sailings and floating university cruises from Bremerhaven to New York, with her first of four-such runs departing the German port city on 8 October 1966 (port calls were her now very familiar Rotterdam, Le Havre, Southampton and Galway).

On 28 August 1967, Ryndam was sold to the ‘s-Gravenhage (The Hague), Netherlands-based N.V. Scheepvaart Maatschappij Trans Oceaan (Trans Ocean Shipping Company, Ltd). They renamed her Waterman (Aquarius) on 24 May 1968 and she departed New York the next day bound for Southampton and Rotterdam. She would make five such round trips for Trans Oceaan.

On 10 October 1968, she was transferred back to HAL and reverted back to her original name of Ryndam. She was subsequently chartered to Orange, California-based Chapman College who used her as a floating university, including a once a year circumnavigation of the world. This program known as “World Campus Afloat” proved to be a successful endeavor for the university so the charter continued into 1969.

 

In the fall of 1970 and back on the North Atlantic run, Holland America used Ryndam to implement an all-Indonesian housekeeping and dining room staff, an experiment that proved successful and would therefore find its way to the remainder of the fleet. Ryndam’s final departure from New York took place on 28 May 1970 and, upon her arrival in Rotterdam where she disembarked her passengers and crew, she was laid up at Schiedam and put up for sale. A reported sale in 1971 to Valetta, Malta-based Sovereign Cruises with a planned name change to Royal Prince fell through.

 

On 18 August 1972 after being purchased by Cosmos Tours for $2.5 million, the ship was renamed Atlas, registered for Panama-based Worldwide Cruises SA. and departed for Piraeus, Greece. Upon her arrival there, she entered dry-dock for an extensive refit as a full-time cruise ship resulting in her external appearance being altered and bow thrusters installed. Her capacity was changed to 731 passengers and 297crew. On 5 May 1973, she departed Piraeus for her maiden voyage to the Mediterranean (Delos, Mykonos, Rhodes, Santorini, Greece and Istanbul and Izmir, Turkey) in the house colors of her new operator, Greece-based Epirotiki Lines. Additional ports of call in the eastern Med included Patmos, Greece, Kusadasi, Turkey, Haifa, Israel and Alexandria, Egypt.

Future summer seasons would see her operate from her old home port of Bremerhaven to the North Cape of Norway. Winter seasons would see her cross the Atlantic and cruise the Caribbean from Port Everglades, Fl. During this time, she also operated charters for German tour operator Touristik Union International (TUI) and British-based Saga Holidays (Southampton to the Canary Islands). She would sail for Epirotiki until 24 April 1986 when she was laid up at Piraeus until 6 November 1986.

 

At that time, her new owner was another Piraeus, Greece-based Company by the name of the Hellenic Company/Mediterranean Cruise SA for cruises in the Mediterranean in the winter and northern Europe in the summer. Atlas was once again laid up at Piraeus in October 1988.

 

Two months later however, on 24 December 1988 after being purchased by Nassau, Bahamas-based Pride Cruise Line, she departed the Greek port city enroute to Gulfport, Miss under the new name Pride of Mississippi. She operated (one) day gambling cruises to nowhere for them, carrying up to 935 passengers, including monthly five-day run to Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

In September 1991, she was once again sold, this time to Gulftide Casinos, Inc., renamed Pride of Galveston and berthed there (Galveston, Texas) as a floating casino. This would be short lived however, because in November 1991, she was arrested by local authorities due to unpaid debts.

In 1993, the ship was moved back to Gulfport, Miss where, as the Copa Casino, she continued on as a permanently moored floating casino ship. There were plans to spend $7.5 million in upgrades on the ship, including creating space for 700 slot machines and 45 gaming tables but these fell through.

Instead, in 2002, the former Ryndam was towed to, and laid up at, the Atlantic Marine Shipyard at Mobile, Ala. On 13 February 2003, she was purchased by Indian breakers and she departed Mobile under tow by the ocean-going tug FairPlay XIV to the beaches of Alang on 3 March 2003. While still enroute on 14 March 2003, Copa Casino started taking on water, foundered and sank in 8,200 feet of water in the Caribbean Sea south off the Dominican Republic.

[Copper10-8]

Some additional pics of the second Ryndam in HAL history:

 

As Ryndam for HAL with the dove grey hull, white superstructure, buff funnel and green-white-green City of Rotterdam colors

[url=http://boards.cruisecritic.com/"http://media.shipspotting.com/uploads/photos/rw/237234/Ship+Photo+Ryndam+%28II%29.jpg&quot][/url]

 

As Ryndam for HAL at the Wilhelminakade in Rotterdam in a wintery 1963 - Check out the HAL office, now Hotel New York, in the background

 

As Waterman for N.V. Scheepvaart Maatschappij Trans Oceaan in 1968

 

As Atlas for Epirotiki in 1985

 

 

As Atlas for Epirotiki in Rodos (Rhodes) in 1988

[gammasip]

Wow, I have really enjoyed reading this post....especially seeing all the pictures of those beautiful old ships!

My first cruise was in 1970 on the Cunard Franconia, NY to Bermuda.

[Randyk47]

I have to go back and change my first "cruise" ship. For 50+ years I could have sworn my mother told me we returned from England in 1953 on the SS United States. My son all of a sudden got interested in the family genealogy and out of the blue last night called me to check on family names, birth places and dates, etc. He apparently started looking for immigration information for New York arrivals and came across the passenger lists for the SS America and out of nowhere it shows my mother and I returning to the US on April 17, 1953! I now not only know the correct ship but the exact dates of the sailing from South Hampton to New York. Amazing!

[Copper10-8]

Wow, I have really enjoyed reading this post....especially seeing all the pictures of those beautiful old ships!

My first cruise was in 1970 on the Cunard Franconia, NY to Bermuda.

 

RMS Ivernia (1955-2005) Built in 1955 as RMS (Royal Mail Ship) Ivernia by the John Brown & Company, Clydebank (Glasgow), Scotland for the Cunard Line's Dominion service to Canada as the second of the Saxonia sisters quartet. They were the largest Cunard liners ever built purely for the company’s Canadian service.

 

Near the end of 1951, Cunard Line decided to design two new ships for their Liverpool-Montreal route. They origianlly planned to built only the two ships but later on, two more sisters were built in Clydebank. They were designed for luxury as well as speed and all ships of this new class (Saxonia, Ivernia, Carinthia and Sylvania) were built to meet the requirements of Canada’s rapidly growing population and increasing volume of overseas trade.The first two ships were named Saxonia and Ivernia. Their basic design combined a large passenger capacity, in maximum comfort, with space for a substantial amount of cargo – all within the biggest dimensions which would permit safe navigation of the St. Lawrence River up to the terminal port of Montreal, Quebec.

 

Ivernia was launched on 14 December 1954, just nine days after Saxonia steamed into New York for the first time. The original plan had the wife of the Canadian Prime Minister name her but this was changed and instead, Mrs D. C. Howe, the wife of Canadian Minister of Trade and Commerce, C.D. Howe, did the honors. As with the winter-time launching of her sister, Ivernia’s naming was not blessed with good weather. As she took to the water, she was caught by a strong crosswind which found her dangerously close to the river bank, her stern being within just a few feet of a storage quay. It took six tugs to guide her out of danger and into her fitting-out berth.That process, the fitting, like that of Saxonia, took nearly six months. On 13 June 1955, she sailed from Glasgow on a series of sea trials that lasted until 17 June.

 

Her original maiden voyage had her sail from Liverpool to Quebec City and Montreal on 30 June. However, Cunard was struck by an industrial labor action which caused a change in those plans. Therefor, on 25 June 1955, Cunard announced that Ivernia would sail her maiden voyage from Greenock instead of Liverpool. Thus, Ivernia set off on her maiden voyage on 1 July 1955 with 900 passengers and crew onboard, arriving in Montreal on 19 July 1955.

 

As was usual on that route, once the St Lawrence became impassable due to winter ice, the liners were temporarily transferred to the Liverpool to Halifax, Nova Scotia and Liverpool to New York run. Ivernia’s first such sailing left Liverpool on 2 December 1955. She called at Cobh, Ireland on 3 December, Halifax on 8 December, and made her maiden arrival into New York City on 10 December 1955. She remained there, unloading and loading her cargo until 15 December, when she set sail back to Liverpool, arriving just two days before Christmas.

 

The original plans were for the new Cunarders to replace the old pre-war ships that had been operating the Canadian service. At the time Carinthia entered service however, the Franconia, Ascania and Scythia were still fully employed on the route. On 12 October 1956, Cunard announced that Franconia and Ascania would be withdrawn from service in November 1956. Then early in 1957, Scythia was transferred to the Liverpool to New York route and in January 1958 sold for scrap. This left the Canadian service entirely in the hands of the four new sisters.

 

In June 1962, Sir John Brocklebank, chairman of Cunard Line, announced that both Saxonia and Ivernia would be taken out of service and given an extensive rebuild to make them more suitable to cruising. On 11 October Ivernia arrived at her place of birth, John Brown’s on the Clyde for her refit which would last until June 1963. This refit involved a considerable amount of structural alterations and also included a completeley new interior design for her new role as a dual purpose Atlantic ocean liner and cruise ship. In the process, she was renamed Franconia. Cunard’s plan was to operate her between Southampton and the St Lawrence during the summer with calls at Rotterdam, and on a cruise schedule from Port Everglades, Fl to the Caribbean in the winter.

 

Franconia made her Caribbean debut with a series of cruises out of New York. She departed on the first of these on 23 November 1963, sailing to St. Thomas, USVI, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Kingston, Jamaica and Nassau, the Bahamas. A series of similar cruises continued until 24 April 1964 when she sailed for Southampton to join the Carmania (her former sister Saxonia) in a summer transatlantic service. By winter 1964-1965, both Franconia and Carmania were well-established on the cruise scene. Following an overhaul and refit in April 1965, she ventured into the Mediterranean for the very first time in October. Cunard had scheduled her to undertake an Iberian cruise, departing Southampton on 25 September, calling at Malaga and Cadiz, Spain, Lisbon, Portugal and Pauillac (Bordeaux), France. She followed this with a similar cruise, which called at Casablanca, Morocco, instead of Malaga.

 

 

In 1967, Franconia became a full-time cruise ship. That same year, Furness Bermuda Line ceased operations and Cunard saw this as an ideal opportunity to establish themselves in the year-round cruise market out of the United States. Arrangements were made with the Bermudan government for Franconia to become the weekly cruise ship between New York and the island. It was at this time during their winter refits, that both Carmania and Franconia underwent further changes with their cruising green livery replaced by a more conventional white hull and upper structure.

 

In 1971, Cunard suddenly found themselves facing the most important event of their long and illustrious history – a takeover bid. In August 1971, a successful 26 Million Pound Sterling bid came from Trafalgar House Investments Ltd. The new owners of Cunard Line were soon faced with the fact that both Carmania and Franconia were in need of further refitting and modernisation. With several new purpose-built cruise ships coming into the market, the two sisters were beginning to look dated, particularly when compared with their new fleetmates, the flagship Queen Elizabeth 2 and the cruise ship Cunard Adventurer. Cunard and Trafalgar House, realised that bringing Carmania and Franconia up to standard would be an expensive undertaking. It was eventually decided to withdraw the two ships, lay them up and put them up for sale.

 

 

Franconia arrived in Southampton on 17 October 1971, her career with Cunard at an end. She was laid up and joined by her sister Carmania on 31 October. Carmania and Franconia remained there for almost seven months. When it was apparent that there were no immediate buyers, Cunard decided to place them in a more permanent lay up and on 14 May 1972, the two ships sailed for the River Fal in Cornwall.

 

In 1973, Franconia (and Carmonia) were sold to the (then) Soviet Union-based Far Eastern Shipping Company. Before entering service with them, the two sisters were overhauled by Swan Hunter on the River Tyne. Franconia was the first to leave the River Fal, sailing on 14 August 1973 and arriving on the River Tyne three days later. There, it was announced that she would be renamed Fedor Shalyapin.

 

 

Far Eastern would use her for cruising beteween the Soviet Union and Australia. Upon arrival in Australia in November 1973, both ships embarked on a program of cruising out of Sydney herbor. Fedor Shalyapin would remain in Far Eastern and Pacific waters and June 1974 found her in Yokohama, Japan. From there, she sailed to a variety of Far Eastern ports before arriving back in Fremantle and then Sydney.

 

Between May and November 1976, she undertook a series of Pacific cruises under charter to Shaw Savill Cruises of Australia. It was during this charter that a much reported, but unverified, incident took place. Fedor Shalyapin was crossing the Tasman Sea on her way from Auckland to Sydney when, in the early morning hours, she suddenly stopped and all of her lights went out. Her cranes started up, a submarine suddenly came alongside and there was a transfer of personnel and cargo between the two vessels. The incident was denied by the Soviet Embassy and Shaw Savill also denied any knowledge resulting in this unusual incident remaining a mystery today.

 

 

In December 1979, Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan and, as a result, the Australian government banned all Russian passenger ships from calling at Australian ports. In 1980, Fedor Shalyapin was re-registered in Odessa and transferred to the ownership of the Black Sea Shipping Company. Shortly after, she could be found on regular cargo and passenger runs from the Black Sea across the Atlantic to Cuba.

 

 

The beginning of the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989 changed the future of the two former Cunarders. At first they became part of the Ukrainian fleet. Although both ships were registered in Odessa as part of the Black Sea Shipping Company, at some point Fedor Shalyapin was listed as being owned by the Far East Shipping Company again. The ship no longer carried the Hammer and Sickle emblem on her funnel. Instead, she had a broad blue band with a white and gold logo of a bird in flight on her stack.

 

 

For a while, both ships continued to sail, looking pristine and well maintained. In mid summer 1994, Fedor Shalyapin made an extended cruise from St Petersburg, calling at 20 ports around Europe and in the Mediterranean, ending in Odessa. It became clear however, that the end was in sight. By the fall of 1995, both ships were laid up at Ilichevsk, a Black Sea port some 80 miles south-west of Odessa.

 

In January 2004, after having been sold to Indian interests, she set sail from Ilichevsk under her own power bound for the scrapbreakers. On 11 February 2004, the former Fedor Shalyapin, now renamed Salona, was beached at Alang, India and the breaking up commenced soon after.

[Copper10-8]

My first cruise was on the ss Australis (Chandris lines), sailing from Southampton to Sydney in 1975. Two years later when a friend sailed home on her the crew were still talking about my cruise - 1 death due to extremely rough seas around the Cape of Good Hope when a passenger slid along the corridor and hit lift doors which opened and she fell down the lift shaft, another death on the dance floor (he was buried at sea one night of the cruise!), a 'mutiny' when the crew went on strike at sea and the passengers at second seating had to raid the kitchens to get food, a stowaway .... and the list goes on.

 

The Australis started out as the ss America in 1936 and ended life as the American Star, going aground and breaking up near the Canary Islands in 1993.

 

Despite such an 'eventful' voyage, I've kept cruising - one whiff of sea air and I want to be off!!!

 

 

I have to go back and change my first "cruise" ship. For 50+ years I could have sworn my mother told me we returned from England in 1953 on the SS United States. My son all of a sudden got interested in the family genealogy and out of the blue last night called me to check on family names, birth places and dates, etc. He apparently started looking for immigration information for New York arrivals and came across the passenger lists for the SS America and out of nowhere it shows my mother and I returning to the US on April 17, 1953! I now not only know the correct ship but the exact dates of the sailing from South Hampton to New York. Amazing!

 

ss America (1940-1994) Built in 1940 as ss America by Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Company, Newport News, Va. for the United States Lines under a Maritime Commission contract. She was one of the few ocean liners, American or otherwise, that had her interiors designed by women. Interior design and furniture were installed to provide an atmosphere of cheerfulness and sophisticated charm.

 

She was launched on 31 August 1939 and was sponsored by Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of the President of the United States. America entered service as the flagship of the United States Lines on 22 August 1940, when she commenced her maiden voyage. She was originally intended for transatlantic service however, this was cancelled as a result of the outbreak of the Second World War. Due to the European progress of the War, in which the United States was still neutral at the time, the ship's name, "United States Lines", and two American flags were painted in large size on both sides of her hull. At night, she sailed while fully illuminated. She sailed in what were considered 'safer' waters between 1940 and 1941.

 

 

On 28 May 1941, America was called up for service with the United States Navy, while she called at St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. She received orders to return to Newport News to be handed over. America moored at Norfolk, Va, on 1 June 1941 to start her new career as a troop transport. The ship was renamed USS West Point (AP-23) and entered the Norfolk Ship Yards on 6 June 1941 for conversion. By the time her conversion was completed, life-rafts covered the promenade deck windows, "standee" bunks could be found everywhere, several triple AAA guns were installed, all of her windows were covered, she was painted in a camouflage gray color, and her troop-carrying capacity was increased to 7,678.

 

Her war-time service would take her to such varied ports as neutral Lisbon, (Portugal), Bombay, (India), Singapore, Batavia, (Netherlands East Indies - now Djakarta, Indonesia), Colombo, (Ceylon - now Sri Lanka), Suez, (Egypt), Adelaide and Melbourne, (Australia), Auckland and Wellington, (New Zealand), Noumea, (French Caledonia), Massawa, (Ethipia - now Eritrea), Aden, (Yemen), Cape Town, (South Africa), Rio de Janeiro, (Brazil), Guadalcanal, (Solomon Islands), Milne Bay (Papua New Guinea), Oran, (Algeria), Casablanca (French Morocco), Marseilles, (France), Gibraltar and Manila (the Philippines).

 

 

Departing New Yorkon 7 February 1946, she got underway for Hampton Roads, where she was released from troop-carrying service on 22 February 1946. Her last voyage under the name USS West Point was a short trip from Portsmouth, NH to Newport News for re-conversion to a passenger liner. During her naval service, she carried a total of over 350,000 troops which was the largest number of any Navy troopship in service during World War II. On one voyage in 1944, she transported 9,305 passengers. She carried Red Cross workers, United Nations officials, children, civilians, prisoners of war, and U.S.O entertainers.

Back as ss America, her postwar career was successful, if uneventful. She was finally able to sail her New York-Le Havre-Bremerhaven-Cobh route that had been delayed by World War II. To many ship lovers, she was the most beautifully decorated liner to fly the American flag, less rigid and not as menacing-looking as her soon-to-debute fleetmate, ss United States. With the introduction of that larger and faster stablemate (ss United States) in 1952, America's reign as queen of the U.S. merchant marine was taken away from her. Their disparity in size and speed prevented them from becoming true running mates like RMS Queen Mary and RMS Queen Elizabeth of Cunard Line-fame.

 

In 1964, she was purchased by Greece-based Chandris Group for service with their Chandris Lines who renamed her Australis (Australian Maiden). At twenty four, she was getting older and facing competition from newer, faster ships as well as the airplane. The postwar immigrant run from Europe to Australia had become a lucrative market for passenger ships in spite of the growing popularity of air travel.

 

 

She was refitted extensively which increased her passenger capacity from less than 1,200 to 2,258. Her maiden voyage was from Piraeus on 21 August 1965 to Australia and New Zealand via the Suez Canal, returning to Southampton via the Pacific Ocean, Panama Canal and Miami, Fl. After this initial voyage, she sailed regularly from Southampton and, occasionally Rotterdam, on this round-the-world route.

 

Upon the closure of the Suez Canal as a result of the Seven-Day Arab-Israeli War in 1967, Piraeus was dropped as a port of call and she now sailed southbound via Cape Town, South Africa. She was the last liner to provide a regular service to Australia and New Zealand from Southampton until her final voyage which left on 18 November 1977. After arriving at Auckland, she was laid up at Timaru on 23 December 1977.

 

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In June 1978, Australis was sold to New York-based Venture Cruises. Under their ownership, the ship was renamed America once again in an attempt to capitalize on the ship's heritage, despite her Greek flag. She was repainted in a blue and white color scheme and on 30 June 1978, she set sail on her first cruise.

 

Her refit, however, had not been completed by the time of the sailing. The ship was filthy, with piles of soiled linens and worn mattresses, scattered piles of trash, and a scent of kitchen odors, engine oil, and plumbing backups. In addition, water in overhead pipes leaked. Along with maintenance issues, attempts to spruce the ship up led to other problems, with too many layers of paint visible on the outer bulkheads, as well as the lifeboat davits and lifeboat gear. Additionally, the public rooms were carelessly repainted, with her stainless steel trims now scarred with brush strokes.

Due to overbooking and her state of incompletion, a number of passengers "mutinied", forcing her captain to return the ship to New York, having only barely passed the Statue of Liberty. 960 passengers disembarked upon her arrival. On a second sailing that day, an additional 200 passengers left via tender at Staten Island.

America then left for a five-day cruise to Nova Scotia, Canada on 3 July 1978. Upon arrival there, she was met with $ 2.5 U.S. million in claims from passengers. Aditional issues resulted in the cancellation of all further sailings, and America was arrested on 18 July 1978 for non-payment of debts and laid up along the Hudson River. She also received an inspection score of wopping 6 out of a possible 100 points by the U.S, Public Health Service. All this resulted on 28 August 1978, in the ship being ordered to be sold at auction by the United States District Court.

 

So in 1978, Chandris Lines repurchased America for $1,000,000 and renamed her Italis. Her forward funnel was removed as part of an ambitious plan to modernize her silhouette by adding a streamlined superstructure above her bridge, however, this 'new look' was never finally approved. She wound up retaining her dark blue hull adopted by Venture Cruises.

 

Italis first operated under Chandris as a hotel ship from 23 June to 20 July 1979 when she was chartered for the OAU (Organisation of African Unity) Conference held in Monrovia, Liberia. She then carried out three 14-night cruises from Genoa, Italy and Barcelona, Spain to Egypt, Israel and the Eastern Mediterranean beginning on 28 July 1979. At the end of this series of cruises she was laid up in Elefsina (Eleusis) Bay, Piraeus on 12 September 1979.

 

In 1980, she was sold to Compagnie Noga d'Importation & Exportation aka Intercommerce Corporation and Noga. Their somewhat interesting plans were to convert the ship, now named Noga, to a prison ship, to be anchored in Beirut, Lebanon, not a day at the beach city at the time. This was not to happen, however. Instead, in September 1984, she was sold to Greece-based Silver Moon Ferries, and she was once again renamed, this time to Alferdoss, which means "Paradise" in Arabic. The strange part was, however, that only the name on her port bow was changed. The name on her stern and starboard bow continued to show 'Noga'.

 

While under the ownership of Silver Moon Ferries and at Piraeus, Greece, a bilge pipe burst, which caused flooding in the engine room and some crew quarters. As a result of a rapidly-occurring list, it was decided to raise her starboard anchor while her port anchor was cut away, and she was quickly beached to prevent her from sinking. After being pumped out and repaired, she was returned to her original location.

 

In the late 1980s, the ship was sold for $2 million for scrapping. The winning scrap merchant made an initial deposit of $1 million, and began his/their work. Following the demolition of the lifeboats and lifeboat davits, the scrappers defaulted on payments, and pulled out of the deal. The Alferdoss would continue in this state at Piraeus until 1993.

 

In February 1993, Alferdoss was sold yet again, with the intention of being refitted to become a five-star hotel ship off Phuket in Thailand. Drydocking at that time revealed that despite years of neglect, her hull was still in remarkably good condition. In August 1993 she was renamed American Star and she left Greece on 22 December 1993 under tow. She encountered bad weather almost immediately and returned to Greece for a few days until the weather calmed down.

 

On New Year's Eve 1993, she left Greece again and this time for good, assisted by the Ukrainian ocean-going tug Neftegaz 67 and so, the one hundred day tow began. While in the Atlantic, the American Star and Neftegaz 67 encountered a heavy thunder storm. The tow lines broke and six or more men were sent aboard the American Star in an attempt to re-attach emergency tow lines. This proved unsuccessful so two other tow boats were called to assist Neftegaz 67.

 

On 17 January 1994, the crew aboard American Star was airlifted off the ship by helicopter and the ship was left drifting. On 18 January, American Star ran aground off the west coast of Fuerteventura near Playa de Jurado Garcei, in the Canary islands. While discussions between the ship's owners, the towing firm, and the companies insuring the ship were going on, the ship was left to mother nature, with the forward part of the ship running aground on a sandbar. Within the first 48 hours of pounding surf of the Atlantic, American Star broke in half, just past her second funnel.

 

The ship was declared a total loss on 6 July 1994. The stern section soon collapsed completely to port and sank, while the bow continued to remain intact. In November 2005, the port side of the bow section collapsed, which caused the liner's remains to assume a much sharper list and the remaining funnel to detach and fall into the ocean. The collapse of the port side also caused the hull to begin to break up and by October 2006, the wreck had almost completely collapsed onto its port side. In April 2007 the starboard side finally collapsed causing the wreck to break in half and fall into the sea. Throughout 2007 what little remained had been slowly disappearing beneath the waves. As of June 2008, only a small tip of the bow remained above the water. .

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Some additional pics of ss America:

As America in Bremerhaven, then (West) Germany in the late fifties

 

As ss America at Southampton, England in 1961

 

 

As Australis for Chandris Cruises in Rotterdam, The Netherlands in the seventies

As Australis for Chandris Cruises departing Fremantle, Australia in 1975

 

As Australis for Chandris Cruises arriving in Fremantle, Australia in 1976

 

 

 

And berthed there (Fremantle) in 1976