Your first cruise ship

[Himself]

John:

 

I was reading your interesting little blurb on the VEENDAM which you posted above. I found it very interesting. The original plan was for three S class ships: The Statendam and her two sister ships: the Maasdam and the Ryndam. They went over so well that they decided to add a fourth ship called the Veendam. The VEENDAM before that one was a ship that was later owned by COMMODORE and as either the Enchanted Isle or the Enchanted Seas. They were both once owned by HAL. One was the VEENDAM and the other was an earlier version of the VOLENDAM. (I Believe) In any event the Enchanted Seas eventually became the World Explorer and I saw her in Juneau a few years back. When Commodore went "belly up" in the early years of the decade, I heard the Enchanted Isle eventually went someplace in Europe and I don't even know if that ship is still floating.

I mention this because the ENCHANTED ISLE was the first cruise ship I was ever on!

[Copper10-8]

John:

 

I was reading your interesting little blurb on the VEENDAM which you posted above. I found it very interesting. The original plan was for three S class ships: The Statendam and her two sister ships: the Maasdam and the Ryndam. They went over so well that they decided to add a fourth ship called the Veendam. The VEENDAM before that one was a ship that was later owned by COMMODORE and as either the Enchanted Isle or the Enchanted Seas. They were both once owned by HAL. One was the VEENDAM and the other was an earlier version of the VOLENDAM. (I Believe) In any event the Enchanted Seas eventually became the World Explorer and I saw her in Juneau a few years back. When Commodore went "belly up" in the early years of the decade, I heard the Enchanted Isle eventually went someplace in Europe and I don't even know if that ship is still floating.

I mention this because the ENCHANTED ISLE was the first cruise ship I was ever on!

 

You're absolutely right Sir. Those two ships, Veendam III and Volendam II were both made into razor blades, unfortunately. Here you go:

 

 

ss Argentina (1958-2003) Built in 1958 as ss Argentina by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation, Pascagoula, Mississippi and delivered to United States-based Moore McCormack Lines on 9 December 1958. She and her older sister ss Brasil, were built to replace two of Moore McCormack's ships built in 1928. She was designed as a luxury ocean liner and she would be the last U.S.-built passenger luxury ocean liner, having been built from parts of all the, then 48, states of the United States. Her launching on 12 March 1958 was viewed by 500 guests and 1,500 employees of the Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation. After Mrs. William T. Moore, the wife of the President of the company, christened the ship, she was towed to an outfitting basin.

 

After leaving Way No. 8 at Ingalls Shipyards and sailing on a combined sea trial and delivery trip, ss Argentina was delivered to Moore-McCormack Lines at Todd Shipyard in New York on 9 December, 1958. Three days later she sailed on her first trip to South America with Commodore Thomas N. Simmons in command.

 

Her voyages ranged from six to sixty three days and her cruises included the famed "Sea-Safari" to Africa and the Mediterranean via the Caribbean and South America, her regular month-long cruises to Buenos Aires, Argentina, the annual "Carnival" cruises to Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, the popular spring and summer visits to Scandinavian and European ports, and the shorter and more economical trips to the Caribbean islands.

 

From 21 September through 8 December 1963, she was refitted at the Bethlehem Steel yard, Fort McHenry (Baltimore), Md. A $6,000,000 expansion took place for both her and her sister where two new cruise decks, the Sun and the Navigation, were added. They comprised of 63 staterooms for 163 passengers. In addition, new public rooms were added and her other public areas were enlarged to handle additional cruisegoers.

 

In early 1969, Moore-McCormack sought permission to lay up the ss Argentina and the ss Brasil, but was turned down by the Federal ship agency. Both ships were losing $2.7 million despite annual subsidies. On 3 September 1963 however, both sisters were laid up in Baltimore, Maryland, "temporarily" for repairs with the length of the lay-up unknown. The company stated that the ships were unprofitable noting that the crew outnumbered the passengers by a three to two ratio.

 

 

In April 1972, she was purchased by the Holland America Line who had her taken to the Lloyd-Werft Yard, Bremerhaven, (then) West Germany for refurbishment. She emerged in March 1973 as ms Veendam III and proceeded to HAL's headquarters in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. On 17 June 1973, she departed on her first cruise in HAL colors to New York. The timing, however, was not good; the Middle Eastern situation resulted in a boycott by members of OPEC and economic uncertainty made the purchase of cruise tickets not a high priority for prospective customers. After having been in Holland America service for less than a year, Veendam was laid up again, this time at Hampton Roads, Va on 14 May 1974.

 

On 15 December 1974, she was chartered to Rio de Janeiro-based Agence Maritime International and renamed Brasil for winter cruising out of, you guessed it, Rio de Janeiro. When that charter expired in April 1975, she returned to lay up as Veendam.

 

In the summer of 1976, she was chartered by Monarch Cruise Lines and became the Monarch Star for Alaska cruising.

 

Holland America took notice that this charter operator was making handsome profits with the ship, so they bought Monarch Cruises, and quietly phased out that trade name. She, in turn, became Veendam again.

 

In May, 1984, she was sold to C.Y. Tung Group (Island Navigation Corporation) out of Hong Kong, renamed Bermuda Star and operated by the Bahama Cruise Line, later Bermuda Cruise Line.

[Copper10-8]

 

 

Commodore Cruises, owned by Effjohn, purchased Bahama Cruise/Bermuda Cruise Line 1989 and in September 1990 the ship was renamed Enchanted Isle for cruising out of New Orleans, La. While she had initial economic success, it soon became harder and harder for Commodore to find passengers for her. In 1993, she was sent to the Baltic, and before becoming the Hotel Commodore in St. Petersburg, Russia, she ran six cruises from Kiel, Germany to Norway.

 

In 1995, after having been used as an accomodation ship in Hamburg, West Germany, she was once again named Enchanted Isle, brought back to the United States and 'cleaned up' to resume cruising from New Orleans with port of calls at Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Montego Bay, Jamaica. On 27 December 2000, Commodore Cruises filed for bankrupcy protection and Enchanted Isle was laid up in Violet, Louisiana.

 

 

In July 2003, she was sold to the Global Marketing Company for scrap, renamed New Orleans, and on 25 October 2003, taken on her final journey to Alang, India, She arrived there on 4 December 2003 and was beached five days later. The breaking up process started shortly after and was completed by August 2004.

[Copper10-8]

ss Brasil (1958-2004) Built in 1958 as luxury ocean liner ss Brasil (her younger sister was named ss Argentina and would operate as Veendam for HAL) by Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation, Pascagoula, Ms for United States-based Moore McCormack Lines. On 16 December 1957 she was launched after having been christened by Mrs. Emmet J. McCormack , the wife of the Line's Chairman of the Board. On 12 September 1958, Brasil departed on her 31-day roundtrip maiden voyage from the Big Apple to Buenos Aires, Argentina via Barbados, Rio de Janeiro, Santos and Montevideo under the command of Captain (Commodore) Thomas N. Simmons.

 

She would operate this service from New York City along the U.S. East coast to various ports in South America until 1969.

 

From 16 March until 14 June 1963, she was rebuilt at Bethlehem Steel Company at Fort McHenry (Baltimore), Md. where she received two new decks, called the Sun and the Navigation, which together added 61 new staterooms and increased her capacity by 163 passengers (her total capacity was 670 pax at the time). In addition, new public rooms were added and other public areas were enlarged. On 5 September 1969, ss Brasil, along with her sister, ss Argentina, were laid up in Baltimore, Md due to unprofitability.

 

In April 1971, she was acquired by Holland America Line for ten Million Dollars, however approval from the United States Congress took another year. (Her initial construction had been partially funded by a U.S. government grant so she could converted to a troop carier if need be). HAL renamed her ms Volendam, the second ship in the line's history to carry that name. Volendam is a fishing village not far from Amsterdam on the shores of the former Zuiderzee (Southern Sea) and current IJsselmeer (IJssel Lake). They also purchased her sister, ss Argentina, and after the same refit, named her Veendam (III).

 

On 10 August 1972, her Dutch crew sailed her from Baltimore to Bremerhaven, (then) West Germany, ariving on 18 August, for a refurbishment/rebuilt into a full-time cruise ship at LLoyd Werft that would last until 14 February 1973. After her interiors were completed in Rotterdam, Volendam left on her HAL maiden voyage from Rotterdam to New York, via Southampton, England and Cobb, Ireland, on 16 April 1973. In the Summer of 1973, she started operating out of New York City on various cruises to the Caribbean.

She was laid up Hampton Rhoads (Norfolk), Va starting on 6 January 1974, mainly due to the world-wide oil/fuel crisis. On 29 June 1975, she was chartered by Miami-based Monarch Cruise Lines as Monarch Sun for two years and used by them on three and four-day cruises out of Miami, Fl to the Bahamas and Caribbean.

 

 

In 1976 however, Monarch Cruise Line was taken over by HAL and so the ship (and her sister) once again was being managed by Holland America Line.

 

 

In January 1978 after Monarch was completely absorbed by HAL, she returned to Holland America Line for a second tour as Volendam, cruising for them from New York to Bermuda in the summer and in the Caribbean in the winter season. Her last HAL cruise took place on 21 January 1984.

 

 

In October 1983, she was sold to Panama-registered Banstead Shipping Ltd. (owned by the Hong Kong-based C.Y. Tung Group). After another refit at Newport News, Va, she was renamed Island Sun on 27 February 1984 and started cruising from various U.S. ports. On 29 May 1984 she sailed from Hampton Roads, Va via the Saint Lawrence River to Quebec City to be used as a hotel ship by the Jacques Cartier Group until 20 July 1984. On that day, the operators who had chartered her went belly up and she in turn sailed to Newport News to be laid up.

 

On 10 November 1984, after a Panama Canal plus a trans-Pacific crossing, she arrived in Sasebo, Japan for a major refit (new public rooms and side thrusters installed). December 1985 found her sailing as Liberte for American Hawaii Cruises (but still owned by the C.Y. Tung Group) between Papeete, Tahiti and several Pacific islands (i.e. Bora Bora, Rarioa, Huahine, etc.). This would last until January 1987 when the service was terminated.

[Copper10-8]

 

In May 1987, after yet another layup, this time in San Francisco, she was chartered to the Bermuda Star Line who named her Canada Star. After a north-bound Panama Canal transit, she began operating cruises from New York on 13 June 1987 to Bermuda, Cape Cod and the Canadian Maritimes. The Winter of 1987 saw her cruising from New Orleans, La to Key West, Cozumel and Playa del Carmen.

 

 

In the Summer of 1988, Bermuda Star Line decided to give her yet another name, Bermuda Star. This was an actual name swap with her sister, the former Argentina/Veendam, who was no longer allowed to sail to Bermuda by its government. Bermuda Star Line wanted to keep that name, Bermuda Star, on the route so gave it to Canada Star. However, towards the end of 1988, that name was indeed changed to Queen of Bermuda.

 

In August 1990, Bermuda Star Line was purchased by/consolidated with Commodore Cruise Lines and, after a refit in Avondale, La. (starting to sound like Joan Collins here), she was renamed Enchanted Seas. Commodore would use her for cruises out of New Orleans, La to the Caribbean.

 

 

On 15 July 1995, she was purchased by V-Ships/Azure Investments, Inc and renamed Universe Explorer. From October 1995 through January 1996, she was modified to prepare her for operating under charter to the Institute of Shipboard Education, which runs a college program, then in association with the University of Pittsburgh. In January 1996, she set off on a cruise to the Caribbean and from Febuary to mid-May 1996, she took off on her first semester voyage for the Institute for Shipboard Education.

On 27 July 1996, while en route from Juneau to Glacier Bay, Ak, carrying 732 passengers and 274 crew members, a fire started in the main laundry room. The fire was contained after four hours but tragically, five crew members died from smoke inhalation and fifty five crew members and one passenger sustained injuries. Universe Explorere limped to Juneau, Ak where her passengers disembarked. Damage to the ship was estimated at $1.5 million.On 2 August 1996, she arrived in Vancouver, BC for repairs.

 

In November 2002, she was purchased by World Explorer Cruises.

On 3 June 2004, she was on her way to Hong Kong with plans for extensive refurbishment and a return to full-time cruising in the winter of 2004. On 30 August however, all work on her came to an abrupt halt as a result of a dispute over the condition of the ship between World Explorer Cruises and the owner, Azure Investments.

 

On 9 November 2004, she was sold to Indian scrappers (Rikan Shipping, Inc.) and renamed Universe. She departed Hong Kong on 19 November 2004 and arrived at the beaches off Alang, India on 5 December 2004. She was beached on 7 December to meet her demise at the hands of the breakers.

 

[Himself]

John:

You are a wealth of information on ships. As I said I sailed on the Enchanted Isle out of New Orleans in April 1996 for my first Cruise. She was a nice ship. I was sorry to learn of the permanent demise of her and her sister ship. On the Enchanted Isle you had the right itinery as I recall it. Thank you for the detailed information. Your links and pictures bring back a bit of nostalgia for me.

Hope all is well with you!

[jtl513]

When did this thread become un-stickied? :confused:

[SwissMyst]

Chandris Fantasia in the late 1960's: http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/ChandrisFantasia.html#anchor174969

 

Went Venice to Venice with stops in Corfu, Rhodes, Crete, Athens, Alexandria with overnight to Cairo and Dubrovnik --- all long before the mass tourism development of these spots and still behind the Iron Curtain when it came to Yugoslavia.

 

Lots of Greek food, a real flaming baked Alaska that about brought down the ceiling party decorations, fun-loving European passengers whose favorite nights were costume and talent nights and a very randy, drug-smuggling group of Greek officers (.......as I vaguely remember). Plus there was a Miss Fantasia contest my sister nearly won.

 

Four bunk cabins with bathrooms down the hall and cabin stewards that would time their unannounced entrance into the cabin, opening the door with the call of "Fresh towels" just at the time you got back from the shower and were standing their in your underwear or less.

[caltnl]

John,

 

You mention ships being sent to the breakers and beached.

 

I can understand probably how they do the above the water line work, but how do they handle the hull?

 

Thanks,

[Copper10-8]

John,

 

You mention ships being sent to the breakers and beached.

 

I can understand probably how they do the above the water line work, but how do they handle the hull?

 

Thanks,

 

 

Hey Bill, I'm not an expert on this but my understanding is that, at places like Alang, India and Chittagong, Bangladesh, they basically "break" the ship down from top to bottom. I would imagine for the remainder of the hull, they must drag that part up on the sand and work until completed or...........they do the work at low tide. If you look at the pics of the Blue Lady, ex-Norway, ex-France and the pic of the Universe, ex-Brasil, ex-Volendam, you'll see lines attached to their bows. Big task!

Edited May 16, 2010 by Copper10-8

[Copper10-8]

When did this thread become un-stickied? :confused:

 

Good question; noticed it yesterday! Same with DBA's "I'm a HAL employee" thread. "Forces?";)

[CruiseMob]

May 1995 Premier Oceanic (The Big Red Boat), while 6 months pregnant. I loved it. We had the Beach Boys onboard, and they put on a concert for us and our sister ship the Atlantic in the Bahamas.

[Copper10-8]

May 1995 Premier Oceanic (The Big Red Boat), while 6 months pregnant. I loved it. We had the Beach Boys onboard, and they put on a concert for us and our sister ship the Atlantic in the Bahamas.

 

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"

 

[Copper10-8]

Star Ship Royal, Premier Cruise Line (Big Red boat) in 1986 my first cruise.

1958-1983: Federico C.

1983: Royale

1983-1988: StarShip Royale

1988-2000: SeaBreeze

1958-1983: Costa Cruises

1983-2000: Premier Cruises

1958-1983: Costa Cruises

1983-1997: Dolphin Cruise Lines

1997-2000: Premier Cruises

 

This ship was built in 1958 by the Ansaldo Sestri Ponente shipyard in Italy as the Federico C. The ship was the first new ship built for the Costa Line. The ship was initially liner service between Genoa, Italy and Buenos Aires, Argentina via Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 1966, she began service between Genoa, Italy and Florida, the Caribbean and Venezuela. The ship had a major refit in 1968, then added Caribbean cruises between trans-Atlantic trips. Federico C did cruises exclusively from 1972 to 1983, when the boat was sold.

In 1983, Premier Cruises obtained the ship and named it the Royale; it became the StarShip Royale' in the same year. In 1988, the ship was renamed the SeaBreeze when it was placed in service for Dolphin Cruise Lines. One year later, the ship was refurbished. Premier took possession of the ship when it acquired Dolphin in 1997. When Premier went out of business in September 2000, the ship was ordered to immediately cease operations. At the time, it was docked at a Canadian port.

 

Chris

 

ts Federico C (1958-2000) Built in 1958 as ts Federico C. by Cantieri Navale di Ansaldo Sestri Ponente, Genoa, Italy for Costa Armatori (later Crocieri/Costa Cruises). She was the first new built for Costa (named after one of the founder’s sons) and, after being delivered on 2 March 1958, was initially used serving passengers in three classes on Costa’s liner service between Genoa and Buenos Aires, Argentina with a stop at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

 

 

In June 1966, she was replaced on this route by the then new Eugenio C. so Costa began operating Federico C. on a monthly trans-Atlantic service between Naples and Genoa, Italy, Cannes, France, Barcelona, Spain, Lisbon, Portugal and Port Everglades (Ft. Lauderdale), Florida with additional stops in the Caribbean (San Juan, PR) and at La Guairá, Venezuela. The ship was remodeled in 1968 which changed her passenger accommodations to 186 in first class and 1,450 in tourist class, interchangeable to 1,259 for one-class cruising. That service would last until 1972 when a decision was made to use her for cruising exclusively.

 

As passenger liner service continued to decline, Federico C underwent another refit that gave her a one class cruising capacity of 700 passengers. When this was completed, the ship started alternating Caribbean cruises with her trans-Atlantic runs. However, with passenger loads dropping rapidly in the late seventies, she undertook more and more cruises only resulting in full-time cruising taking place between 1972 and 1983.

 

 

In 1983, she was purchased by the new Premier Cruise Line becoming their first ship. Premier Cruise Lines pioneered three and four-night Bahamas cruises out of Port Canaveral on the central coast of Florida. At the time they began operating, Premier was affiliated with Greyhound and would soon be known as the “Official cruise line of Walt Disney World.” When they took possession of the former Federico C, they renamed her Royale and had her hull painted in a bright cherry red color. In 1986, Royale was changed to StarShip Royale but unofficially both the ship and the line became known as “The Big Red Boat.” StarShip’s (and Premier’s) specialty was a three of four-night cruise packaged with central Florida hotel stay plus a visit to Walt Disney World or the Kennedy Space Center.

 

 

In 1988 after additional “Big Red Boats” had joined Premier, StarShip Royale was sold to Dolphin Cruise Line who put her in dry-dock for an extensive refit. When she emerged, she was called SeaBreeze I and used on seven-night cruises from Miami, Fl to various Caribbean itineraries.

 

In 1997, she returned once again to Premier Cruises (as opposed to Premier Cruise Line) as part of the consolidation between Dolphin, Seawind and Premier Cruise Lines. This time though, her hull and funnel were painted a deep blue which led to the affectionate name of “The Small Blue Boat”. The second time around, SeaBreeze I began operating seven-night Caribbean cruises out of Miami, Fl. 1999 found the ship operating out of New York City in the summer (2-night gambling and party cruises to nowhere leaving on Fridays and 5-night cruises to Newport, R.I., Portland, Me. and Halifax, NS, departing on Sundays) and out of Montego Bay, Jamaica in the winter. Later that year, Premier Cruises announced plans to change SeaBreeze I’s name to Big Red Boat II and her winter itinerary to seven-night cruises out of Tampa, Fl. (she would still cruise out of New York in the summer). These plans would never materialize! As a result of stiff competition from larger and newer fleets by other cruise lines however, Premier was unable to sell tickets at profit, selling below cost every ticket from July, 2000 onward. The line’s assets were seized by creditors in September 2000, causing the line to go into bankruptcy and eventually, to fold.

 

 

Like the other Premier-owned ships in various locations, SeaBreeze I was detained by port authorities in Halifax, Nova Scotia on 14 September 2000. Ownership eventually passed to the New York Merchant Bankers Donald, Lufkin and Jenrette and their subsidiary Sea Ventures III. SeaBreeze I departed Halifax for Charleston, NC, however on Sunday 17 December 2001 encountered 25-foot seas and high winds approximately 200 nautical miles off Cape Charles, Va. Her captain, Solon Popedopalis, radioed in a distress call at 11:30 AM, picked up by the Coast Guard, and indicated that the ship was operating on one engine and was taking on water in her engine room.

 

 

 

The United States Coast Guard subsequently responded with two HC-130 Hercules aircraft and two HH-60J Jayhawk helicopters. Upon their arrival, they successfully evacuated SeaBreeze’s skeleton crew of 34 in the two helicopters and transported them to Naval Air Station Oceana, Va. where they were treated for mild hypothermia. SeaBreeze I developed a severe list and sank in international waters 225 nautical miles east of the Virginia coast on Monday 19 December 2000.

[Copper10-8]

Some additional pics of Federico C.

 

 

At Valetta, Malta

 

 

In dry-dock at Genoa in the seventies

 

 

At Genoa in the seventies

 

 

 

 

As SeaBreeze in Miami in 1990

 

 

As SeaBreeze in Miami in December 1990

 

[Copper10-8]

My first was in August 1955 on the Ocean Monarch of Furness Lines. We cruised out of New York to Halifax, and Quebec and then down to Bermuda in time for Hurricane Edith. I was hooked.

 

tss Ocean Monarch (1951-1981) Built in 1951 as tss (turbine steam ship) Ocean Monarch by Vickers-Armstrong Shipbuilders, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England for UK-based Furness, Withy & Company. She was launched on 27 July 1950 and after technical trials, delivered to her owners on 24 March 1951. She was the first postwar-built ship designed especially for the American cruise market. Ocean Monarch was awarded a gold medal by the American Institute for Designing for her "outstanding beauty and unusual design features of a cruise ship". On 18 April 1951, the single-stack steamship departed the United Kingdom bound for New York City on her maiden voyage.

 

Furness Withy was incorporated as a company in 1891 upon the amalgamation of Christopher Furness' business in West Hartlepool and London with Edward Withy's shipbuilding yard in Hartlepool. By 1914 the company had acquired interests all over the world in liner and tramp shipping and in shipbuilding, but from 1920 they concentrated on liner services. In addition to the North Atlantic service, they developed other American routes based principally on New York and including Bermuda in 1919 and the West Indies.

 

 

Furness, Withy & Co. based Ocean Monarch out of New York City and used her on the New York - Bermuda service operated by the Furness Bermuda Line. She made this run for the first time on 3 May 1951 and operated alongside the older and larger Queen of Bermuda. Throughout the 1950s, the two ships were dubbed the "Honeymoon Ships", their Saturday departures from New York fitting in well with the week-long honeymoons of many couples. The celebrity list of both ships included former United States of America president Harry Truman, motion picture star Cary Grant, British playwright and actor Sir Noel Coward and Princess Soraya, former wife of the Shah of Iran.

 

She would earn her keep for fifteen years carrying passengers and fresh water supplies to the island's hotels. (Bermuda has no fresh water supply at that time). Ocean Monarch and Queen of Bermuda also shared longer trips from New York south to the Bahamas and West Indies and pioneered cruises from Port Everglades/Ft. Lauderdale, Fl.

 

On 22 September 1966, following the end of sea passenger services to Bermuda, Ocean Monarch crossed back over to Great Britain but this time to be laid up in the River Fal, Cornwall, awaiting disposal.

 

 

In August 1967, she was sold to Bulgarian-based Balkantourist (owned by Sofia-based Navigation Maritime Bulgare) and renamed Varna to earn foreign currency by cruising in the Black Sea and from Montreal, Quebec. She did this for three years, spending time in lay-up during each winter season.

 

 

In 1970, she was laid up at Perama, Greece. In 1973, the ship was chartered by Sovereign Cruises however only made two voyages with them. She was then laid up again. Her name was changed to Venus in 1977 and to Riviera in 1978. In 1979, she was refurbished for use by Italy-based Trans-Tirreno Express for Mediterranean cruising.

 

Later in 1979, she was purchased by Greek-based Dolphin (Hellas) Shipping S.A., who had her refurbished for full-time cruising. She was then chartered by German-based SUR-Seereisen who announced a series of Mediterranean cruises to take place in the summer of 1981. Her name was once again changed, this time to Reina del Mar. Before these summer cruises were to take place, the ship was to be overhauled and renovated at Ambelakia, Greece.

 

On 28 May 1981, while at Ambelakia on the central-east coast of Salamina (Salamis) Island, engine running trials led to an engine room fire which completely gutted the ship's passenger acommodation. The next day, 29 May 1981, found Reina del Mar, still burning, so a decision was made to tow her out to sea by the tug Titan. However, the tow parted and the ship ran aground on the coast of Salamina Island. On 1 June 1981, she was reloated and towed off but again burst into flames and was scuttled at Kynosoura, also on Salamina Island, where she fell onto her side, became a total loss and was scuttled.

[caltnl]

John,

 

Hope that you are enjoying retirement. Me going on 8 years.

 

What did you do to have CC kick you out of the stickies?

 

Keep up the good work.

[cccole]

I am also happy to see this thread back from the "stickies." I wish I could remember the name of my first real cruise from Miami to the Bahamas in 1978. Unfortunately my first cruise on the Jungle Cruise in Disneyland did not count. It is fun seeing the pictures and reading the history of all of the ships.

 

Thank you, Cherie

[Copper10-8]

John,

 

Hope that you are enjoying retirement. Me going on 8 years.

 

What did you do to have CC kick you out of the stickies?

 

Keep up the good work.

 

It's like being on a vac that doesn't end!:)

You have to ask "someone else" that question:cool:

Thank you Sir!;)

[Copper10-8]

I am also happy to see this thread back from the "stickies." I wish I could remember the name of my first real cruise from Miami to the Bahamas in 1978. Unfortunately my first cruise on the Jungle Cruise in Disneyland did not count. It is fun seeing the pictures and reading the history of all of the ships.

 

Thank you, Cherie

 

Norwegian Caribbean Cruise Line?

[CruiserBruce]

John:

 

I see what you are doing in your retirement:D:D:D!

 

Should I sign a release for use of my pic in your avatar?;)

 

Your fav Sharks Fan

[cccole]

Norwegian Caribbean Cruise Line?

 

Hi John, If RCCL was not doing the weekend cruise then it was NCL. My roommate and I saved for months to go on the cruise and had so much fun. I remember we were mortified when we came back to our cabin and EVERYTHING had been nicely unpacked and put away. Cherie

[caltnl]

John's thread needs to be at the top of the list so here it goes.

[beachmom24]

Sitmar Cruises (eventually bought by Princess I think) and it was on the Fairwind...St. Thomas, Barbados, Aruba, Martinique, Grenada, Caracas and the San Blas Islands plus in and back out of the first lock of the Panama Canal. I was a teenager back in 1978 and this had me hooked!

[Copper10-8]

Sitmar Cruises (eventually bought by Princess I think) and it was on the Fairwind...St. Thomas, Barbados, Aruba, Martinique, Grenada, Caracas and the San Blas Islands plus in and back out of the first lock of the Panama Canal. I was a teenager back in 1978 and this had me hooked!

 

 

ss Sylvania (1957-2004) Built by John Brown & Company Ltd, Clydebank, Scotland and delivered in June 1957 to the Cunard Steamship Company as ss Sylvania for "secondary" North Atlantic (Liverpool-Eastern Canada) service. She was the last Cunard Line vessel built specifically for transatlantic crossings. In addition to their more prestigious run from Southampton to New York, Cunard also operated other services, including one from Liverpool to Montreal, Quebec, Canada. On that run, their main competitors were Canadian Pacific Steamships. In order to strengthen their position on this service, Cunard decided to order a series of four identical liners, eventually referred to as the Saxonia class, for the run in 1951. Per Cunard's tradition, all four ships were named using the Latin names of provinces of the Roman and Holy Roman Empires; Saxonia (1954), Ivernia (1955), Carinthia (1956) and last but not least, Sylvania in 1957.

 

The new ships reflected the economics and travel patterns of the post-war world; they were not built exclusively as passenger liners, but also included cargo-carrying facilities. Their passenger accommodation were divided into just two classes, first and tourist, with the tourist class occupying the majority of the ship. The outer dimensions of the ships were defined by the Saint Lawrence Seaway, as they had to be able to navigate from the Atlantic Ocean up river to Montreal.

 

Sylvania started on her maiden voyage from Greenock, Scotland to Montreal on 5 June 1957. On 26 June 1957 she joined her sisters on their northern hemisphere summer service from Liverpool to Montreal via Greenock and Quebec City. By the time she entered service the growth of passenger numbers in transatlantic liner service had ceased, while the amount of passenger transported by jet airliner was growing.

 

In 1958, Sylvania made one crossing from Liverpool to New York via Cobh, Ireland and Halifax, Noca Scotia. In April 1961 she was moved permanently to the Liverpool - New York service, replacing RMS Britannic. At some point during her career with Cunard, she also served on the Rotterdam, the Netherlands 0 Southampton - Le Havre, France - Quebec City - Montreal route.

 

When the North Atlantic passenger operation became unprofitable in the early sixties, Sylvania was used on more and more cruises. In early 1965 she received a refit to make her accommodations more cruise-friendly. In November 1966 her transatlantic service was altered back to the Liverpool—Montreal route. Due to heavy losses Cunard withdrew the Sylvania and her her sister ship Carinthia from service in December 1967. They were subsequently laid up in Southampton and put up for sale.

 

 

On 2 February 1968, Sylvania and Carinthia were purchased by the Italian cruise company Societa Italiana Transporti Marittimi S.p.A aka Sitmar Line, managed by the Russian Vlasov family. The sisters were renamed Fairwind and Fairland, respectively, with the intention of converting them into immigrant liners for the Europe to Australia and New ZEaland service. Sitmar had held the immigrant service contract by the Australian government from 1955, but the Australians were asking for new tenders for the period of 1970 onwards so Sitmar needed more ships. However, despite the purchase of the Fairwind and Fairland, Sitmar lost the contract to the Greek Chandris Line, resulting in Fairwind and Fairland staying put at Southampton.

 

Sitmar then decided to convert the two sisters for cruise service instead. Fairwind received a year-long refit at the Arsenale Triestino San Marco shipyard at Trieste, Italy between January 1970 and January 1971 where her appearance was radically altered. Her forward superstructure was rebuilt to a sleek, streamlined form, her funnel rebuilt to a more modern, slightly conical form with a smoke deflector fin on top, and her cargo cranes eliminated and removed. In keeping with the then-current Sitmar livery, the Fairwind had a yellow funnel with a large V (for Vlaslov) painted on it. In addition to the funnel, the topmost decks of her superstructure and her radar mast were painted yellow.

 

 

She emerged from the yard to join her sister (having her refit completed some two months earlier and renamed Fairsea instead of Fairland) on the North American cruise market, on which she proved highly popular. During the northern hemisphere winter season, Fairwind made cruises to South America from Ft. Lauderdale, FL, while during the summer season she sailed from San Francisco, CA to Canadian west coast and to Alaska.

 

In 1988, Sitmar decided to change their brand identity with a new external livery and a new naming policy. That livery consisted of an entirely white superstructure, a dark blue funnel with Sitmar's new Swan logo, and three wave-like ribands painted on her hull.

 

Her career as Sitmar Fairwind proved short however, when on 14 September 1988, Sitmar Cruises was sold to the British P&O (Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company) Group. P&O closed down the Sitmar brand and just eight days after the acquisition, Sitmar Fairwind was renamed Dawn Princess and transferred to the fleet of Los Angeles-based Princess Cruises.

 

 

As Dawn Princess, the ship continued cruises mainly aimed at the North American market. Princess Cruises would be investing heavily in new tonnage, and in early 1993, the popular Dawn Princess was sold to V-Ships, a subsidiary of the the Vlasov Group or "V" Group of Monte Carlo. the original owners of Sitmar.