Star Drydock PICS !!!

[melika091900]

Today we went to see the star drydocked in San francisco..since we are only about 20 min from there.. heres the link to some pics we took of the star... and some other family pics at pier 39

enjoy.. we cant wait to sail her again!!

http://community.webshots.com/user/melika091900

[jerhardt]

Nice shots.

[e.durban]

And the beautiful S.S. Independence (aka NCL Independence) off to the right!

Thanks for the lovely pics...

[tequilamary]

Thanks for the pix, we were on the Star in Feb also, just loved it, the pix were great! Lynn

[electricron]

Thanks for the photos!

 

Looks like the shipyard is going to be very busy repainting the hull as most of the hull artwork is missing.

 

By the way, the ship in front of the Star in the very first photo is the SS Independence, which is owned by NCL and Star Cruises. It was acquired about the same time NCL bought the unfinished hull of the Pride of America when NCL bought out American Hawaii Cruise Lines.

 

Even though the SS Independence is in front, the Star appears significantly larger, but appears even larger because the Star is up on the drydock while the SS Independence is riding on the bay.

 

Some SS Independence specs.

 

In February 2003, the Independence was sold at auction for $4 million to Norwegian Cruise Line. The Independence was originally launched during the heyday of ocean travel in 1950, but was treated to more than $78 million in refurbishments from 1994 to 2001. The ship was extensively refitted in 1994. In this comprehensive upgrading, her tank tops were replaced, most of the lifeboats were removed in favor of rafts, elevator shafts were extended to Bridge Deck level, and new stairwells were added to the after decks to improve passenger flow. The ship took on a new look with decaled funnels in American Hawaii's new "lei" theme, and a Hawaiian-styled decor in the public areas and passenger accommodation. The ship is one of the few major cruise ships built in the United States, having been constructed at the Bethlehem Steel Company in Quincy, Massachusetts for American Export Lines of New York. It was intended for use as a trans-Atlantic passenger liner--yet, it adhered to post-World War II U.S. Navy specifications to permit rapid conversion into a troop ship, with a capacity for 5,000 men and their equipment. The vessel, as originally designed, was made entirely of non-combustible or fire-resistant materials (suggesting heavy use of abestos) and featured extra hull plating--and two engine rooms so that if one were damaged, the other could keep the ship moving at a relatively high speed. Everyone who loves old ocean liners can hope that NCL will be able to add the Independence to its fleet and save her from the scrap yard.

 

Tonnage (as is): 20,220 GRT

Tonnage (from builders): 23,819 GRT

Lenght: 682 feet

Width: 88.9 feet

Propulsion: 37,000 horsepower, twin screw, two sets of geared turbines, 17 knots cruising, 23 knots maximum

Passenger Decks: 9

Cabins (as it): Total 446, 37 suites, 240 inside, 169 outside.

Cabins (from builders) Total 1000 , 295 First Class passengers, 375 Cabin Class, 330 Tourist Class

Crew: 317

 

At 20,220 GRT, the SS Independence is really small for today's mass marketed cruise lines. By the end of 2010, when NCL has suggested the transfer of all its medium sized older ships to Star Cruises, the smallest new ship in the NCL fleet will be the Spirit at 76,800 GRT.

Again, the SS United States if refurbished and if it returns to service, would also be small in comparison, at its present 53,290 GRT. But, if NCL adds decks atop the SS US, it's possible to grow it as much as they did with the SS Norway. The SS Norway gained 10,000 GRT over the years, from it's original 66,348 GRT to 76, 049 GRT. Therefore, it's possible for the SS US to grow to 63,000 GRT or more. Not too small I hope.

[melika091900]

im glad you all enjoyed... !! and im glad we got to share..

yes the stars artwork is missing.. it looked like there was some on the front but we couldnt really tell what it was..

and on the side in the back it looks like NORWEIGAN STAR was painted on there.. i didnt notice that before... i could be wrong though

and it was pretty cool seeing the other older ships there also.....

 

happy cruising

[jerhardt]

While we were in ports on March 4, 5, 6 the crew were removing the artwork (which to my surprise were stickers!). Apparently the ship is being repainted from top to bottom and getting a new artwork design.

[CaliforniaDreamer]

great pics! thanks!

 

i was in san francisco today for a meeting at my Home Office ( i live in L.A.)

i looked out the conference room window and there was the STAR! i was so excited.

 

from downtown it even looked big!

[melika091900]

great pics! thanks!

 

i was in san francisco today for a meeting at my Home Office ( i live in L.A.)

i looked out the conference room window and there was the STAR! i was so excited.

 

from downtown it even looked big!

 

yes,, and it was so cool driving over the bay bridge into the city and we looked to our left and there it was !! it did look bigger.... it felt like we were on our way again on the star!!! we have 8 more months to wait..

at least the rain let up this afternoon ,, the day was perfect in san francisco......we were really excited

[Cruisegoer]

Wow, seeing the ship with that much of the hull removed (at least it looked like it was) really scares me when I think we'll be boarding her in 17 days!

[cruisingfromMN]

Thanks for the pictures! It made me even more excited to go on our cruise on April 10th.

[judyf]

Nice pictures, thanks for sharing. I sure hope they get her done on time.

[lisabrooke1130]

Thank you for sharing. I had looked at the cruise cam for the Star and it looked like she was in the water. But, clearly she is not!

 

We visited the San Francisco over the Christmas school break and went to that same aquarium! It was cold, rainy, and dreary the day we were there (actually the whole time we were in California--some areas were getting seriously flooded), so it was nice to see your daughter in the sun and in short sleeves.

 

Thanks again for sharing with us.

[jerhardt]

Wow, seeing the ship with that much of the hull removed (at least it looked like it was) really scares me when I think we'll be boarding her in 17 days!

 

The hull isn't removed, rather that is the drydock you see in the pictures.

[shoreguy]

Thanks for the photos!

 

Looks like the shipyard is going to be very busy repainting the hull as most of the hull artwork is missing.

 

.

 

What makes you think the hull art is gone

 

Llooking at the pictures closely it appears to be there but blocked by the walls of the drydock

[vette]

Melika - Thanks for taking these picture of the Star. We are the first to board her on April 2. Sure hope she is done by then.

 

Vette

[melika091900]

youre welcome to all of you.. im glad we got to go see her!!!

 

she will definetley be ready for everyone !!!! :D

we have 7 more months to go... :o

 

take care everyone and happy cruising

[SailAways]

While we were in ports on March 4, 5, 6 the crew were removing the artwork (which to my surprise were stickers!). Apparently the ship is being repainted from top to bottom and getting a new artwork design.

 

Could you elaborate upon the "sticker" claim. :confused:

[joeandmaria]

Could you elaborate upon the "sticker" claim. :confused:

 

I too was on the March 1st sailing before drydock. They were removing the hull art while in ports during our cruise. Yes it was decals they were pealing and scraping off. It surprised my wife and I too!

[smarterman64]

Them decals would make great to hang in the room or in a scrap book :p

[electricron]

Photos are always worth more than a thousand words.

Note the number of stars above the name.

 

Before drydock photo:

 

 

In drydock photo

 

There's several stars missing, especially above "NOR"wegian star.

 

I hope the original op doesn't get mad about using one of their photos for this comparison.

[melika091900]

:D you can use my pics anytime !!!!

im glad i got to share them!!! ;)

[intrepid_guy]

Initially, the first few ships, if not all were decorated with decals... remember the bruhaha over the lei on the POAl? I dont know if they are still doing this. Onthe SPIRIT while we were docked at a couple of islands, there were workers out there repainting the design. Even actually using masking tape to stay on the design... See below

 

~Intrepid

[intrepid_guy]

Another....

 

~Intrepid

[jerhardt]

Could you elaborate upon the "sticker" claim. :confused:

 

I just got off the last sailing on the Star before going into drydock.

 

While we were in port in Manzanillo, the crew started removing the artwork, which as we all found out were stickers. They had garbage bags full of what they were pulling off the ship. They continued doing this in the other two ports (PV and Mazatlan) with the majority being removed in Mazatlan. The areas where the stickers were were painted over by the crew, as the white paint under the stickers had faded.

 

I asked one of the officers on board what they were doing and he told me that they were removing the stickers to prepare for a top-to-bottom repaint, and that the Star was receiving new artwork as well.

 

Click on the link in my signature to see my photos (the last two show the crew removing the stickers in Puerto Vallarta).