Status of SS Norway

[oklaviking]

My family and I will always have fond memories of the S. S. Norway. She was in a class all by herself. The destruction on her decks is sad. I remember walking on them with a pride in my heart. Just the other day I showed my oldest daughter the photos of her distruction. She was on the S. S. Norway for her High School graduation celebration along with her brother and sister, my wife, and my mother. The Captain and crew went over the top to make our stay a plesent one. Cruise director John was simply great. Some of the memories include, Watching her off load her tender craft, the story about her that was shown in the Club International, the Jean Ann Ryan shows, along with just walking along her historic decks. Will hold a special place in my heart. I have sailed on two NCl ships since the S.S. Norway. Both were newer than she was but not as elegant. She will be missed. Thanks for letting me go down memory lane once more.

[Philly Steve]

Nearly finished. So sad. :(

[chasetf]

This is how I shall remember her..... when I sailed her from New York City to Le Havre, France as the SS France in the 1960's as a teenager.

 

 

 

[TDM99]

THANK YOU " chasetf " for your great photos :)

 

It' s ever a real pleasure to see " new " photos , especialy in colours , from this Wonderful Ship !!!

 

My loved : s/s FRANCE - NORWAY !!!

 

" MERCI "

 

 

Here a photo from my first and last cruise on bord QE2 :(

We stop in FRANCE at : Le Verdon ( near to : Bordeaux ) .

Naturaly " my " tshirt from the s/s NORWAY ( ex FRANCE ) was here :)

 

 

"]

 

 

Noel

[DaisyGirl55]

My family and I will always have fond memories of the S. S. Norway. She was in a class all by herself. The destruction on her decks is sad. I remember walking on them with a pride in my heart. Just the other day I showed my oldest daughter the photos of her distruction. She was on the S. S. Norway for her High School graduation celebration along with her brother and sister, my wife, and my mother. The Captain and crew went over the top to make our stay a plesent one. Cruise director John was simply great. Some of the memories include, Watching her off load her tender craft, the story about her that was shown in the Club International, the Jean Ann Ryan shows, along with just walking along her historic decks. Will hold a special place in my heart. I have sailed on two NCl ships since the S.S. Norway. Both were newer than she was but not as elegant. She will be missed. Thanks for letting me go down memory lane once more.

 

 

I think there are many people who are right beside you as you go down memory lane! She was my first ship, and we sailed her twice more after that. Looking back at my pictures and scrapbooks always make me smile when I think about the magical times I had while sailing on the Norway. We loved the midnight buffet, the International buffet with the awesome ice carvings, and the theme nights - it was so much fun to dress up in different outfits. And formal nights - ahh - they were truly elegant!

 

It is very sad what has happened to her, but I am glad they have finally taken down the funnel. It was kind of creepy to see only that one blue funnel remaining.

 

I have not sailed NCL since we left the Norway for the last time, mainly because we are not interested in free-style cruising.

 

The Norway was indeed a Grand Lady....a ship with class...a great crew...and great passengers!

[Mark]

Daisy,

 

I could not agree with you more. I sailed on Norway twice and loved the experience...for a long time NCL was my favorite cruise line with RCCL a close second. However, all that has changed as a result of free-style cruising, the acquisition of NCL by Star and of course the mishandling of the whole Norway incident...not to mention the empty promise of returning the United States to service. So, I don't sail with them anymore...I have made RCCL my primary cruise line and Carnival my second favorite...too bad really since the old NCL never had the newest ships but the crews were always the best and made sure you had a good time.

 

Mark:cool:

[Philly Steve]

Looking through some of my files, I found NCL Norway deck plans from our first cruise. Brought back some great memories. It made me wonder how Norway would have handled "Freestyle" cruising.

 

We recently took our second NCL cruise and were surprised at how much we enjoyed "Freestyle." We had a very active CC Roll Call and were able to dine with many of our new friends each evening in the Dining room of our choice. Debarkation was an eye opener as we were given the option of choosing our departure time. We had breakfast at 8:45a and were off the ship around 10.

 

While "Freestyle" may not be for everyone, we were impressed by the friendly and helpful crew and hotel staff. They made us feel appreciated. :)

[oklaviking]

Here are a few photos we took in 2003.

[chasetf]

Here are a few photos we took in 2003.

Interesting... you can see the differences in the forward stack height in your Norway pic and my France pic due to the added upper decks. I also notice the pipes coming out of the top where the France had the exhast come out the wings ala Carnival.

[Gathina]

I found a photo of my best friend and I in Club International , taken on formal night with the Captain. That was in 2000. I put it on my piano with all my other fav. photos.

 

The whole demise of this ship is horrible. It's like NCL just threw their grandmother into a nursing home to die and just left her there.

 

 

Interesting... you can see the differences in the forward stack height in your Norway pic and my France pic due to the added upper decks. I also notice the pipes coming out of the top where the France had the exhast come out the wings ala Carnival.

[Capsu78]

I am now at the point where I will be glad she has been recycled. Norway was grand, but like my old BMW, unviable... Lets face the facts: she had a great run, but by any standard, she was energy inefficiant and unsustainable except as a museum piece. She could not be brought up to code by anyone but the house of Saud.

 

I look at my pictures often, with my then children, now young adults.

Time to say goodbye.

[ohioNCLcruiser]

As of a few days ago just a wee little bit of the hull is left.

[Mark]

Do you have any current photos to share? The photos I found on the midcentury website appear to be about a month old based on your analysis of the hull

[TDM99]

They latest images from Alang here :

 

http://www.jd-pro.fr/le_france_galerie.php?lang=fr&img=IMG_6809.JPG&page=&PHPSESSID=7b26de6079a6c9aee19ad4ae62ed13b5

 

Very Sad End from the Most Beautiful Ship ever build :(

 

Next month on Christmas it's finaly : THE END ...

 

Noel

[Genghis Khan]

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[bahrain_not_dubai!]

 

 

A bit of her hull still stands proud. :o:(

[Mark]

why is it not blue any longer? did the Indians strip off the blue paint?

[Genghis Khan]

Yeah but they removed the steel that the blue paint was attached to as well Check out "Spoonhafen's" May 9, 2008 post.

[Genghis Khan]

[Rotterdam]

Of course Captain Card captures the FRANCE as she should be remembered!!!!!!

 

Thank You!!!

 

 

[COMBOY]

Sad to see her go. My college buddy and I sailed on her in July 1987 during our summer break. We booked next to lowest cabin category on International deck with upper/lower berth. The room was small, but had a TV (very unusually for a cruise ship at that time) and a rather large bathroom and shower with warming bars for the bathroom towels. I expect this was carried over from the SS France days. The Norway was in its hay days of Caribbean Cruises and one of the most exciting ships to sail on due to the legacy and the longest ship in the world. On departure the ship had a full marching band on board in uniforms - quite an exciting send off. The ship had a full orchestra. The ship was beautiful with two notable rooms - The dining rooms (one with two stories connect with spiral staircase and one with a grand sweeping staircase which is the one we were booked in. Food was very good, but not necessary gourmet as I recall and this ship never had Freestyle dining although it did add an upscale lido restaurant during it's 1990 refit. Club International was the first class cocktail saloon on the ss France/Norway and truly opulent with a piano prayer doing Cole Porter songs. Entertainment was first rate with head liner/comedian Red Buttoms and the full Broadway production of PT Barnum. We sailed to St. Maarten, St.John/St. Thomas, & Little Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas. Overall it was a wonderful cruise and most memorable. It wasn't the SS France by any means, but it still was an exciting ship to sail on. None the ships today can compare to her elegance. One note is that the Norway had an enclosed promenade (from the transatlantic days) and NCL served a lavish mid night buffet down the length of each side of the promenades. There was a disco called Dazzles and had port holes that looked into the aft pool. The hall/corridors were like mazes to navigate. The ship was divided into two section fore/aft - Pink and Blue and the had two boarding piers at the port of Miami. Well...the Norway may be gone, but I'll still have wonderful memories of that ship.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

SS FRANCE/NORWAY RIP...

 

She was the epitome of French chic in 1958...and quite a departure from her previous newbuild, NORMANDIE. She was more modern than classic...yet she embodied all her Gallic pride in muted ways. She was sharp, chic and subtle...all at the same time. The French brought more than 100 years of distinguished service with them in the form of the CGT...Companie General Transatlantique. They had it down to a science...the French style of service. There was a rhythm onboard that built to a crescendo as the crossing progressed. Add to that the extraordinary food and wines...the ambiance...the fantastic mix of interesting people...all sequestered for 5 beautiful days...and then you will understand the heady exhilaration of a crossing onboard the SS FRANCE.

 

The NORWAY was like coming home to visit an aging relative...one you loved very much. She was comfortable in all ways...familiar yet surprising. Her improvements were really quite nice. The Club International was spectacular...and much better than the original on the FRANCE. The addition of the two top decks...suites...was a great move to modernize. Those suites had floor to ceiling glass and the upper deck had balconies...way ahead of the curve at the time. The atmosphere on board could be summed up in one word...exciting. There was something for everyone and the quality was there. Every time you turned a corner there were little snippets of the former FRANCE as well. All in all...the NORWAY was the successful predecessor of the coming mega-liner...she was the transition piece that blazed the way for all huge ships we have today. We will never see the likes of her again. Here is to the SS FRANCE and SS NORWAY...may she live on in our memories forever.

[mbardsley]

Great pics on that site, found a couple of the very unique suite we had on the aft/starbord side on the 2 new added decks. All picture windows, no balcony, but it was huge and nice.

[imsulin]

Eight cruises on the SS Norway, and all of them wonderful! First was in 1987, last was in 2003. Same itinerary, same food, great entertainment (Jean Ryan??) great prices!! Really miss that! To this date, cannot get a better deal anywhere for a 7-day Eastern. Miss my Norway!

[imsulin]

SS FRANCE/NORWAY RIP...

 

She was the epitome of French chic in 1958...and quite a departure from her previous newbuild, NORMANDIE. She was more modern than classic...yet she embodied all her Gallic pride in muted ways. She was sharp, chic and subtle...all at the same time. The French brought more than 100 years of distinguished service with them in the form of the CGT...Companie General Transatlantique. They had it down to a science...the French style of service. There was a rhythm onboard that built to a crescendo as the crossing progressed. Add to that the extraordinary food and wines...the ambiance...the fantastic mix of interesting people...all sequestered for 5 beautiful days...and then you will understand the heady exhilaration of a crossing onboard the SS FRANCE.

 

The NORWAY was like coming home to visit an aging relative...one you loved very much. She was comfortable in all ways...familiar yet surprising. Her improvements were really quite nice. The Club International was spectacular...and much better than the original on the FRANCE. The addition of the two top decks...suites...was a great move to modernize. Those suites had floor to ceiling glass and the upper deck had balconies...way ahead of the curve at the time. The atmosphere on board could be summed up in one word...exciting. There was something for everyone and the quality was there. Every time you turned a corner there were little snippets of the former FRANCE as well. All in all...the NORWAY was the successful predecessor of the coming mega-liner...she was the transition piece that blazed the way for all huge ships we have today. We will never see the likes of her again. Here is to the SS FRANCE and SS NORWAY...may she live on in our memories forever.

 

How right you are! 1987 first Norway cruise: I remember walking by those top deck suites (blue carpeting) and being completely awed by those glass windows! They were being cleaned, so the doors were opened. We were on our way to a "bridge tour". There were nightly "theme" dinners (cowboy, 50's, Mexican) and we all packed and dressed accordingly, because there were contests. Everyone participated! I remember the Midnight Chocolate Buffets, and the infamous "horse races". Horses were kidnapped and ransomed daily. And were very decorated! There was skeet shooting off the bow. We would not have dared to show up for dinner dressed inappropriately! Went to every show every night. (Jean Ryan?) Fantastic! Included full stage production of "Meet Me in St. Louis". Shook hands with Captain on both formal nights. NO silly art auctions or inflated spa prices. No charges for soft drinks - only alcoholic. Coffee and snack stations everywhere. Linen and towels changed daily. Paid tips in cash. I tell ya..those were the GOOD OLD DAYS OF CRUISING! Miss those days, and miss the NORWAY! There will never again be anything like it!