Norway Goes to the Breakers

[dawcruiser]

I too sailed on this great lady. It was a few years ago well past her hayday but just the thought of bieing in the company of so may who said her was brerath-taking. I understand Alfred Hickcock loved her along with Lucille Ball.

 

But sending her to the braker was just a business decision. There was talk about bring her back in a newer ship don't know if that will happen or not.

 

But to those of you who wanted her buried at sea you could of done that all you had to do was pay the something like a few million for her then you could of done with her as you wished.

 

Just my thoughts.

 

Don

[OuiOnboard]

Sailed SS Norway twice...and loved every second of these Jazz-partial-charter cruises back in '99 and '00. Back then she was part of the NCL fleet....too bad she never became a Princess.

[Colo Cruiser]

Sailed with my Dad in the mid sixties on the France and with my boys 5 times as the Norway in the 80's. Very sad indeed. :)

[Princess Patches]

My first cruise was on the Norway in the late 1980's. My parents took me with them. I thought it was the height of luxury and the good life. I particularly loved the Club Internationale with the tall windows and the pillars. It was all very grand. I remember it also had a glass enclosed promenade area. I have never seen a glass enclosed promenade on any other ship. The one thing about it that is not as passenger friendly as modern ships was the layout of the decks. I always ended up getting lost on that ship.

[dresch25]

Can anyone provide a picture of this ship, or a link where I can view some?

 

 

Vicki

[WCAB]

It seems odd to be sad when a metal object meets its end. I don't feel that way about my old cars or airplanes on which I've flown. However, ships are special. Or at least this ship.

 

Norway was my very first cruise in 1985. Since then, I've been on other ships -- large and very small -- but nothing compares. I took my mother on her first cruise on the Norway. We were fortunate to eat dinner at the Captain's Table. Until the day she died, she never forgot walking down the grand staircase into dinner or the magnificence of the public spaces.

 

It's hard to put into words why this feels like losing a family member. I know I wouldn't feel this way if the other ships on which I've sailed met similar fates.

 

Maybe it's the majesty of the ship. Maybe it's the majesty of the memories.

Regardless, it's very sad.

 

That does sound like a very special memory.

 

Carol

[dawcruiser]

I memory serves me correctly she was one of the last ships built as a ture oceanliner. She was built as long as she was to give a better ride crossing the Atlantic. When I saided her I played games in my mind dreaming I was on one of those crossing.

 

Oh how I miss that kind of life. Didn't ever experience class sailing but it would of been great to have sailed in first class. Dressing for dinner wasn't a question it was just done.

 

Just dreaming,

 

Don

[JotWorld]

We too had the great pleasure of sailing the SS Norway. I'll never forget

Club International with the statue of Poseidon. That was an amazing room. Our very first cruise was on the Norway. Great memories of a Great ship...

 

We also Truly loved that Dear Lady(Our 1st 5 Cruises on her).

"Rest in Peace Our Dear Lady, Rest in Peace".

Bill & Irene

[MrsNoPlea]

Please click one of the Quick Reply icons in the posts above to activate Quick Reply.

[LUVTOKRUZ]

Can anyone provide a picture of this ship, or a link where I can view some?

 

 

Vicki

 

Here is a link to her as the SS France then as the SS Norway.

 

http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/CGT_France1962_PCs.html

[dresch25]

Here is a link to her as the SS France then as the SS Norway.

 

http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/CGT_France1962_PCs.html

 

 

 

Thank you very much, she looks beautiful it's a shame that all good thing must come to an end.

 

 

Vicki

[JotWorld]

We also Truly loved that Dear Lady(Our 1st 5 Cruises on her).

"Rest in Peace Our Dear Lady, Rest in Peace".

Bill & Irene

 

Here that Pic although I had to Cut it in Half to get it on :+( Bill

[49er]

I am so sad to read this post about a truly beautiful ship. I sailed on the SS France back in April 1965 as a very young fellow off to have an adventure of a lifetime touring Europe for three months in my VW Bug. The ship had two classes with two seperate dining rooms. French wine was served at dinner and was included in the fare. Every night was formal night, even for us "2nd class" passengers. Those were also the days that a directory was given all the passengers listing who all was on board (Lucile Ball on our cruise). My inside cabin (with a shared bath) cost a whopping $228 for the one way crossing from New York to La Harve. The most memorable moment of the cruise was passing the the Queen Elizabeth (1) in the North Atlantic with horns blaring. Quite a sight. I later sailed on her when she was the Norway but always felt the additional balcony cabins on the upper decks spoiled the graceful elegant lines of the ship. This truly is the end of an era. Modern cruise ships are very efficent in their design but the France was a real beauty. I still have a small blue dish on my nightstand that I "liberated" from the France all those years ago.

[bdjam]

Another interesting thing about France is that she was the first undertaking of her size and complexity for the French shipyards after World War II. It was said that “vive la France” that was repeated at her christening wasn’t just for the ship, but also for the country.

[5fathom]

They had the Alang story on HD Discovery Channel last night. It is indeed sad to see this documentary. As a previous poster said "they line her up. rev up the engines and drive her right up on the beach!" The tourches take over at that point. They pretty much gut the interior before reducing her to scrap. We have been on 28 cruises but never sailed on Norway although we have seen her many times anchored off St Thomas. She was a true classic.

[zydecocruiser]

When was the last sailing of the France? I think I might have been on it. Look out Ebay!!!

 

 

Crapolla - not sure if the pics showed up of not :confused: Anyway, now I am almost positive I was on the last sailing of the France...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_France_(1961)

 

So... here they are again + 1... As confused as people today seem to get with ship time vs island time imagine what would they say about having to adjust their watches 4 times a day ?

 

 

 

 

 

[Jacqueline]

It does seem like a brutal process. There is a reason why this sort of thing happens in India and not the US. The lack of regulations and desperate poverty enable the salvage process to be profitable.

As a scuba diver, I would have thought that a fitting end would be adding her to the artificial reef program, where she would support marine life and provide recreation both for divers and fishermen. Her name would live on and she would have a burial that would have supported life.

[IKE]

My Mother, Grandaunts and Aunts all sailed on the Norway{France} many times to Europe and as a child, I went down and then there were sail away parties to see them off with the rest of my family.. I will never forget "Her" sailing down the Hudson River with me standing on the Pier. That is when I fell in love with "Ships" and have been a Cruisenut since 1991. Norway, You will be missed! You were indeed a beautiful Ship!

[OuiOnboard]

....I would have thought that a fitting end would be adding her to the artificial reef program, where she would support marine life and provide recreation both for divers and fishermen. Her name would live on and she would have a burial that would have supported life.

The people who physically "take the ship apart" for salvage do so at great danger to their lives in order to support the lives of their children.

And so it goes....

[bdjam]

Let’s not sully the memory of a fine ship with another sociological discussion … there’s enough of that going on with the formal dress threads.

[OuiOnboard]

Let’s not sully the memory of a fine ship with another sociological discussion … there’s enough of that going on with the formal dress threads.

Yes boss

[Ethel5]

Our first 7 night cruise was on the Norway and that got us started on our cruise addiction! She was a beautiful old Dame. We had an inside cabin that was not much bigger than a closet with upper and lower bunks! Long live the Lady.

[Another ship trip]

I was on this ship in the 80's (1988) and for the time period she was the most beautiful ship sailing. In some ways she still would be today. She was classy and not gharish like many of the superliners now. I remember Fendi being sold as a "new" designer (don't know how new it really was) but they were dirt cheap at the time! Other than paper thin cabin walls in areas and some small cabins, the ship was fantastic. And as this ship slips away so does an era of fantastic oceanliners we are likely not to see again.

[OuiOnboard]

SS Norway has passed from us. Ashes to ashes....

Cherished memories, however, live on.

[imamelfan]

In April 2002. This was about six weeks before the boiler fire. It was mine and DH second cruise, but my 3 teenagers first. They had read up on it and thought it was going to be an "old people's" cruise. We have sailed many times on other lines since then, but the kids have yet to have as good as a time as they had on the Norway. There was such a nice small niche of teens! Everyone knew each other and they hung out every night! They always compare every cruise to the Norway! I had hoped to sail her again, but alas that wasn't to be true.

So long.....to a great, classy ship.