Cruise ship on Delaware River, Sunday evening, 9/7?

[philamike]

Hi -- I was driving near Wilmington, DE, around 6:30 pm and spotted a cruise ship traveling south on the Delaware River. I was surprised because the only cruise ship I know of that's regularly traveling this waterway is the Norwegian Majesty -- but she would have left Philadelphia yesterday (for Bermuda), and this ship didn't have NCL's insignia on it. Although I only got a quick glance at the ship between the trees, I saw a yellow funnel (with no obvious insignia) and yellow lifeboats.

 

Anyone know which ship this might have been?

 

- Mike :-)

[webfoot3]

I believe the ship you saw was the P&O Aurora that called at Wilmington on Sunday. P&O funnels are yellow. See link below.

 

http://www.porttime.com/cruise_itinerary.cfm?shipid=331&call=09072008

 

Ron:)

[philamike]

Thanks, Ron! I never knew that Wilmington even accommodates cruise ships! My first thought was, "Why Wilmington?" But P&O's itinerary for the 2009 cruise lists Wilmington as, "for tours to Philadelphia" (which is about a 30-minute drive). Perhaps the ship doesn't fit under the Commodore Barry bridge, which is why it doesn't simply dock in Philly...

 

I found this press release from 2007 about Aurora's first visit to Wilmington: http://www.portofwilmington.com/HTML/our_port/PR/news_aurora.htm

 

- Mike :-)

[signman]

Actually Mike, the Barry bridge is 4 feet higher than the Delaware Memorial Bridge. 192' vs 188'

[philamike]

Actually Mike, the Barry bridge is 4 feet higher than the Delaware Memorial Bridge. 192' vs 188'

 

That's interesting... then why not dock in Philly? (The Philly port is just as remote as the Wilmington dock -- either one would require shuttles/excursions to get anyplace interesting...)

 

Maybe P&O figured its passengers would prefer Delaware's tax-free shopping... :-)

 

- Mike :-)

[Bunkie103]

Okay, since you two sound like you know what I can expect....we're sailing out of Philly in October on the NCL Majesty. As a transplanted New Yorker which bridges will the Majesty pass under, and is there anything exciting to see on the way to open water? Thanks.

[philamike]

Okay, since you two sound like you know what I can expect....we're sailing out of Philly in October on the NCL Majesty. As a transplanted New Yorker which bridges will the Majesty pass under, and is there anything exciting to see on the way to open water? Thanks.

 

I sailed on Royal Caribbean's Empress of the Seas last year, on a repo from Philly to San Juan. I'm a lifelong resident of the Philly area, yet sailing out of Philly was an exciting and new experience. You'll be sailing under the Commodore Barry Bridge (US 322) and the twin-span Delaware Memorial Bridge (I-295). Everyone on the top decks cheered as we passed below each bridge.

 

You'll be leaving from the old naval shipyard, so your first views will be of some of the mothballed ships and the Aker shipyard. Your next views will be of Fort Mifflin and the Philadelphia airport -- if the planes are landing westbound, you'll get to experience the jets flying mere feet over your ship as they land!

 

The remainder of the trip down the river into the Delaware bay consists mostly of oil refineries and cargo docks. Near Wilmington, you'll pass by Pea Patch Island, a former prison for Confederate soldiers during the Civil War. Just past this is the opening to the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal, connecting the Delaware Bay with the northernmost part of the Chesapeake Bay.

 

You'll also pass the Salem Nuclear Power Plant. After this, you enter the bay and the shorelines become farther apart. It takes about five or six hours to get from Philly to the Atlantic Ocean -- you'll see the Cape May lighthouse marking the end of the bay.

 

I took some pictures last year as I headed down the Delaware River. You can see them here: http://www.mikelamonaca.com/empress

 

- Mike :-)

[signman]

Wow, great narative about the trip down the Delaware.

 

Why Wilmington? Maybe their dockage fees were lower?

[webfoot3]

Mike, you should write travel guides. I sailed on the Empress last fall also (not same cruise) and reading your narrative brought the whole trip down the river back to me. The cruise lines say that Philadelphia is not popular because of the length of time needed to reach open sea, but for those of us who live around here the trip lets us share a part of our back yard not often seen.

Ron

[webfoot3]

Just as I posted above I remembered one of my favorite cruise photos was taken on the NCL Crown at the mouth of the Delaware in 2005. As you can see, sometime the winds can be quite high.

Ron

 

 

I now have the great pleasure (can you tell I'm excited) to start packing for our 9 day Canadian cruise on the Explorer this thursday.

[webfoot3]

 

This time I think I got it right.

Ron

[Bunkie103]

Mike....you're the best. Thank you SO MUCH. Your information is just what I was looking for. I had no idea it would take us that long to hit the open ocean....guess I didn't pay attention in Geography class! I love sailaway and especially from a new port....my home port in this case.

 

We sailed into NYC last year on the QM2 from Southampton and were up at 3am for the ritual passing under the Verrazano Bridge....inches to spare.

 

Thanks again.:D

[Philly Steve]

I had no idea it would take us that long to hit the open ocean....guess I didn't pay attention in Geography class! I love sailaway and especially from a new port....my home port in this case.

 

I too, love cruisng out of Philly. We're all set for our third and we hope cruise ship service continues after '09. :)

 

The only possible downside is that the ship's shops and casino must stay closed until you've cleared the US coast.

[Pumbaamd]

Hi Steve!

Great to sea you posting.

We really enjoyed our Empress cruise and the trip down the Delaware river to the bay and ocean. The hours long cruise on the river was a big part of the trip. Being originally from near Philly, I was fortunate to be able to point out landmarks to our DC/MD group.

We have a Halloween cruise coming up on Enchantment, and later next February, a Mardi Gras cruise on Voyager from Galveston (they should be OK by February).

Steve, it was a pleasure meeting you and Sherri. And Deirdra still is enjoying the beer bucket!

If RCCL ever comes back to Philly, we may sea you again.

Take care,

Rick and Deirdra