Your first cruise ship

[Bescotti]

Thanks so much, Copper10-8, for all the info on the ss Australis. On my voyage I shared an inside 6 berth cabin with no facilities and a grotty shower room down the corridor.

 

 

I'm amused now when I read such negative reviews by some passengers because they have to use hand sanitizers or the trays have been removed. When you've sailed on some of those pre-war liners, anything build in the last 20 years is luxury!

[Copper10-8]

Lewis R French out of Maine. 22 passengers. Powered by sail and by a skiff with an outboard motor. She is about 150 years old - probably the oldest 1st cruise ship on this thread.

 

http://www.schoonerfrench.com/

 

Two showers, 2 shared heads for the entire boat.

 

One of the best "cruises" I have ever taken.

 

DON

 

sv Lewis R. French (1871-present). Built in 1871 (launched on 28 April of that year) by the French brothers in Christmas Cove, Maine as the schooner Lewis R. French (they named her for their father). She is the last schooner remaining of thousands built in Maine during the 19th Century and the oldest commercial schooner in the United States. Maine was the center for wooden shipbuilding in the United States after the Civil War.

Due to some luck and loving care, the French has carried an assortment of cargo for various owners around the Northeast for over 130 years. Primarily as a coasting schooner, she has transported among other things, bricks, lumber, firewood, granite, fish, lime, canning supplies, Christmas trees, and currently, people. A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being shorter or the same height as the rear masts. Schooners were first used by the Dutch in the 16th or 17th century, and further developed in North America from the early 18th century.

 

Between 1880 and 1888, the French was sold into the fishing trade, working as a mackerel seiner (mackerel fishing vessel). This turned out to be her only stint as a fishing schooner due to a boom in the Maine mackerel fishery. In 1905, the French was again sold and moved to Mt. Desert Island, Maine where she worked the coastal cargo trade for various owners. In 1924, she was sold and moved to Bucks Harbor, Maine where her new owners had a gasoline engine installed. On 22 August 1929, while at berthed at Belfast, Maine with a cargo hold filled with bricks, that gasoline engine causes a fire and resulting serious damage aboard the vessel. She was extensively rebuild and turned into a sardine carrier.

 

Between 1931 and 1969, the French worked out of Lubec, Maine for the American Can Company and, after that, the Seaport Navigation Company. During this time, she carried tin and canned sardines between Maine and Nova Scotia, Canada.

 

 

So in a nutshell, the Lewis R. French worked hard carrying freight until 1971, when she was sold and then spent 3 years being rebuilt for the passenger trade, returning her to previous sailing glory. Much of her hull was renewed with massive timbers of oak, pine, and fir. As a passenger windjammers, she still looks, feels, and sails much like she would have the day she was launched, and the French boys would no doubt have been proud to see her sails drawing as she is heading down east.

The vessel was named a National Historic Landmark in 1992 and has a large following. From folks that have sailed on her as a windjammer to old timers who remember her when she carried freight, the French has touched many people. For those individuals, it is a truly unique experience to sail on a vessel that has been active since shortly after the death of Abraham Lincoln!

 

The French is still operated much how she would have been during the age of sail. She has no inboard engine, relying on 3,000 square feet of sail to propel her. She has four lower sails and two topsails. If the wind dies, a push from the yawl boat "Greyhound" usually helps her along. All the sails are still raised and trimmed by hand, and the anchor is manually raised each morning using a windlass. There are no engines on deck or below to spoil the serenity. The French is 101 feet overall, 65 feet on deck, with 19 feet of beam. She draws 7.5 feet with a full keel. A proven vessel in all conditions, she is a nifty and quick sailor, having won the Great Schooner Race many times. The French has also participated in recent Tall Ships gatherings in Boston. The French is inspected annually by the U.S. Coast Guard, is outfitted with modern navigation equipment such as VHF, GPS and radar, and is kept in top-shape.

Her passengers (her capacity is 22) are encouraged to take an active part in the running of the sailing vessel such as assisting her crew in furling the jib, trimming the sails, learning about coastal navigation, trying one’s hand at the helm and/or heaving up her anchor. Each small but comfortable passenger cabin (four singles, two double bunk bed cabins and seven double bed cabins) has an opening window, running fresh water, electric reading lights and standing head room.

On board, home-style meals are cooked on a wood burning cook stove. For breakfast, blueberry pancakes, bacon, sausage, (Lewis R.) French toast, fresh muffins with fruit and cereal are on the menu. Lunch is generally soup and salad with homemade bread. Dinners range from roast beef, ham, pasta, fish, or turkey always rounded out with veggies and bread. There are always desserts like fresh baked pies and cookies. Best of all, one afternoon the crew will row their passengers to a deserted beach and steam up all you can eat Lobsters.

 

There is no itinerary and sailing plans can change hourly. The French’ general cruising grounds are the hundreds of islands between Boothbay Harbor and Bar Harbor, Maine. Weather, wind, and mood will determine exactly where each trip goes. Deserted islands, small Maine coastal villages, little coves and harbors off the beaten path or Acadia National Park are all likely destinations.

The Lewis R. French’ captains are Garth Wells and Jenny Tobin who take great pride in owning such a wonderful vessel as the Lewis R. French. "We see ourselves as the caretakers of her for the next 25 years, not as the owners," says Garth. "The truth is, she owns us, we don't own her. But we are lucky to be able to do something that we love, a 'job' that includes sailing a traditional schooner on the Maine coast, and getting to share the whole experience with our guests.”

Captain Wells has been sailing the French since 1998, first as the mate, and now as Captain/Owner. As a youngster, he learned to sail by racing Beetle Cats in the Nantucket Sound off Cape Cod. He has been “messing about” in boats ever since. His different jobs have taken him from the Caribbean to the Canadian Maritimes to the Great Lakes, and along the Pacific. He has sailed huge square-rigged vessels, modern day yachts, schooners, and commercial fishing vessels. Signing on to work on the French he quickly realized that Maine was the ultimate in traditional boat sailing, combining beautiful scenery and good winds with the protection of countless islands. As crew on the French, he fell in love with the boat and the Maine coast and worked his way up the ranks to reach his dream of being an owner and captain of a windjammer. In the winters, maintenance on the French takes first priority, but he can also be found working at local shipyards and sometimes sneaks a sail or two down to the Caribbean (but not with the French!

 

Captain Tobin grew up in Skokie, Illinois, and spent her summers sailing small vessels on the Great Lakes. After college, she started working on larger traditional vessels, and those sails took her to South America, Bermuda, and up and down the East and West Coasts of the U.S. Jenny and Garth met when she took the 1st mate's position on another Camden Windjammer, berthed next to the French. After many years of dating, they got married in 2007. Jenny sails as much as she can, but also stays ashore to man the Lewis R. French Global Headquarters, answering phones and paying the bills. In the winters she helps maintain the French, as well as doing yacht deliveries and occasionally some teaching. Both Garth and Jenny are United States Coast Guard Licensed Masters. The French sails with a professional crew of four: captain, first-mate, cook and deckhand.

[Copper10-8]

was on the QE2 transatlantic New York to England! Talk about setting the bar!

 

 

 

RMS (Royal Mail Ship) Queen Elizabeth 2 (1969-present) Built by Upper Clyde Shipbuilders (John Brown and Company), Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, Scotland as RMS Queen Elizabeth II, also known simply as 'QE II', for Cunard Line. She was named after the earlier Cunard liner RMS Queen Elizabeth and served as the flagship of the line from 1969 until succeeded by RMS Queen Mary 2 in 2004. She was considered the last of the great transatlantic ocean liners prior to the construction of the QM2. Before she was refitted with a diesel power plant in 1986, she was also the last oil-fired passenger steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean in scheduled liner service. During almost 40 years of service, QE2 travelled the world and lately operated predominantly as a cruise ship, sailing out of Southhampton, England.

 

Queen Elizabeth 2's maiden voyage, from Southampton to New York City, commenced on 2 May 1969, and took 4 days, 16 hours and 35 minutes. However, HRH Prince Charles was the first "civilian" passenger to board the ship, on her voyage from the shipyard in Clydebank to drydock in Greenock. On board for the short journey was her first captain, William (Bil) Warwick. In 1971, she participated in the rescue of some 500 passengers from the burning French Line ship Antilles. On 17 May 1972, while travelling from New York to Southampton, she was the subject of a bomb threat. She was searched by her crew, and by a British military bomb disposal team parachuted into the sea near the ship. No bomb was found, but the individual making the threat was located and arrested by the FBI.

 

 

 

In April 1982, she took part in the Falklands War, carrying 3,000 troops and 650 volunteer crew to the South Atlantic. She was refitted in Southampton in preparation for war service, including the installation of three helicopter landing pads, the transformation of public lounges into dormitories, the installation of fuel pipes that ran through the ship down to the engine room to allow for refuelling at sea, and the covering of carpets with 2,000 sheets of hard board. Over 650 Cunard crewmembers volunteered for the voyage to look after the 3,000 members of the Fifth Infantry Brigade, which the ship transported to South Georgia. During the voyage the ship was blacked out and the radar switched off in order to avoid detection, steaming on without modern aids.

 

 

 

After the War ended, she returned to the UK in June 1982, where she was greeted in Southampton Water by HRH Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother who was on board the Royal Yacht Britannia. The Captain of the QE2 responded to the Queen Mother's welcome: "Please convey to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, our thanks for her kind message. Cunard's Queen Elizabeth 2 is proud to have been of service to Her Majesty's Forces." The ship underwent conversion back to passenger service, with her funnel being painted in the traditional Cunard orange-red with black stripes, but her hull painted an unconventional light charcoal grey. This colour proved difficult to maintain, and so was reverted to traditional colours in 1983.

 

 

On 7 August 1992, her hull was extensively damaged when she ran aground south of Cuttyhunk Island near Martha's Vineyard, while returning from a five day cruise to Halifax, Nova Scotia along the east coast of the United States and Canada. A combination of her speed, an uncharted shoal and underestimating the increase in the ship's draft due to the so-called squat effect led to the ship's hull scraping rocks on the ocean floor. The accident resulted in her passengers being evacuated at nearby Newport, Rhode Island and the ship being taken out of service while repairs were made in drydock.

 

By the mid 1990's it was decided that QE2 was due for a new look and in 1994 the ship was given a multi-million dollar refurbishment in Hamburg, Germany. She emerged from the refit having every major public room refurbished. She also appeared for the first time with a Royal Blue hull.

 

In 1995, during her twentieth world cruise, she passed her four millionth mile mark having sailed the equivalent of 185 times around the planet. QE2 celebrated the 30th anniversary of her maiden voyage in Southampton in 1999. In three decades she had completed 1,159 voyages, sailed 4,648,050 nautical miles and carried over 2 million passengers.[In late 1999, she was treated to a multi-million dollar refurbishment which included updating various public rooms and passenger cabins. This refit also included the mammoth task of a complete hull strip (back to the bare metal) and repaint in traditional Cunard colors of matte black with a white superstructure.

 

While she was taken off the traditional "transatlantic" route (which was taken over by the Queen Mary 2 in 2004) QE2 still undertook an annual world cruise and regular trips around the Mediterranean. On 5 November 2004, QE2 became Cunard's longest serving ship, surpassing RMS Aquitania's 35 years. On 20 February 2007, QE2, while on her annual world cruise, met her running mate and successor flagship QM2 (herself on her maiden world cruise) in Sydney Harbor, Australia. This was the first time two Cunard Queens had been together in Sydney since the original Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth served as troop ships in 1941.

 

 

As Queen Elizabeth 2 approached her 40th anniversary with Cunard, questions began to circulate as to how much longer the ship could stay in service. Cunard had to consider the economics of maintaining a 40-year-old liner in operation, particularly with regard to new SOLAS safety regulations that would apply from 2010 onwards. Both Southampton and Clydebank had offered to take over QE2 after her retirement, but on 18 June 2007 it was announced that the ship had been purchased by the Dubai investment company Istithmar for $100 million.

 

In a ceremonial display before her retirement, QE2 met her stablemates, Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria near the Statue of Liberty in New York City harbor on 13 January 2008, with a celebratory fireworks display. QE2 and QV had made a tandem crossing of the Atlantic for the meet. This marked the first time three Cunard Queens have been present in the same location.

 

QE2 left Southampton Docks for the final time at 1915 GMT on 11 November 2008, to begin her farewell voyage under the name of "QE2's Final Voyage". Her ownership passed to Nakheel Properties, a company of Dubai World, on 26 November. The decommissioning of the ship was particularly poignant for the QE2's only permanent resident, Beatrice Muller, aged 89, who lived on board in retirement for 14 years, at a cost of some $5,400) per month. At the time of her retirement, QE2 had sailed over six million miles, carried 2.5 million passengers and completed 806 trans-Atlantic crossings.

 

QE2 arrived in Dubai on the evening of 26 November 2008 in a flotilla of 120 smaller vessels, led by mv Dubai, the personal yacht of Sheikh Mohammed, ruler of Dubai. She was greeted with a fly-over from an Emirates Airbus A380 jet and a huge fireworks display, while thousand of people gathered at the Mina Rashid, waving the flags of Great Britain and the United Arab Emirates.

 

Since her arrival in Dubai QE2 has remained moored at Port Rashid. Shortly after her final passengers were disembarked, she was moved forward to the cargo area of the port, to free up the passenger terminal for other cruise vessels. At present, QE2 remains an ocean going vessel, and as such, Ronald Warwick (the former Captain of QE2 and QM2 as well as a retired Commodore of the Cunard Line) has been employed by V-Ships (who are managing QE2 during her de-fit) as the vessel's legal master.

 

It was anticipated that QE2 would be moved to the Dubai Drydocks sometime during 2009 to begin a series of far-reaching refurbishments which will ultimately result in her being converted into a floating hotel. Upon completion the plans are that she will be moved to The Palm Jumeirah to take up residence at "the QE2 Precinct".

 

Due to the 2008 Global Recession, fears have been sparked that QE2's refurbishment and hotel conversion will not take place, and that the ship may be resold. These rumors have since resulted in owners Nakheel issuing a series of press releases stating that plans for QE2's conversion are ongoing, with no intention to sell. However, since arriving in Dubai the only visible exterior change to QE2 has been the painting out of the Cunard titles from the ship's superstructure.

 

QE2 was joined in Mina Rashid by QM2 on Saturday, 21 March, 2009 while QM2 visited Dubai as part of her 2009 World Cruise. She was joined once again by the QV on Sunday, 29 March, 2009 as a part of that ship's 2009 World Cruise. In April 2009, an alleged concept model of the post-refurbished Hotel QE2 was shown for sale on an online auction website. That model depicted a much altered QE2.

 

In June, 2009 the Southampton Daily Echo reported that QE2 would return to the UK as an operating cruise ship. However, on 20 July, 2009 the current owners confirmed rumors that QE2 would reposition to Cape Town, South Africa for use as a floating Hotel there during the 2010 world cup football.

On 24 June 2009, QE2 made her first journey since her arrival in Dubai. After nearly eight months of inactivity, the vessel manoeuvered under her own power into the Dubai Drydocks for inspection and hull repainting before her voyage to Cape Town's V&A Waterfront for the 2010 FIFA World Cup (football/soccer).

 

Shortly after her refit QE2 was re-registered under the flag of Vanuatu, and Port Vila (her new home port) was painted on her stern, replacing the word Southampton. She has since returned to Port Rashid where it is anticipated she will soon sail for Cape Town. The arrival of QE2 in Cape Town is expected to create many local jobs(as the ship will arrive with only a minimal operating crew) including Hotel staff, Restaurant staff, chefs, cleaners and shop attendants all being sourced from the local workforce.

 

[Copper10-8]

Some more pics of a classic:

 

 

 

 

 

In her element on the open seas - Note the crew life raft cannisters

 

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At Flam, Norway in 2008

 

At Geiranger, Norway in 2008

 

Departing Bergen, Norway in 2008

 

At Southampton in 2008

 

 

In Dubai in 2008 with Cunard titles removed

[Copper10-8]

P&0 Canberra in 1968 from Sydney to Southampton via Vancouver and the Panama Canal - 5 week voyage. Met my wife and we are still together. It took 31 years before we did another ( Marco Polo June 1969).

 

ss Canberra (1961-1997) Built in 1961 by Harland & Wolff, Limited, Belfast, Northern Ireland as ss Canberra for UK-based P&O (Peninsular & Orient Steam Navigation Company) Lines. On 23 September 1957, on Slipway 14, Queens Island, Belfast, the first keel plates of Yard Number "1621" were laid, but it would be another six months before the name of the new ship would be announced. In March the following year, Sir Donald Anderson, deputy chairman of P&O, announced she would be called "Canberra", an aboriginal word generally accepted to mean, "meeting place by the water" and of course the name of Australia's capital city. Canberra would be the largest ship to be built in Britain since the Great Queens, and the biggest to be built at Belfast since the White Star's Britannic, back in 1914.

Canberra was launched on 16 March 1960 by her godmother and sponsor, Dame Pattie Menzies, wife of the then Prime Minister of Australia, Robert Menzies. Three hundred guests gathered to watch the launch, with another estimated 11,000 onlookers cramming in and around the shipyard to watch. After being christened, the huge white hull began to slide down the slip into the Musgrave Channel and was then towed to Thompson Wharf for fitting out, a task that would continue until April of 1961.

 

On 28 April 1961, she made here way to Southampton, England where some of her forward compartments were filled with hundreds of tons ballast to act as a counterweight. After two weeks in Southampton during which time fitting out continued, she left for her acceptance trials on the Clyde.

 

After the official handing-over ceremony to P&O, Canberra sailed down the west coast of England close to shore, showing herself off. Onlookers at Lands End watched her steam past, and then at Torbay, she was surrounded by a flotilla of small boats. She reached Dover, then turned back for Southampton where she berthed at the new cruise terminal built especially for her and the Oriana.

 

Canberra was designed to operate the combined P&O-Orient Line immigrant service between the UK and Australia. The following day, Friday 2 June 1961 at around 1650 hours, Canberra set sail from Southampton, carrying with her 2,238 passengers. Some would only travel as far as Gibraltar or Naples, but among her passengers were 750 immigrants setting off to start a new life in Australia, and another 120 heading for New Zealand.

 

Canberra's first port of call was Gibraltar, although for just an hour while mail was transferred, and then onto Naples, Italy. She left Naples for Port Said, Egypt on 6 June. A problem with a condenser caused the ship to miss her southbound Suez convoy. This also caused a fourteen hour delay at Aden, where Canberra suffered a complete power failure. Sweltering in the heat without air conditioning, her passengers were informed they could take their bedding up on deck for the night if they so wished!

 

The ship arrived at Colombo, Ceylon a full twelve hours behind schedule, and after departure speed had to be reduced as the condenser problem reared its ugly head again. Now thirty one hours behind schedule, Canberra had finally reached Australia, arriving in Fremantle to cheering crowds and car horns as thousands flocked to the shoreline to get a glimpse of P&O's new "ship of the future". From Fremantle to Melbourne, speed was again reduced due to more trouble with the port condenser. Waiting for the ship on the quayside though, was Canberra's godmother, Dame Pattie Menzies, who would be travelling on the ship to her next port of call, Sydney.

 

Canberra's maiden voyage would continue with spectacular arrivals and tributes to the ship. It was not without additional incidents, however, as berthing in Auckland, New Zealand was delayed for a number of hours due to heavy fog, the worst in almost thirty years. The 12th. of July was declared as "Canberra Day" in Honolulu, Hawaii and hundreds of small boats sailed out to greet her at Vancouver, BC. At San Francisco, CA, Canberra was given a 13-gun salute from Telegraph Hill as she made her way to pier 32.

 

Continuing down the coast to Los Angeles, CA, she was given a 50-gun salute. Then it was back to Southampton via Honolulu, Wellington (where force 12 winds delayed her arrival), Sydney, Colombo, Aden and the Suez Canal, Naples and a few hours in Gibraltar. She arrived back in Southampton at 1045 hours on Monday 4 September 1961, cutting the passage to Sydney by a week. She had carried 11,000 passengers and steamed 42,000 miles, and despite the troubles with the condenser, the voyage had been a complete success.

By the end of the decade however, the numbers of immigrants travelling to Australia was beginning to slow down as the Australian government was more choosy about who it let in. This, coupled with the flight of the first Boeing 747 across the Atlantic with over 350 passengers on board, signalled the writing on the wall the ocean liner. With soaring fuel costs and falling demand, P&O decided to try something new with Canberra, and so sent her across the pond to New York where she would be marketed (by Cunard of all companies!) for cruises, mainly to the Caribbean.

 

To say the new venture was not a great success would be an understatement. Bookings for Canberra's voyages were extremely low, and after just two cruises P&O took the dramatic step of laying her up at the mouth of the Cape Fear River in North Carolina. Things did not look good for Canberra. After being laid up for almost three weeks, she returned to New York and completed her last nine cruises. Less than three months later, however, it was announced that at just 12 years old, Canberra was to be scrapped after her New York cruising season.

 

Things started to look up again when in London, while Canberra lay stranded, P&O announced that due to a massive up-surge in cruise bookings in late 1973, they would no longer be selling Canberra. Instead, she would take the place of her stable mate, Orsova, in her 1974 cruising program. Canberra went on to complete the rest of her U.S. cruise program. She was then scheduled to return to England where her class barriers would be removed for cruising.

 

Canberra underwent a ten week refit that saw a number of internal modifications. With only one-class of passenger on board, there was no longer a need for two children's playrooms, so the original first class area became the Card Room. The Letter Bureau on A Deck was converted to a kiosk (later the Boutique, then towards the end of Canberra life it was converted to more cabins), and the Writing Room on the Promenade Deck was turned into the William Fawcett Shop (later the Ocean Shop).

 

A number of her cabins were also reduced from four berths to two, reducing the ship's passenger capacity to a little over 1,700. With the change to cruising, Canberra settled back into a routine which would see her based in Southampton during the summer operating two and three week cruises, before a Christmas/New Year Cruise followed by a three month world cruise.

On Friday 2 April 1982, Canberra was steaming homeward through the Mediterranean on the final leg of her world cruise, when she received a strange message from the P&O Head Office asking for the ship's ETA at Gibraltar. A later message instructed Canberra to rendezvous with a small boat as she passed through the Strait of Gibraltar to embark a small group of men who would brief the captain and his staff about an "interesting assignment". The day before, seven thousand miles away as Canberra's passengers enjoyed the sunshine of Naples, an Argentine invasion force had seized control of the Falkland Islands.

 

The British government assembled a task force consisting of warships, fleet auxiliaries and "ships taken up from trade" (STUFT). Canberra was to be a STUFT. Those men who had boarded the ship at Gibraltar were Royal Marine commandos and Naval Admiralty officials who would begin making preparations for her transformation to a troop ship capable of operating with at least two helicopters. Before she was even back in Southampton, Vosper Thornycroft had been given detailed plans of the Observation Deck and Crow's Nest, and of the Bonito pool and surrounding area. These two locations would have to be rapidly transformed into helicopter decks.

 

She arrived back in Southampton at 0730 hours on 7 April 1982 and offloaded her passengers as quickly as possible. Then the hard work really began. Military officials from Naval Party (NP) 1710 boarded and took up headquarters in Steiners. Workers from Vosper Thornycroft swarmed over the ship. Parts of the railings along sections of the Games Deck were cut away to facilitate the landing of helicopters, whilst hundreds of tons of stores and military materiel were loaded. As Canberra's immediate future role was an open book and it was not known when or where she would be able to bunker and re-supply, she also had to have the ability to replenish at sea, or "RAS".

 

Embarked on Canberra were members of 40 and 42 Commando Royal Marines and 3 Para (Parachute Regiment). P&O's Captain Dennis Scott-Masson was in charge of Canberra and the ship's overall safety. Captain Chris Burne was the Senior Naval Officer (SNO) and had overall military control. After just three days alongside in Southampton, Canberra had been transformed from a luxury cruise ship into a battle-ready troopship, well almost. When she sailed at 2000 hours on Friday 9 April, a group of Vosper Thornycroft workers went with her to finish the forward flight deck.

 

Crowds gathered to wish her well and her 'passengers' good luck. History was made shortly before lunch the following day, when an RAF Sea King helicopter made the first of many landings on the midships flight deck. Via Freetown in Sierra Leone and Ascension Island where stops were made, Canberra headed south in convoy. Three days later she was seven hundred miles away and steaming straight for the Falklands, which were now under air and sea attack from British forces. Each evening, the order was given to "darken ship" whereby all the lights, navigation, deck and cabin, were extinguished throughout the convoy. Operation Sutton was the codename for the amphibious assault to reclaim the Falklands. At 2200 hours on 20 May 1982, everyone on board went to General Emergency stations (General Quarters) for the final approach to the Islands. Canberra anchored at Fanning Head in the Falklands at 0017 hours on Friday 21 May 1982.

 

At 0520 hours that morning, Canberra weighed anchor and entered San Carlos Water to begin disembarking her troops amongst repeated air attacks from Argentine aircraft. The men of 42 Commando were the reserve force for HMS Intrepid's 3 Para, and they began to leave Canberra just after 1000hrs that morning.

 

 

The air attacks on the ships in San Carlos Water continued until 1600hrs, after which time HMS Ardent had been sunk and HMS Argonaut damaged. At 1900 hours, the order was given to disembark the remaining troops from Canberra, and at 2242 hours she weighed anchor and headed out of San Carlos Water and North Falkland Sound. The troops were ashore and fighting to regain control of the British Islands. Canberra had done her job and landed around 2,000 troops without a casualty and without getting hit herself.

 

She was not finished yet, but she was lucky to be alive. How the Argentine pilots could have missed the ship was one of the day's mysteries. The QE2 had also been requisitioned as a troop ship and was heading south, as Canberra continued to steam in her 'box' 170 nautical miles north north east of Port Stanley. The order was given by the SNO to head for Grytviken in South Georgia to rendezvous with the Cunard flagship and cross-deck her troops. Canberra would be going back to San Carlos Water, whilst the QE2, considered too valuable to be send inshore, would be going back to Ascension or England.

 

During the afternoon of 27th May Canberra let go her port anchor at Grytviken. QE2 arrived at 2000 hours after being delayed by fog and ice, and shortly after the tug Typhoon began transferring. Cross decking continued for most of the following day, then, shortly before 2100 hours, Canberra again weighed anchor and headed back to the Falklands with the cavalry on board. It would take her until Wednesday 2 June to get back to San Carlos Water, over 1,500 miles through heavy seas.

 

As the day dawned foggy, the troops began to disembark in small landing craft assisted by four of the ship's own tenders. By the time darkness fell, destoring supplies had still not finished so the SNO made the unpopular decision to have Canberra remain at anchor overnight to finish off on the next morning. By the end of Thursday, there had been over 100 loads taken by helicopter and the ship was empty of stores as well as people. She weighed anchor and sailed at 1800 hours with just 620 souls on board headed for a large area of open ocean around 400 miles from the Falklands. On the 14th, she received orders to return to San Carlos Water to pick up prisoners of war (POW's). The Argentines had surrendered and the war was over!

 

Canberra entered San Carlos Water for the third time on Tuesday 15 June and let go both anchors. Just after 1400 hours, the first landing craft containing 100 Welsh Guards came alongside, followed throughout the remainder of the day by three more containing 1,121 POW's. By 0200 hours the next morning, all had been searched and processed and just before 0800hrs she weighed anchor and sailed for Port William (Canberra's draft was too deep to sail directly into Port Stanley) to embark the remaining prisoners. More troops were brought on board to act as guards, followed by the rest of the 3,046 POW's.

 

On Friday 18 June, she set course for Puerto Madryn, Argentina, where she arrived the next day and off-loaded her POW's.

She would then be taking as many UK troops back home from the Falklands as she could carry, meaning men of 40, 42 and also 45 Commando Royal Marines. Canberra reached Nab Tower, Southampton's pilot station, at around 0800 hours on Sunday 11 July 1982. At the Nab, small boats of every shape and size appeared to escort Canberra to her 106 berth home. Aircraft flew overhead, and the ship was briefly joined by the Prince of Wales and other dignitaries who arrived by helicopter on her midships flight deck.

 

More and more boats, firetugs, passenger craft and even canoes came out to greet the ship. Those on board the tired, rust-streaked Canberra climbed to occupy every possible vantage point, from sitting on lifeboats to hanging out of gun-port doors. Every few minutes Canberra's steam whistle would boom and a chorus of hoots and whistles could be heard among the now huge flotilla. Homemade banners were tied to railings and held up for the TV cameras, while those on the riverbanks and quayside waved and cheered. As the ship neared her berth, a mass of people (the police said later they lost count after 35,000 passed through the dock gates) could be seen along the quay, many relatives of returning marines, waving flags and crying. The band of the Royal Marines began to play Land of Hope & Glory as the ship got closer to 106 berth, making 2,500 Marines and those on shore waiting for them, very happy.

 

 

After 94 days at sea, Canberra had steamed 25,245 without a mechanical fault of any note, carried thousands of troops into battle, repatriated over 4,000 prisoners of war, treated 172 wounded soldiers and sailors, and won the hearts of a nation. She docked at 1100 hours, and within three hours all her passengers had disembarked. Two days later, P&O bid a fond farewell to the 129 British volunteer seamen who had replaced the Asian members of crew for the duration.

 

 

After a lengthy refit, Canberra returned to civilian service as a cruise ship. Her role in the Falklands War made her very popular with the British public, and ticket sales after her return were elevated for many years as a result.

 

 

Age and high running costs eventually caught up with her though, as she had much higher fuel consumption than most modern cruise ships. On Tuesday 25 June 1996, P&O made the announcement that Canberra would be retired from service on 30 September 1997, when she would be replaced by the Star Princess which would be renamed Arcadia. It was the news nobody wanted to hear. After the ship had been sold for scrap to Pakistani breakers, she departed Southampton's 38/9 berth under the cover of darkness at 2100 hours on Friday 10 October 1997. She was under the command of Captain Mike Carr for one final time.

 

At 0730 hours on 28 October 1997, Canberra anchored off Karachi, Pakistan. The next day, representatives on the new owners boarded for meetings and to inspect the ship. The following day, the stop-start voyage continued with the boarding of the beaching party. With the anchors aweigh, Canberra made for Gadani Beach where she arrived at 2300 hours before anchoring for the night. On 31 October 1997, her draft was trimmed to the angle of the beach at Gadani. Then, steaming at almost full speed and accompanied by bagpipe music being played full volume over the open deck circuits, Canberra beached at 0940 hours local time.

 

She did not give up without a fight however; her deep draft meant that she could not be beached as far as most ships, and due to her solid construction the scrapping process took nearly a year instead of the estimated three months.

Edited February 9, 2010 by Copper10-8

[Copper10-8]

Some additional pics of Canberra:

 

At sea in 1961 (return leg of maiden voyage)

 

At Sydney, Australia in 1965

 

At Southampton in 1968

 

Off Funchal in 1978

 

Arriving in Southampton in 1983

 

Arriving at Fremantle, Australia

[Max2003]

 

After a little more than a decade of service that included 377 transatlantic crossings, the economics that doomed the North Atlantic ocean liner generally caught up with the ss France. It was decided to take her out of service resulting in massive protests from the French population and even a hijack by her crew. On 7 December 1974 however, she was moored at a distant quay in Le Havre, known colloquially as the Quai de l'oubli - the pier of the forgotten. The ship sat in the same spot for approximately five years, with her interiors, including all furniture, still completely intact.

 

 

In late 1974 my young family and I were present in Southampton with tickets in hand to board the France, due in the next morning from LeHavre, on it's way to New York. We had been in Europe for 5 months, vacationing in a VW camper. The France was one of two ships that would (could) transport a vehicle and we planned to bring the camper with us as it had been purchased with US specs from Shipside at Schiphol. The next morning we arrived at the debarkation site only to informed that the french crew had mutinied and there wasn't going to be a cruise and that they would refund our money on the spot or we could put ourselves in the hands of the company to somehow get us back. There was no provision for the transport of the vehicle as yet, if ever.

 

I took the refund and got my family (wife and 2 small children) aboard the next British Airways flight to the US. I must say that BOAC, as they were called then, were very gracious in giving us a huge overweight baggage allowance. We had everything we could pack from the van including a very large trunk. We had planned that all of the gear and items we had purchased would ride with the bus and we didn't have to worry about weight. Surprise!!!

 

I had to stay and unscramble the vehicle situation. After numerous visits to the corp. headquarters of the French Line in London, the Gen Manager helped me find and book a container ship on an affiliate. After about a week of hassle I was on my way.

 

So, although the Rotterdam V was my first cruise ship, it was only courtesy of the french crew of the SS France. That crew, as I recall, stayed on board for several months!

[Copper10-8]

 

In late 1974 my young family and I were present in Southampton with tickets in hand to board the France, due in the next morning from LeHavre, on it's way to New York. We had been in Europe for 5 months, vacationing in a VW camper. The France was one of two ships that would (could) transport a vehicle and we planned to bring the camper with us as it had been purchased with US specs from Shipside at Schiphol. The next morning we arrived at the debarkation site only to informed that the french crew had mutinied and there wasn't going to be a cruise and that they would refund our money on the spot or we could put ourselves in the hands of the company to somehow get us back. There was no provision for the transport of the vehicle as yet, if ever.

 

I took the refund and got my family (wife and 2 small children) aboard the next British Airways flight to the US. I must say that BOAC, as they were called then, were very gracious in giving us a huge overweight baggage allowance. We had everything we could pack from the van including a very large trunk. We had planned that all of the gear and items we had purchased would ride with the bus and we didn't have to worry about weight. Surprise!!!

 

I had to stay and unscramble the vehicle situation. After numerous visits to the corp. headquarters of the French Line in London, the Gen Manager helped me find and book a container ship on an affiliate. After about a week of hassle I was on my way.

 

So, although the Rotterdam V was my first cruise ship, it was only courtesy of the french crew of the SS France. That crew, as I recall, stayed on board for several months!

 

Sounds like a lot of scrambling and putting out fires on your part! I remember those Volkswagen "busjes" as they were called in Holland, while growing up there. And I remember BOAC and BEA at Schiphol. Glad it all worked out! Thanks for contributing:)

[Copper10-8]

There's so much speculation about this ship. We've shared Barbados and St. Lucia with her. I can see an obscured X on the funnel, so would guess it was once a Celebrity ship. One of the stewards thinks it's a Thompson ship now.

 

mv Galaxy (1996-present) Built in 1996 by Jos L. Meyer Werft GmbH, Papenburg, Germany as mv Galaxy for Celebrity Cruise Line. She is the second of a three 'Century class', Century (1995) and Mercury (1997) being her sisters.

 

In March 1993 Celebrity Cruises had placed an order with the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany for a new ship that was eventually delivered as mv Century. The contract also included an option for two additional vessels of the same design. Celebrity Cruises decided to utilize the option for additional vessels, but some changes to the overall design were made to the other two ships. Therefore the second ship, mv Galaxy, was given a 50 feet 6 inch longer hull compared to her older sister Century. In addition, Galaxy’s galley and pantry areas were completely redesigned.

 

The keel of the Galaxy was laid on 25 May 1995, she was launched from dry-dock in May 1996 and delivered to Celebrity Cruises on 10 October 1996. Following a promotional visit to Southampton, England, the ship crossed the Atlantic Ocean without passengers. Further promotional visits at Boston, Mass, Philadelphia, PA and Port Canaveral, FL followed, after which the ship sailed to her new home base of Port Everglades, FL to begin her commercial career with Celebrity Cruises.

 

 

Galaxy was named in Ft. Lauderdale on 21 December 1996 by her godmother, Maria Loula Chandris. Later that day, Galaxy departed Port Everglades on her maiden voyage, a seven-night cruise to the Caribbean. Alongside her near-sister ship Century, she operated week-long alternating western and eastern Caribbean cruises. During the 1997 northern hemisphere summer season, Galaxy relocated to the west coast of North America to operate seven-night cruises to Alaska from Vancouver, BC. This pattern was repeated from 1997 up until 2000.

 

 

For the 2001 summer season the ship was replaced by Celebrity Cruises’ brand-new Infinity in Alaskan service and, as a result Galaxy was relocated to Europe, cruising the Mediterranean and Baltic Seas. On 2 June 2001, while departing Amsterdam, the Netherlands for a two-week cruise, Galaxy touched bottom on an outskirt of Forteiland at IJmuiden due to heavy northwesterly squalls. This resulted in major damage to her port side propeller. The ship returned to the Port of Amsterdam for inspection and her passengers had to disembark. Their cruise was subsequently cancelled as Galaxy sailed to Hamburg, Germany where she entered dry-dock at the Blohm + Voss yard. There it was discovered that all four blades of her port side propeller were damaged and had to be replaced. The ship, however, carried only two spare blades onboard. To solve the problem two extra propeller blades carried onboard Galaxy's younger sister ship mv Mercury were flown from the Caribbean to Hamburg and installed on Galaxy. Following these repairs the ship re-entered service on 16 June 2001.

 

 

For the 2002 and 2003 summer seasons, Galaxy was based in Baltimore, MD, operating ten and eleven-night cruises to the Caribbean. In March 2003, she became the first Celebrity ship to operate a series of Caribbean cruises from Charleston, SC. In February 2008 Galaxy was renamed Celebrity Galaxy to comply with Celebrity Cruises' new naming scheme

 

In April 2008 Royal Caribbean Cruise, Ltd., the parent company of Celebrity Cruises, announced that Celebrity Galaxy would cease service with Celebrity in March 2009 and would subsequently be transferred to the fleet of Germany-based TUI Cruises. This is a joint subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Cruises and German mega tour operator TUI AG, aimed at the German cruise market. Following withdrawal from Celebrity Cruises' service, the ship sailed to the Lloyd Werft shipyard in Bremerhaven, Germany where she received a multi-million refit to upgrade her facilities and refit her cabins to make her better suited for the German market. Additional cabins were also fitted. Following the 38-day refit the ship was renamed Mein Schiff in Hamburg on 15 May 2009, and entered service with TUI Cruises on a Baltic Sea cruise starting from Kiel, Germany on 23 May 2009.

 

 

The primary dining area on board the Mein Schiff is the two deck Orion restaurant, located in the aft area of the ship. It can host 1,088 guests in a single seating, and is decorated in the art deco style utilized on ocean liners from the 1930s onwards. Other dining options on the ship include the Oasis Buffet, which serves three meals a day plus ice cream between lunch and dinner. There is also a casual dining option at the "Boulevard" featuring sandwiches, pizza, and hamburgers.

 

The primary entertainment venue onboard Mein Schiff is the Theater, which offers two nightly shows. There is also a dedicated movie theater with 200 seats that doubles as a lecture room. The Fortunes casino features gambling, ranging from five-cent slot machines to blackjack tables. Mein Schiff's duty-free shops sell jewelry, perfumes, and liquor. A merchandise shop offers inexpensive jewelry, watches, and formal wear. There are multiple discos and clubs, including the Rendezvous Lounge, a cigar bar, and the Nightclub.

 

 

 

Activities are provided daily, with fewer options available while the ship is in port. The activities staff offers among other things, bingo and computer classes. There are three pools, two saltwater outside, and a freshwater pool under a greenhouse-like roof. Near the saltwater pools are five hot tubs. Mein Schiff has a gymnasium with cardiovascular equipment. The Japanese-style AquaSpa, operated by Steiner, has its own rock garden and offers a variety of personal services, from massages to thalassotherapy. Lastly, an extensive collection of art, personally compiled by Christina Chandris, can be found on display onboard Mein Schiff.

In November 2009, Mein Schiff arrived in the Dominican Republic from where she is operating seven-night Caribbean cruises until March 2010, initially from Santo Domingo, and then, effective 27 November, from the port of La Romana. Mein Schiff will travel back to Europe in the spring to operate her summer season there.

 

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Edited February 9, 2010 by Copper10-8

[ESTROM]

The Matson Lines Lurline in June of 1955. Many fond memories as a 13 year old going on my first ship from San Francisco to Honolulu for five days. Stayed at the Moana Hotel on Waikiki Beach for eleven days. Then back on the ship returning to SF. The impressions of this whole trip left vivid memories especially being on the ship. It took 36 years before going on another ship though.

Anyone else have memories of the Lurline?

[Copper10-8]

The Matson Lines Lurline in June of 1955. Many fond memories as a 13 year old going on my first ship from San Francisco to Honolulu for five days. Stayed at the Moana Hotel on Waikiki Beach for eleven days. Then back on the ship returning to SF. The impressions of this whole trip left vivid memories especially being on the ship. It took 36 years before going on another ship though.

Anyone else have memories of the Lurline?

 

Lurline (1932-1987) Built in 1932 as ss Lurline by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, Mass. for the Matson Navigation Company/Matson Lines. She was launched in 1932 as a fast and luxurious ocean liner designed by William Francis Gibbs for the line's Pacific (Hawaii and Australasia) services from the west coast of the United States. She was the third Matson vessel to hold that name. With increasing passenger traffic to Hawaii, Matson Line had introduced the ss Malolo in 1927. Her success led to the construction of three sister ships: the ss Mariposa, ss Monterey and ss Lurline between 1930 and 1932. These were known as the great Matson liners.

 

 

Lurline was christened on 12 July 1932 in Quincy by Lurline Matson Roth (who had also christened her father's (William Matson) 1908 steamship Lurline as a young woman of 18). On 12 January 1933, she departed New York City on her maiden voyage bound for San Francisco, CA via Havana, Cuba, the Panama Canal and Los Angeles. From there, she would sail for Sydney, Australia and the South Pacific, returning to San Francisco on 24 April 1933. She then served on the express San Francisco to Honolulu, Hi service alongside her older sister Malolo.

 

On 7 December 1941, Lurline had departed Honolulu and was about half-way enroute to San Francisco, when the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor Naval base took place. She reached her destination on the west coast safely, traveling at maximum speed, and soon returned to Hawaii with her Matson sisters Mariposa and Monterey in convoy laden with troops and supplies.

 

She would spent the duration of the war as troopship USAT Lurline (aka USS Lurline), providing similar services, often voyaging to Australia, and once transported Australian Prime Minister John Curtin to the United States to confer with U.S. President Roosevelt.

 

She was returned to Matson Lines in mid-1946 and extensively refitted at Bethlehem-Alameda Shipyard in Alameda, CA in 1947 at the then huge cost of $US 20 million. She resumed her San Francisco to Honolulu service from 15 April 1948 and regained her pre-war status as the Pacific Ocean's top liner. Her high occupancy rates during the early 1950s caused Matson to also refit/rebuilt her sister ss Monterey (actually renaming her ss Matsonia) and to put her on the same service. As a result, the two liners provided a first-class-only service between Hawaii and the American mainland from June 1957 to September 1962, mixed with the occasional Pacific cruise. Serious competition from jet airlines caused passenger loads to fall in the early 1960s and the ultimate lay-up of sister Matsonia in late 1962.

 

Only a few months later, Lurline arrived in Los Angeles with serious engine trouble in her port turbine, causing her to be laid up as well due to the required repairs being considered too expensive. Matson instead brought the Matsonia out of retirement and,characteristically, changed her name to Lurline. The original Lurline was sold to Greece-based Chandris Lines in 1963 to replace their Brittany which had been wrecked by fire earlier that year.

 

 

Under her new name of RHMS Ellinis, she had her engines repaired in the USA and then sailed from California to Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England where she was refitted/rebuild at North Shields. She was given a new Chandris livery as well as a modernised superstructure with new funnels and an increased accomodation for 1,668 passengers in one class. In Chandris' service, she became one of the most important luxury cruise ships on the Australia and New Zealand services. She sailed from North Shields to Piraeus, Grece on 21 December 1963 and embarked on her maiden voyage from Piraeus to Sydney, Australia on 30 December 1963. Her homeward voyages were alternately routed via the Panama Canal to Southampton, England from 1964 and she also took occasional cruises

 

 

 

In April 1974, while cruising to Japan, Ellinis developed major problems in one engine. Chandris were able to buy a surplus engine from her former Matson sister Mariposa (Homeric) which was being broken up in Taiwan at the time. The replacement was carried out in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and was finished in March 1975.

 

Ellinis provided mainly cruises in the Meditteranean from 1975 to early 1977. In October 1980, she was laid up at Perama (Piraeus), Greece, after providing passenger services two years short of fifty years.

 

 

Despite various rumors concerning future plans for the ship including potential service as a floating hotel ship in San Francisco, CA she was sold for scrap to Taiwanese breakers in 1986. On 3 December 1986, she departed Perama under tow for Taiwan. On 11 March 1987 near Singapore, she started taking on water which resulted in her slowly developing a 15 degree list to starboard. Regardless, the tow continued and she arrived in Kaohsiung on 15 April 1987 and breaking up commenced approximately two months later.

[ESTROM]

John,

Thank you for your quick reply on the Lurline. You may know a book written in 2001 by Lynn Brlocker Krantz titled "To Honolulu in Five Days', "Crusing Aboard Matson"s S.S. Lurline" is a good sourse of what cruising was like in the 50's. To travel on the Lurline at the time before jet travel was the best especially if you lived on the west coast. If you traveled round trip you stayed in Hawaii for 11 days because the ship alternated between SF and LA with a day off in LA for the crew.

Our family had a Bon Voyage party in SF and Honolulu upon leaving with guests on the ship No worrys about security.

Maybe others will post their experiences from the lurline.:)

[Copper10-8]

DH and I are pretty new at cruising compared to many on these boards. We took our first cruise in July 2002 on the Norwegian Sky. It was an Alaska Cruise round trip from Seattle with stops in Juneau, Ketchikan and Skagway. We booked it because at the time my husband was active in SPEBSQSA - The Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in American (the name has since changed to simply BHS: Barbershop Harmony Society) and that year the annual convention was held in Portland, OR with the offer of a post-convention cruise with a Gold Medal winning quartet and the chance to put on a show for the passengers. DH was particularly fond of the quartet and I had always wanted to take an Alaskan Cruise so convinced DH that it would be a fun trip for both of us.

 

We were bused to Seattle from Portland. We booked a balcony and I'll never forget when we first opened the door our jaws dropped when we saw the room! Of course DH was thrilled about the singing activities and we both were hooked on cruising for sure. It has been difficult in these challenging economic times to have to cut back on cruising but I hope one day we can do another cruise. There is no better value and no better way to relax.

 

ms Norwegian Sky (1999-present). The ship that eventually became known as Norwegian Sky was originally ordered in December 1993 as Costa Olympia by Costa Crociere/Costa Cruises from the Bremer Vulkan AG shipyard in Bremen, Germany as the second in a pair of sister ships. Her older sister, Costa Victoria, was delivered to Costa in July 1996. Construction of Costa Olympia had started several months before, but by July 1996 Bremer Vulkan was experiencing severe financial difficulties, and work on Costa Olympia was suspended when only 35% of the ship was completed. On 6 October 1996 the incomplete hull was floated out of dry-dock and subsequently laid up.

Costa Cruises made a decision not to purchase the unfinished ship and Costa Olympia remained laid up at Bremer Vulkan until December 1997 when Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) purchased her. NCL would rename her Norwegian Sky. As originally planned, Costa Olympia would have had an exterior and interior design identical to the Costa Victoria. Following the acquisition by NCL, she was radically redesigned, however. Design changes included two decks of balcony cabins (opposed to no balcony cabins in the original plans), three additional restaurants, an entirely altered interior decor and moving the bridge down by one deck to accommodate an observation lounge/spa complex on the topmost deck. Both the original and revised plans were the work of Tillberg Design of Sweden.

On 8 March 1998 the ship was towed to Lloyd Werft in Bremerhaven, Germany where her construction was completed. In 1998 NCL ordered two additional ships of the Norwegian Sky design. The first of these was delivered in 2001 as the Norwegian Sun while the order for the second one was ultimately cancelled. Norwegian Sky underwent her sea trials on 17 June 1999, and was delivered to NCL on 28 June 1999.

On 4 August 1999, she sailed empty from Bremerhaven to Dover, England. After representatives of the ship's crew acted as her godparents at her christening there, Norwegian Sky officially entered service for Norwegian Cruise Line on 9 August 1999 with a cruise from Dover to Norway. After a period of financial difficulties for her owners, she was the first new ship to enter service with NCL in six years. Following a North Atlantic crossing, Norwegian Sky had the misfortune to run aground at the juncture of the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Saguenay River on 24 September 1999. She was subsequently repaired in Quebec City, with those repairs taking over a month until 14 November 1999. As a result three of her cruises had to be cancelled. Norwegian Sky then settled into her regular routine offering short cruises to the Bahamas out of Miami, Fl. Norwegian Sky has also operated western Caribbean cruises out of Miami as well as summer cruises to Alaska out of Seattle, WA.

Initially, Norwegian Sky utilized a standard dining program with set meal seating times for passengers. One year after she entered service however, NCL introduced their "Freestyle Cruising" (a 'dine where you want, when you want') program. As a result, the ship had to be retrofitted with additional restaurants.

After fours years of service, NCL announced she would be moved to their new NCL America division as Pride of Aloha in October 2004. Originally she was planned to be preceded by the purpose-built Pride of America in NCL America service, but a rogue storm damaged Pride of America during construction at Lloyd Werft and Pride of Aloha had to be rushed into service instead. Before beginning operations, Pride of Aloha’s crew completed an intense training schedule and a rigorous certification process. Her crew then worked a 14-day repositioning cruise from San Juan, PR to San Francisco, CA where the ship entered dry-dock in May 2004, re-emerging as Pride of Aloha in June 2004. A Hawaiian theme was adapted for the decorations of all public areas and cabins and she received hull art consisting of colorful Hawaiian leis. Since that dry dock, Pride of Aloha undertook two revenue cruises, a two-night inaugural cruise out of Los Angeles, CA and a series of travel agent luncheons on the West Coast before crossing over to the fiftieth state.

On 4 July 2004, Pride of Aloha was re-christened in Honolulu harbor at Pier 40 by her godmother, the late Mrs. Margaret “Maggie” Awamura Inouye, wife of United States senator Daniel K. Inouye from the State of Hawaii. Present for the ceremony on board Pride of Aloha were Star Cruises Chairman Tan Sri KT Lim, NCL America President and CEO Colin Veitch, Senator Daniel K. Inouye, Hawaii Congressman Neil Abercrombie, Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle and dignitaries from the Maritime Administration, the Seafarers International Union, and other invited guests. Also present were hula dancers, the Honolulu Boys Choir and the Royal Hawaiian Band. That afternoon, the ship began operating seven-day, round-trip Hawaii itineraries, visiting all four main islands and giving passengers up to 96 hours in port. Ports of call included Honolulu, Oahu; an overnight in Nawiliwili, Kauai; Hilo, Hawaii; Kona, Hawaii; and an overnight in Kahului, Maui.

NCL-America has the exclusive right to offer seven-day inter-island Hawaii cruises without leaving the state. This required an act of Congress passed to circumvent two ancient (19th century) federal laws regulating passenger vessels. The new requirements for NCL-America cruise lines specify that the vessels be U.S. flagged and U.S. crewed with U.S. citizen, and/or green card holding, U.S. Coast-Guard certified individuals only. This made for a difficult launch as there was no established labor market to tap into. The first few months of her sailings were plagued by poor service, crew members resigning and walking off the ship while in port, and an enormous number of customer complaints. NCL initiated a new and aggressive training program to better prepare newly hired employees for life aboard a cruise vessel. Subsequently the training for all employees took place at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, a Maritime School in Piney Point, Maryland. Passenger satisfaction has improved substantially since the introduction of the new training program.

On 11 February 2008, NCL announced that Pride of Aloha would be withdrawn from the Hawaiian market effective 11 May 2008, just short of reaching four years of service with NCL America. Initially it was reported that she would be transferred to the fleet of NCL parent company and Malaysia-based Star Cruises. During April 2008 however, Lloyd’s List reported that NCL were looking to sell her to Spain-based Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd subsidiary Pullmantur Cruises instead. Pullmantur Cruises later withdrew their offer of the ship. So in May 2008 NCL reported that instead of transferring Pride of Aloha to Star Cruises, the ship would return to the Norwegian Cruise Lines and be re-flagged to the Bahamas while reverting to her original name Norwegian Sky.

[/url]

Her first sailing back with NCL was scheduled for 14 July 2008. She is currently offering three (Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay) and four (Nassau, Great Stirrup Cay and Grand Bahama Island)-day cruises to the Bahamas from Miami, Fl.

[Copper10-8]

Great thread!

 

Our first was on NCL Wind Alaska, then 6 years later we did HAL Statendam circle Hawaii, we were both retired from the military by then, me from the Marines and Cat from the Navy.

 

Hey Copper, a Big Semper FI right back at you bro

 

Kakalina, I don't like to fly either LOL, so that's how I finally got there too

 

pete

 

Semper Fi, Pete!

Windward (1993-present) Built in 1993 by Chantiers de l’Atlantique, St. Nazaire, France as ms Windward for Klosters Rederi A/S-owned Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL). Windward was the second of a pair of identical sister ships, the other was Dreamward (1992). Windward is 164 feet tall, has a draft of 22 feet, an average speed of 20 knots and a maximum speed of 21 knots. She was launched at the French yard on 14 November 1992 and delivered to her new owners on 4 May 1993. She crossed the Atlantic without passengers, arriving in Ft. Lauderdale, Fl on 13 May 1993 and then departed on her maiden cruise, a Panama Canal transit to Los Angeles, CA and San Francisco, CA on 14 May 1993. Upon arrival at Los Angeles (San Pedro) in June 1993, she was officially christened and named by her godmother, then former First Lady Barbara Pierce Bush.

 

 

Originally both Dreamward and Windward carried the early-nineties Norwegian Cruise Line livery with a white funnel and red & blue decorative stripes on the hull. Sometime before 1998 they received the new NCL livery consisting of a dark blue funnel and an all-white hull. As with the rest of NCL's fleet, Norwegian Wind operated with the "Freestyle" cruising concept, which allows guests to dine in any number of restaurants, in casual attire, at times of their own choosing.

 

 

Both sisters were planned with a gross register tonnage of 39,127 and a maximum passenger capacity of 1,246 persons. However, they were also designed from the start with the concept of lengthening in mind, making it possible for the company to easily expand their capacity without having to order entirely new ships. The lengthening was accomplished between March and May 1998 when Windward was split in two at the Lloyd Werft shipyard in Bremerhaven, Germany and a new 131-foot, 3-inch midsection was inserted to bring her new length to 754 feet. In the process she acquired 256 new cabins of which twelve were balcony cabins (six on each side) on Deck 11, the Marina Buffet restaurant on Deck 9 and four additional lifeboats (two on each side). These additions allowed her to carry 512 additional lower berth passengers, increasing her passenger capacity by 29%. In addition to the ‘stetching”, the ship's funnel and radar mast were adapted so that they could be folded down, allowing her to pass under the bridges of the Kiel Canal.

 

She re-emerged at 51,039 gross registered tons and with a new maximum passenger capacity of 2,156. Coinciding with this lengthening, the ship also emerged with a new name, Norwegian Wind. Her older sister underwent the same process and became Norwegian Dream. Norwegian Cruise Line was purchased by Malaysia-based Star Cruises in 2000 and shortly thereafter the fleet was systematically rationalized with new builds going to NCL and older tonnage being transferred to Star.

 

 

Besides Alaska from Vancouver, Norwegian Wind has operated western Caribbean cruises (Georgetown, Grand Cayman, Roatan, Honduras, Belize and Cozumel, Mexico) from both Miami, Fl and New Orleans, La. Between October and December 2001, Norwegian Wind made her first-ever series of cruises to Southeast Asia. After a 21-day "Northern Circle" cruise from Vancouver to Beijing, China she made port calls at Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Singapore, combining five different seven-night cruise itineraries with land packages. Norwegian Wind has also operated from San Francisco, CA, Los Angeles, CA, Miami, FL and New Orleans, LA. Norwegian Wind was also the NCL ship who pioneered Hawaii cruises offering voyages from Honolulu to Hilo, the gold coast of Kona on the Big Island, the rainforest near Nawiliwili, Kauai and the volcanoes that rise above Lahaina and Kahului, Maui, then finishing up with a trip to Fanning Island in order to satisfy the infamous Passenger Service Act.

 

In 2004 ownership of the Norwegian Wind was transferred to parent company Star Cruises, in anticipation of an internal transfer of the ship to the Star Cruises' fleet. This transfer was realized in April 2007, when the ship joined the Star Cruises fleet under the new name SuperStar Aquarius. She received a refit and refurbishment in Singapore in order to cater to the Asia-Pacific market, as well as a new livery to match the rest of the Star Cruises fleet. The ship came out of that refit with two significant changes. The first was that a large portion of her public rooms were converted for use as gambling venues. Secondly, due to superstition, (especially when it comes to gambling), the vast majority of her cabins were re-numbered to exclude the number 4. In Chinese, the number 4 means 'die', as in death. As a result, none of her cabins contain the number 4 except for those on the lowest passenger level which is deck 4. SuperStar Aquarius can accommodate around 2,100 passengers in all berths, with approximately 1,000 staying in the lower berths. She has a crew of approximately 700 personnel and ten decks that are all accessible to her passengers.

 

 

SuperStar Aquarius offers a wide variety of international cuisines; Thai, Chinese and Western. Thai and Chinese food can be found at the Grand Ocean Palace Restaurant while the Marco Polo Restaurant offers Italian dishes. The Blue Lagoon Café, open 24 hours, offers an open-air barbecue. Additional dining establishments on the ship are the Champ's Bar, Oceana Barbecue, Mariner's Buffet, Dynasty Restaurant and Spices Restaurant. The Lagoon Bar and Aquarius Lounge offer cocktails and pre-dinner drinks.

 

SuperStar Aquarius is normally home-based at the Ocean Terminal in Hong Kong with her itineraries including one-night high sea cruises and occasionally, two-night cruises to Xiamen and Haikou, China. Between March and October 2008, SuperStar Aquarius was based in Singapore from where she offered a variation of one-night, two-night, and four-night cruises. She returned to Hong Kong in late October 2008 and resumed her current itinerary.

 

[Copper10-8]

Our first cruise was on the Zuiderdam in 2005 and we were hooked. I think we did eastern caribbean, St Thomas , Tortola, Nassau, and can't remember the other island. We met Hunky Dory on that cruise.

 

ms Zuiderdam (2002-present) Built in 2002 as ms Zuiderdam by Fincantieri - Cantieri Navali Italiani S.p.A., Marghera (Venice), Italy for Holland America Line. The first of a class of four 'Vista' ships (Oosterdam, Westerdam and Noordam are her sisters), she was the largest-ever passenger ship to join the HAL fleet at the time. The names of the four ships translate to the four directions of the compass in the Dutch language; Zuid meaning south, Oost for east, Noord is north and West for, you guessed it, .........west.

The Vista class was so named for the extensive use of glass in their superstructures. Zuiderdam shares similar exterior dimensions with Carnival's Legend and Costa's Atlantica class while Cunard's Queen Victoria is an enlarged version of the same design, as is HAL's Signature Class ship Eurodam and her younger sister Nieuw Amsterdam. At 81,769 gross registered tons, Zuiderdam is almost 30% larger than HAL's "R" and almost 35% larger than their "S" class ships. There were originally five Vista’s planned for HAL but that fifth hull was first transferred to Cunard Line in 2003 and then a second time to P&O Cruises to become their ms Arcadia.

 

Zuiderdam was the third ship in Holland America Line's history to carry the prefix "zuider" or "southerly". The first vessel was launched in 1912 as the 5,211 ton cargo ship Zuiderdijk. At the time, "dijk" or "dyk" was the suffix used by HAL for cargo vessels while "dam" was used for their passenger ships. Zuiderdijk would sail between Rotterdam and Savannah, GA through 1922. She then served as a troop transport during World War I.

 

The second "Zuider", and the first "Zuiderdam", was launched from a shipyard in Rotterdam for outfitting in 1941. However, a month later she was damaged and capsized during a British air raid. The German occupiers raised her hull but later sunk her again to block the port of Rotterdam to allied forces. She was raised once again after World War II, but never completed.

 

At the time of her launching on 14 December 2001, Zuiderdam embraced the latest industry and environmental technologies such as the use of a diesel-electric power plant for optimal energy efficiency and an Azipod propulsion system. Zuiderdam's funnel configuration came out as a result of the ship having two power plants, one with three Sulzer diesels and the other with two Sulzer diesels and a gas turbine engine. Not only does this provide for improved safety with the ship being able to function with one disabled engine room, it has resulted in the first major passenger ship with two working fore/aft funnels since the 1965 Italian Lines' Raffaello. The Azimuth "pod" units operate like giant outboard motors underneath Zuiderdam's hull. Their ability to change direction make the ship remarkably maneuverable which is an added plus during tendering operations and/or negotiating smaller ports.

The 951-foot long ship came out with 924 cabins, 85 percent of which had an ocean view. Zuiderdam featured 67 percent verandah cabins as well as a five-star concierge service for the exclusive use of her penthouse and deluxe verandah suite guests. New features onboard Zuiderdam were the Northern Lights disco/night club, a three-deck, as opposed to a two-deck high show lounge, an internet center, a cabaret-style show venue called the Queens Lounge, an alternative restaurant, the Pinnacle Grill (originally known as the Odyssey), featuring fine Pacific Northwest specialties and wines, the Windstar Cafe gourmet coffee and pastry shop, a greatly expanded children's facility and the Greenhouse Spa, the largest spa facility in the HAL fleet.

The Vista class ships were designed so that eighty-five percent of their staterooms have ocean views and sixty-seven percent have verandas; the extensive use of glass in the superstructure of the four ships is also reflected in the class name. The Vista’s feature "exterior glass elevators," located on both sides of the vessels and vertically traversing 10 decks, providing guests with panoramic sea views. Zuiderdam was also the first HAL ship to offer data ports in every stateroom for internet and e-mail access.

 

Her art collection carries a Venetian theme throughout the ship. Suspended in a three-story atrium, a Waterford Crystal Seahorse sets the mood for several art pieces which can be found throughout the ship. Examples of these include a painting of HRH Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands by pop culture artist and icon Andy Warhol, medallions by Frank Lloyd Wright, Carnival in Venice, created by Daniel Ogier, cast aluminum elevator doors inspired by the art deco work of the New York Chrysler Building, a massive floral painting by Charles Ben and a large collection of antiques and centuries-old paintings. Eighty-five percent of her staterooms have ocean views and sixty-seven percent have verandahs.

 

After crossing the Atlantic without (revenue) passengers under the command of her 'take out' captain, Jean "Jack" van Coevoerden, Zuiderdam arrived in Ft. Lauderdale on Monday 2 December 2002 at approximately 2:30 pm. This was followed by a trio of three-night inaugural cruises for the media and travel professionals as well as visits to the ship by the company's Mariner frequent cruiser clientele. On Saturday 14 December 2002, Zuiderdam was christened at Pier 26 by her godmother, broadcaster and TV anchor Joan Lunden. There were actually two dedication ceremonies that day. In the first for Mariners and VIP's, held in the ship's Vista show lounge, champagne was poured over the ship's bell by Captain van Coevorden and Mariner alumni representatives James and Lola Melhorne.

The second ceremony was held pierside where a stage had been built underneath Zuiderdam's starboard bow. A large crowd of invited guests had gathered there, a band played and representatives of the ship's crew in their summer whites were holding flags of the nations (United States, the Netherlands, Indonesia and the Philippines) involved in the creation and operation of the ship. The name 'Zuiderdam' was concealed underneath a white canvas until Ms. Lunden gave the cue for its unveiling with "I can officially give you the ms Zuiderdam". A champagne bottle was then released, breaking against the ship's hull, confetti flew, the band played, the ship's whistle was sounded which was answered by the other cruise ships present in Port Everglades that day, namely Volendam, Monarch of the Seas, Grand Princess, Oceana and OceanBreeze.

Dignitaries present for both events included Carnival chairman and CEO Mickey Arison, his wife Madeline, HAL president and CEO Kirk Lanterman and his wife Janet, Fincantieri shipyard executive chairman Corato Antonini, HAL architect and interior designer Frans Dingemans and Reverend David Mesenbring, who blessed the ship.

 

She then set off that late afternoon on her maiden voyage, a seven-day cruise to the eastern Caribbean, alternating those with seven-day western Caribbean cruises. Her itineraries since then have taken her from the Caribbean via the Panama Canal to the North American west coast, Alaska's inside Passage and Glacier Bay, as well as various ports of Europe.

 

 

In November, 2003, Holland America Cruise Line announced a program of up-scaling their cruise ships, cruise line image and passenger cruise experience called the 'Signature of Excellence program'. This enhancement program included stateroom amenities (luxury beds and bed linens upgrades, Euro-style mattresses, waffle-weave bathrobes and Egyptian cotton towels to all cabin categories), new massage-type showerheads and professional-grade hair dryers in all bathrooms, new flat-screen LCD televisions with DVD players, make-up mirrors with halo lightning, fresh flowers and complimentary fruit baskets in all cabins, a Culinary Arts Center presented by Food & Wine magazine, for gourmet cooking demonstrations and interactive classes; thermal suite treatment, a hydrotherapy and thalassotherapy pool and heated ceramic lounges in the Greenhouse Spa and Salon; and the ”Loft”, an area designed exclusively for teens (ages 13-17). Zuiderdam had her SOE part 1 enhancements installed while in dry-dock in December 2005 at Freeport, the Bahamas.

In April 2008, Zuiderdam again entered dry dock in Palermo, Sicily for another refurbishment known as SOE part 2. There, a new block of thirty-four prefabricated cabins was lowered into place and installed on her stern increasing her passenger capacity from 1,848 to 1,916 and her gross registered tonnage from 81,769 to 82,305. Her existing Internet Center was moved to the starboard side of the Crow's Nest becoming part of her new Explorations Café. Her Pinnacle Grill restaurant was expanded to 130 seats and also on Deck 2 (LP) starboard side, a new Pinnacle and Wine Bar was added in place of her original Windstar Café (The Windstar Café Coffee Bar was moved to Deck 10 forward to become part of the Explorations Café). The part of Zuiderdam's Ocean Bar that was originally hidden from view behind walkway panels was "opened up".

A dedicated high-end 36-seat (six rows of six theater-style reclining leather seats with small tables in between) home theater called the "Screening Room" was added in place of where the Internet Center used to be. Her shopping arcade on Deck 3 was expanded and updated, including the addition a high-end jewelry shop called “Merabella” as well as a viewing room in front of the existing shops. Also there on Deck 3 in place of the original library, a new Digital Workshop was installed.

Lastly, routine "dry-dock maintenance" was performed including all hardwood floors being refinished and additional artwork added to her passageways.

 

Zuiderdam is scheduled for an 8-day dry-dock in Freeport, Bahamas (24-30 March 2010) where she will gain a second alternative restaurant, "Canaletto", serving Italian cuisine. Canaletto, named for the famous 18th century Venetian artist, which debuted on the ms Eurodam in 2008, will come to life for dinner nightly between 5:30 and 9:30 pm when a section of the ships' Lido restaurant is transformed into the Italian restaurant. Canaletto's menu begins with an antipasti plate that changes nightly, followed by soup choices, salad, four pasta dishes and entrees like veal Milanese, chicken marsala scaloppini, osso bucco and cod putanesca. Canaletto is open for dinner from 5:30 to 9:30 pm.

[url=http://boards.cruisecritic.com/"http://media.shipspotting.com/uploads/photos/rw/273143/Ship+Photo+Zuiderdam.jpg&quot][/url]

[Copper10-8]

Well isn't this fun!...walking down memory lane....looking back on the evolution from trying something different to becoming totally hooked on cruising as a fabulous way to travel, see new places & meet some pretty terrific traveling comrades.

First time out we were on the Norwegian Crown....had to talk DH into trying a cruise...thought we'd start out small...6 days to Bermuda if I recall correctly. That little ship rocked and it rolled and plates were flying everywhere, water poured into our stateroom through the windows & more than one passenger was green! Loved every minute of it - met some great people.

 

Undaunted, sailed again the next year on the Zuiderdam....7 day Eastern Caribbean - broke my foot ashore on St. Thomas - crazy jitney driver - never made it off the ship for the last 3 ports. Once again, undaunted, sailed the Noordam the next year - probably the most perfect cruise one could wish for - no broken bones.

 

Being superstitous, sailed the Noordam again the next year and, arriving home with no broken bones....decided this might be an OK way to travel.

The following year jumped ship to Caribbean Princess.....bones OK - but give me HAL any day. Back on HAL - Maasdam - 14 days - spoiled forever. Bones still intact. Just back recently from the QM2 - had to try her...glad we did...and, yup....no broken bones on that cruise either! She's a beautiful ship, but DH & I are agreed that we are going to book our 2010 trip on HAL - bones be damned.

 

Crown Odyssey (1988-present) Built in 1988 as Crown Odyssey by the Jos L. Meyer Werft GmbH, Papenburg, (then) West Germany for Greece-based Royal Cruise Line for world-wide cruising. The contract for the vessel was signed in April 1985 at a cost of U.S. $150 million. The first section was laid on 30 April 1987 and, after six months of intense work, the ship was floated out for the first time on 1 November 1987. The 34,240 gross registered ton ship with a passenger capacity of 1,050 souls was one of the earliest vessels to introduce private verandahs and an atrium lobby. Reminiscent of the day of the ocean liner, Crown Odyessey came equipped with an indoor swimming pool.

Crown Odyssey's technical trials were conducted from 20 to 30 December 1987. The ship was named and christened on 14 May 1988 by her godmother, Irene Panagopoulos, daughter of Royal Cruise Line president and CEO Pericles Panagopoulos. She was subsequently delivered to her owners on 31 May 1988, two weeks ahead of schedule. Panagopoulos, the line's owner, called the vessel his idea of a perfect cruise ship. On 4 June 1988 she left Emden, West Germany for Tilbury, England. For her maiden cruise, Crown Odyssey departed Tilbury on 7 June 1988 for a thirteen-day Baltic cruise, continuing with this series and itinerary until 25 August. Crown Odyssey then made a transatlantic crossing to New York City from where she operated two cruises to New England and Canada.

The ship then sailed to Los Angeles, CA via a trans (Panama) Canal crossing which would become her home port during the 1988-1989 winter with cruises to the Mexican Riviera and Panama Canal. Crown Odyssey, as had Royal Cruise Line in fifteen years, built up a loyal clientele of mostly mature cruises, many of which were repeaters looking for novel itineraries, value for money and good service onboard.

 

On 17 November 1989, Royal Cruise Line was purchased for U.S. two hundred twenty-five million dollars by Knut Kloster's Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL). Under KLoster's wing, RCL continued to operate as a separate line however, only a year after the purchase, Royal Cruise Line started to lose its identity. In 1990, their ships (Golden Odyssey, Royal Odyssey and Crown Odyssey) were re-flagged to Nassau in the Bahamas and their Greek crews were swapped out to become "international".

In the early nineties, the Kloster Group (Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Cruise Line and Royal Viking Line) ran into financial problems. In 1995, they were near bankruptcy and it was rumored that Carnival was a potential buyer.

Only Norwegian Cruise Line (parent company NCL Holdings) would survive as in December 1995, Royal Viking Line was sold off and Royal Cruise Line dismantled. On 30 March 1996 Crown Odyssey was renamed Norwegian Crown and assigned to NCL. She maintained her pattern of longer cruises however, operating Baltic and Norwegian Fjord itineraries in the summer of 1996. For the next two years, she sailed both South American 1997-1998 winter and Bermuda (from New York) 1998 summer itineraries.

In NCL service, additional features were added to appeal to NCL's younger, sports-minded passengers, including TV sets and hair-dryers in the cabins. The wicker-chaired Lido Bar was turned into NCL's signature sports bar, its glass walls extended into the aft deck area to make room for big-screen TV sets. More durable soft furnishings that replaced leather and ultra-suede chair and sofa coverings gradually appeared, so that now only the brass, marble, and polished granite surfaces (and a few glove leather sofas in the Forum) remained from her Crown Odyssey days.

In 1998 NCL Holdings purchased Orient Lines, a destination orientated operator founded in 1992, which operated one ship, the Marco Polo. As a result of expansion plans for this new branch, an announcement was made in April 1999 that Norwegian Crown would be transferred to Orient Line and once again renamed Crown Odyssey.

After finishing her South America season for NCL, she was delivered to Orient Line on 13 April 2000 in San Juan, PR. From there, she crossed the Atlantic to the Mediterranean island of Malta where she underwent a complete refit. Among her major changes, her Yacht Club was transformed into a double-line buffet and a much larger casual dining area and her former Penthouse Bar became the Cafe Italia for casual buffet dinners. Other changes involved the Top of the Crown, renamed Le Bar, observation and The Club lounges and the Lido Bar. New additions included a meeting room off the casino and a small internet center nearby. Her library was moved to the card room area and her Coronet Theater was updated.

Private verandas adorn the vessel's 16 deluxe suites, called apartments, each with separated sleeping and living areas plus dining table and chairs, marble bathroom with whirlpool tub and shower, and walk-in closets. Four other accommodations categories are termed suites and standard inside and outside cabins measure from 154 to 165 square feet, with two lower beds and bathroom with shower. Most, but not all of the ship's cabins have twin beds that can be rearranged as a queen-size bed.

 

Upon emerging from her refit in May 2000 and while berthed in Istanbul, Turkey, the ship was officialy re-christened Crown Odyssey by her new godmother, Lady June Hillary, the wife of Sir Edmund Hillary of Mount Everest fame. According to Deborah Natansohn, Orient Lines' president that day, "The Crown Odyssey always had a loyal following of passengers who appreciated unusual destinations and the camaraderie which develops on board a mid-size liner. That's why we decided to revert to the original name." With the addition of Crown Odyssey, Orient Line could boast a two-ship fleet that cruises all seven continents. That same afternoon, she departed Istanbul on her maiden voyage for Orient, a 12-day Mediterranean cruise that would terminate in Barcelona, Spain.

 

Crown Odyssey operated worldwide year-round itineraries that complemented those aboard the line's Marco Polo. In the summer and fall of 2000, she ran Mediterranean itineraries that stretched from Lisbon to Istanbul. In November 2000, the ship set sail on a series of "Grand Voyages" from 27 to 40 days to ports in Africa, the Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific.

 

 

After three years of operating Crown Odyssey next to Marco Polo, Orient Lines reverted to operating with just one ship - Marco Polo - when Crown Odyssey was returned to the NCL fleet in September 2003. She received a refurbishment at the Sembawang shipyard in Singapore and reverted back to the name Norwegian Crown.

During this refit, NCL added three new restaurants to the ship including its signature alternative restaurant, Le Bistro. The restaurant seats 70 guests and is decorated in coral, green and gold colors. Large, wood banquettes ensure intimate dining spaces while gold sconces along the walls provide a romantic atmosphere. Classic chairs from France and etched glass completed the addition. NCL also added The Pasta Café as well as an Asian themed restaurant, Chopsticks.

Norwegian Crown began her second tour with Norwegian Cruise Line offering a diverse set of itineraries sailing from Philadelphia, PA on a series of seven-day cruises to Bermuda. In late summer she shifted to New York, again for a number of sailings to Bermuda before ending the Bermuda season in the fall with a series of Baltimore departures. Winter found her in South America offering a series of 14-day sailings between Buenos Aires, Argentine and Valparaiso, Chile highlighted by optional flyovers of Antarctica and scenic cruising through Chile's fjords.

 

On 25 May 2006, NCL Corporation announced that its parent company, Malaysian-based Star Cruises, had agreed to sell Norwegian Crown to British-based Fred Olsen Cruise Lines effective August 2006. Star Cruises immediately chartered the vessel back from Fred. Olsen for fifteen months and NCL continued to operate her until November 2007. Her last NCL cruise was on 28 October, 2007.

Before that however, on 8 June Norwegian Crown ran aground on a sandbar in Bermuda between Dockyard and Spanish Point. She was eventually freed by three tugs that same evening.

Fred Olsen took delivery of the ship on 7 November, 2007 and renamed her Balmoral after the Balmoral estate, the British Royal family's residence located in the Aberdeenshire area of Scotland. Before putting her in service, Fred Olsen decided to have Balmoral undergo a major refit at the Blohm + Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany. The work included the insertion of a 99-foot mid-section that had been built at the Schichau Seebeckwerft in Bremerhaven and floated into the Blohm + Voss yard at the end of October 2007. The refit added a further 186 passenger and 53 crew cabins and increased her size to 43,537 gross registered tons. It also added 60 new balconies along with new and updated public areas. The work was done to incease the ship's appeal to the British cruise market. Balmoral departed Hamburg in January 2008, crossed the Atlantic, and departed Miami, Fl on her inaugural cruise to the Caribbean on 13 February 2008. For most of the year Balmoral operates out of Dover, England.

 

 

During a 21 January 2009 cruise the ship sailed into rough weather in the Bay of Biscay smashing through 50 foot waves and 60 mph winds. Two of her passengers were subsequently sent to a hospital in La Coruna, Spain for serious injuries.

For April 2012, Balmoral has been chartered by British travel agency Miles Morgan Travel to follow the original route of the Titanic, on 14 April 2012 intending to stop over the point on the sea bed where the ocean liner rests. A special memorial service will be conducted after which the 12-night cruise will continue to Halifax, NS where shore excursions will include a visit to the Fairview Lawn cemetery where 121 Titanic victims are burried. The charter cruise will terminate at New York City.

Edited February 13, 2010 by Copper10-8

[Copper10-8]

Some add'l pics of the former Crown Odyssey:

 

As Crown Odyssey for Royal Cruise Line

 

As Crown Odyssey for Orient Line in Dunedin, New Zealand 2002

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As Norwegian Crown for NCL in New York City in 2007

 

 

As Balmoral for Fred Olsen in Venice, Italy in 2008

 

 

As Balmoral for Fred Olsen in the Kiel Canal, Germany in 2008

 

 

As Balmoral for Fred Olsen riding it out off A Coruna, Spain in 2009

[Druke I]

We sailed on Crown Odyssey twice, once under the Greek flag, and once under the Bahamian flag. She was a very nice ship, and we enjoyed Royal Cruise Lines.

 

Unfortunately, NCL had the indoor pool removed (plated over), and I think they also removed the cinema, adding extra cabins.

Edited February 13, 2010 by Druke I

[Copper10-8]

NCL Southward Western Caribbean Jamaica,Grand Cyman,Cozumel and Key West in October.1979.Still cruising but different DH! Had always wanted to cruise due to Love Boat

 

ms Southward (1971-present) Built in 1971 by Cantiere Navali dell Tirreno e Riuniti, S.p.A, Riva Trigoso (Genoa), Italy as ms Southward for Norwegian Caribbean Line (NCL). NCL, at that time, was jointly owned by Norwegian Knut Kloster and Israeli Ted Arison, founder of Carnival Cruise Line. That arrangement was dissolved in late 1971 however and Klosters Rederi A/S took over the NCL operation. Southward was designed for the North American cruise market and delivered to her owners in November 1971.

Following a transatlantic crossing, she was christened on 30 November 1971 in Miami, Fl. This was the first time a new cruise ship was not christened at the shipyard were she was built, but instead in the port of her area of operations. The trademark of Norwegian Caribbean Line at the time were twin swept-back funnels and an orange sunburst painted on the sides of their ships.

 

Southward was NCL's fourth cruise ship, the others being Sunward (1966), Starward (1968), and Skyward (1969). Initially, she was operated on Caribbean cruises out of Miami. In 1987 however, she was dispatched to the west coast of the United States to begin operating out of Los Angeles (San Pedro) on three and four-night cruises to Catalina Island, San Diego and Ensenada, BC, Mexico. As a result of this move Norwegian Caribbean Line changed its name to Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) in late 1987.

 

 

In 1995, Southward was sold to Sun Cruises, the cruise division of UK-based all-inclusive travel company Airtours plc, who renamed her Seawing. Sun Cruises was founded a year earlier, in April 1994, to provide British holidaymakers with air and sea vacation packages at affordable rates. Seawing began operating for Sun Cruises in March 1995 cruising the Mediterranean in spring and summer and the Far East in the winter season. In February 2002, the new name of 'My Travel plc' was adopted by all the former Airtours brands, resulting in a change of house colors on its four cruise ships, Seawing (1995), Carousel (1995), Sundream (1996) and Sunbird (1999).

 

From May to October 2002, MyTravel's Seawing operated seven-night round trip cruises from Limassol, Cyprus into the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas. From October 2002 to April 2003, she ran fourteen, sixteen and thirty-night cruises to the Far East including port calls at/in Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. While in the Far East, Seawing also operated seven-night round trips from Phuket, Thailand. Then in April 2003 Seawing returned to the Mediterranean and Aegean, picking up where she left off with seven-night cruises from Limassol.

 

 

When Airtours decided to pull out of the cruise vacation and ship ownership business in 2004, Seawing was purchased by the then Greek arm of Cyprus-based Louis Cruise Line and renamed Perla. After a winter in the Far East, Louis operated her on cruises out of Piraeus to the Greek Islands and Turkey in 2005.

 

In May 2008, she was chartered to Greece-based Golden Sun Cruises and renamed The Aegean Pearl, operating three and four-day Greek island cruises from Piraeus. Her first cruise for Golden Sun took place on 19 May 2008.

That charter ended in 2009 and the ship was returned to Louis Cruise Line; however, her name has remained The Aegean Pearl up to now.

 

Edited February 13, 2010 by Copper10-8

[Copper10-8]

Some add'l pics of the former Southward:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Copper10-8]

I first cruise was RCCL Song of Norway in 1980 and I was just 19 yrs. My mother wanted to go on a cruise, but Dad didn't so she took me. Boy...did we have a great time! Came home bragging to Dad about our wonderful trip. We went the following year and he came along too! Back then cruise was so simple and elegant and food gourmet. Each night in the dining room was different themed night (Italian, French, Caribbean, etc) and waiters wore different uniforms to match the theme. The ship didn't even have a casino; however there were slots in the foyer. No lido cafe; other than hamburgers and hot dog around the pool. All other meals were formal sit down in the main dining room. Oh...and I remember walking up the stairs to the Viking Crown Lounge high atop the ship's funnel. Those were the days!

 

 

Song of Norway (1970-present) Built by in 1970 as ms Song of Norway by Oy Wärtsilä Ab/Wartsila Shipyard in Helsingfors (Helsinki), Finland for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. She was the first new ship built for RCCL and would have two sisters - Nordic Prince and Sun Viking. Song of Norway was christened by her godmother, Magnhild Borten, wife of Norwegian Prime Minister Per Borten and on 7 November 1970, began sailing seven and fourteen-day cruises out of Miami, FL.

In 1978, Song of Norway was sent back to Helsinki where she was lengthened by 85 feet, to increase her total passenger capacity to 1,082 as well as increase her size to 23,000 gross tons (original size had been 18,416 GT). She would serve RCCL (later RCI) throughout the world, breaking in new territories for the line.

 

In 1996, surpassed by the new and significantly larger ships in the Royal Caribbean International fleet, Song of Norway was sold to British-based Sun Cruises, part of the Airtours/MyTravel Group, who operated the vesel under the name Sundream on cruises, mostly to the Med. As part of the deal, Song of Norways's distinctive Viking Sky Lounge on the funnel, a trademark of RCCL/RCI, was removed

 

 

After a short lay-up that began on 26 September 2004 in Piraeus, she was sold and refitted there in order to become MS Dream Princess for Israeli-based Caspi Cruises/Tumaco Navigation in October 2004. Upon completion of the refit in early 2005, she began sailing three and four-night Eastern Mediterranean cruises from Haifa and Ashdod, Israel to Alanya, Turkey, Rhodes, Greece and Larnaca, Cyprus.

Some itineraries also included Limassol, Cyprus, Marmaris, Turkey and Santorini, Greece. January 2006 found her some distance away from her home, being used to house students from Tulane University after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, LA.

 

2006 and 2007 found her chartered to Cyprus-based Lance Shipping under the name Dream. Princess Cruises had let it be known that they had not been happy campers when the name "Dream Princess" was selected for the ship by her Israeli owners in late 2004! In November 2006, Dream was chartered to Gulf Dream Cruise, running out of Dubai in the Gulf, but the venture collapsed after one cruise. On 18 September 2007, while anchored in the port of Rhodes, Dream developed a 10 degrees list. She was immediately evacuated and four officers who where on duty at the time of the incident were detained. The crew was accused of deliberately grounding the vessel to prevent further listing and an ultimate sinking. Divers investigating the incident discovered that hatchways in her hull designed for discharging untreated waste into the ocean, had been crudely plugged with chunks of wood, to prevent those discharges. Doing this kept the waste onboard. However, failure to pump the waste in a timely manner, resulted in the listing of the vessel.

 

 

[Copper10-8]

The list was eventually corrected but on 18 November 2007, due to strong winds, Dream came loose of her moorings and collided with a cargo ship which was tied up adjacent to her, causing minor damages to both vessels. The Greek coast guard managed to tow Dream back to her dock, using tug-boats. Dream would remain in the port of Rhodes for nearly two months until her seaworthiness was established. On November 28, 2007 she was towed to the port of Kusadasi, Turkey were she underwent repairs.

 

 

During that same month (November 2007) Caspi Cruises sold the ship to Miami-based International Shipping Partners, Inc. (ISP) who renamed her Clipper Pearl. After her refitting both in Kusadasi and in Valetta, Malta, she was chartered to the Peace Boat organization as a replacement for their Topaz, and once again renamed, this time as Clipper Pacific. The Peaceboat organization is a Japan-based international non-governmental organisation (NGO) that works to promote peace, human rights, equal and sustainable development and respect for the environment.

 

Clipper Pacific's bad luck continued however when, on 16 July 2008 while on her maiden arrival in U.S. waters (for her new owners), she was discovered to have numerous safety violations when inspected in New York by the United States Coast Guard. In addition to her hull damage, inspectors discovered 66 other safety violations, including problems with life jackets, labeling of fire exits and damaged lifeboats.

 

On 18 July 2008, the USCG cleared her for departure to Tampa, Fl where, upon arrival on 21 July, she entered drydock at the Tampa Bay ship repair yard. Ultrasonic images of her hull were taken to check the thickness of her hull plates and needed repairs were made before she was able to resume her transit to Japan. She did eventually reach Yokohama in early September.

 

 

 

Clipper Pacific set off on Peace Boat's 63rd Global Voyage for Peace from Yokohama on 7 September, 2008. After visiting various ports in Asia (held up once again in Singapore on 19 September due to electrical problems) and Africa, she passed through the Suez Canal and into the Mediterranean Sea. Her next stop was at Kusadasi on 13 October where inspectors from the Classification Society came onboard to take a serious look see. They were not happy with what they found and sent her to Izmir, Turkey for repairs. She would be stranded at Izmir with 700 passengers on board for over two weeks due to problems with her engines as well as other maintenance problems. Now completely off schedule, she arrived at Piraeus, Greece on the evening of 29 October 2008 only to be forced to stay there until 11 November. On that morning she was last seen cruising off the port to an anchorage area.

 

This was the final drop in the bucket for the Peace Boat organization who decided to end its charter contract with the ship. Clipper Pacific's mostly student passengers were transferred to the last minute chartered ms Mona Lisa, which resumed the 63rd Voyage for Peace, picking up where Clipper Pacific left off.

From June through November 2009, the ship was renamed 'Festival' and used on seven and fourteen-day eastern Mediterranean voyages by Israel-based Caspi Cruises whose own advertised voyages on a smaller vessel had booked to overcapacity. When that charter ended, Festival sailed to Burgas, Bulgaria where she was laid up.

 

 

Her next "assignment" will be another charter from 7 March 2010 onwards to Spanish operator Quail Cruises who will operate her as Ocean Pearl

 

Artist's impression of Ocean Pearl in Quail color scheme

[Copper10-8]

I wanted to go somewhere warm and do something different for my 70 birthday. Had 69 in the cold of July downunder so where could I go. DH "wasn't going on any bl...y cruise". But I was determined and booked the Tahitian Princess around the Society Islands. The best part was I talked to CCs from Sept to July the following year and we were firm friends by the time we met. The cruise was wonderful, DH loved it too, and the CC friends from Scotland came and stayed with us and the CCs from San Diego are coming next May. I booked the Italian restaurant before we met and wondered if I would like these people but they were so much fun and we had a great time to celebrate my 70th. Had to wait all these years but it was the best birthday I have ever had. Now going on our 5th cruise around NZ and Aust and trying out Hal this time for the great itinerary and also meeting up with another CC in Melbourne.

 

R Four (1999-present) Built in 1999 as R-Four by Chantiers de l'Atlantique, St. Nazaire, France for Renaissance Cruises. She was the fourth in a series of eight identical ships (R One through R Eight) built at the French shipyard between July 1998 and February 2001. She was launched on 12 May 1998 and delivered to the cruise line on 22 October 1999. After crossing the Atlantic empty, she arrived in Ft. Lauderdale, Fl where she was christened by her godmother in December 1999. She then departed Port Everglades, sailed south-west, transited the Panama Canal and set course for her “operating area”, Tahiti and French Polynesia. R Four was not owned by Renaissance Cruises; instead she was owned by a group of French investors.

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Renaissance Cruises was originally formed in 1989 by the Fearnley & Eger Group and started sailing with a small luxury cruise yacht beginning in December 1989. In rapid succession, eight of these Italian-built 120-passenger vessels (Renaissance One through Renaissance Eight) entered service for the line and sailed mostly year-round cruise itineraries to the Mediterranean, the Greek Isles, Northern Europe/Scandinavia, Tahiti and the South Pacific. These were frequently remote ports that could not be entered by larger cruise ships. In 1991, Fearnley & Eger was declared bankrupt and Renaissance Cruises was sold to the Italian Cameli Group.

At the end of the nineties, the line had become a well-known name in the modern cruise world, and the company decided to built, initially, six new and larger ships to replace the smaller yacht-like vessels. These new ships, 30,277 gross registered tons, 593 feet long, 83.5 feet wide, and a draft of 19.5 feet, would carry 777 passengers on nine decks, looked after by 373 crew members. Surprisingly, the non-imaginative naming, “R One” through “R Six”, of the class would continue and two more ships, “R Seven” and “R Eight”, were ordered. Renaissance Cruises did announce that “real names” would eventually be given to the ships “in time” but this never materialized. These eight ships would be unique to the cruise industry as they would be the world’s first non-smoking fleet, their dress code “country club casual”, low-key in approach and their four restaurants “open seating”.

R Four had eight cabin categories: ten owner’s suites, fifty-two mini-suites, and the remainder balcony cabins, standard inside and standard outside (non-balcony) cabins. Flexibility and choice could be found on R Four’s restaurants, the 338-seat Club Restaurant, the 186-seat outdoor and 154-seat indoor Panorama Restaurant, the 98-seat Grill Room and the 96-seat Italian Restaurant. R Four’s interior décor was a throwback to ship décor of the ocean liners of the 1920s and 1930s. The overall feel was of an old-world country club or elegant English country house.

 

R Four’s passengers had access to decks 3-11. The ship had two sets of elevators and stairs located forward and aft. Deck 3 had a few outside staterooms but was primarily used for tender access. Deck 4 included the reception area, shore excursion center, medical center, and additional outside staterooms. Deck 5 did not have staterooms, but was the center of much of the activity on the ship. The Club Restaurant and Bar, Cabaret Lounge, casino and casino bar, and shopping and photo gallery were all located on this deck. Decks 6 through 8 were mostly dedicated to cabins of all types from interior to suites. Deck 9 was the "Relaxation Deck", and included the pool, pool bar, computer room, card room, fitness facility, spa, and Panorama Buffet. Deck 10 featured the Horizons sports bar, the walking track, and the two specialty restaurants, the Italian Restaurant and the Grill. Renaissance home-based R Four year-round in Papeete, Tahiti and operated her on seven-day cruises to the surrounding French Polynesian islands.

After accommodating some 200,000 passengers in the year 2000, Renaissance Cruises, Inc. ceased operations on 25 September 2001. As a company that had taken on a huge expansion program, it was saddled with a heavy debt and had been in poor financial health for quite some time. The results of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States severely affected the travel industry and directly led to the demise of the cruise line as Renaissance was unable to survive because many Americans stopped traveling. When Renaissance declared bankruptcy, R Four and her seven sisters were seized world-wide by their creditors, taken over by Cruise Invest, and laid up. While laid up, several of the R-class vessels were chartered out to or purchased by different cruise lines such as Oceania Cruises, Pullmantur Cruises, Delphin Seereisen and Swan Hellenic Cruises.

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In 2002, Santa Clarita, California-based Princess Cruises secured a two-year lease for R Four and her sister R Three. After a refit, R Four entered operation for Princess on 9 August 2002 and was renamed Tahitian Princess (her sister R Three became the Pacific Princess). Princess continued to operate the two ships around the French Polynesian Islands but also on exotic itineraries such as a 10-day Polynesia/Cook Islands adventure, a 10-day Polynesia/Marquesas Islands exploration and a 12-day Tahiti and Hawaii option that included port calls at Christmas Island in the Republic of Kiribati. In Princess’ service, R Four would spend her northern hemisphere summers in Alaska. When the lease expired in 2004, Princess outright purchased both vessels.

On 3 April 2008, Princess Cruises announced that Tahitian Princess would be renamed Ocean Princess in November 2009. The new name is intended to reflect the ship’s new deployment and focus on worldwide itineraries where Princess is placing her.

Beginning in the summer of 2008, Tahitian Princess set off on new worldwide deployments, including a Connoisseur’s cruise to Alaska. Her sister, Pacific Princess, took over Tahitian Princess’ French Polynesian fall itineraries. Tahitian Princess operated a world cruise in early 2009. In July and August 2009, Princess operated the ship on two 18-day cruises from New York City (Brooklyn) to Dover, England with port calls at Halifax, NS, St. Anthony, Newfoundland, Qaqortoq and Nanortalik, Greenland, Grundarfjordur, Isafjordur and Akureyri, Iceland, the Shetland Islands, Scotland and Bergen and Kristiansand, Norway.

The renaming to Ocean Princess took place while the ship was out of service from 19 November through 2 December 2009 during a routine two-week maintenance period in Singapore. Besides her new name, Ocean Princess also received a new fuel-efficient coat of silicone paint on her hull as well as new interior soft fittings. Upon emerging from the yard, Ocean Princess sailed on a series of Asia voyages.

Edited February 15, 2010 by Copper10-8

[Copper10-8]

Carnival Jubilee, Eastern Caribbean, 1999, 10 years ago next month. It wasn't the prettiest boat but we didn't know any better. Had a true aft cabin, because no one wanted it. I think it was one of the last cabins left when we booked. Lido? We were out for 11 days in perfect weather. Virgin Gorda (climbing thru those rocks with six bottles of Heineken for the wife and I!), Tortola, and Megan Bay (that bar on the beach pours killer rum drinks!) were the best memories. Our cabin steward and particularly our busboy were the best. Actually it's because of our first cruise that we are booking Radiance 2/22/2010.

 

 

Jubilee (1986-present) Build in 1986 as Jubilee by Kockums Varv Ab, Malmö, Sweden for Carnival Cruise Line as the second vessel of the three-ship medium-size Holiday class. Her sisters are Holiday (1985) and Celebration (1987). She was delivered on 1 June 1986 to CCL and 0n 6 July 1986 began operating Caribbean cruises out of Dodge Island, Miami, Fl.

 

During her Carnival career, she also operated out of Los Angeles (San Pedro) on Mexican Riviera cruises and out of Vancouver, BC on Alaska cruises.

 

 

In September 2004, she received an internal transfer to P&O Australia, a Carnival subsidiary, who renamed her Pacific Sun. After an intensive refit at the Grand Bahamas Dockyard at Freeport, she received interior as well as exterior changes. The most obvious exterior changes were the removal of both Carnival-trademark winglets on her "whale tail" funnel and the construction of a so-called ducktail on her stern. Due to this addition, she will pitch and roll less and this will also increase her fuel efficiency. A two-story waterslide was one of her added features.

 

 

Her first cruise for P&O Australia out of Sydney's Darling Harbor took place on 27 October 2004, after she was renamed by her godmother, Australian Olympic gold medal swimmer Lisa Curry-Kenny. Since that time, Pacific Sun has welcomed thousands of Australians onboard on year-round South Pacific and tropical North Queensland itineraries. Her guests have been able to choose from three-night short break cruises to a fourteen-night voyage to New Caledonia, Fiji and Vanuatu. Destinations included islands such as Ouvea (New Caledonia), Champagne Bay (Vanuatu) and the Isle of Pines (New Caledonia), as well as capitals like Noumea (New Caledonia) and Vila (Solomon Islands).

 

In November 2007, P&O Australia relocated Pacific Sun to Brisbane which has seen her become the largest year-round cruise ship ever to be based in Queensland. From this new home port, Pacific Sun has been able to offer her guests the forty two-night Cherry Blossum cruise which goes around Asia.

 

As a sidenote, on 31 July 2008, 42 of her passengers received medical attention after Pacific Sun was hit by severe weather and experienced 22-foot swells and 50-knot winds, causing her to roll sharply just before 8:00 pm. During that voyage, she was enroute to Auckland, New Zealand following an eight-day cruise in the South Pacific.

Pacific Sun is currently operating on three to fourteen-night itineraries with port calls in Queensland and the South Pacific.

 

Edited February 16, 2010 by Copper10-8

[Copper10-8]

Some additional pics of the former Jubilee:

As Carnival's Jubilee

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As P&O Australia's Pacific Sun at Lyttelton harbor (Christchurch), New Zealand

 

As P&O Australia's Pacific Sun in Darling harbor, Sydney

 

 

As P&O Australia's Pacific Sun departing Sydney

 

 

As P&O Australia's Pacific Sun departing Fremantle in new (all-white) house colors

 

As P&O Australia's Pacific Sun departing Brisbane in new (all-white) house colors