SS Norway - She's really gone

[Globaliser]

From Maritime Matters:-<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>NORWAY Vanishes

April 1: S/S NORWAY,(ex FRANCE) once the longest liner in the world - vanished in cyberspace today. Norwegian Cruise Line have apparently removed the ship from their fleet list at NCL.com.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>And it's no joke - she really has gone.

 

But not yet from NCL's UK site - ship page here.

[Joanne G.]

Thank goodness for the memories and the photos of my three Norway cruises.

[richtersl]

Well...I guess that was inevitable. How sad.

 

Linda

NCL Sky - 1/03

NCL Sun - 1/02

 

[smeyer418]

"In a stunning announcement, NCL has reversed its position on the Norway. We have decided that in view of all the people wanting to sail on her, we will equipt her with sails and sail her that way. It may be slow but it will be inexpensive" Every other room on deck 3(which will be renamed the Galleon level) will be equipt with opening windows and oars. This will be used when there is no wind and when docking. These rooms will be sold at a 30% reduction but with a requirement that a doctor certify that at least one occupant will be able to stroke for at least 30 minutes."

 

reprinted with permission

[Guest nhrich]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>These rooms will be sold at a 30% reduction but with a requirement that a doctor certify that at least one occupant will be able to stroke for at least 30 minutes.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Actually, I believe this requirement is in effect for the Pride of America.

 

Rich

 

12/94 Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam - W. Carib

01/96 Norwegian Dreamward - Carib

01/97 Carnival Inspiration - E. Carib

09/98 Celebrity Mercury - Alaska

02/99 Carnival Fascination - S. Carib

09/00 Celebrity Galaxy - Alaska

11/02 Norwegian Sun - W. Carib

03/03 Norwegian Dawn - W. Carib

09/03 Norwegian Majesty - Bermuda

11/03 Carnival Spirit - Panama Canal

 

 

Coming Up Next:

05/04 Voyager of the Seas - Canada

10/04 Pride of Aloha - Hawaii

 

[garykool81]

You poo-poo head

 

Seriously speaking, though, I really would have liked to sail aboard the Norway. I was booked on THE cruise that had the boiler explosion on May 25, 2003 and did not find out about it until I reached the police road block in Miami.

 

Talk about a major let down...that was a depressing day.

 

Gary Kulash

www.badelephant.com

 

Carnival Holiday 8/02

NCL Majesty 1/03

NCL Norway 5/25/03

NCL Sea 7/03

Celebrity Galaxy 3/04

Celebrity Mercury 10/04

[nocaper]

This from today's issue of C&B...

"In an effort to crack down on unpaid parking tickets in Bremerhaven, Germany, local authorities plan on taking NCL to court. It seems that since the S/S "Norway" was towed into the harbor in late July 2003, NCL has neglected to pay local authorities for wharfage. So far after 8 months pierside, the Bremerhaven Port Authority is owed 500,000 Euros or nearly 600,000 US Dollars. Officials from the Port Authority say that in order to prevent the ship from skipping town and not paying, they have installed the maritime version of the "Denver Boot." This device makes it impossible for the ship to ever move again until it is removed. An NCL spokesperson at first responded by saying: "The check is in the mail." But later went on to explain that the company does not know what to do with the vessel and continues to explore all options"

[wvdleek]

A group of investors is trying to get the ship to Amsterdam to convert into a hotel.

Possible purchaseprice EURO 60 million.

 

It is the same group which tried to get the s.s. ROTTERDAM V a few years ago.

 

Kind regards,

 

Willem H. van der Leek

"It's good to see a well-run site!"

http://www.vdleek.nl

[desirod]

The week before the cruise I watched the Fellini movie “The ship Sails On” and the Marx bros. “Monkey Business” all are comedies about luxury liner travel.

 

THE SHIP

 

The ship is the SSNorway, formerly the SSFrance of 1962. She has 14 decks, 1035’ long, 110’ wide, and 200’ tall. At 76,000 tons she was the 4th largest ocean liner ever built, and until 1995, the largest in service.

It took me a whole day to walk the ship, and it was a 10 minute walk to everywhere. She needs a moving sidewalk.

 

The original décor of the ship is mostly gone except for some cabins, stair towers and a few public rooms.

The style is “George Jetson” modern. Like the SS United States, it was done w/o wood and brass. The materials used were etched aluminum, vinyl, laminates, and acrylic; exotic materials for their time. The critics panned her interiors at the time. It is a good, but not great example of mid-century modern, but now they are a historical curiosity. She was a ship of state and christened by Madame Pauline De Gaulle.

 

In 1979, the ship became the Norway, and was fully renovated; Angelo Donghia ripped out much of the Jetson’s look and replaced it with a hideous leisure suit look. What was on his mind? It is as ugly now as it was during the Iranian hostage crisis. Those 1979 rooms need redecoration badly.

 

She has an aft deck swimming pool and buffet with the reggae band playing or a DJ, and those who want quiet can go to the mid-ship pool where there is no music for those that want less stimulation. When there were not 40mph winds, I would got to the 14 storey sky deck forward, and watch the 10 mile vista from there. Otherwise, I would go down one deck to the glassed in lido area.

 

She has far more grace than any newbuild. She is a sight to behold despite the extra decks. The Windward dining room and Saga theatre are original and beautiful.

 

Too much of the original France is gone. Her promenade decks were turned into shopping arcades called 5th Avenue and Champs Elysees; prices matched, but quality was K-mart.

 

Her deep draft requires her to tender at every Caribbean island, St Thomas was a fiasco, and at best it is a cattle run. One day the tender was rocking real bad and gangplank was bouncing around, all had to run up the gang plank one at a time, as I stepped off back on ship, it had shifted 6" in direction.

 

Her ride is smooth, with some vibrations from the ventilators, or over propellers, she did not pitch, but would rock gently, I did get sea legs on shore.

 

The ship is wonderful, but I did not bond with her the way I did with the Rembrandt. I bonded with the Olympia, Canberra, and Queen Mary. The Norway, Sea Breeze, and Queen Anna Maria I thoroughly enjoyed, but did not get that extra special feel.

 

The Norway ship historian advised me that the SS United States was the first choice for the Norway. He had a letter of intent, but the US gov't reneged on the sale.

 

His reasons:

The SSUS will fit thru the Panama Canal, Norway will not. SSUS has 32' draft, Norway 35'. SSUS had more open deck space [helipad on aft deck and between funnels] than the original France did, which would have been an easier conversion to warm weather ship.

 

PEOPLE

The Norway had a good cross section of America, some French, and Canadian passengers too. Young, teen, old, gay, and lesbian, white collar, blue collar, African Americans, only noticed a dis-proportionate number of seriously obese people. Many it was a first cruise. All are on board to have a good time, and prejudice barriers tend to break on a ship.

 

There were 2400 passengers on board. One person I met on the first day, did not see them till the last day, they were in the cabin next door. I met new people debarking the ship on the last day. Ship was too crowded for any sense of intimacy. Crew was too mobbed to be real friendly.

 

My dinner companions, [only people crapshoot of cruising] one was my ethnic type, the other 2 were not, plus they were the political opposite: religious republicans from SW Michigan. One never talks politics with stranger dinner mates. The two republicans and I hit it off personally and agreed not to talk politics. One of them has a husband who is a state legislator and wanted to vacation from politics. We shared a cab in St.Maarten too.

 

The one from my ethnic group, was a motormouth who rubbed all the wrong way. Not a bad person, but would not stop talking. Her name was Bernice, was the Marisa Tomei [with a touch of Fran Dresher] character from My Cousin Vinny but 50 years older. On formal night she wore a chrome sequin dress. One night she wore a black and white suit that looked like it came from a Holstein cow.

 

Other tablemates, one couple was the Seinfeldian Frank and Estelle Costanza from Johnston RI, actually central casting. The hair, voices, and body language were exact, but the did not fight in front of people.

They changed to a later seating after the first day.

 

In the Club I, there was every day a 1930’s style dowager wearing a pleated skirt, waltzing and ballroom dancing with a 20something Ken doll with waxed legs, he looked like Robert Goulet, she like Billie Burke. Normally he was in a tux. I found it comical watching them dance cheek to cheek. I think he is bought and paid for.

 

I befriended a nurse with 2 teenage boys from Gladwin, Michigan. She was very nice and interesting; we enjoyed Indian food together away form the crowds at the Pizza line. A couple from Boston on their first cruise, turns out we know somebody in common. A graphic designer from Canada. I met a Texas couple who are about to open a B&B, he is quiet, she is spunky open. I met a father and son from Texas both with long hair who liked hot rod cars.

 

The food was good, but you would never guess this was a Norwegian ship except for good fish.

 

The class of passengers automatically divides itself by the activities they are drawn to.

 

There is a 4pm tea with classical music, and proper attire is required. It is a very different crowd than those who go the competing Karaoke event.

 

The Lido buffet with hot dogs, hamburgers, fries, and Pizza attracted Middle America. In the Sports Illustrated cafe, there was a different ethnic buffet each day [e.g. Indian, Chinese, Caribbean, Japanese, etc]. This attracted the better-heeled and cultured passengers on board. I had a second helping of Octupus.

 

Every other day I got up at 5am, got coffee at the Lido, went to the gym which had an ocean view on 3 sides. I watched the sunrise and ocean pass by at 22 knots while riding the treadmill and stair master. After work out, I grab breakfast from the Lido.

 

ENTERTAINMENT:

This ship had really good musicians. There was a reggae band on the back deck, with a good black female vocalist. A classical quartet from Poland, that serenaded the each table at dinner time Hungarian style. a jazz band, big band, and there was a FIRST RATE production of Guys and Dolls in the theatre. Even the stand up comedians were funny. The piano bar pianist did not connect with the patrons the way he should have.

 

There was a bridge tour and a ship history tour and lecture.

 

Biggest complaint is that I got little sense of the nationality of the cruise line. I had sailed on Greek ships and you felt like you were in Greece with the food and entertainment. There was little to remind you of Norway’s great history and culture.

 

PORTS:

 

The ship sailed out of Miami. A city that I am unimpressed with, but a very huge international port.

 

We had to tender every port. The ships tenders are WWII beach landing craft that hold 400 people each. They have a flat bow and catamaran hulls. The beach themselves, flat bow folds down into a ramp, troops exit, and boat backs up and refloats itself. They do ride rough.

 

First was St, Maarten, half Dutch, half French, I had been there as a young child, but had no memory of it. Coming in to town I recognized the court house and remember photographing it with my father’s Pentax, him showing me how to use it, in 1973. It is a mountainous island with a shopping district of Caribbean kitsch. I had a wonderful conversation with a kitty cat over a beer in one tavern. The beaches are pretty with the clear blue waters.

 

Next stop was St. Thomas which is the Asbury Park of the Caribbean. it is a shopping mall next to slums. Every day 5 cruise ships descend on the place, unloading 15,000 people in a 40 square mile island, and a 3 block by 3 block downtown. It became Kings Cross Station at rush hour. St Thomas is mountainous but uninteresting. Saw a few luxury homes destroyed by Hurricane Marilyn, a golf course, but little else. Either St. Thomas is ritzy or downtrodden with no in-between. I disliked it as a kid, and still as an adult.

 

Last stop was Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas: cruise line owns it. It has a beach, picnic cabanas, changing area. Nobody lives there. The reggae band played on. What I did was walk the nature trails away from everything. It became Gilligan’s Island. It was quiet, beautiful and quite surreal. There was interesting foliage, birds, and wild flowers. Came across an abandoned lighthouse, helipad, and some military buildings from the second world war. I find a special beauty with modern day ruins and the decay becomes a patina.

 

My favorite Caribbean Islands are Martinique, Aruba, and Curacao

 

Overall it was a very pleasant cruise. I was there for the ship and less for the boring Caribbean tourist traps.

I recommend the New England coast or Alaska for cruises.

[laodell]

Nice review! I loved the Norway. When we booked our first cruise in 1991 on the M/S Sunward II, I remember looking through the NCL brochure at the Norway, thinking, one day, I want to go on that ship. Several years later, in 1996, we sailed on the Norway for the first time. We had a large group and had a great time. The cabins had seen better days, the carpets were worn and tattered in some places. But I loved the band by the pool and the vibration of the ship at night, and the glassed in windows of the lido deck and all the shopping. We went back again in 2002, with a different group. The ship was much more tattered then before. The a/c wasn't great and some areas were hot. Our suite on the Sky deck was great and we had a really good time. The ship brings back so many fond memories for me. I remember the captain speaking on my Sunward II cruise, about the Norway not looking "chopped off" like the new ships of today. That it has the long, sleak appearance of an ocean liner from the classic times. It was fun being on a ship with such history. It is probably time for it to go, but I'm glad I had the opportunity to sail on her twice.