A Walk Down Memory Lane - s/s NORWAY

[SMSACE6]

Ernie, thank you so much for the memories! The Norway was a great and beautiful ship!

 

Agree, my thanks also for the post and the photos. The Norway was my first cruise ship and cruise in October 1999. While I did get one of those bargain basement prices of 399.00 (actually less, as there were three of us in the cabin), there was nothing about this cruise or ship that felt like less than spectacular. Im looking forward now to my next cruise on NCL in November, yet I always will have in my mind the memories of my first "Oh Wow,,,Im on a cruise" time on the Norway.:)

[theampres]

to all, and esp. new posters who brought this thread forward, as likely would have never seen it.

 

sailed SS FRANCE on NY-LeHavre voyage, less expensive means back then to getting to Europe than flying! sailed w/group of students heading to France for a year of study - what a voyage it was! good thing we were young and naive...hit a BIG storm, 2nd day out in North Atlantic, late September. all outside decks closed, as of day 2, days 3,4, 5 - no service in any restaurants (nothing would stay on the tables!), books/everything falling, 90-95% of passengers, sick... we were all so happy to finally see land and arrive SAFELY in LeHavre!

 

had wonderful scrapbook and all kinds of memorabilia of that grand ship up until just a few yrs ago...when, sadly, Hurricane Isabel destroyed it all...but the fond (and some scary) memories survive.

 

thanks for the posts - and mention of book. will have to look it up again and order!

[eroller]

I'm glad to see this thread revived. I hope everyone is enjoying the walk down memory lane! They just don't build them like FRANCE/NORWAY anymore!

[lordchaos]

I'm glad to see this thread revived. I hope everyone is enjoying the walk down memory lane! They just don't build them like FRANCE/NORWAY anymore!

 

and this is EXACTLY why all of us should donate immediately to the SS United States Conservancy. we are very close to losing the SS United States forever, also. shame on us if we alet this happen again. she needs to be saved and made into some kind of attraction. i am not unrealistic, i know she will never sail again, but to lose this piece of maritime history would be horrible. its the last of the classic US oceanliners left. i am going to donate right now after this post. who's with me ????

[clean1owner]

One of my greatest regrets is choosing a second cruise aboard the Skyward instead of going on the Norway in 1984. At that time the difference in fare was $100.00, a sizeable amount for a 22-year-old college student. Not that there was anything wrong with the Skyward, but since the Norway was the largest ship afloat, and I was lacking in forward vision, I figured I would have the rest of my life to sail her.

[shopperwhite]

My first cruise was on the Norway. The most beautiful memory was the absolute gorgeous Xmas trees. With no two the same..they must have had about 25 of them. Absolutely magnificent

[gambee's_mom]

Thank you. It was a beautiful ship.

[Barb Nahoumi]

My friend and I were talking about booking on the Norway, when alas we heard about the explosion.

 

Unfortunately we never got to sail on her, but we did see her moored in Miami when we were boarding another ship.

[legion3]

The ship had a 3 wall racketball court. How 80's was that!

Awesome pics of a bygonne era. Cruising in the 70's and 80's

[latebloomer56]

I've been in a photo scanning mood today, so I finally got around to scanning old photos of my early s/s/ NORWAY cruises. The pics are from July

1980 and August 1983. As you can imagine both cruises were awesome experiences, when NORWAY was in her prime. The July 1980 cruise was during her first month of service in the Caribbean. We missed out on the power outages that plagued the ship early in her NCL career.

 

Something unique about NORWAY in 1980 was the casino. It had slots only. Also

the production show was Hello Dolly and it was awesome. I even managed to grab some photos of the production. The Lido Lounge was a wonderful spot, one of my favorite places onboard. Everything on NORWAY was color coded back then to help you get around, even the carpet patterns. Turquoise color was forward, and salmon color was aft. Even your ticket jackets matched where you were staying on the ship, and what pier you embarked from (Pier 1 or Pier 2).

 

Not much had changed when we returned in 1983. Thankfully the Lido Lounge was still in tact. The biggest change was that table games were added to the casino and Hello Dolly was gone, replaced I believe by My Fair Lady but I'm not 100% sure about that. On our first cruise we dined in the Leeward Restaurant, but this time around it was a large center table in the Windward Dining Room which I much preferred.

 

Hope you enjoy this little walk back in time.

 

Ernie

 

s/s NORWAY - July 1980

 

s/s NORWAY - August 1983

 

Thank you for the memories. We were on the SS NORWAY in 1986 our very first cruise. I was expecting our first child (5 months). I see this ship on the NCL boards a lot. I thought it was Royal CCL? I have a few items and they have the anchor like RCCL. Would have been nice if it was NCL more points :). Also went on the Majesty but turned out to be from Majesty CL not the NCL one :(. Thanks again.

[Barb Nahoumi]

Thank you all for posting your photos and memories of this once magnificent ship.

 

"She now belongs to the ages."

[artist47]

Thank you for these wonderful photos and stories -- I too have some very fond and lovely memories of the Norway. She was the first ship I sat and painted as she was tied to the dock.. (She was very good at posing ---much better than any of my other models :D and she never complained about getting tired, or bored.. LOL!~) In those days, you could hang around the dock and do whatever you wanted and nobody would think anything of it. Nowdays, just snapping a photo on the dock is cause for "suspicion". I used the statutes of Trident and Neptune in the International Club as "models" so I could pass one of my classical drawing courses in school. :) (I got an A!!!)

 

I was so sad when "The Accident" happened --- I had been booked to sail the following week.

 

But certainly, no cruise vacation was worth the seven people who died, and I will always say a prayer for them, when I look at my photos of the Norway. In all, I sailed the Norway 7 times, and I consider that a great gift. What a wonderful ship she was....and she is the only one I have ever really considered a "she", beside the QE2 which I also sailed...these modern ships are lovely and wonderful, but they lack a certain something --- a mystique, I guess...anyway, thanks for the memories! :)

Edited January 11, 2014 by artist47

[GMCOLT]

Was our first cruise in 1997. A grand vessel compared to the new ships in appearance.

I have built many models of her since for NCL crew and staff.my latest resides on the Breakaways bridge.

Crew who worked on the Norway trult loved the ship. They still talk about the Norway.

[Mparis184]

Thanks so much Ernie for sharing these fabulous photos of those grand cruising days. I never sailed on the Norway but wish I had. I used to work on the 48 floor in the RCA Building in NYC. Our office windows faced the Hudson River and we could see those beautiful ships coming in and out of the harbor. That's when I made the decision to save my money and cruise....I am still doing the same thing 50 years later...saving my money and cruising.

 

Thanks for the memories!

 

Marion

[cruzincurt]

We were on her the week of the accident. She was a grand lady and I'll never forget riding her tender out from the pier at St. Thomas and admiring her sitting there in a class all her own from the modern ships docked at the pier.

[artist47]

Was our first cruise in 1997. A grand vessel compared to the new ships in appearance.

I have built many models of her since for NCL crew and staff.my latest resides on the Breakaways bridge.

Crew who worked on the Norway trult loved the ship. They still talk about the Norway.

 

Wonderful model and photo!!! Thank you so much for sharing your art....very inspiring! :)