Home Lines

[KRAZY4CRUZIN]

I am trying to get some memorabilia from the Home Lines ships Atlantic 1982,83 and Homeric 1987. I am interested in getting brochures with deck plans of these ships. Can anyone out there help me??? I would really appreciate it. Thanks, Sue

 

 

 

Atlantic 1982- 83

Homeric 1987

Dreamward 1993

Meridian 1995

Horizon 1999

Zenith 2004

[dougnewmanatsea]

I do have deck plans of ATLANTIC and HOMERIC which I can try to scan them in if you'd like. Unfortunately I don't know if it will work as they're bound into a large book.

 

There are many ocean liner memorabilia dealers that sell brochures, deck plans, etc. though I can't really give any recommendations as I have not dealt with them. Most concentrate on older items, from the 1960s and earlier.

[KRAZY4CRUZIN]

Thanks Doug. I would appreciate the try. Sorry it took so long t reply, but it's been a very hectic summer..Thanks again, Sue

[mmp13]

We sailed on the original homeric circa 1969. I have seen home llines memorablia on sale on ebay!

[KRAZY4CRUZIN]

Thank's Peg, I'll give E-Bay another try. I did try it a while ago, and it appeared to have memorabilia from the older Home Lines ships eg: the original Homeric.

[Starspangle1]

My ex husbands grandmother and grandfather went on both ships & they brought me a stuffed doll that looked like a crew member, I still have him standing in my wall unit, cutest thing.

[Wildroze]

We sailed on the Homeric in 87 and its final voyage in 88 before Holland America bought it and lengthened it and renamed it the Westerdam which we sailed on later.

I happened to win a raffle on the ship and got a bag of goodies. I do have some left including coasters with pictures of both the Atlantic and the Homeric. I know I have the original book someplace but who knows where. I will take a look.

[dougnewmanatsea]

We sailed on the Homeric in 87 and its final voyage in 88 before Holland America bought it and lengthened it and renamed it the Westerdam

Just a quick correction - the ship was renamed WESTERDAM (and became a HAL ship) before the stretch. To be precise, Home Lines was bought by HAL in April 1988. The ship was delivered to HAL in November 1988. The stretch operation was ordered after HAL was taken over by Carnival in 1989, and the ship was at the builders' yard (Meyer Werft in Papeburg, Germany) to be refitted and stretched from 30 October 1989 through 12 March 1990.

 

The story of the ship's stretch is actually quite fascinating. The ship was originally designed at the post-stretch length - 243m/800ft - however she was built with a 39m/128ft midsection missing, leaving her with a length of 204m/669ft. I've been told two possible reasons for this; the first is that Home Lines could not afford to build the intended ship and so had Meyer build her without one section, with the plan being to stretch the ship after additional funds were acquired. The second explanation, which is more widely used and (to me) more plausible is that the berths at Hamilton, Bermuda - where the ship would call every week during the summer season on the New York-Bermuda run - were originally supposed to have been lengthened to accomodate larger ships by the time HOMERIC would come into service, but that the work was not done at the intended pace and so Home Lines had to "shrink" the ship, waiting to rebuild her at full size until the work was completed (it later was, and today longer vessels can berth at Hamilton).

 

Either way, when HAL bought the ship, they intended to stretch her, and under Carnival ownership the money required to do this became available so the decision was immediately made to stretch the ship. (Carnival also ordered three new ships - these became STATENDAM, MAASDAM, and RYNDAM - very shortly after buying HAL, and invested in a major refit for the then-ROTTERDAM. This pattern of huge capital investment and rapid expansion of new subsidiaries is today being exhibited with Costa who ironically now own WESTERDAM.)

 

I have not been able to establish if the midsection HAL had inserted was identical to the one that was in the initial plans for Home Lines, but I suspect that it isn't. I've actually been working on that and a few other mysteries regarding this ship (e.g., the reason for originally buidling the "shrunken" version of the ship) at the moment and if I do get any answers I will post here, so watch this space.

 

Other interesting bits about this ship... She was the last cruise ship designed specifically for the New York market (contrary to NCL advertising, NORWEGIAN DAWN was not designed for such). She was of course the last Home Lines newbuild. More importantly, she was the very first cruise ship to be built at Meyer Werft (though the yard has been around since 1795). She was also the largest passenger ship ever to be launched sideways, rather than down a slipway or in a drydock (the latter now being standard practice) - and the last one from Meyer Werft to be launched that way. Shortly after HOMERIC was delivered, the yard began building a covered drydock in which to build ships; the largest in the largest in the world. This is now the third-largest in the world - number one is an even larger dock at Meyer Werft built in 2000. (All other shipyards building major cruise ships build them outdoors.)

 

HOMERIC marked the opening up of a very successful new market for Meyer Werft. After her their next project was Royal Cruise Line's CROWN ODYSSEY (now NCL's NORWEGIAN CROWN), the first to be built in the covered drydock. This was then followed by Celebrity's HORIZON, ZENITH, CENTURY, GALAXY, and MERCURY; P&O Cruises' ORIANA and AURORA; Star Cruises' SUPERSTAR LEO (now NORWEGIAN SPIRIT) and SUPERSTAR VIRGO; NCL's NORWEGIAN STAR and DAWN (originally planned as SUPERSTAR LIBRA and SCORPIO for Star Cruises); and Royal Caribbean's RADIANCE, BRILLIANCE, SERENADE, and JEWEL OF THE SEAS. They are currently building two new vessels for NCL; NORWEGIAN JEWEL and PRIDE OF HAWAII. They also continue to build ferries, gas carriers, and other vessels; in the area of ferries they just delivered the 46,000 GT cruise ferry PONT-AVEN to Brittany Ferries, which is being touted as the most luxurious overnight ferry in the world (and from the accounts I've heard, probably is).

 

If that's not enough about Meyer Werft, you can read more from their site, which includes a few photos of HOMERIC/WESTERDAM including one of her amazing (and unique) sideways launch.

[mr green]

I am trying to get some memorabilia from the Home Lines ships Atlantic 1982,83 and Homeric 1987. I am interested in getting brochures with deck plans of these ships. Can anyone out there help me??? I would really appreciate it. Thanks, Sue

Sue. I sailed on the Homeric in 1955! I found a lot about her by checking WWW, for Westerdam 1 [Homeric 2]. She was a great ship! The Cruise Reviews & News V2 #9, has a half page on Home Lines. Today I rate Homeric a 7 above some cruise ships that I have been on! Things like free wine at lunch and dinner, duty free bar drinks, great staff [italian].:) john taylor

12 cruis

[Overtyme]

I've been on the Atlantic a few times. I believe that I can dig up some passenger lists from the good days. I think I have some menus as well. I'll look back if anyone's interested, I'll be glad to scan them in. Just let me know.

[katiel53]

I sailed on the second sailing on the Atlantic. My first cruise was on the Oceanic, and I was hooked on cruising. I absolutely loved Home Lines and wish they were still in business. After the Oceanic, I went on another Home Lines ship to Bermuda, the Doric. I had been on the Oceanic in April and booked the Doric as soon as we got off. The following year the Atlantic came out and we weren't able to do the inagural sailing, as that was for VIP's etc, so the next week we were on it. I wish I had saved things from the ships as they had lots of great memories. For whatever reason I never got on the Homeric, but I am sure that was as great as the others. Those were the days of cruising. No company that I have been on since comes close to what Home Lines had.

 

Katie

[njcruisefan]

i have a silver coin from the ship from about 1985

[Leela]

Other interesting bits about this ship... She was the last cruise ship designed specifically for the New York market (contrary to NCL advertising, NORWEGIAN DAWN was not designed for such).

 

First off, Doug, you are an amazing font of information. Is there an "about Doug" web page somewhere? Thank you for all your research and explaining!

 

Secondly, and perhaps this should go on another thread?, but what was it about the HOMERIC that made her built for "the New York market?" What features were designed into "New York" ships that made them different from what the usual ship -- or even the NORWEGIAN DAWN -- has today?

 

Thanks so much!

[dougnewmanatsea]

First off, Doug, you are an amazing font of information.

You should meet some of the real ship experts out there - I know people who make my knowledge look pitiful! (Maybe some of you have read some of their books on ships!)

 

Is there an "about Doug" web page somewhere?

I'm too cheap to have my own web site - the closest thing I have is my Fotki site but that doesn't tell you much about me.

 

I think I wrote an introduction to myself when I first became a Host here but I believe that post was wiped out when we changed over to our present software last year.

 

Anyway, what do you want to know about me :) ?

 

Thank you for all your research and explaining!

My pleasure!

 

Secondly, and perhaps this should go on another thread?, but what was it about the HOMERIC that made her built for "the New York market?"

Well, she was built with the intention of using her from New York year-round... That's really it I guess.

 

What features were designed into "New York" ships that made them different from what the usual ship -- or even the NORWEGIAN DAWN -- has today?

Truth be told, not all that much - arguably the Magradome (sliding glass dome over the pool) was partly because of this, and while it is commonplace today it was a bit of a novelty when HOMERIC was new (it was a Home Lines innovation that showed up on their first newbuild, OCEANIC in 1965, and when HOMERIC came out in 1986 the only non-Home-Lines ships that had such domes were ISLAND and SEA VENTURE, by then called ISLAND and PACIFIC PRINCESS, and the cruise ferry SCANDINAVIA, by then STARDANCER - every single one of these ships was originally built for year-round operations from New York)... But generally there's nothing in her design that you can point to and say, "that's there because she was designed for the New York market" - however to date she is the last passenger ship to have been designed and built for the express purpose of year-round operations from New York.

 

Her design is really quite fascinating, and I've always thought her a very attractive vessel. I really wish I'd had the chance to try her when she was an HAL ship (Costa does not appeal to me all that much).

 

Incidentally, my wallpaper/desktop background at the moment is a great photo of COSTA EUROPA (ex WESTERDAM ex HOMERIC) that I found at Shipspotting.com. (My wallpaper is always ship-related - occasionally photos, usually paintings of ships, all found on the web or e-mailed to me. Maybe not totally ethical from a copyright standpoint, but "Set as Background" is a choice on the menu when you right-click on the photo, so if someone accuses me of plagiarism, I'll blame Microsoft ;) .)

[Leela]

Hi Doug,

 

Mainly I was just wondering what you background is that you've amassed so much knowledge and are so great about sharing it. You write very well, and you have a wonderful "no question too big or small" attitude. I've been curious about if you were in the industry (either shipbuilding, working for a shipping or holding company, or directly for a line itself), or if you perhaps worked for the Coast Guard, or a Port authority. The way you talk about the cruise liners reminds me of how my dad (ex US Navy Captain) talks about Naval ships: lots of knowledge, lots of history, lots of detail, lots of love. Or maybe you're just a super self-educated fan? And maybe we should just preserve some mystery here? :)

 

I hope I'm not embarassing you, and I apologize if I am. In my own little corner of the Universe I'm a bit of a "Host Doug" about a minor topic, so I sort of know what it's like to want to research and communicate and share about something. And I also know that it's nice to be appreciated for one's labor of love, so I'm sending you some appreciation now.

[dougnewmanatsea]

Mainly I was just wondering what you background is that you've amassed so much knowledge and are so great about sharing it.

I have no formal background when it comes to ships - I'm just a self-educated fan as you say. This goes for a lot of the other ship enthusiasts I know as well, though there are a few that are involved in the industry in one way or another.

 

You write very well, and you have a wonderful "no question too big or small" attitude.

Thanks! It's always nice to know that the effort is appreciated, but really I do this just becuase I love talking about ships :) .

 

I hope I'm not embarassing you, and I apologize if I am.

Certainly not. Thanks for all of your kind comments, I really do appreciate them.

[mysterri]

I used to work in their NY office in World Trade Center tower 2 as their receptionist/reservationist. It was a great organization with great people.

 

Mysterri

[Francine]

Doug,

 

You mentioned that Homeric came out in 1986. I remember seeing my parents off on Homeric for their first, and sadly only, cruise in the summer of of 1973. It was to be a two week cruise. The ship left from Manhattan on a Saturday shortly after Oceanic set sail. On Sunday night we received a telegram via the phone that they would be returning to the same pier they left from, on Monday morning. The wording in the telegram was not the same that my father would have used, so we contacted the New York Times to find out why the ship was coming back. The Times already knew that the ship had a fire in the kitchen on the first night out. Most people had already gone to bed and they were prepared to abandon ship if necessary. Oceanic was called back to stand by. Homeric had gotten as far south as Maryland. The ship did return on Monday and it took me 15 years to gather the courage to go on my first cruise.

 

Do you have any idea what happened to this Homeric?

 

Fran

[Francine]

Doug,

 

I should have read further along these threads. I found the answer to my question was already posted.

 

This was a section of Cruise Critic Boards that I had never visited before. It is so interesting. Thanks for all the information.

 

Fran

[dougnewmanatsea]

OK... Just to tie up some loose ends here.

 

The HOMERIC built in 1986 at Meyer Werft was the second such ship for Home Lines. The first one was built in 1931 as Matson Line's MARIPOSA, and used on their service from San Francisco to Hawaii, Australia, and New Zealand. After service as a troopship in WWII, she was laid-up at Alameda, CA, in 1946. In 1953 she was sold to Home Lines and following extensive refitting she entered service as HOMERIC in 1955. She continued in service with Home Lines until the fire in 1973. Initially she was to be repaired but the damage was greater than initially thought and following a period in lay-up at Genoa, she was sold for scrapping at Kaoshiung, Taiwan in 1974.

 

Incidentally I note that HOMERIC (II) was referred to in one post above as HAL's first WESTERDAM. She was in fact the second (today's WESTERDAM being the third). WESTERDAM (I) was a passenger-cargo liner of 12,000 GT which in addition to cargo could carry 134 all-first-class passengers across the Atlantic. She is noted for being the vessel in which the first Volkswagen to be officially imported to the US was carried in 1949. She sailed for HAL until 1965 when she was broken up in Spain.

[arzz]

Ah....the Mariposa....."Nothing Can Go Wrong" by Kilpack -- great read

[rman738]

I just happened across this Web site tonight as I usually do "the boards" re: the cruises that I'm going to take. The first cruise that my wife and I took was on June 6, 1981 aboard the Homes Lines "Doric," from NYC to Bermuda. I still have the offical passenger list in my desk which my computer sits on. It lists the captain, Alberto Morossa as well as the entire executive staff. We went with 4 other couples and had a wonderful time. The highlight of the cruise (for me anyway) was the last night at sea. Every table began singing ethic songs like Danny Boy, etc. After several songs, I stood on my chair with a borrowed cigarette lighter and started singing "God Bless America." Everyone in the dining hall stood up and sang along, tears streaming from their faces. I have such wonderful memories of that ship. My wife and I are revisiting Bermuda almost 24 years to the day this year. We're booked on the Celebrity Horizon out of Norfolk, VA for 8 nights on June 4th. However, I doubt anything will ever replace that first cruise.

Rich M

[BrooklynGirl2]

rman738...

 

 

It seems our cruising histories are very similar. I also sailed on Doric in 1981 to Bermuda. I met my husband on this ship (he was my waiter ;) ). I have very fond memories of the Doric.

 

It was just this past June that we cruised again for the first time in 24 years. We also chose a Celebrity Cruise...the Zenith to Bermuda. Loved the ship, the crew and the cruise. We had a wonderful time. But there was just something different about Home Lines. I think it was the Italian spirit of the ship...or maybe I'm just prejudiced. :)

[JrMafia90]

My father worked on the Oceanic for 10 years. We have that brochure. But I don't think he will let me scan it. We also have mugs, pens, papers, and a bunch of different stuff from them.

[marco]

The Home Lines was the standard cruise lines could only hope to emulate! "Once upon a time", they were one of the few "cruise lines", with most all of the other ships doing cruises in between their trans-Atlantic sailings (Cunard, Italian Line, French Line, Swedish-America Line, Haapag Lloyd, etc). I remember no casinos, no buffet meals (except on buffet mangifique) beautiful dated menus, jacket and tie on men after 6PM STRICTLY ENFORCED. Lovely gifts for saling with them and even nicer gifts if you were a repeater. Plates placed in front of you and food served off of huge silver trays and platters. Everything was cash, no cruise cards and onboard accounts and you had to rent your deck chair! (didn't have to worry about chair hogs!!!) Year round NY sailings and the winter season offered sailngs of 10-17 days to varying ports rather than the same repeatative length/itinerary cruise. Italian staff, crew, cuisine that was superb. The gowns and jewelry that came out on "formal nights" would put the academy awards presentation to shame. It really was a cruise version of the golden age of trans-Atlantic ocean liners.