Your first cruise ship

[Copper10-8]

My very first one was a school trip, on some converted car ferry type ship which sailed from Brindisi in Italy, in 1983.

 

My first proper cruise was with Cunard Crown, on the Crown Jewel from Fort Lauderdale in about 1993. Anyone know what happened to that ship?

 

 

She's currently sailing for Spanish operator Quail Cruises as ms Gemini

[travelingduo2]

We decided to join cruise critic because we are getting ready to go on our 20th anniversary cruise. We were on the Chandris in June of 89 for our honeymoon--met a nice couple from Wisconsin also newly weds. So when looking up info on Chandris just wondering whatever happened to that cruise line we came across the discussion that Chandris became Celebrity and that the Britanis sank in 2000. Just had fun with the memories looking at the pictures posted. Anyone else cruise on this ship June 89? We have cruised a lot since then but never seemed to have as good of a Cruise Director--we don't remember his name but he was hilarious and entertaining in all settings. Our first cruise definitely set the stage for cruising for us. Although our honemoon cabin at the time was interior at the bottom of the ship and single bunks we still have fond memories --I know someone else posted you could lay on the bed and wash your hair at the same time--so true.

 

So we are sooo looking forward to our balcony cabin which is the only way to cruise in our opinion but we still have fond memories of that first ship.

[debsjc]

Thank you, she looked much prettier than that as the Crown Jewel!

 

[Copper10-8]

We decided to join cruise critic because we are getting ready to go on our 20th anniversary cruise. We were on the Chandris in June of 89 for our honeymoon--met a nice couple from Wisconsin also newly weds. So when looking up info on Chandris just wondering whatever happened to that cruise line we came across the discussion that Chandris became Celebrity and that the Britanis sank in 2000. Just had fun with the memories looking at the pictures posted. Anyone else cruise on this ship June 89? We have cruised a lot since then but never seemed to have as good of a Cruise Director--we don't remember his name but he was hilarious and entertaining in all settings. Our first cruise definitely set the stage for cruising for us. Although our honemoon cabin at the time was interior at the bottom of the ship and single bunks we still have fond memories --I know someone else posted you could lay on the bed and wash your hair at the same time--so true.

 

So we are sooo looking forward to our balcony cabin which is the only way to cruise in our opinion but we still have fond memories of that first ship.

 

 

Monterey (1932-2000) Built as ss Monterey by Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Quincy, Mass in 1932 for U.S.-based Matson Line destined for their Pacific Ocean liner service (Samoa, Fiji, New Zealand and Australia). She was one of four ships in the Lines' "White Fleet" which included ss Malolo, ss Mariposa and ss Lurline. She was the third of those four ships designed by William Francis Gibbs and was identical to Mariposa and very similar to her sister ship Lurline. Her positioning cruise from the East to the West coast on 12 May 1932, saw her take 83 passengers from New York City. Her subsequent maiden voyage took place on 3 June 1932 from San Francisco after which she made stops in Los Angeles, Honolulu, Auckland, Pago Pago, Suva, Syndney and Melbourne.

 

During World War II, Monterey served as a fast troop carrier, often operating alone so she wouldn't be slowed by formation navigation in a convoy. In 1941, before U.S. declaration of war, the United States Marine Corps chartered her to carry 150 Chinese, Korean and Japanese missionaries and stranded U.S. citizens from China to San Francisco. Back in the City by the Bay, she was quickly refitted to hold 3,500 troops. On 16 December 1941 she steamed to Hawaii with 3,349 fresh troops, returning with 800 casualties of the Japanese atack on Pearl Harbor.

 

On 22 August 1942, she was briefly acquired by the United States Navy and assigned the name/designation USS Alameda (AP-68). However, she was returned to the WAr Shipping Administration on 25 September 1942 so never served under that name. Her war-time service would see her travel to the South Pacific and Australia, via the Panama Canal and Key West to Scotland (Glasgow), England (Liverpool), North Africa (Casablanca and Oran), Italy (On the way to Naples off the coast of Algeria, she and her convoy were attacked by German bombers) and even one trip to Brasil.

After the war, on 26 September 1946 Monterey arrived at Bethlehem-Alameda Shipyard in Alameda, CA for refitting and return to passenger service with Matson. However, funding for the project ran out after only 30% of the work had been completed so for five years she sat idle in Alameda. She was then purchased by the U.S. Government in August 1952 and towed to the mothball fleet in nearby Suisun Bay.

 

Meanwhile, her former owners, Matson Line, were enjoying fair post-war success with Lurline and were looking to expand their passenger operation once more. Matson bought the old mothballed s Monterey back from the US Government on 3 February 1956 and, since they had named another vessel Monterry by then, had to come up with a new name for their first Monterey. They therefor rechristened her ss Matsonia, replacing their earlier Matsonia which had been sold to Home Lines. On 22 May 1957, Matsonia teamed up with her sister Lurline on the San Francisco-Los Angeles-Honolulu run providing a 'first class only' service between Hawaii and the American mainland.

 

Within five years however, profits from passenger service had fallen to the point where Matson decided to anchor Matsonia indefinitely in San Francisco Bay. Sister ship Lurline continued to operate but suffered a major turbine problem in February, 1963; one that would require costly repairs. Instead of repairing Lurline, Matson sold the popular ship to Greek-based Chandris Lines who rechristened her Ellinis. Stung from poor public opinion regarding that sale, Matson rechristened the former Matsonia (ex-Monterey) as the new Lurline on 6 December 1963 and returned her to service.

 

By 1970, passenger receipts were down so low that Matson chose to cease liner service altogether. On 25 June 1970, Lurline arrived in San Francisco also to be sold to Chandris Lines. Five days later she steamed under new ownership out of the Golden Gate on her way to Piraeus with the new name Britanis.

 

At Piraeus, she was greatly modified to hold 1,655 passengers, mainly by subdividing existing cabins and converting cargo holds to new cabin areas. She re-entered service on 21 February 1971, leaving Southampton, England bound for Sydney and back; a regular roundtrip she would make for three years. In 1974 she saw service as a cruise ship in the Caribbean during winter and in Europe during the summer. After another lay-up time in 1980, Britanis cruised between New York and Bermuda in May 1982 with a smaller capacity of 1,200 passengers. In the 1983-1984 winter season, she sailed from Miami to the Caribbean, switching back to New York in the summer of 1984.

 

She received a major overhaul in 1986 which included parts from her sister Ellinis (ex-Lurline), some of which had gone to Ellinis from Homeric (ex-Mariposa) when Homeric was scrapped in 1974. At this point, parts from three sister ships were now bound together in Britanis. This refit gave Britanis eight years of Caribbean cruising until 19 November 1994.

 

 

In 1994, Britanis was chartered by the U.S. Government for use as a floating barracks/accomodation ship for military personnel at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. She suffered minor damage from an electrical fire and was repaired, at U.S. Government expense, and then laid up at Tampa, Fl in late 1996.

 

During that time, her owners, Chandris, opted to sell Britanis as part of a plan to cease cruise line operation. The ship was maintained in anchorage until 24 January 1998 when she was sold to AG Belofin Investments of Liechtenstein and renamed Belofin-1. Her new owners intended to recoup their investment by selling the ship to scrappers, but a downturn in steel prices held them up for more than a year. On 3 July 2000, Belofin-1 was towed by the Ukrainian ocean-going tug Irbis out of Tampa Bay with the CN Marine ferry Bluenose lashed to her port side. The group was bound for the ship breakers at Alang, India. Belofin-1 began taking on water and listing during the voyage but nobody was on board to right the list. The tugboat crew cut her free and Belofin-1 capsized and sank due to progressive flooding some fifty miles off Cape Town, South Africa on 21 October 2000, ending an illustrious 68-year career.

 

 

 

[Copper10-8]

Carnival Triumph...April 29, 2006

 

 

ms Carnival Triumph (1999-present) Built as ms Carnival Triumph in 1999 by Fincantieri - Cantieri Navali Italiani S.p.A., Monfalcone, Italy, for Carnival Cruise Line (CCL). She was the second of the Destiny/Triumph class. That class was modified after the lead ship, Carnival Destiny, was built in 1996. Destiny was the world's largest cruise ship until 1998 and she was also the first passenger ship to be built over 100,000 gross tons. Carnival Triumph differs from Destiny in that she was launched with the addition of extra balcony cabins on her Lido deck and various changes to placement and shapes of her public areas. A third and final sister ship, Carnival Victory, similar to Triumph, was launched in 2000. Because of the additional of the extra cabins on Lido deck, Carnival Triumph and Carnival Victory are officialy part of the Triumph Class while Destiny is in a class by herself.

 

Carnival Triumph was delivered to her owners on 11 July 1999 and, after a transatlantic crossing, christened on 25 July 1999 in New York City by her godmother, Madeline Arison, wife of Carnival Corp chairman and chief executive officer, Micky Arison. She, the ship, not her godmother, departed the Big Apple on her maiden cruise to New England and Canada on 27 July 1999.

 

 

Carnival Destiny has a "Great Cities of the World" theme.Her amenities include the Paris Dining Room, the London Dining room, the Rome Lounge, Club Rio, featuring music, a workout center and the Spa Carnival. She sails on seven day itineraries through the Eastern and Western Caribbean from Miami, Florida during the winter season and on Canada/New England cruises from New York City in the fall. The ship has one of the first sea-going cellular systems which allow guests to use their own personal cellular phones to make calls directly from the ship at any time.

 

On August 19, 2008, Carnival Cruise Line announced that in November 2009, Carnival Triumph will begin operating four, five, and seven-day itineraries out of New Orleans, LA. The Triumph will start operating the new seven-day Eastern and Western Caribbean schedules to complement the line’s popular four and five-day cruises to Mexico.

 

[Sow There]

Our first "cruise" was in 1978 on board a BC Ferries ship that sailed from Port Hardy (the northernmost point on Vancouver Island) to Prince Rupert. The ship departed in the afternoon and arrived Prince Rupert the next morning. We had an inside cabin (more like a closet, but never mind).

 

The trip was wonderful. A great salmon dinner in the restaurant, a gorgeous sunset and a smootgh sailing.

 

Bottom line, that trip was all we needed to become cruise fans, but despite all the great experiences we've had on board all sorts of ships since then, that first cruise is still our favorite.

[fun_seeker]

Our first cruise was actually a cruisetour on the Veendam in 2005 to Alaska. We were hooked and have tried to go on one cruise a year since then, aging parents allowing.

[packman266]

My first cruise was in 1934 on the SS Wolverinw on the Great Lakes. This wasthe world's largest sidewheller and was converted into an aircraft carrier for the Greeat Lakes Naval Station during wwII. I was hooked and I still am I am sailing on the Norwegian Jewel transatlantic next month Lonfon the NYC.:)

[daxsgirl]

This is my 1st post!

 

My first cruise was in 1995 or 1996 when I was 10 or 11! It was on the Dolphin Cruise Line and we went to the Southern Carribean.

 

My first "grown-up" cruise is in November of this year. We are going on the Carnival Fascination for a 4 day Bahamas cruise, just to see how we like it!

[yankeefanjenn]

My first cruise was when I was 7 years old, over thanksgiving in 1990. Emerald by Admiral line. I still have the pen with the ship in it, when you move the pen up/down the little ship moves. Haha. I remember it was a small boat and we hit rough waters I was very excited because the boat was rocking a lot!! I was hooked on cruises and have been cruising ever year since!

 

Crown Princess in December!

[cindycat]

Our first cruise was in April 1971, on the Song of Norway, the first ship built for Royal Caribbean. After several sales and refits, she's now know as the Clipper Pacific.

 

Apparently it didn't get us hooked on cruising because it's now 38 years later, and we just completed our second cruise, Alaska on the Coral Princess.

 

My father was a travelling auditor and loved cruising because he could get away from that pack-and-unpack routine. He and his wife were on TV one time, when an episode of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. was filmed on their ship.

[bjb1957]

mine was in 1979, on the carnivale by of course carnival. I was 20 and went with 3 other girls. we had an outside porthole. We paid $425 each. We sailed from boston to bermuda and we left at midnight. How is that for my memory? :p

My first cruise was also on the Carnivale, it was in 1981. I went with a female friend and we were booked into an inside cabin with 2 other women who we did not know....and had 2 sets of bunk beds! Our TA neglected to inform us that we were booked into some kind of singles cruise! The cabin had a pole in the middle of it, like a support beam that you would find in your basement, and you probably had the same line-up that we encountered for the bathroom.We departed from Miami and I remember going to St. Thomas because I remember buying duty free liquor. I was 23 years old and the cruise cost me $999 with airfare from Canada. I guess Carnival had the market on cruises back then...especially for those of us in our 20's. Were you on a singles type cruise?

[bjb1957]

John you are amazing. Where do you find all your info? Three of the four Epirotiki ships that we were on sunk. We were also on the Pegasus which I understand was originally a ferry boat built in BC Canada. I don't know if I mentioned but we were on the Jupiter the last trip before the school children were on her. A tour company called Regent Holidays used to charter the whole ship from Epirotiki and chartered a plane leaving from Toronto. Most passengers were Canadians They chartered before going out of business the Azur, Oceanus, Jupiter, Pegasus.Triton Bolero and Melody All for caribbean cruises. We have been on the all.

Thanks again

Ontario Cruiser

I think that my second cruise was on Epirotiki, on the World Rennaisance. It was indeed offered by Regent Holidays and we took the package departing Toronto that included the airfare as well as an overnight prior to the cruise. Our hotel was up on a hillside with a very nice view of the ocean. In the morning I took a city tour while my husband lounged around at the hotel. When I got back he informed me that something was not right, that there was a lot of packing and unpacking of the luggage on the bus that was to take us to the pier. When we arrived at the pier there were 2 Epirotiki ships, the World Rennaisance and the Pegasus. We were instructed to indentify our luggage that was set out on the pier. If the luggage was on the left side of the ship we were to get on and turn left, if on the right side get on and turn right. Ours was on the left side, as we boarded we were served free drinks and snacks and asked to make ourselves comfortable. I said to my husband that something was up...why the free liquor? Anyhow, we were told that the ship that we were supposed to go on had sank and that we could either go on the World Rennaisance or we could go home! The Pegasus was at capacity and so we were told that we would be upgraded on the World. Then we were told that the World was not doing the same itinerary as we had booked! So we took the upgrade (a huge outside cabin) and went on our mystery tour. As this was a repositioning cruise we spent a lot of days at sea and still laugh at the 2 forms of entertainment that were offered to us in the evening....1 professional ballroom dancing couple and the crew that did skits for us every night for 14 days. Just thought that I'd share our Regent holiday with you!

[momofmeg]

What was your first cruise ship? What cruise line, the year and the itinerary? (if you remember;) ) Did it get you hooked?

Ours was Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's m/s Viking Serenade, a converted car ferry, back in NOV 1991, a 3-day L.A. - Catalina Island - Esenada, Mexico - L.A. cruise. Never forget our first impressions - we were hooked from that day on!

 

Viking Serenade (still sailing today as Island Escape)

 

Carnvial Tropicale October 98. A 4 day, Cozumel and Key West, and yes after 15 cruises over the last 11 years , I can truly say she got us hooked.

[NYCruzr]

Great story about the Monterrey. The interesting thing about it was that I started reading just out of curiosity and had no idea until the end that the ship eventually became the Britannis, a ship that I traveled on once when she was doing cruises to nowhere out of New York! I said "Hey wait a minute....I was on that ship"!

 

Thanks for sharing the history!

 

NYCruzr

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monterey (1932-2000) Built as ss Monterey by Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Quincy, Mass in 1932 for U.S.-based Matson Line destined for their Pacific Ocean liner service (Samoa, Fiji, New Zealand and Australia). She was one of four ships in the Lines' "White Fleet" which included ss Malolo, ss Mariposa and ss Lurline. She was the third of those four ships designed by William Francis Gibbs and was identical to Mariposa and very similar to her sister ship Lurline. Her positioning cruise from the East to the West coast on 12 May 1932, saw her take 83 passengers from New York City. Her subsequent maiden voyage took place on 3 June 1932 from San Francisco after which she made stops in Los Angeles, Honolulu, Auckland, Pago Pago, Suva, Syndney and Melbourne.

 

During World War II, Monterey served as a fast troop carrier, often operating alone so she wouldn't be slowed by formation navigation in a convoy. In 1941, before U.S. declaration of war, the United States Marine Corps chartered her to carry 150 Chinese, Korean and Japanese missionaries and stranded U.S. citizens from China to San Francisco. Back in the City by the Bay, she was quickly refitted to hold 3,500 troops. On 16 December 1941 she steamed to Hawaii with 3,349 fresh troops, returning with 800 casualties of the Japanese atack on Pearl Harbor.

 

On 22 August 1942, she was briefly acquired by the United States Navy and assigned the name/designation USS Alameda (AP-68). However, she was returned to the WAr Shipping Administration on 25 September 1942 so never served under that name. Her war-time service would see her travel to the South Pacific and Australia, via the Panama Canal and Key West to Scotland (Glasgow), England (Liverpool), North Africa (Casablanca and Oran), Italy (On the way to Naples off the coast of Algeria, she and her convoy were attacked by German bombers) and even one trip to Brasil.

 

After the war, on 26 September 1946 Monterey arrived at Bethlehem-Alameda Shipyard in Alameda, CA for refitting and return to passenger service with Matson. However, funding for the project ran out after only 30% of the work had been completed so for five years she sat idle in Alameda. She was then purchased by the U.S. Government in August 1952 and towed to the mothball fleet in nearby Suisun Bay.

 

Meanwhile, her former owners, Matson Line, were enjoying fair post-war success with Lurline and were looking to expand their passenger operation once more. Matson bought the old mothballed s Monterey back from the US Government on 3 February 1956 and, since they had named another vessel Monterry by then, had to come up with a new name for their first Monterey. They therefor rechristened her ss Matsonia, replacing their earlier Matsonia which had been sold to Home Lines. On 22 May 1957, Matsonia teamed up with her sister Lurline on the San Francisco-Los Angeles-Honolulu run providing a 'first class only' service between Hawaii and the American mainland.

 

Within five years however, profits from passenger service had fallen to the point where Matson decided to anchor Matsonia indefinitely in San Francisco Bay. Sister ship Lurline continued to operate but suffered a major turbine problem in February, 1963; one that would require costly repairs. Instead of repairing Lurline, Matson sold the popular ship to Greek-based Chandris Lines who rechristened her Ellinis. Stung from poor public opinion regarding that sale, Matson rechristened the former Matsonia (ex-Monterey) as the new Lurline on 6 December 1963 and returned her to service.

 

By 1970, passenger receipts were down so low that Matson chose to cease liner service altogether. On 25 June 1970, Lurline arrived in San Francisco also to be sold to Chandris Lines. Five days later she steamed under new ownership out of the Golden Gate on her way to Piraeus with the new name Britanis.

 

At Piraeus, she was greatly modified to hold 1,655 passengers, mainly by subdividing existing cabins and converting cargo holds to new cabin areas. She re-entered service on 21 February 1971, leaving Southampton, England bound for Sydney and back; a regular roundtrip she would make for three years. In 1974 she saw service as a cruise ship in the Caribbean during winter and in Europe during the summer. After another lay-up time in 1980, Britanis cruised between New York and Bermuda in May 1982 with a smaller capacity of 1,200 passengers. In the 1983-1984 winter season, she sailed from Miami to the Caribbean, switching back to New York in the summer of 1984.

 

She received a major overhaul in 1986 which included parts from her sister Ellinis (ex-Lurline), some of which had gone to Ellinis from Homeric (ex-Mariposa) when Homeric was scrapped in 1974. At this point, parts from three sister ships were now bound together in Britanis. This refit gave Britanis eight years of Caribbean cruising until 19 November 1994.

 

 

In 1994, Britanis was chartered by the U.S. Government for use as a floating barracks/accomodation ship for military personnel at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. She suffered minor damage from an electrical fire and was repaired, at U.S. Government expense, and then laid up at Tampa, Fl in late 1996.

 

During that time, her owners, Chandris, opted to sell Britanis as part of a plan to cease cruise line operation. The ship was maintained in anchorage until 24 January 1998 when she was sold to AG Belofin Investments of Liechtenstein and renamed Belofin-1. Her new owners intended to recoup their investment by selling the ship to scrappers, but a downturn in steel prices held them up for more than a year. On 3 July 2000, Belofin-1 was towed by the Ukrainian ocean-going tug Irbis out of Tampa Bay with the CN Marine ferry Bluenose lashed to her port side. The group was bound for the ship breakers at Alang, India. Belofin-1 began taking on water and listing during the voyage but nobody was on board to right the list. The tugboat crew cut her free and Belofin-1 capsized and sank due to progressive flooding some fifty miles off Cape Town, South Africa on 21 October 2000, ending an illustrious 68-year career.

 

 

 

[NYCruzr]

I'm not sure if my first trip qualifies as a "cruise" as it was a transatlantic trip to Italy aboard the Italian Line's Raffaello. That was my introduction to ships and have been hooked ever since. My first Caribbean cruise was in 1979 aboard the Guglielmo Marconi also of the Italian Line, though the company's days were numbered by then.

[SailorJM]

Our first cruise was on the Caribe, which was owned by the old Commodore Cruise Lines. It originally was christened the Olympic and it began its life as a transatlantic ship that sailed between Athens and NY in the 50s. Maybe into early 60s. She was the last of the rivet-hulled ships constructed. When we sailed her in 1991, it was during the first Gulf War, and we had heard that you could get cruises very cheap because so many ships had been pulled back, out of the Med and all crowded into the Caribbean, with everyone practically giving away trips. I figured out what we could pay, and based on the brochure, that was an F level cabin (A level was the best). I called the line directly and asked what I could get for an F level price. I was offered A level, and of course, took it! We sailed for a week in the Caribbean in what had been a first-class stateroom! This was an absolutely gorgeous ship, with lots of red velvet, dark rich woods, thick carpets, all the appointments of the ships of the 50s. And it was a great crew, fabulous food and a fun itinerary (Miami, Ocho Rios/Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Playa de Carmen). Playa del Carmen was a dump back in 1991...just getting set up for tourists; we walked off the ship and into town and turned around and walked right back. It was a scary place to walk at that time, day or night...but the beaches were gorgeous (seen from afar). Anyway, that trip hooked us on cruising. Our price for that week on that gorgeous ship?? $250/pp!! Last I heard, the Caribe was actually still sailing, under a new name---in Russia, owned by Russian company.

 

Thanks for the trip down memory lane!!

[SailorJM]

I just looked up the Caribe.....which finished life as the Regal Empress. Just this past March, she was taken out of service and sold for scrap. Sad ending to a regal ship.

[Copper10-8]

Our first cruise was on the Caribe, which was owned by the old Commodore Cruise Lines. It originally was christened the Olympic and it began its life as a transatlantic ship that sailed between Athens and NY in the 50s. Maybe into early 60s. She was the last of the rivet-hulled ships constructed. When we sailed her in 1991, it was during the first Gulf War, and we had heard that you could get cruises very cheap because so many ships had been pulled back, out of the Med and all crowded into the Caribbean, with everyone practically giving away trips. I figured out what we could pay, and based on the brochure, that was an F level cabin (A level was the best). I called the line directly and asked what I could get for an F level price. I was offered A level, and of course, took it! We sailed for a week in the Caribbean in what had been a first-class stateroom! This was an absolutely gorgeous ship, with lots of red velvet, dark rich woods, thick carpets, all the appointments of the ships of the 50s. And it was a great crew, fabulous food and a fun itinerary (Miami, Ocho Rios/Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Playa de Carmen). Playa del Carmen was a dump back in 1991...just getting set up for tourists; we walked off the ship and into town and turned around and walked right back. It was a scary place to walk at that time, day or night...but the beaches were gorgeous (seen from afar). Anyway, that trip hooked us on cruising. Our price for that week on that gorgeous ship?? $250/pp!! Last I heard, the Caribe was actually still sailing, under a new name---in Russia, owned by Russian company.

 

Thanks for the trip down memory lane!!

 

tss Olympia (1953-present) Built in 1953 as tss (Turbine Steam Ship) Olympia by Alexander Stephen & Sons on River Clyde, Glasgow, Scotland, she would be the first and only new-built for the General Steam Navigation Company of Greece, also known as the Greek Line. She was initially measured at 22,979 gross registered tons (GRT) and carried 138 First and 1,169 Tourist Class passengers. She had a number of interchangeable cabins for 146 passengers. The reason she was built as a predominantly tourist class ship was in response to a demand for cheaper travel during the post-war years. She was designed to operate regular transatlantic voyages, between Piraeus and New York.

 

Her maiden voyage on 10 October 1953, saw her departing Glasgow for Dublin and New York. Her first voyage on the intended route from Piraeus to the Big Apple did not take place until March 1955 due to legal complications.

In 1961, that route was extended to include Haifa, Israel. She also operated on some cruises from New York to Bermuda. In 1968, Olympia was re-registered at Andros, Greece and re-meassured at 17,434 GRT. By 1970, with trans-atlantic traffic in decline, she became a one-class cruise ship accommodating 1,030 passengers. However, in the end, this proved to be unprofitable and on 24 March 1974, her owners decided to pull her out of service and to lay her up at Piraeus. She would remain there for the next seven years. The Greek Line did not survive and suffered total financial collapse in 1975.

 

In 1981, Olympia was sold to Finnish-owned Rederi Ab Sally or Sally Shipping Company. It took another year or so when, on 22 February 1983, after assuming the new name 'Caribe', she was towed to Hamburg, Germany. Upon arrival there on 11 March 1983, she was refitted with diesel engines, replacing her original steam turbines. On 29 June 1983, sporting a new livery and a more “modern” look, she departed Hamburg as 'Caribe I' bound for Miami, Florida under management of Sally’s U.S.-based subsidiary, Commodore Cruise Line Ltd. In Miami, she joined the line's 1968-built Boheme in operating seven-night Caribbean cruises from Miami.

 

She soon became a much sought after cruise ship, much due to her elegant old world atmosphere. On 14 May 1988, she received another refit in dry-dock at Norfolk, Va, which included the removal of that not aesthetically pleasing funnel (exhaust pipes decorated in a framework design) that had been fitted in 1983. It was replaced by a more conventional type.

 

Due to strong competition of the larger upmarket cruise ships, Commodore Cruises, decided to sell their ships in 1993. Caribe I was sold to the newly formed Palmetto Florida-based Regal Cruise Line, who renamed her Regal Empress and began sailing her out of Port Manatee, Fl in the winter season and out of New York City during the summer.

 

 

In 1996, Regal Empress was given a new “bolder” livery, with a broad navy blue band on both sides of the ship. In addition her anchor well was pained dark blue and the size of her name on her bow was increased. In 1997, she sailed to Mobile, Alabama for another refit, which included the addition of balconies to six suites, some with their own Jacuzzis, and the fitting of enclosed Lanai’s to her forward suites overlooking her bow.

 

After the collapse of Regal Cruises, the company ceased all operations on April 18 2003, Regal Empress was seized by U.S. Marshals at Port Manatee in a dispute over a claim against the cruise company for $730,000 worth of repair work on the 50-year old vessel. She was subsequently auctioned off on 23 May 2003 and purchased by U.S.-based Imperial Majesty Cruises who had been operating two-night mini cruises from Ft. Lauderdale's Port Everglades to Nassau, the Bahamas, using the 1955-built ss OceanBreeze. It was felt that Regal Empress (she would retain her most current name with Imperial Majesty) would be cheaper to operate while carrying more passengers than the other classic ocean liner. OceanBreeze was promptly sold for scrap and broken up at Chittagong, Bangladesh in November of that same year.

 

 

Like her forerunner, Regal Empress became a success story, sailing mostly to capacity and proving to be one of the most profitable ships operating in the Caribbean. In September 2008, she was removed from service and used as an aid/accommodation ship in the recovery of the aftermath of Hurricane Ike which devastated Galveston, TX She would remain in that city for two months.

 

 

Her last voyage for Imperial Majesty Cruises took place on 6 March 2009. Three days later, on 9 March 2009, she was oficially retired by the cruise Line. She was laid up in Freeport, the Bahamas and subsequently sold for scrap to Indian breakers. On 28 March 2009, she departed Freeport with an Indian delivery crew for Alang, India. The pic below, taken on 30 April 2009, shows her off Gibraltar on that final voyage.

 

 

[SailorJM]

Wow, thanks....quite a story of a grand ship.

[cruisin'since'75]

I was the lucky one when at a "Travel Show" held at the Civic Center in hartford, CT, my girlfriends father, who owned Happy Time Travel in Hamden, told the agent standing behind the table at the "Home Lines" bboth that his daughter and I were "brand new agents" and that he wanted to send us on a cruise from NYC to "the islands" so we'd have some idea what the heck we were talking about when trying to sell a trip to potential clients. The Home Lines agent responded that if we could leave on the Saturday coming up (it was a Tuesday evening, about 7 pm), we could sail on Home Lines world-famous Oceanic for $35 per day, 7 days, to Nassau and Bermuda. My girlfriend patti was immediately thrilled. Me? I was a little less so.

 

I sure did love to travel; I'd been flying all over the world in the five years I'd gotten out of school, and somehow or another, sitting idly on a "boat" for days didn't seem nearly as appealing as flying off into the sunset to exotic locales.

 

My girlfriend's Dad did a great job of selling me on the cruise, he was sailing as well that same Saturday on the Rotterdam and he promised we'd meet in Nassau and do all kinds of exotic stuff, and I reluctantly agreed to go along with Patti on the Oceanic.

 

I easily got the time off from my job at a VA Hospital, my boss encouraging me to see as much as I could and experience as much as possible. I kinda hoped he would say I couldn't have the time off, so then there would be a real reason for my not being able to sail on Saturday. The more I thought about it, the more distressed I'd become. I was going to be so bored I'd have to JUMP overboard just for the change of pace, I was sure!

 

I packed four novels into my tote bag and figured if nothing else, I'd catch up on my reading and just force myself to relax for 7 nights and days. I was sure it was going to be a disaster when sailing day greeted me with dark clouds threatening rain. Sure enough, the 2 pm boarding arrived in a windy storm, lots of rain and hail, and I was pretty much drenched as we boarded the ship.

 

I was an image of lovliness, frizzy curls and watery make-up, (I can only imagine), growling at the staff and crew all lined up wearing white jackets with little green "stand-up" collars, white gloves and amazing, big, bright smiles. Where in the world was this damned cabin I'd been assigned to? Oceanic Deck? Bottom of the ship? One deck above crew deck? It better have a window, for heaven's sake!

 

Wasn't I a bit surprised and tantalized when the most gorgeous blue eyes looked down into my blazing-with-anger brown eyes and said "I help you with your bag, miss, please, let me...

 

And boy did I. From that moment on, I couldn't have dreamt of anything so lovely, so amazing, so wonderful. By Tuesday night I was crying and moaning that I'd have to get off this wonderful Oceanic ship on Saturday morning and how was I going to live my old, staid, boring life on land?

 

The food, the service, the cabins, the music, the dancing, the sun, the sea, the boys of Italy, it was all too marvelous and fabulous to even imagine that I was part of it all for those 7 days.

 

Was I hooked? What in the world do you think? I booked another cruise for 6 months later, and then another for six months after that, and then another and another and another. All on Home Lines. They only had 2 ships, so it was like going "home" each and every time I sailed again and again. Wonderful new friends, passengers and crew, wonderful new ports, wonderful memories, wonderful experiences... the most wonderful time of my life. A marvelous addiction.

[Copper10-8]

I was the lucky one when at a "Travel Show" held at the Civic Center in hartford' date=' CT, my girlfriends father, who owned Happy Time Travel in Hamden, told the agent standing behind the table at the "Home Lines" bboth that his daughter and I were "brand new agents" and that he wanted to send us on a cruise from NYC to "the islands" so we'd have some idea what the heck we were talking about when trying to sell a trip to potential clients. The Home Lines agent responded that if we could leave on the Saturday coming up (it was a Tuesday evening, about 7 pm), we could sail on Home Lines world-famous Oceanic for $35 per day, 7 days, to Nassau and Bermuda. My girlfriend patti was immediately thrilled. Me? I was a little less so.

 

I sure did love to travel; I'd been flying all over the world in the five years I'd gotten out of school, and somehow or another, sitting idly on a "boat" for days didn't seem nearly as appealing as flying off into the sunset to exotic locales.

 

My girlfriend's Dad did a great job of selling me on the cruise, he was sailing as well that same Saturday on the Rotterdam and he promised we'd meet in Nassau and do all kinds of exotic stuff, and I reluctantly agreed to go along with Patti on the Oceanic.

 

I easily got the time off from my job at a VA Hospital, my boss encouraging me to see as much as I could and experience as much as possible. I kinda hoped he would say I couldn't have the time off, so then there would be a real reason for my not being able to sail on Saturday. The more I thought about it, the more distressed I'd become. I was going to be so bored I'd have to JUMP overboard just for the change of pace, I was sure!

 

I packed four novels into my tote bag and figured if nothing else, I'd catch up on my reading and just force myself to relax for 7 nights and days. I was sure it was going to be a disaster when sailing day greeted me with dark clouds threatening rain. Sure enough, the 2 pm boarding arrived in a windy storm, lots of rain and hail, and I was pretty much drenched as we boarded the ship.

 

I was an image of lovliness, frizzy curls and watery make-up, (I can only imagine), growling at the staff and crew all lined up wearing white jackets with little green "stand-up" collars, white gloves and amazing, big, bright smiles. Where in the world was this damned cabin I'd been assigned to? Oceanic Deck? Bottom of the ship? One deck above crew deck? It better have a window, for heaven's sake!

 

Wasn't I a bit surprised and tantalized when the most gorgeous blue eyes looked down into my blazing-with-anger brown eyes and said "I help you with your bag, miss, please, let me...

 

And boy did I. From that moment on, I couldn't have dreamt of anything so lovely, so amazing, so wonderful. By Tuesday night I was crying and moaning that I'd have to get off this wonderful Oceanic ship on Saturday morning and how was I going to live my old, staid, boring life on land?

 

The food, the service, the cabins, the music, the dancing, the sun, the sea, the boys of Italy, it was all too marvelous and fabulous to even imagine that I was part of it all for those 7 days.

 

Was I hooked? What in the world do you think? I booked another cruise for 6 months later, and then another for six months after that, and then another and another and another. All on Home Lines. They only had 2 ships, so it was like going "home" each and every time I sailed again and again. Wonderful new friends, passengers and crew, wonderful new ports, wonderful memories, wonderful experiences... the most wonderful time of my life. A marvelous addiction.[/quote']

 

 

s/s Oceanic (1965-present) Built in 1965 by Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico in Monfalcone, Italy. She was the first newbuild to be purpose-built for Home Lines and was designed as a two-class liner. Planned in the twilight years of the age of the ocean liner, she had many features that are commonplace in cruise ships today, like an engines-aft design, balcony suites, and a midships swimming pool with a "Magradome", a retractable roof over the pool.

 

She was to operate in summer on the Homes Lines' Canadian route from Cuxhaven, Germany, Le Havre, France and Southampton, England to Montreal, Quebec, Canada. However, by the time of her delivery and due to the increasing popularity of the jet airliner, the company had dropped the their regular trans-Atlantic line voyages. So, she headed for New York instead, where she operated seven-day cruises to Nassau, the Bahamas throughout the summer, whilst in the winter she operated extended cruises throughout the Caribbean. When leaving from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada for New York City on her maiden voyage, an interesting incident occurred when she arrived in NYC. The stevedores happened to be on strike and thus would not accept the ropes required for docking. They were there on the wharves, but they just kept throwing them back in the river. However, her captain was able to dock Oceanic just the same.

 

 

 

After 21 years of service, Home Line decided to sell the Oceanic, and she was sold to Premier Cruises in 1985, renamed StarShip Oceanic and in 1986 was initially placed on three and four-day cruises from Port Canaveral, Fl to Nassau, the Bahamas. This cruise could be combined with a stay at Walt Disney World.

 

 

Later during her career with Premier Cruises she was often marketed as "The Big Red Boat", and in 2000 she was renamed Big Red Boat I, with no change to her itineraries. When Premier folded in the fall of 2000, the ship was detained by port authorities and then laid up. Premier Cruises was forced to put the ship up for sale.

 

The ship was purchased by the Spanish-owned Pullmantur Cruises in late 2000. Her hull was painted white and she reverted back to her original name, beginning service with Pullmantur in May 2001 on cruises around the Mediterranean with Barcelona as her starting port.

 

 

In March 2009, Pullmantur sold Oceanic to Japanese interests. She left the Pullmantur fleet in April 2009 and is currently on charter to the Japan-based Peace Boat organization for world wide cruising

 

 

Edited September 1, 2009 by Copper10-8

[cruisin'since'75]

Thanks Cooper 10-8 for all that historical info! I love the Oeanic, always will. ya know, there's something about your "first time", and I couldn't have asked for better than Home Lines!

 

I hear the Oceanic, as the Peace Boat, had some problems when it visited NYC in June this year; had to go to New Jersey for repair of a leak, etc., etc., and she basically got "pulled off the road", so to speak. I believe she was allowed to set sail for her home port (somewhere in Japan these days?), but I honestly don't know what happened to her from that point on. Poor, lovely, old, grand lady...

Edited September 2, 2009 by cruisin'since'75

[westerly]

first cruise was on the sea venture new york to bermuda 1972 .got hooked .

[Norwaylin]

My first cruise was on NCL's SS Norway. The ports were St. Thomas, Nassau and Little Stirrup Cay (NCL's private island). We were hooked. While at the pool, all you had to do was look up. If the waiter caught your eye, he was there to see if you wanted a drink. I didn't want to disappoint him, so I ordered what was to become my favorite drink ... Yellow Bird!!! I even know how to make them at home, though I haven't done so in quite a while.

Before we were even off the ship, my friend said, "Where are we going next year?" We went on the MS Starward the next year, then the Bermuda Star the following year. I have been on NCL's Seaward, and RCI's Monarch of the Seas as a solo, but had a great time with people I met on the ships. I went with family members on Carnival's Inspiration.