Your first cruise ship

[redhot1]

Thank you copper 10-8, always wondered what happened to Song of Norway. It was a fun ship and at the time and still does impress usI still remember our dinner guest, an oil engineer from Aramco in Iran and an authoress whos book I still have that was made into a movie The Sicilian. Still fond memories today of that frist cruise even tho I had spent time in the Navy and today we have been on around 35-40 cruises and stii have a great time on them. Just a side note, have seen your post and they are usually always informative and on point.Thank you for taking the time to keep all of us abreast of whats going on.:)

[Northshorecruisers]

Our first cruise was on the HAL Oosterdam, Mexican Riviera - the date is in our signature.

 

My mother had passed the previous March, and I was so happy to see that my stepdad was resuming his life and joining various groups at church and in the community. He had booked this cruise with his church group. When he visited us, he told us how excited he was to be taking his first cruise. I had always wanted to cruise but my husband was so against it. You know why...sea sickness, being confined, visiting dangerous ports and leaving the good ol USA, the ship will sink, nothing to do on board. He had all the excuses.

 

I'm so glad my husband loves my stepdad so much...I had said I thought we should book the same cruise to go with him - and my husband said to check into it. By the time he got home from work that night - I had the cruise booked, I had my stepdad's cabin moved so he was across the hall from us, and I had the airfare & pre-cruise hotel booked.

 

My husband thought it was the best vacation ever!! Wish we could do it more often than we do, but maybe only doing it to celebrate special occasions is what keeps it so special. Maybe we can cruise more in retirement. My stepdad also enjoyed it so much that he cruises at least once a year - it hooked him as well.

[Copper10-8]

.................. Nicely done.

 

Well thank you! Thank you very much!:)

[Copper10-8]

..

 

Our very first and last one was on the Ms Ryndam…..

 

We are immediately been affected and did never again stop to sail onboard of those marvelous Holland America Line vessels and there outstanding Crew…..!!;)

 

That’s why we do cruise next year even two times.

 

Happy cruising

 

G E R D

 

 

 

Ryndam is about to head west from Barcelona to Tampa, FL

[Copper10-8]

My first cruise was in 1982 on the Volendam to Bermuda. The last one was a TA on the Emerald Princess 9/2012. :)

 

Built as ss (steam ship) Brasil for U.S.-based Moore-McCormack by Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. for their New York to South America (east coast) route. In August 1972, Holland America purchased her and renamed her Volendam. They also purchased her sister, Argentina, and renamed her Veendam. After being sold to Monarch Cruise Line as Monarch Sun. HAL would get her back one more time from 1978 until January 21, 1984 after they purchased Monarch Cruise Lines. At the conclusion of her HAL career, she then sailed under various names such as Liberte, Canada Star, Queen of Bermuda, Enchanted Seas and Universe Explorer. On November 9, 2004 she was sold for scrap, beached at Alang, India in December of that year and broken up

 

 

[Copper10-8]

I came to Canada with my parents in 1961 on the Ryndam. I have a few memories of that voyage but that may just be from looking at the photos my parents took. One of the activities they have a picture of is standing with their hands tied behind their backs while trying to bite into a piece of cake dangling from strings above their heads!

 

Originally designed as a freighter with the name Dinteldyk II, those plans were changed while the ship was being built at Wilton-Feijenoord yard in Rotterdam. She was delivered to HAL as passenger ship Ryndam II. She departed Rotterdam on July 16, 1951 for New York, the first HAL ship in the dark grey hull color and yellow cheat line. In 1960, she sailed Rotterdam to Montreal, Que in the summer months. Just like her sistership Maasdam IV, she would get stabilizers later on.

After a rebuilt, Ryndam was transferred to HAL's German subsidiary Europa Kanada Linie for which she operated until September 1967. She then went to Netherlands-based Trans Ocean and sailed for a short time under the name Waterman.On October 10, 1968 she regained her original name of Ryndam and returned on the Rotterdam-New York run. In 1971, her Holland America Lie career came to an end and she was rebuilt gaining the name Atlas and sailing for Greek-owned Epirotiki Line.

From 1988, she operated for Pride Cruise Lines sailing day cruises as a floating casino under the names Pride of Mississippi and Pride of Galveston and since 1993 as Copa Casino at Gulfport, Miss. After being sold for scrap, she left Mobile, Ala under tow to Alang, India on March 3, 2003 where, upon arrival and after beaching, she was broken up

 

[Salacia]

Well thank you! Thank you very much!:)

 

You're welcome. You copied text and photos from one of my favorite websites. I'm sure it means a lot to those who put so much work into that site. :)

[nutensteve]

Launched as the Duchess of Bedford in 1928 for Canadian Pacific Steamships, one of the several "sturdy Canadian Pacific liners which were known as "Drunken Duchesses" for their lively performance in heavy seas She was renamed Empress of France after World War II, taken out of service in 1960 and broken up at Newport, Wales in late December of the same year.

 

 

 

Copper,

Thanks so much for the picture it brought back many memories. She certainly earned her nickname " Drunken Duchess"

[RedmondCruiser]

I'm glad to see that the best thread on this board has been resurrected. Hope it goes to 500,000 views. Only one thing that I have noticed is that not all the prior pictures come up. I think its due to new Java settings.

John, As I've said before, it would make a great book.

Ron

[nutensteve]

Launched as the Duchess of Bedford in 1928 for Canadian Pacific Steamships, one of the several "sturdy Canadian Pacific liners which were known as "Drunken Duchesses" for their lively performance in heavy seas She was renamed Empress of France after World War II, taken out of service in 1960 and broken up at Newport, Wales in late December of the same year.

 

 

 

Copper,

Thanks so much for the picture it brought back many memories. She certainly earned her nickname " Drunken Duchess"

[Copper10-8]

I got hooked on cruising in 1971 on the Uganda. Mediterranean cruise.

 

ss Uganda was built in 1952 at Barclay Curle & Co. at Glasgow, Scotland for the British-India Steam Navigation Company. She transported passengers and cargo on the London to East Africa route until 1967. She then became an euducational cruise ship between 1968 and 1974 sailing Scandinavia and the Mediterranean.

During the 1982 Falklands War between the UK and Argentina, she was called up for military service and became a hospital ship complete with temporary helicopter landing deck. In 1986, while laid up at Falmouth, Cornwall in the UK, she was sold for scrap to Taiwanese interests, renamed ss Triton, and moved to Kaohsiung, Taiwan where she was eventually broken up in 1992.

[RedmondCruiser]

I think that what most people don't want to admit to is that ALL ships will eventually be sent to scrap. Right now the QE2 is being considered for Alang and the Rotterdam V cost more to restore than was anticipated and is now being considered being sold. The last time I saw the Queen Mary, and Long Beach, she was in terrible condition due to the lack of funds to keep her in top condition. Nothing lasts forever - unless its government subsidized.

Its a sad fact but all the ships that we have fond memories of will some day be razor blades, so enjoy them while we have them.

[Himself]

ms Tropicale (1981-present) Built in 1981 as Tropicale by Aalborg Værft A/S, Aalborg, Denmark for Carnival Cruise Line. She was delivered on 4 December 1981 as the first of Carnival’s “new builds”, as all Carnival ships before her were older ships, either purchased or chartered from other companies. Carnival commissioned naval (interior) architect Joe Farcus to handle the design and layout of the ship's passenger accomodation and the first true "Fun Ship" was born.

 

 

Tropicale became the prototype of all future Carnival ships and was also the first Carnival ship to feature their trademarks, a distinctive tall and winged “whale-tail” funnel painted red, white and blue, as well as a water slide into the midships pool. After a transatlantic crossing, Tropical was christened in Miami, Fl by Madeleine Arison, her godmother and wife of Carnival Corporation president and CEO Micky Arison. In January 1982, she departed Miami on her maiden voyage into the Caribbean. 17 September 1982 found her on the west coast in Los Angeles (San Pedro) from where she sailed a maiden cruise under charter to Westours, an Alaska-based tour operator. In 1983 she operated her first Alaska season on seven-day cruises from Vancouver, BC.

 

As the company expanded and acquired larger ships, Carnival decided that Tropicale would be their 'test ship' for new or revised cruise itineraries. As a result, in 1990 she was the first Carnival ship to be based in San Juan, Puerto Rico and in 1994, the first Carnival ship to sail from New Orleans, La. In September 1996, Carnival signed an agreement with the South Korea-based Hyundai Chaebol conglomerate in order to start to offer cruises in Asia. In February 1997, this initiative was christened Carnival Cruises Asia, and it was announced that Tropicale would be assigned to that joint venture. However, in August 1997, that enterprise was dissolved due to disagreements between the two parents over developments in the Asian market. Instead, a new market was opened from Tampa, Fl from where Tropicale began offering four-day cruises to Key West, Fl and Cozumel, Mexico and five-day cruises to Grand Cayman and Cozumel in April 1998.

 

On 27 September 2000, after the demise of Cape Canaveral Cruises, Carnival announced that Tropicale would begin operating two and three-day cruises from Cape Canaveral, Fl as well as a series of Panama Canal cruises from Port Everglades (Ft. Lauderdale) at the conclusion of her 2001 Tampa summer season. On 7 December 2000 however, Carnival Corporation announced the cancelation of the entire Cape Canaveral-based cruise program and the internal transfer of Tropicale to Italy-based Costa Crocieri/Costa Cruises in 2001 instead.

 

After her last cruise for Carnival on 10 February 2001, Tropicale crossed the Atlantic and entered the Mediterranean on her way to the Cantieri Temistocle Mariotti S.p.A. shipyard at Genoa, Italy for an extensive 30 million Euro refit (interior/exterior and technical) by Costa's own techical department. Over the course of the first half of 2001, Tropicale was customized there for a European client base including new fittings, furniture, carpets and toilets to all of her cabins. Her public rooms were renovated and a new alternative restaurant, the Bahia Club, and an internet/coffee lounge were added. On the technical side, her propulsion system (main motors, shaft lines, propellers, etc.) were overhauled and an additional aft thruster and new cylindrical stack installed.

 

 

On 23 June 2001, Costa Tropicale (her new name) was once again christened by Madeleine Arison. The complexity of the refit delayed her first commercial cruise by two weeks until 14 July 2001. Costa Tropicale sailed every Saturday from Venice to the Aegean Sea and the Greek isles, calling at Bari, Italy, Dubrovnik, Croatia, Kusadasi, Turkey and Katakolon, Santorini and Mykonos, Greece. In the winter of 2002, Costa Tropicale sailed from Brazil on cruises designed for the South American market and in the summer of 2003 she operated on year round 7-day Costa Riviera cruises from Savona, Italy. She served with the company until 2005, when replacement by larger, more modern cruise ships prompted yet another internal transfer to P&O Cruises Australia.

 

 

Before departing for down under, she was given another refit at Fincantieri's yard in Palermo, Sicily to the tune of $20 million in order to make her suitable for the Australian cruise market. Her new name would be Pacific Star and entered service as Queensland latest cruise liner in December 2005. Her home port was Brisbane and her itinerary included cruises along the tropical Queensland coast to various islands in the South Pacific, New Caledonia and to New Zealand.

 

 

In March 2008, the ship was acquired by Spain-based tour operator (and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd subsidiary) Pullmantur Cruises and after a refit in Singapore, began cruising for them in May 2008under her new name Ocean Dream. Her home port for Pullmantur was Barcelona, Spain from where she offered 7-day itineraries with port calls at La Goulette/Tunis, Tunesia, Valetta, Malta, Messina/Sicily, Civitavecchia, Italy and Villefranche-sur-Mer, France.

 

 

Due to the struggles in the Spanish cruise market as a result of the Euro-zone economic problems, Ocean Dream left the Pullmantur fleet in April 2012 after a charter to Brazil-based Viagens CVC. She was then chartered to the Japan-based Peace Boat organization. She departed Yokohama, Japan on May 8, 2012, sailed to nearly 20 different countries in 102 days before returning to Japan. The ship first sailed in Asia, then to North Africa, Europe, Scandinavia, Central America and South America, sailing through both the Suez and Panama Canals.

 

I remember being in Grand Caymen docked next to the Tripicale on my first or second Caribbean cruise and I remember being with her at Canada Place and Juneau in the late 1990's.

[Himself]

John this is an old thread from several years ago. I just started looking at it again and was more than a little impressed by your knowledge of old ships. One of the posters suggested that these materials would be matter for a book. I would agree 100%. I would probably even buy the book.

[LUV2CRUZalso]

Thank You Soooo Much for all these wonderful pictures and history clips! you are doing a great service to us all!!!!!

Cheers.... Denny (& Karen) :D:D

[jd_1976]

My first cruise was on Suncruises Sundream in 1999. Got me absolutely hooked on cruises and I've tried several different lines since then. Never had a bad cruise :)

[Himself]

My first cruise was on Suncruises Sundream in 1999. Got me absolutely hooked on cruises and I've tried several different lines since then. Never had a bad cruise :)

 

" A bad day at Sea is better than a good day on land."

[Stpatsirish]

 

Thanks for this. I was too young to know what she looked like.

[Venado]

Holland America Line's NOORDAM in 1986. The ship is now sailing as the Thomson Celebration.

[Taxguy77]

I love the older ships, that look like ocean-going vessels!!!

Is that because I'm getting old?? Or because they rode through the waves better?:confused:

Or maybe just because they look like ships, not hotels on their sides!:eek:

[Taxguy77]

It's a shame the older ships look beautiful and the current (Profitable) ships look so :eek:.

[HatRez]

Carnival Spirit in 2005 to Hawaii. Liked the itinery but hated Carnival. Now we are loyal to HAL. :-)

[wandb]

What great pictures, great memories, great stories!! I'm impressed with some of your long cruise histories. Oh, why didn't I start cruising sooner??:(:confused:

 

Our first was on the beautiful Ryndam, cruisetour to Alaska in 2005. I think she will always be our favorite.

[lopakarob]

Thanks for the great history and pics of the Tropicale!

 

My first ship was the NCL Windward (before they cut her in half to make her bigger) on a 1996 Pacific Coastal. I sailed to Alaska on her again 4 years later, and hated what they'd done to her.

[jkelec]

my first cruise ship was ss canberra po group back in 1980 a school trip to norway demark and holland 2 years later this great ship was a hospital ship in the falklands conflict i was only 13 when i was on board but yep i was hooked and still am today