Your first cruise ship

[Copper10-8]

My first ship was the Jupiter (Epirotiki Lines) in late 70's. The ship sailed 2 one week cruises out of Barbados. First week south (Grenada, Curracao, Caracas and others) and the second week North (Martinique, Guadalupe, St Thomas. St Lucia and others) .

Ship sank after being hit by a tanker off Greek coast in 1998.

 

 

ss Moledet (1961-1988) Built in 1961 by Ateliers & Chantiers de Bretagne, Nantes, France as ss Moledet for the passenger fleet of Zim Israel Navigation Company, Ltd., aka Zim Israel Lines. Moledet means 'Homeland' in the Hebrew language. She was primarily used as Zim's third liner in the Med on four and a half-day roundtrips from Haifa, Israel to Marseilles, France via Limassol, Cyprus. On that route, she at times also called at Genoa and/or Naples, Italy.

In 1970 after having completed 225 voyages for Zim, she was purchased by Piraeus, Greece-based Potamianos Lines who renamed her Alexandros and had her rebuilt as a full-time cruise ship. She was then renamed Jupiter and operated on Mediterranean cruises by famed Greek Epirotiki Lines. In the European winter season, she crossed the Atlantic for Caribbean cruising. There were also periods of lay-up at Piraeus.

On 21 October 1988, while approximately one mile offshore the port of Piraeus on a eight-day cruise, Jupiter was struck by the Italian car carrier Adige from the Grimaldi Siosa Line. At the time, Jupiter had 415 students and 60 of their teachers from 30 different British schools onboard. As a result of the colission, Jupiter developed a list rendering her lifeboats inoperable. Most of her passengers and crew were rescued by local small craft who had come to their rescue. Jupiter wound up sinking in a very fast forty minutes after the collission. Unfortunately, two of Jupiter's passengers, a 14-year old female student, a teacher and two Greek crew members died as a result. There were a total of sixty four injured.

 

The car carrier Adigo which struck Jupiter in OCT 88

 

[Copper10-8]

My husband & I sailed on our first cruise 8/29/82. The ship was the Volendam to Bermuda, round trip from NYC. I'll always remember the cabin steward stopping by after we arrived at our cabin. He started a sales pitch for renting a tux, looked at my husband (who was rather tall etc.), and then STOPPED. If anyone knows what happened to the Volendam I'd appreciate knowing.

 

 

ss Argentina (1958-2003) Built in 1958 as ss Argentina by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation, Pascagoula, Mississippi and delivered to United States-based Moore McCormack Lines on 9 December 1958. She and her older sister ss Brasil, were built to replace two of Moore McCormack's ships built in 1928. She was designed as a luxury ocean liner and she would be the last U.S.-built passenger luxury ocean liner, having been built from parts of all the, then 48, states of the United States. Her launching on 12 March 1958 was viewed by 500 guests and 1,500 employees of the Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation. After Mrs. William T. Moore, the wife of the President of the company, christened the ship, she was towed to an outfitting basin.

 

After leaving Way No. 8 at Ingalls Shipyards and sailing on a combined sea trial and delivery trip, ss Argentina was delivered to Moore-McCormack Lines at Todd Shipyard in New York on 9 December, 1958. Three days later she sailed on her first trip to South America with Commodore Thomas N. Simmons in command.

 

Her voyages ranged from six to sixty three days and her cruises included the famed "Sea-Safari" to Africa and the Mediterranean via the Caribbean and South America, her regular month-long cruises to Buenos Aires, Argentina, the annual "Carnival" cruises to Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, the popular spring and summer visits to Scandinavian and European ports, and the shorter and more economical trips to the Caribbean islands.

 

From 21 September through 8 December 1963, she was refitted at the Bethlehem Steel yard, Fort McHenry (Baltimore), Md. A $6,000,000 expansion took place for both her and her sister where two new cruise decks, the Sun and the Navigation, were added. They comprised of 63 staterooms for 163 passengers. In addition, new public rooms were added and her other public areas were enlarged to handle additional cruisegoers.

 

In early 1969, Moore-McCormack sought permission to lay up the ss Argentina and the ss Brasil, but was turned down by the Federal ship agency. Both ships were losing $2.7 million despite annual subsidies. On 3 September 1963 however, both sisters were laid up in Baltimore, Maryland, "temporarily" for repairs with the length of the lay-up unknown. The company stated that the ships were unprofitable noting that the crew outnumbered the passengers by a three to two ratio.

 

 

In April 1972, she was purchased by the Holland America Line who had her taken to the Lloyd-Werft Yard, Bremerhaven, (then) West Germany for refurbishment. She emerged in March 1973 as ms Veendam III and proceeded to HAL's headquarters in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. On 17 June 1973, she departed on her first cruise in HAL colors to New York. The timing, however, was not good; the Middle Eastern situation resulted in a boycott by members of OPEC and economic uncertainty made the purchase of cruise tickets not a high priority for prospective customers. After having been in Holland America service for less than a year, Veendam was laid up again, this time at Hampton Roads, Va on 14 May 1974.

 

On 15 December 1974, she was chartered to Rio de Janeiro-based Agence Maritime International and renamed Brasil for winter cruising out of, you guessed it, Rio de Janeiro. When that charter expired in April 1975, she returned to lay up as Veendam.

 

In the summer of 1976, she was chartered by Monarch Cruise Lines and became the Monarch Star for Alaska cruising.

 

Holland America took notice that this charter operator was making handsome profits with the ship, so they bought Monarch Cruises, and quietly phased out that trade name. She, in turn, became Veendam again.

 

In May, 1984, she was sold to C.Y. Tung Group (Island Navigation Corporation) out of Hong Kong, renamed Bermuda Star and operated by the Bahama Cruise Line, later Bermuda Cruise Line.

[Copper10-8]

 

 

Commodore Cruises, owned by Effjohn, purchased Bahama Cruise/Bermuda Cruise Line 1989 and in September 1990 the ship was renamed Enchanted Isle for cruising out of New Orleans, La. While she had initial economic success, it soon became harder and harder for Commodore to find passengers for her. In 1993, she was sent to the Baltic, and before becoming the Hotel Commodore in St. Petersburg, Russia, she ran six cruises from Kiel, Germany to Norway.

 

In 1995, after having been used as an accomodation ship in Hamburg, West Germany, she was once again named Enchanted Isle, brought back to the United States and 'cleaned up' to resume cruising from New Orleans with port of calls at Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Montego Bay, Jamaica. On 27 December 2000, Commodore Cruises filed for bankrupcy protection and Enchanted Isle was laid up in Violet, Louisiana.

 

 

In July 2003, she was sold to the Global Marketing Company for scrap, renamed New Orleans, and on 25 October 2003, taken on her final journey to Alang, India, She arrived there on 4 December 2003 and was beached five days later. The breaking up process started shortly after and was completed by August 2004.

 

[Copper10-8]

Our first (and only) ship so far was just a few weeks ago, the Westerdam. We chose HAL at the recommendation of some close friends of ours, and we chose the Westerdam specifically because of the itinerary. I would sail HAL, especially the Westerdam, again anytime.

 

ms Westerdam (2004-present) Built in 2004 as ms Westerdam (III) by Fincantieri - Cantieri Navali Italiani S.p.A., Marghera (Venice), Italy for Holland America Line.She is the third vessel of HAL’s Vista class ships (her sisters are Zuiderdam, Oosterdam and Noordam) and the 1,848-passenger vessel is also the third ship in Holland America Line’s long history to bear the name Westerdam. The names of the four Vista-class ships translate to the four directions of the compass in the Dutch language; Zuid meaning south, Oost for east, Noord is north and the difficult one, West for west.

 

 

 

After running technical trials in the Adriatic and having been accepted by her new owners, the ship was christened on 25 April 2004 in Venice, Italy by her godmother, Dutch actress Renee Soutendijk. April 25 is a Venetian Holiday known as Festa del Boccolo, or "Saint Mark's Day"; the holiday celebrates the patron saint of Venice. Some of the dignitaries present for the event included Carnival chairman and CEO Mickey Arison, his wife Madeline, HAL president and CEO Stein Kruse and his wife Linda and Fincantieri shipyard executive chairman Corato Antonini. After a gala overnight celebration, Westerdam departed Venice on 26 April 2004 on her maiden voyage under the command of Holland America Line Captain Dirk van den Berg. The twelve-day cruise would take her to Dubrovnik, Croatia, the Greek ports of Santorini, Rhodes, Pythagorion, Athens (Piraeus), and Katakolon, Kusadasi,

Turkey and Valetta, Malta.

 

Before crossing the Atlantic to her winter home of Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Westerdam spent eighteen days in Piraeus as a hotel ship along with ms Rotterdam during the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens providing accommodation for 14 National Olympic Committees including Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and the Ukraine until 31 August 2004. Westerdam arrived in Ft. Lauderdale, Fl in November 2004 to commence seven-night; alternating Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises through April 2005. Since that time, she has operated in European, Caribbean and Alaskan waters as well as having transited the Panama Canal.

 

At 81,769 grt, Westerdam is almost 30% larger than HAL's "R" class and almost 35% larger than the "S" class of ships. There were originally five Vista’s planned for HAL but that fifth hull was first transferred to Cunard Line in 2003 and then a second time to P&O Cruises to become their ms Arcadia.

 

 

The first Westerdam sailed for Holland America Line from 1946 to 1965. She was a combination cargo-passenger ship with accommodations for 143 first-class passengers. While being constructed during World War II, Westerdam I was sunk three times: on 27 August 1942, she was bombed and sunk by Allied aircraft while in the shipyard in Rotterdam. The German occupiers raised the ship in September 1944, but she was quickly sunk again, this time by Dutch resistance fighters. After being raised a second time, the resistance again sank her on 17 January 1945. After the liberation of the Netherlands in May, 1945, Westerdam I was raised a third time and finally completed. She would go on to be a regular on the transatlantic run, making two eight-day crossings each month between Rotterdam and New York. She departed on her final Rotterdam-New York-Rotterdam crossing on 17 October 1964, returning on 21 November when she was laid up. In January 1965, she was sold for scrap to Spanish breakers, arriving in Alicante in February of that year.

 

The second Westerdam began service as Homeric for Home Lines in 1986. Holland America Line acquired the line and the ship in 1988 and in 1989, had her lengthened by 130 feet. After 643 cruises spanning over thirteen years with Holland America Line she received an internal transfer to sister company, Italian Line Costa Crociere, in 2002. Costa renamed her Costa Europa and she is still sailing for them.

 

 

As with all Vista-class ships, she is equipped with a diesel-electric power plant and an Azipod propulsion system. Eighty-five percent of her staterooms have ocean views and sixty-seven percent have verandahs. The theme of her art collection is Dutch heritage in the New World/ including references to Henry Hudson and Peter Stuyvesant. Paintings of historic Dutch ships, such as Henry Hudson’s Half Moon (seen on the current HAL logo),a huge Indian silver-overlaid wood palace doorway, a bone tobacco pipe carved in the shape of a woman’s head, a collection of 5,000-year-old pre-Columbian carved limestone figures from Ecuador, and various sculptures and statues are displayed throughout the ship. The same ‘Halve Maen’ or ‘Half Moon’ sail ship can also be found as the central piece of the Waterford crystal sculpture that slowly rotates in Westerdam’s central atrium. Contemporary pieces include Andy Warhol portraits of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, located adjacent the Front Office and of Marilyn Monroe near the Northern Light’s night club as well as a Lido pool-side sculpture of four Atlantic Spotted Dolphins created by Sedona, AZ artist Susanna Holt.

 

In November, 2003, Holland America Cruise Line announced a program of up-scaling their cruise ships, cruise line image and passenger cruise experience called the “Signature of Excellence program”. This enhancement program included stateroom amenities (luxury beds and bed linens upgrades, Euro-style mattresses and waffle-weave bathrobes to all cabin categories), new massage-type showerheads in all bathrooms, new flat-screen LCD televisions, DVD players and complimentary fresh fruit bowls in all cabins, an early embarkation program that allows guests to board as early as 11 a.m.; table-side waiter service in the ships' casual dining venue, the Lido Restaurant; exclusive "Medallion Shore Excursions"; an expanded "Speakers Program”; 24-hour telephone concierge service for suite guests; a Culinary Arts Center by Food & Wine magazine for gourmet cooking demonstrations and interactive classes; expanded Greenhouse Spa & Salon facilities, offering thermal suite treatments, a hydrotherapy and thalassotherapy pool and heated ceramic lounges and upgraded youth facilities culminated in “the Loft”, a teens (ages 13-17) only lounge and “the Oasis” a teens-only sun deck. Westerdam had these SOE part 1 enhancements installed at her Freeport, Bahamas dry dock in April 2005.

 

 

From 17-30 April 2007, Westerdam entered a second dry dock period in Palermo, Sicily, Italy for SOE part 2 where a new block of thirty-four prefabricated cabins was lowered into place and installed on her stern, changing her aft profile in the process. Her original internet center was moved to the starboard side of the Crow's Nest, becoming part of her new Explorations Cafe there. Other additions included a dedicated small-size movie theater called the "Screening Room", a Pinnacle Wine Bar in place of her original Windstar Café and the expansion of her onboard shops. Lastly, routine 'dry dock' maintenance was performed on the ship.

 

[url=http://boards.cruisecritic.com/"http://media.shipspotting.com/uploads/photos/rw/872205/Ship+Photo+Westerdam.JPG&quot][/url]

[Copper10-8]

As a junior in college I sailed on the Queen Mary in 1965. As an aside, there were 4 women, 2 sets of bunks, a sink and group showers down the hall thru the "iceberg" (we'd be dead if we hit one)doors. Yes, there were classes (with restricted, off-limits areas) and they didn't call it "steerage" but I will. It was a cruise I will always fondly remember.

 

See page 58/Posts 1178, 1179 and 1180

[DaddySteve]

This will certainly date me. It was a 14 night Med. cruise from Venice aboard the Chandris Lines TSS Fiesta in 1966! Wow, I was 24 yrs. THEN :)

 

Definitely hooked. I met a bunch of travel agents onboard, from New York state, and became a travel agent and tour manager.....and that lasted almost 40 years!

[Copper10-8]

My wife and I took our first cruise aboard the Carousel from Festival cruises in 1998.

 

 

mv Nordic Prince (1971-present) Built by in 1971 as mv Nordic Prince by Oy Wärtsilä Ab/Wärtsilä New Shipyards, Hietalahti/Helsingors/Helsinki, Finland for (then) Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. She was the second new and purpose-built cruise ship built for RCCL and had two sisters - Song of Norway and Sun Viking. After being delivered to her owners on 8 July 1971, she soon crossed the Atlantic and on 31 July 1971 began sailing seven- and fourteen-day cruises out of Miami, FL. During her career, RCCL also operated her in Alaska, on the Canadian and American west coast and on Panama Canal transits.

In June 1980, Song of Norway was lengthened at the Wärtsilä yard by 85 feet, to increase her total passenger capacity to 1,024 as well as increase her size to 23,000 gross tons (her original size had been 18,416 GT). At the yard, she was basically cut in half and a a new hull section was inserted (a smiliar operation had been performed on her sister Song of Norway). Unlike cargo ships, this had never been done with a cruise ship. She was back in service on 17 June 1980. When RCCL acquired new tonnage in the late 1980s, Nordic Prince was operated on some world wide cruises.

Nordic Prince became the first RCCL ship to be supplanted by larger tonnage and on 15 March 1995 she was sold to British-based Sun Cruises, part of the Airtours/MyTravel Group. Before the ship entered service for her new owners, the RCCL hallmark glass-enclosed Viking Crown Lounge around her funnel was removed.

Renamed mv Carousel, the ship began cruising for Sun Cruises on 6 May 1995. During her time with Sun Cruises she spent summers cruising in the Mediterranean but during the winter seasons she returned to the Caribbean. On 13 February 2000, Carousel was grounded near Cancun, Mexico, which led to cancellation of five cruises while she was being repaired. Toward the end of her service with Sun Cruises the ship received My Travel funnel colors. In the early 2000s Sun Cruises started pulling out of the cruise business.

On 19 July 2004, Carousel was sold to Cyprus-based Louis Cruise Lines, but chartered right back to Sun Cruises until May 2005. She would be Sun Cruises last ship in service.

On 13 June 2005, Louis Cruise Lines renamed the ship mv Aquamarine and, started operating her on 7-day cruises around the Mediterranean with Genoa, Italy as her home port.

On 3 April 2006, the ship was chartered for five years to Germany-based charter operator Transocean Tours who renamed her mv Arielle. However, this charter was terminated early on 28 October 2007 and the ship returned to the Louis fleet in early 2008 and reverted back to the name Aquamarine.

On 9 May 2008, Aquamarine was diverted to Milos on the Greek island of Paros in the Southern Aegean Sea, after a 1.5-meter gash was found on her hull at about 1.5 m above the water line. The ship's hull was damaged after it scraped against a pier during its departure from the port of Iraklio/Heraklion in Crete enroute to the resort island of Santorini with 1,200 passengers onboard. It was discovered that the gash was above the water line so the ship proceeded to Piraeus for repairs. When these were completed, she continued with her three and four-day Aegean cruises for Louis Cruise Line.

[Copper10-8]

This will certainly date me. It was a 14 night Med. cruise from Venice aboard the Chandris Lines TSS Fiesta in 1966! Wow, I was 24 yrs. THEN :)

 

Definitely hooked. I met a bunch of travel agents onboard, from New York state, and became a travel agent and tour manager.....and that lasted almost 40 years!

 

 

TSS Mona's Queen (1946-1981) Built in 1946 as TSS (Turbine Steam Ship) Mona's Queen by Cammel Laird & Company, Ltd, Birkenhead, England for the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company Ltd. She was one of six sister ships (King Orry 1945, Tynwald 1947, Snaefell 1948, Mona's Isle 1950 and Manxman 1955) built between 1945 and 1955 for car ferry service between Liverpool and Douglas on the Isle of Man.

 

 

Mona's Queen was launched in February 1946, achieving over 21 knots on her trials. Her maiden voyage was on 26 June 1946, when she sailed to Douglas from Liverpool. In March 1952 she was involved in a collision with the Battery Pier at Douglas harbor, although she was not severely damaged as a result. Over the next couple of years she was plagued by boiler trouble and underwent a major refit in early 1954, when she also had radar installed. She had another collision in August 1959, this time with Prince's Stage, resulting in her going early for her winter lay up.

 

On 11 September 1961, Mona's Queen undertook her final sailing for the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company on a route from Fleetwood. This was quite an event in that 1,193 passengers were on board and that local school children were allowed time off to watch her progress down the river. In all she was watched by over 5,000 people on her departure from Fleetwood. She was laid up for sale at Barrow a week or so later.

 

In October 1962, Mona's Queen was purchased by Dimitrios Chandris of the Greek Chandris Line. She was initially renamed Barrow Queen and departed Barrow on 14 November 1962 with a Greek crew. Upon arrival, she was renamed once gain, this time as Carissima, and entered dry dock at Ambelaki. She reappeared on 3 June 1963 as the car ferry TSS Carina, carrying 220 passengers and 60 cars (with access via side doors) for the Piraeus, Greece to Brindisi, Italy route. In March 1964, Carina was placed on a cruise route from Nice, France to Bastia (Corsica), Palermo (Sicily) Tunis, Tunesia, Palma de Majorca, Spain and Port Vendres. Her passengers had the option to bring their personal automobiles with them. At the end of her 1964 season, Carina re-entered the Ambelaki yard for refitting as a full-time cruise ship for 378 passengers. She emerged as TSS Fiesta and on 7 March 1965 started operating 14-day cruises from Venice, Italy to Dubrovnik, (then) Yugoslavia, Piraeus, Corfu and Rhodes, all Greece and Haifa, Israel.

 

 

Fiesta, and five other early Chandris ships were offered for sale in January 1972 while laid up at Eleusis Bay (Piraeus) but there were no suitors. Starting in 1975 and with the exception of a few seasonal activations, she was laid-up at Perama. In 1981, she was finally purchased for scrap by Greek breakers and subsequently broken up at Perama, Greece.

[COLLEYBERRY]

Hello Copper,

Sorry for using this great thread ,but I thought it the easiest way to get your attention.:o

Over in Flotaway on the thread "What are you having for dinner?"

A lady from the Netherlands has begun posting . I recall your heritage being Dutch and thought you might enjoy her photos. There are great pictures of her favorite dishes ,might bring back some memories for you:) She's posting some photos of the market where she likes to shop.this Friday.

We have a good friend, also born in the Netherlands, who will often tease."You know guys if you ain't Dutch you ain't much"

After seeing some of these dishes ....he might just have a point.:D

Anyway ,thought I'd give you a heads up.

Regards Colleen.

[Copper10-8]

Hello Copper,

 

Sorry for using this great thread ,but I thought it the easiest way to get your attention.:o

 

Over in Flotaway on the thread "What are you having for dinner?"

 

A lady from the Netherlands has begun posting . I recall your heritage being Dutch and thought you might enjoy her photos. There are great pictures of her favorite dishes ,might bring back some memories for you:) She's posting some photos of the market where she likes to shop.this Friday.

We have a good friend, also born in the Netherlands, who will often tease."You know guys if you ain't Dutch you ain't much"

After seeing some of these dishes ....he might just have a point.:D

Anyway ,thought I'd give you a heads up.

Regards Colleen.

 

Thanks for the heads up, Colleen; I will take a look in the lounge.:) I have that saying "If it ain't Dutch, it ain't much" on a license plate frame on my car

[ramidon1]

March, 1998, Costa Romantica out of South Florida to Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Jamaica. I thought the ship was absolutely gorgeous and sparkling clean. Service was awesome. White-glove escort to our cabin....I just remember shiny wood & brass...it seemed so elegant....I wonder how it would look to me now after seeing the bigger & newer ships? It definitely hooked us....wish I could cruise more often!

[Copper10-8]

March, 1998, Costa Romantica out of South Florida to Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Jamaica. I thought the ship was absolutely gorgeous and sparkling clean. Service was awesome. White-glove escort to our cabin....I just remember shiny wood & brass...it seemed so elegant....I wonder how it would look to me now after seeing the bigger & newer ships? It definitely hooked us....wish I could cruise more often!

 

ms Costa Romantica (1993-present) Built in 1993 as ms Costa Romantica by Fincantieri - Cantieri Navali Italiani S.p.A., Monfalcone, Italy for Genoa-based Costa Crociere aka Costa Cruise Line. She was the second of a two-ship class, her sister being the near identical Costa Classica (1991).

[/url]

In the mid to late 1980s, Costa Cruise Line announced a billion dollar expansion plan. This included major refurbishments to two of her older ships, Enrico C and Eugenio C, the conversion of two former Swedish containers ships into cruise ships, Costa Marina and Costa Allegra, and an order for two new ships.

 

On 28 July 1987, a contract was signed with Trieste-based Fincantieri for the construction of the first, a 50,000 ton vessel. Costa Romantica, the second ship, was launched on 28 November 1992. After succesful building/sea trials, she was christened on 22 September 1993 in Venice. Her maiden voyage was a cruise to the Canary Islands that departed Genoa on 7 October 1993. She would later cross the Atlantic on her way to Miami, Florida. Upon her arrival there on 21 November 1993, she began a series of seven-night Caribbean cruises establishing what would be a familiar pattern. From April to November she would cruise in the Mediterranean, mainly from Venice to the Greek Isles, and in winter season she sailed the Caribbean, but mainly with Europeans passengers. She has also operated in Alaskan waters and has transited the Panama Canal.

 

With the Costa Classica and Costa Romantica, Costa Cruises got the highly innovative and prestigious ships it wanted. The design of the two ships was a compromise between Italian design and North American market requirements, which accounts for half of the company's business. Somewhat contraversional, Romantica's and Classica's external appearances are reminiscent of a traditional ocean liner and include features such as circular cabin portholes which give the hull an original look, and a line of public area deck windows that separate the cabin decks from the upper decks, reminiscent of the sheltered promenades of the great liners.

 

Another original feature is the set of three yellow painted (incl. Costa's "C") elliptical funnels whose height and form make the two sisters immediately recognizable. Romantica's public rooms are decorated with rare woods, Carrara marble, and millions of dollars in original works of art. Her decks are named for well-known European cities: Monte Carlo, Madrid, Vienna, Verona, Paris, London, Copenhagen and Amsterdam. The ship's profile include a circular observation lounge, the "Diva Disco", with floor to ceiling windows. A central feature of the ship is the glass-roofed entrance atrium which covers five decks. Her 700 seat "L'Opera" show lounge takes on a terrestrial aspect and is based on an Italian opera house.

 

Called "Piazza Italia", the Grand Bar extends the full width of the ship and has three main attractions: a long and semi-circular bar, the stand for the piano with its dance floor, and the central staircase linking the area with the "Juliet" Patisserie, "Romeo" Pizzeria and shopping areas on the deck above. The "Excelsior" Casino and "Tango" Ball Room are located aft, forming a large and characteristic setting with a high glass wall, for social events, music and entertainment.

 

Deck 11 is devoted to Costa's concept of "Mens sano in corpore sano". Forward is the Caracalla Spa offering a wide range of beauty treatments at costs ranging from a $20 haircut to a $299 full body makeover. Costa Romantica has two outdoor swimming pools with the smaller of the two located mid-ships, dominated by a triangular fountain-sculpture in blue marble. The other can be found aft of the funnels in an ampitheater lined in teak. Costa Cruises is famous for their "Toga Party" - a Roman-style event where a dress sheet is the preferred clothing item. Another Costa trademark is the 'Notte Romantica' where every female passenger is presented with a red rose at dessert.

 

"Botticelli" is the name of Romantica's main 700-seat formal restaurant. Casual dining, breakfast and lunch can be had in the "Giardino" buffet-style restaurant. Romantica is one of the few ships to offer enough tables to cater to those who enjoy al fresco dining. Finally, there is the "Terrazza", an Italian bistro for freshly baked pizza, pasta and caesar salads and the ship's Viennese Cafe offering pastries and an espresso or cappuccino coffees.

 

 

 

 

 

[Copper10-8]

Sometime in the mid 80's I inherited a few hundred dollars so we decided to take a cruise.,,,4 nights to the Bahamas aboard one of the smaller NCL ships ,,I can't remember the name..something ward...sun, south, or sea.

We stayed in the least expensive cabin. I had never seen a room that small and we even slept in bunk beds. I have cruised through the years mixed with land vacations. I have now booked a cruise in November with my grandaughter on the Zuiderdam. A tradition continues.

 

Compared to an all inclusive that I stayed at in Cancun the food, drinks, and shows on all of my cruises have been wonderful. That vacation gave me a lesson in looking on the bright side of a situation.

 

Marcia

 

Tough one! Since we're talking mid-80ties here, it could not have been the first Sunward because she was operated by NCL between 1966 and 1976.

 

That leaves Southward (with NCL between 1971 and 1994) and Sunward II (between 1977-1991). Seaward started her NCL career in 1988 and is not really one of NCL's "small ships". Here are the first two:

 

 

 

ms Southward (1971-present) Built in 1971 by Cantiere Navali dell Tirreno e Riuniti, S.p.A, Riva Trigoso (Genoa), Italy as ms Southward for Norwegian Caribbean Line (NCL), a subsidiary of Klosters Rederi A/S of Oslo, Norway and, at the time, Arison Shipping withTed Arison, founder of Carnival Cruise Line, as the owner. She was designed for the North American cruise market and delivered to her owners in November 1971. Following a transatlantic crossing, she was christened on 30 November 1971 in Miami, Fl. This was the first time a new cruise ship was not christened at the shipyard were she was built, but instead in the port of her area of operations. The trademark of Norwegian Caribbean Line at the time were twin swept-back funnels and a orange sunburst painted on the sides of their ships.

 

 

Southward would be NCL's fourth cruise ship, the others being Sunward (1966), Starward (1968), and Skyward (1969). Initially, she was operated by NCL on Caribbean cruises out of Miami. In 1987, she was dispatched to the west coast of the United States to begin operating out of Los Angeles (San Pedro) on three and four-night cruises to Catalina Island, San Diego and Ensenada, BC, Mexico. As a result of this move Norwegian Caribbean Line changed its name to Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL).

 

 

In 1995, Southward was sold to Sun Cruises, the cruise division of UK-based all-inclusive travel company Airtours plc, who renamed her Seawing. Sun Cruises was founded a year earlier, in April 1994, to provide British holidaymakers with air and sea vacation packages at affordable rates. Seawing began operating for Sun Cruises in March 1995 cruising the Mediterranean in spring and summer and the Far East in the winter season. In February 2002, the new name of 'My Travel plc' was adopted by all the former Airtours brands, resulting in a change of house colors on its four cruise ships, Seawing (1995), Carousel (1995), Sundream (1996) and Sunbird (1999).

 

From May to October 2002, MyTravel's Seawing operated seven-night round trip cruises from Limassol, Cyprus into the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas. From October 2002 to April 2003, she ran fourteen, sixteen and thirty-night cruises to the Far East including ports of call in Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. While in the Far East, Seawing would also operate on seven-night round trips from Phuket, Thailand. Then in April 2003 Seawing returned to the Mediterranean and Aegean, picking up where she left off with seven-night cruises from Limassol.

 

 

When Airtours decided to pull out of the cruise vacation and ship ownership business in 2004, Seawing was purchased by the Greek arm of Cyprus-based Louis Cruise Line and renamed Perla. After a winter in the Far East, Louis operated her on cruises out of Piraeus to the Greek Islands and Turkey in 2005.

 

 

In May 2008, she was chartered to Greece-based Golden Sun Cruises and renamed Aegean Pearl, operating three and four-day Greek island cruises from Piraeus.

[Copper10-8]

Some add'l pics as Southward, Perla and Aegean Pearl:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Copper10-8]

Cunard Adventurer (1971-present) Built as ms Cunard Adventurer in 1971 by the Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij (RDM), Rotterdam, the Netherlands for the Cunard Line. Initially, she was intended to become part of a company by the name of Overseas National Airways, a charter airline carying both passengers and freight, founded in June 1950 and based at Idlewild Airport (now John F. Kennedy International) in New York. Along with what would evantually become the Cunard Adventurer, ONA had grand plans to operate seven other small, cruise-oriented vessels.

 

Because of the vast amount of money being put into this project with so many ships, Overseas National Airways soon ran into financial dificulties, which forced them to abort their plans. Cunard saw the opportunity and quickly took over the project, although only partionally.

 

 

The original eight cruise ships were soon reduced to only two, the Cunard Adventurer of 1971 and the Cunard Ambassador of 1972. Cunard Adventurer ran her technical trials in the North Sea beginning on 28 August 1971 and was delivered to Cunard on 19 October 1971. After christening at Southampton, England, she departed on 19 November 1971, bound for San Juan, Puerto Rico. She and her sister Cunard Ambassador were intended for seven-day cruises, from New York City to Bermuda, from San Juan to other Caribbean ports in the winter, and from Vancouver, BC to Alaska during the summer seasons.

 

 

Cunard Adventurer operated for Cunard for less than five years, In February 1977, she was purchased by Knut Kloster's company Klosters Redri A/S aka Norwegian Caribbean Line (NCL), Kloster had been looking for a ship to replace his first vessel, the 1966-built Sunward. After the purchase, she again crossed the Atlantic, this time in an easterly direction, and from 8 March until 24 April 1977, she was rebuilt at the Hapag Lloyd Werft, Bremerhaven, (then) West Germany. She emerged as the Sunward II, having received the, at the time, characteristic NCL twin-flared funnels.

 

 

NCL would operate her on three and four-night cruises from Miami, Fl to the Bahamas and back. In 1986, Royal Viking Line, an upscale cruise line with three ships (Royal Viking Sea, Royal Viking Star and Royal Viking Sky) was purchased by Kloster. Initially, he ran Royal Viking as a separate crusie line but eventually the three ships were absorbed into Norwegian Caribbean Line. Royal Viking Sky was transferred to NCL on 14 September 1991. She took over Sunward II's Bahama itinerary and her name, Sunward (III). Sunward II was subsequently sold to Greece-based Epirotiki Line in November 1991

 

 

Epirotiki, at the time, the largest cruise ship company in Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean, renamed her Triton. The line had been in financial trouble however, during the eighties and early nineties. In August 1995 Epirotiki agreed to merge its operations with Greece-based Sun Line, creating a new company named Royal Olympic Cruise Lines, changed into Royal Olympia Cruises in 2003 after continued protests to the first name by the International Olympic Committee.

 

 

Royal Olympia Cruise Line collapsed due to ongoing financial problems in early 2004. Triton was subsequently purchased by Cyprus-based Louis Cruises at public auction on 6 April 2005. They renamed her "Coral" and initially placed her under their Greek arm, Louis Hellenic Cruise Line, out of Piraeus. She is currently sailing as Coral for Louis on western Mediterranean cruises out of Barcelona, Spain.

 

[Copper10-8]

Some more pics of the former Cunard Adventurer:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jimsedge]

John,

How about the Amerikanis? I believe it was a Greek line. I was 16, so it must have been 1973-74, New York round trip to Bermuda.

[Copper10-8]

John,

How about the Amerikanis? I believe it was a Greek line. I was 16, so it must have been 1973-74, New York round trip to Bermuda.

 

ss Kenya Castle (1951-2001) Built in 1951 as passenger liner ss Kenya Castle by Harland & Wolff Ltd, Belfast, Northern Ireland for the UK-based Union Castle Mail Steamship Company, Ltd. aka Union Castle Line. She was the second of a three sister class, the others being lead ship ss Rhodesia Castle and ss Braemar Castle, and she was delivered to her new owners at Southampton on 18 February 1952. From there, she departed on her maiden voyage, a 14-day cruise to the Canary Islands before settling in on the line's London (Southampton) - Cape Town, South Africa via Suez service.

The Union-Castle Line, at the time, was a prominent shipping line that operated a fleet of passenger liners as well as freighters between Europe and Africa from 1900 to 1977. Union-Castle named most of their ships with the suffix "Castle". They were well known for their lavender-hulled liners with black and red funnels, running on a rigid timetable between Southampton and Cape Town. Every Thursday at 4:00 PM, a Union-Castle Royal Mail Ship would leave Southampton bound for Cape Town. At the same time, a Union-Castle Royal Mail Ship would leave Cape Town bound for Southampton.

In 1958, Kenya Castle had her funnel remodeled and in 1960 her accommodation altered to cater for 442 one-class passengers. The British National Export Council considered using her as an exhibition ship in 1966 but the plans did not proceed. On 22 April 1967 she was laid up in the River Blackwater.

In August 1967, she was purchased by the Greek-based Chandris Line who renamed her Amerikanis (“American Maiden”) and intended to use her for summer Atlantic Ocean liner service. They had her converted into a one-class, 920 passenger vessel at Piraeus. On 8 August 1968, she departed for New York City from Piraeus on her maiden voyage for her new owners with calls at Messina, Naples, Lisbon and Halifax. She became somewhat famous for being the first passenger ship to have a television in every cabin. After three additional line voyages, Chandris decided to base her out of New York City for cruises to the Caribbean during the following winter. This operating pattern was repeated in 1969.

In 1970 she was transferred to a cruising-only operation with a passenger complement of 617. She operated inexpensive 3, 4 and 7-day cruises out of U.S. East coast ports and the Bahamas to Bermuda and Caribbean ports. Between 1980 and 1984, she was leased to Italy-based Costa Crociere/Costa Cruises for cruises to the Bahamas. In 1989, back at Chandris (by then Chandris Celebrity Cruises), they replaced her on their New York - Bermuda service with the then newly-built Horizon and Amerikanis was subsequently transferred to and home based in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

In 1996 she was laid up at Eleusis Bay, Greece while decisions were made about her future. Although there were plans to use her as a floating hotel in London, nothing materialized and she was sold for scrap in either 2000. In early June 2001, a Russian skeleton crew took Amerikanis to Alang, India where she was subsequently broken up.

[DizzyDallasDi]

Shout out to Copper :)

 

I posted way way back but can't find my frst ship, the Sun Princess in Jan., 1983. I was traveling with my then-husband and son (he was always with me...I was 6 mos. pregnant with him :D) and it was this cruise that made me realize how much I enjoyed cruising on the ocean. My then-husband, ex-U.S. Navy Seal, took awhile to relax and not feel like he was going to be called to duty, but we both loved the cruse. Southern Caribbean route from San Juan visting Martinique, Curacao, St. Thomas, Caracas and Palm Island (Princess private island in the Grenadines). I fell in love then and there with the feeling of beiing on the open sea and waking up in a new place each day.

 

Diane

[Copper10-8]

Shout out to Copper

 

I posted way way back but can't find my frst ship, the Sun Princess in Jan., 1983. I was traveling with my then-husband and son (he was always with me...I was 6 mos. pregnant with him ) and it was this cruise that made me realize how much I enjoyed cruising on the ocean. My then-husband, ex-U.S. Navy Seal, took awhile to relax and not feel like he was going to be called to duty, but we both loved the cruse. Southern Caribbean route from San Juan visting Martinique, Curacao, St. Thomas, Caracas and Palm Island (Princess private island in the Grenadines). I fell in love then and there with the feeling of beiing on the open sea and waking up in a new place each day.

 

Diane

 

 

Spirit of London (1972-present) Built in 1972 as ms Spirit of London by Cantieri Navali del Tirreno e Riuniti S.p.A., Genoa, Italy for British-based P & O Lines (Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company). She had originally been ordered by Norwegian Caribbean Line (NCL) and was to be named Seaward (a sister to Southward), but P & O bought her unfinished hull on 30 March 1972 after NCL had pulled out of the deal due to problems with the Italian shipyard. On 11 November 1972, she departed Southampton, England on her maiden cruise to San Juan, Puerto Rico. January 1973 found her cruising on the U.S. West coast.

 

In 1974, P & O bought Princess Cruises and on 9 October 1974, Spirit of London was renamed Sun Princess, joining the Island Princess and Pacific Princess (from Love boat fame) in the Princess fleet. The ship appeared in the 1975 TV series Columbo episode "Troubled Waters", guest starring Robert Vaughn, as well as in the 1980 motion picture 'Herbie Goes Bananas".

 

 

1988 saw the sale of the Sun Princess by P & O to Premier Cruises, where she was initially named Majestic, but then in February 1989, becoming Starship Majestic, one of the "Big Red Boats". In May 1989, she underwent a refit at Lloyd-Werft in Bremerhaven, Germany.

 

 

In 1994, she was chartered to British based shipping company CTC (Charter Travel Club) and on 5 March 1995, she was renamed Southern Cross, leaving Tilbury, England three days later for worldwide cruising.

 

In October 1997, she was purchased by Greece-based Festival Cruises who began operating her as the Flamenco. The year 2003 saw her on charter to a Spanish travel company. After Festival Cruises financial collapse in January 2004, she was laid up at Gibraltar for a month.

 

In February 2004, she was acquired at public action by Fulton Shipping Inc. / Elysian Cruises (both Ravenscroft Ship Management subsidiaries) who first chartered her to Spanish-based Travelplan/Globalia as Elysian Flamenco. That name was changed to her New Flamenco later in 2004.

 

 

In February 2007, she was chartered by the Abu Dhabi Tourism Development and used as a floating accomodation ship.

 

On 6 November 2007, she was aquired from Fulton Shipping Inc. by Dutch company Club Cruise and used as a hotel ship in Noumea (French Caledonia). However, one year later in November 2008, Club Cruise ceased operations due to their inability to repay loans. The ship, now named Flamenco I, remained under arrest in Singapore awaiting another public auction.

 

On 13 March 2009 she was sold to Singapore-based Star Shipping for $U.S. 3.4 million. It is unknown what the future holds for the former Spirit of London but there is some information out she might be turned into a gambling ship.

[DizzyDallasDi]

Thank you, Copper, for the trip down memory lane on my first ship, the Sun Princess. It appears that Princess still has a ship sailing under the name "Sun." But it's not the original I sailed on in 1983? Do you know the answer?

 

Diane

[Copper10-8]

Thank you, Copper, for the trip down memory lane on my first ship, the Sun Princess. It appears that Princess still has a ship sailing under the name "Sun." But it's not the original I sailed on in 1983? Do you know the answer?

 

Diane

 

[/url]

 

That is correct; the current Sun Princess was built in 1995 by Fincantieri for Princess Cruises and is the lead ship of the Sun Class (her sisters are the Dawn Princess, Sea Princess and the former Ocean Princess) She is currently based out of Sydney, Australia during the winter months and out of Melbourne for the summer months.

[DizzyDallasDi]

This is clearly a work of love for you and I thank you for from the bottom of my heart. And, that's coming from a Texas woman so you know how big our hearts are. :D

 

Diane

[Copper10-8]

This is clearly a work of love for you and I thank you for from the bottom of my heart. And, that's coming from a Texas woman so you know how big our hearts are. :D

 

Diane

 

[Ontario Cruiser]

My first ship was Empress of France 1958 Montreal to Liverpool with my father.

Other ships

Empress of England

Oceanus

Jupiter

Pegagus

Triton

Bolero

Azur

Zenith

Mercury

Summit

Infinity

Tahitian Princess

Veendam

Noordam

Upcoming Volendam,Star Princess

Ontario Cruiser