Your first cruise ship

[iancal]

Our first cruise was on the Crystal Symphony in 1998/99 I think. It was a custom 8 day European trip from Rome. The company I worked for chartered the ship for a sales achievement trip. It was wonderful and it spoiled us. We have had other cruises since them, all of them great, but nothing yet has even come close to our Crystal experience. A great way to start I guess.

[ladychar]

My first cruise was in 1999 on Royal Olympic. Round trip from Athens to the Greek Isles and Istanbul. A very memorable experience, but I can't remember the name of the ship!

[Copper10-8]

My first cruise was in 1999 on Royal Olympic. Round trip from Athens to the Greek Isles and Istanbul. A very memorable experience, but I can't remember the name of the ship!

 

Olympic Countess?

Orpheus?

Stella Maris?

Stella Oceanis?

Stella Solaris?

Triton?

World Renaissance?

[Copper10-8]

Got married in 1974, paid off student loans in 1978 and in 1979 booked a cruise from Southampton to Turkey and back, when every night was formal and there were 4 passengers under 50 years old. We hit a huge storm, which the commodore of the P&O line, who was our captain, said was the worst he had seen in the Med after 42 years sailing. Blew us 400 miles off course in one night, emptied all the bars of glasses and liquor, and the water from the pool all ended up in the lounge. DH was sick as a dog, I loved it. The stabilizers were not as good back then. The plate steel on the bow had 8 foot high dents from the waves. And... we are still cruizing!:D

 

 

s/s Canberra (1961-1997) Built by Harland & Wolff, Limited, Belfast, Northern Ireland and delivered to UK-based P&O Lines to operate the combined P&O-Orient Line service between the UK(Southampton) and Australia. After this route became unprofitable, a refit in 1974 saw the Canberra adapted to around-the-world cruising. After the Argentine invasion of the Falkland islands in 1982 Canberra was requisitioned as a troopship. Nicknamed the 'Great White Whale', she transported the Parachute Regiment and the Royal Marines to the islands. Whilst the QE 2 was held to be too vulnerable to enter the war zone, Canberra was sent to the heart of the conflict.

 

After a lengthy refit, Canberra returned to civilian service as a cruise ship. Her role in the Falklands War made her very popular with the British public, and ticket sales after her return were elevated for many years as a result. Age and high running costs eventually caught up with her though, as she had much higher fuel consumption than most modern cruise ships. She was withdrawn from service in September 1997 and sold to ship breakers for scrapping, leaving for Gadani Beach, Pakistan the next month. She did not give up without a fight however; her deep draft meant that she could not be beached as far as most ships, and due to her solid construction the scrapping process took nearly a year instead of the estimated three months.

[Copper10-8]

CROWN DYNASTY (CUNARD)

1994 LOS ANGELES TO VANCOVER. san fran,victoria,ketchikan, and vancover.

i remember it well, sorry no picture as no access to my many pictures. it was quite rough and it was a shock to me as never much liked the sea before! i sat the 1st 2 nights sitting in the reception!!!

a lot of people wanted to get off the ship after we left san fran, changing their cabins. when i got off in victoria i was still GOING UP AND DOWN!! in the castle. when we got to vancover i remember finding out one of my soccer teams DUNDEE UTD had won the SCOTTISH CUP!!!!

sincer then i have done over 40 cruises!! since then. of course the DYNASTY is now the BRAEMAR for fred olsen and has now been lenghened hopefully to be more stable.

dave

 

Crown Dynasty (1993-present) Built as Crown Dynasty by Union Naval de Levante, S.A., Valencia, Spain in 1993 for Effjohn International's Crown Cruise Line. Her completion was delayed by a fire while at the shipyard. Between 1993 and 1997, she was charted by Cunard Line, who while under their flag, named her Cunard Crown Dynasty for North American and Caribbean cruising .

 

In 1997, she was chartered to Majesty Cruise Line, who renamed her Crown Majesty. This only lasted until the end of that year when she was chartered once again, this time to Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), who renamed her Norwegian Dynasty. She was then chartered to Commodore Holdings Limited in 1999 and purchased-outright in January 2000 for $86.2 million. While under that last charter, Crown Dynasty had undergone a $5 million upgrading program and has started sailing under the Crown Cruise Line brand, a newly formed upscale brand of Commodore Holding Limited. CCLN marketed the ship to those seeking a somewhat more sophisticated and higher quality cruise experience at a moderate price. Her itinerary had her sailing every Saturday on 7-night cruises from Aruba to five "hidden harbor'' ports of call visiting at Barbados, St. Lucia, Grenada, Bonaire, and Curacao, before returning to Aruba the following Saturday.

On May 10, 2000, the Crown Dynasty will start its exclusive operations from Philadelphia and Baltimore to Bermuda for twenty-two 7-night cruises. In 2001, she was sold to UK-based Fred Olsen Cruises for whom she is currently operating under the name Braemar.

[Copper10-8]

The Westerdam, sailing to Alaska, on our honeymoon in August, 1991. Of course, nobody told us that 75% of the ship was chartered out to a religious organization and their pastor. Not a lively bunch, but memorable.

 

 

wrong Westerdam,sorry!

Edited November 15, 2008 by Copper10-8

[Druke I]

I do believe Benita was talking about the previous Westerdam, now Costa Europa.

 

We also sailed that ship, in Sep 1997, Montreal to New York City.

Edited November 15, 2008 by Druke I

[Copper10-8]

The Westerdam, sailing to Alaska, on our honeymoon in August, 1991. Of course, nobody told us that 75% of the ship was chartered out to a religious organization and their pastor. Not a lively bunch, but memorable.

 

[/url]

 

 

Homeric (1986-present) Built by Jos. L. Meyer GmbH shipyard, Papenburg, West Germany and delivered in 1986 as "Homeric" for Italian-based Home Lines for New York to Bermuda cruising in the Summer and Caribbean cruising in the Winter months. In 1988, Home Lines was purchased by Holland America Line and, after a drydock and refit in Norfolk, Va, Homeric was renamed Westerdam II. In 1989, she was sent back to her place of birth, Papenburg, Germany for lengthening, emerging in 1990 with a new overall length of 243 meters (originally 204 meters) and a new passenger capacity of 1,773 souls (originally 1,132). She was primarily assigned to Ft. Lauderdale, Fl cruising the Caribbean in the Winter and to Vancouver, BC for Alaska cruising in the Summer months.

In 2002, Westerdam received an internal transfer within the Carnival Group to Costa Crociere/Costa Cruise Lines. After a drydock in Genoa, Italy, she was christened Costa Europa and in April 2002 commenced cruising for the Italian company. She is still sailing for them as of this time.

 

 

 

Edited November 15, 2008 by Copper10-8

[Copper10-8]

I do believe Benita was talking about the previous Westerdam, now Costa Europa.

 

We also sailed that ship, in Sep 1997, Montreal to New York City.

 

Yep, realized that after I posted the pic and info of Westerdam III, hence the "wrong Westerdam, sorry". The correct Westerdam II is now on there - Thanks for keeping me on my toes!;)

[Copper10-8]

Mine was my honeymoon in October, 1973 on the Island Princess...............we took half of a 2 week Mexican Riviera cruise......got off in Acapulco and spent a week there at the Las Brisas. It was heaven...............!!

 

 

 

Island Venture (1972-present) Built in 1972 by Rheinstahl Nordseewerke, Emden, Germany as Island Venture for Norwegian-based Flagship Cruises, she operated cruises between New York City and Bermuda. In 1974 she was sold to P&O's Princess Cruises along with her sister ship, Sea Venture. She was renamed Island Princess (her sister, Pacific Princess). Both appeared in the 1970's television sitcom "The Love Boat", although Pacific Princess was the main 'star' of that show.

 

In 1999, she was sold to South Korean-based Hyundai Merchant Marine (Hyundai Asian Cruises), named Hyundai Pungak in her role to transport South Korean pilgrims to religious sites in North Korea for two years. In December 2001, She was purchased by Gerry Harrod and after a major refit that year, began sailing for UK-based Voyages of Discovery (Discovery World Cruises), as Discovery primarily out of Harwich, England.

After a brief stint as the Platinum for Feducia Shipping Co. S.A. in 2003 and another one as Andaman Victory in 2004, she is continuing to operate for Voyages of Discovery.

 

Voyages of Discovery describes itself as a "soft adventure" experience, a way for passengers to go to seldom visited destinations without the rigorous shore excursions and spartan accommodations of the "hard adventure" competitors. Exotic destinations include Greenland, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Norway's North Cape, Spitsbergen, the Amazon, Devil's Island, Easter Island and Robinson Crusoe Island, plus Antarctica and sub-Antarctic islands. It is the only non-Ecuadorian cruise ship with a port of call in the Galapagos Islands. She also cruises to Cuba but those trips are marketed only through its British brochures and Web site.

 

For the most part, she can be found in the Northern Hemisphere (Baltic, Scandinavia, Mediterranean, Aegean, North Africa) in the English Spring and Summer, and in the Southern Hemisphere (South America, Antarctica, and Indian Ocean) in the Autumn and Winter.

 

 

[clueless2]

Caribe I (Commodore Line) in August 1984. I was 24 years old. Left from Miami. Ports of call included St. Thomas, Puerto Plata and San Juan.

 

I believe I read when this ship is still in service under a different name.

[Copper10-8]

My first cruise was aboard the Noordam for the two week holiday cruise to the Southern Caribbean and Panama Canal in 1995. My girlfriend's grandmother was supposed to go, but got sick, couldn't go, and I was offered a free cruise.:D It was a fantastic itinerary which included the San Blas islands, a stop hardly any cruise line makes anymore. The girlfriend is gone, but not the need to cruise!;)

 

 

 

m/s Noordam III (1984-present) Built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique, St. Nazaire, France and delivered to Holland America Line in 1984, the third Noordam was the first for luxury cruise service. She made her maiden voyage from Le Havre, France to Tampa, Fl, via Horta, Azores and Bermuda on April 8, 1984. She was identical to her sister, Nieuw Amsterdam III, but with art and decor in a Dutch East Indies theme. She would become a very popular ship with passengers as she cruised, primarily in the Caribbean in the winter and in Alaska in the summer. She made her final cruise for HAL from Barcelona, Spain to Lisbon, Portugal in November, 2004. In 2005, the ship was acquired by Louis Cruise Lines (Cyprus) and was immediately placed on a long-term charter to Thomson Cruises (UK) who renamed her Thomson Celebration. She is currently operating for them on low-price cruises around Europe.

[Copper10-8]

Ours was in April 1989 on the Rotterdam. Despite the age difference, we were only 32 at the time, and the rest of the passengers seem to be 60+ we had a great time. Lots of funny memory's. Like when we found out we had been upgrade to an outside cabin only to realize that it had upper and lower berths. The upper berth was never used but every night the cabin steward prepared the cabin as if it would be used, until the last night when the ladder was not put out and two chocolates were on the pillow on the lower berth. Or when we dropped anchor and my wife practically had her life jacket on before she got our of bed as she thougth we had hit something and we were going down (it was like 5:00AM). Or when we were embarking and back then you were given a number and ours was like 700 and they came on and said those needing assistance would be boarded first. I looked around and said "well that should take care of just about everyone" I thought the fellow beside me was going to have a heart attack he was laughing so hard. We ran in to him several times during the cruise and everytime he just laughed. Some great memories thats for sure.

 

Brewster

 

 

 

s/s Rotterdam V (1959-present) Built in 1959 she would become the flagship of the Holland Amerika Lijn/Holland America Line and sail for them for 39 years . On 3 September 1959, she set out on her maiden voyage destined for New York. Until 1971, she made regular roundtrips from Rotterdam to New York. She subsequently made cruises on behalf of HAL until her successor, Rotterdam VI, came into service in 1997. She was then sold to Premier Cruises in 1998 and renamed Rembrandt.

 

When Premier went bankrupt in 2000 she was laid up in Freeport, Bahamas until 2004 when she became the property of s.s. Rotterdam BV (part of RDM holding) From 17 June to 12 July 2004 she was towed from the Bahamas to Gibraltar where she remained docked until 2005. On 1 July 2005 she became the property of Rederij De Rotterdam BV and from 25 November 2005 to 10 February 2006 she received dock maintenance in Cadiz, Spain. From 10 to 27 February 2006 she was towed from Cadiz to Gdansk, Poland and from 24 August to 2 September 2006 to Wilhelmshaven, Germany where she stayed for renovation until making her triumphant return (see below) to Rotterdam on 4 September 2008 where she will be permanently docked and serve as a floating hotel.

 

 

[brownie1005]

Rotterdam V

October 1980 NY-Bermuda

[Copper10-8]

Rotterdam V

October 1980 NY-Bermuda

 

See post #663;)

[brownie1005]

Awesome pics, John. Brings back fond memories!:)

 

Karen

[Copper10-8]

Awesome pics, John. Brings back fond memories!:)

 

Karen

 

Gives you a reason to plan a trip to Rotterdam to visit her;)

[brewster007]

Great Pictures John. Sure brings back some great memories. You know while there were newer ships at the time and it didn't look a bit like the "Love Boat" she was a beautiful ship. In one word I always describe the SS Rotterdam as Elegant.

 

Brewster

[amusea]

My first cruise was not actually a cruise but rather an ocean crossing on the QE2 during her premiere year - 1969 from Southampton to New York. I was assigned the Columbia Dining Room but fortunately I met a fabulous lady and her charming daughter who were dining in The Grill Room and they invited me to join them as their guest. The service and food were unequaled. I was spoiled forever.

Initially there was only one Grill Room called "The Grill Room" with space for 100 passengers, not Princess and Queen's Grill which were debuted later.

[fcorey]

 

Here ya go, Frank! Thanks for serving!

USS Miller FF-1091, Built by Avondale Shipyard, Westwego (New Orleans), La and commissioned in the United States Navy on June 30, 1973 as the 40th Knox-class frigate. Originally (DE-1091) a destroyer escort, she was named for Cook Third Class Doris "Dorie" Miller, who was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions at the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Her active service was performed with the Atlantic Fleet, including deployments to the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, the Persian Gulf and the Black Sea. In July 1975, she was reclassified as a frigate and designated FF-1091. Miller transferred to the Naval Reserve Force in January 1982, and thereafter was employed in the western Atlantic and Caribbean areas.

Decommissioned on October 15, 1991, and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on January 11, 1995, the Miller was handed over to the Turkish Navy on July 19, 1999 as a parts-hulk and subsequently sunk as a target in the Turkish Seawolf 2001 naval exercise in June, 2001.

 

 

 

LOL, John, you are the man. You have to share with me where you're finding these shots. Especially of the liners, I am building a shadowbox of SS United States and USL items, that and HAL collectibles are one of my many vices. thanks for the post of the old girl, brings back memories

[Copper10-8]

Mine was the Festivale out of San Juan in 1994 and I was hooked.

 

 

rms Transvaal Castle (1966-2004) Built in 1962 by John Brown & Company, Ltd at Clydebank, Scotland as ocean liner Transvaal Castle for Union-Castle Line (UK) for the Southampton-South Africa service. She was the second largest in the Union-Castle fleet and the only one-class express liner ever conceived for that historic run. International politics played an increasing role in the life of the service and after South Africa pulled out of the British Commonwealth, the government in Pretoria put greater stock in the enlargement of a South African merchant marine. In mid decade they "suggested" that Union Castle transfer two passenger ships to South African flag. Union Castle, whose sole business by then was the South Africa run, could not but comply and arranged to sell two ships to the South Africans. In 1966, the vessel was transferred to the South African Marine Corporation and renamed S. A. Vaal.

 

That done, she retained her Union Castle crews and continued in operation exactly as before though now wearing the white hulls of their new owners. By the mid 1970s the fleet was down to five passenger liners. The mail route was costing too much money to operate so Union Castle and Safmarine agreed to close it down. Only one of the six ships ever traded again...the S.A. Vaal.

 

In October 1977, she was sold to Carnival Cruise Line who converted the vessel into a cruise ship in Japan at the cost of $30 million, doubling the vessel's passenger capacity and installing discotheques, lounges and casinos. She was renamed Festivale and began cruising in October 1978 from Miami thereby becoming one of Carnival's 'First Generation' cruise ships. With Carnival creating substantially larger cruise liners, she was superseded by the new "Fun Ships" a few years later and was sent to work on 7-day cruises from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

 

The winter of 1996 saw her turned over to Dolphin Cruise Lines on a bareboat charter as Island Breeze. There was still a market for passengers who preferred "traditional" looking ships, and after a brief charter with a British travel firm Thomson, Dolphin Cruise Cruise Line purchased her outright in 1998. She operated from Montego Bay, Jamaica on 7-night cruises to the Panama canal in winter and from May, 2-night and 5-night cruises from New York.

 

During Premiers' reorganization in the mid 1990s, all but the Oceanic (Big Red Boat I) were sold off. Premier then became an amalgamation of Dolphin and Seawind Cruises and obtained the remainder of that fleet. She was renamed Island Breeze: Big Red Boat III, as she was their third liner, and like all of their ships, had her hull painted a bright red. Premier ceased operations on September 13th, 2000. The cruise line's banker, investment firm Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (DLJ), made the decision to pull the plug after a summer of highly visible mishaps on a fleet of aging ships that were becoming more expensive to maintain each passing day as fuel prices increased. Their ships were seized in various ports in the Caribbean, North America and Europe.

 

By now, old, out-of-date and in need of repairs, she could find no work and was sold to the shipbreakers in Alang, India in the summer of 2003. On June 4, 2003 she sailed as Big Boat from Freeport, Bahamas via Gibraltar, to Alang. She had the sad distinction of being the first Carnival Cruise liner to be scrapped there which occurred in 2003-2004.

 

 

[Copper10-8]

Our first cruise was on the Crystal Symphony in 1998/99 I think. It was a custom 8 day European trip from Rome. The company I worked for chartered the ship for a sales achievement trip. It was wonderful and it spoiled us. We have had other cruises since them, all of them great, but nothing yet has even come close to our Crystal experience. A great way to start I guess.

 

 

Crystal Symphony (1995-present) Built by Kværner Masa-Yards at Helsinki, Finland and delivered to Crystal Cruises as a luxury liner deployed on world-wide itineraries. The luxurious 50,000-ton, 940-guest vessel is one of the most spacious cruise ships at sea.

In November 2006, following a $23 million dry dock, Crystal Symphony emerged with a new nightclub and a complete redesign of its main entertainment deck. Her refurbishment, the ship's largest ever, transformed all staterooms and bathrooms, completely reconstructed a social lounge and casino, refashioned boutiques, shops and Bistro café, as well as dozens of behind the scenes improvements. This major construction project followed a multi-million dollar renovation in 2004 that debuted a brand-new Feng Shui-inspired spa, a new Vintage Room, an expanded Computer University@Sea, a redesign of specialty restaurants, and a complete refurbishment of the penthouse accommodations.

 

 

[Copper10-8]

Deleted

Edited November 26, 2008 by Copper10-8

[caltnl]

My first cruise 22 miles across the sea to Catalina Island. Aboard the SS Catalina. For a kid from Arizona it was a big ship.

A sad ending for her sitting in the silt in the Ensenada Harbor

 

 

First real cruise like Copper 10-8 LA, Ensenada, & Catalina on Royal

Caribbean 2005.

[Copper10-8]

My first cruise 22 miles across the sea to Catalina Island. Aboard the SS Catalina. For a kid from Arizona it was a big ship.

A sad ending for her sitting in the silt in the Ensenada Harbor

 

 

First real cruise like Copper 10-8 LA, Ensenada, & Catalina on Royal

Caribbean 2005.

 

 

 

s/s Catalina (1924-present) She was originally built in 1924 by the Wimington Transportation Company at a cost of $1 million by William Wrigley, Jr., the chewing gum and confectionary magnate who owned most of Santa Catalina Island. Between 1924 and 1975, she carried about 25 million passengers on the 26-mile passage between Los Angeles and the island's Avalon Harbor. According to the Steamship Historical Society of America, the Catalina has carried more passengers than any other vessel anywhere. In her heyday, she was known as the "Great White Steamer" and carried 2,000 passengers at a time on the two-and-a-half hour trip to Catalina. Among its famous passengers were Presidents Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover, actor Robert Mitchum and many of the great musicians of the Big Band era.

During World War II, she was used as a troop ship in San Francisco Bay, transporting more than 820,000 sailors and soldiers – more than any other military transport ship in the war effort. By the early 1970s, smaller, faster vessels made it difficult for the Catalina to compete for passenger traffic, and she was retired from passenger service in 1975. In 1977, she was purchased at auction for $70,000 by real estate developer Hymie Singer. He bought the ship as a Valentine's day gift for his wife and the steamship was moved for several years between Newport Beach, San Diego, Santa Monica Bay and Long Beach. As the ship bounced from one port to another, one writer noted: "Twice she broke free of her moorings in Long Beach and once nearly hit a tanker; it was as if the ship was rebelling against her fate, having gone from being a source of pride to an embarrassment to a naval hazard."

 

In 1985, Singer moved the ship to Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, where she became the focus of a series of unsuccessful business ventures, including a floating discotheque and the Catalina Bar and Grill. In late 1997, the Catalina escaped its moorings and became stuck on a sandbar in Ensenada Harbor. Since that time, ahw has remained half-submerged, occupied by sea lions and stuck in the mud in the harbor. After years of neglect, she has become badly decayed and rusted and has been stripped by looters and vandals.

 

The Catalina has been recognized as a Historic-Cultural Monument by the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission, and is a California State Historic Landmark. She was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. Preservationists have sought since the late 1990s to raise funds to return her to Los Angeles for restoration. Others have opposed raising the ship, saying, "It's like digging up grandma and putting her at the head of the table." It is feared that tiem is running out for the old lady as the City of Ensenada has plans to demolish her to make way for a large container facility sometime in the very near future.