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E NEWS SUPPLEMENT...by Bill Miller
| June 6, 2011 |
Greetings!
This week's Enews was delayed shortly due to the holiday weekend. I hope all of our members had a happy, healthy and safe Memorial Day Weekend! I also took you took a moment to reflect on all the great men and women who have served this country throughout history. All too often in the country we get caught up in the spirit of celebrating our holidays without reflecting on the true meaning of the day. The freedoms we enjoy in this country, even our freedom to express a negative opinion about our government, wars or foreign conflicts are freedoms granted to us because of the tremendous sacrifices that have been made by the men and woman who have served our country. For that I am, and we should be, eternally grateful! Sincerely! Tom Cassidy |
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Sad news!
A 66-yr old passenger, sailing aboard the Celebrity Solstice, was attacked by thieves during a May 18th visit to Naples. Tragically, the passenger later died. |

Cast changes!
Amidst the recent retirement of Commodore Bernard Warner & also the retirement of other ships' masters such as Captain Paul Wright, several well known, familiar entertainment directors have also departed from this famed Company's ships. One of the latest to seek fortunes elsewhere is Alastair Greener. Now, through the maritime grapevine, we also hear that longtime favorite Ray Rouse may soon to be retiring from the deep blue seas. Stay tuned! |
Transatlantic Tradition! 
It is a celebration of the great history of the grand Holland America Line --- two Atlantic crossings this July aboard the 59,600-ton flagship Rotterdam. The westbound voyage, from Rotterdam to New York, stops at Southampton; the return eastward passage stops at Cobh before Rotterdam. Along with superb marine artist Stephen Card & others, I will be along to give talks on the great Atlantic ocean liners, but about Holland America's rich history & fleet as well. |
Drop in bookings!
Current & often dramatic events in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya & Syria have affected bookings for Mediterranean cruising. There has been a noted drop, according to MSC. Expectedly, perspective passengers worry about security and proximity to troublesome, often violent areas. Cruise calls in Egypt have been resumed, however. ... The MSC Opera has had a difficult time of late. She had a massive electrical failure on May 14th while cruising in the Baltic. Her cruise had to be aborted & extensive repairs followed. But then, more recently, she was not given permission to sail from Southampton after local authorities found defects in the ship's condition. |
Change in plans! 
This winter's scheduled winter Eastern Mediterranean program for the Norwegian Jade has been scrubbed. Bookings have been low, considering recent troubles in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya & Syria. Instead, the 4,100-bed ship has been reassigned to 9-day cruises from Barcelona to the Canary Islands. |
Ocean Liner Collectibles -No passenger ships but airships!
A demi cup & saucer from the infamous zeppelin Hindenburg of 1936 sold recently for $1500. |
Ocean Liner history - Sales!
Some forty-one years ago, in March 1970, the Greek-flag Epirotiki Lines bought the 7,800-ton Moledet from the Zim Lines of Israel. The sale price for the 590-passenger ship was $2 million. The French-built ship was extensively refurbished, given fine, modern quarters and renamed Jupiter for summer cruising in the Eastern Med & winters in the Caribbean. |
Biggest yet!
As the British cruise market continues to grow, P&O has announced the biggest liner ever exclusively for UK cruising. As yet unnamed, the 141,000-tonner will carry 3,611 passengers. Capped by twin funnels (and in a design similar to the Celebrity Solstice class), she will be built by Fincantieri in Italy & delivered in Mar 2015. It is reported that will incorporate classic features of the "very British" Oriana & Aurora. She is another big hint: The British cruise market is growing by leaps & bounds, and is headed for the 2 million passengers-per-year level. ... Music legend Dame Shirley Bassey did the honors when she christened the 30,000-ton Adonia at ceremonies in Southampton on May 22nd. A select ship in the P&O fleet, the Adonia carries only 710 passengers. |
Last minute delays!
It seems that some recent refurbishments & refits were delayed. Last minute fixings & detailing were the order of the day. The Grand Princess needed some further adjustments after her recent dry docking, the Veendam was delayed as well & then the introduction of the new P&O Adonia had to been postponed by several days. |
Close call!
A oil tank exploded & burned furiously last month at Gibraltar but very close to the massive 160,000-ton Independence of the Seas. While there was no direct damage to the 4,200-bed ship, 12 passengers were injured. |
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Titanic! With the 100th anniversary of her tragic sinking coming up next year, here are some frequently asked questions about the famed White Star liner. The information comes from a dear friend, Charles Haas, an internationally recognized expert & author on the Titanic and her sinking.
How did the technology available to ships change after the Titanic incident? Many changes here: Better watertight subdivision, mandatory equipping of ships with radio; better steel for the hull; replacement of rivets with welding (stronger seams between the hull plates); "double hulls" that prevent flooding from relatively minor "fender benders" by keeping water from flooding the interior spaces; better communication systems on board ship (Titanic had no public address system which made communication difficult, which in turn mean people had little idea of the danger until late in the evening); alarm systems to indicate fires, evacuation, etc. (Titanic didn't have any alarm system); motorized lifeboats to pull other boats away from a sinking ship; tracking of icebergs by radio and later by satellite and fax transmissions. Eventually, during World War II, radar was gradually introduced, making it possible to "see" through fog and avoid obstructions. Depth sounders could determine the depth of water beneath a ship's hull, helping to prevent groundings. LORAN, a radio navigation system, allowed ships to determine their positions more accurately. Now, of course, LORAN has been replaced by global positioning satellites which can determine a ship's position within a few feet. |
Ocean & Cruise News
Current & Past Issues Members can download a PDF of current and past issues using the following links
Past Issues of this "new" Email Supplement beginning with the Feb. 21, 2011 issue can be found by clicking our logo below
The above listed items are copyrighted material and are for the exclusive use of paid members in good standing. Any unauthorized duplication, transmission or distribution of this material without the written permission of The World Ocean & Cruise Liner Society is strictly prohibited. |
About Bill Miller
Bill Miller is an international authority on the subject of ocean liners & cruise ships. This includes those great ships of the past, those "floating palaces," as well as the current generation of cruise ships, the "floating resorts". Called "Mr. Ocean Liner," he has written over 75 books on the subject: from early steamers, immigrant ships and liners at war to other titles on their fabulous interiors, in post card form and about the highly collectible artifacts from them. He has done specific histories of such celebrated passenger ships as the United States, Queen Mary, Rotterdam, France, Queen Elizabeth 2, Costa Victoria, Super Star Leo and Crystal Serenity.
In all, he has also written over 1,000 articles for newspapers, magazines and nautical journals & newsletters. He even had his very own ocean liner quarterly, the Millergram. He has made nearly 350 voyages to date: Atlantic crossings, tropical cruises, coastal runs and even trips on container cargo ships and exotic banana boats. He has appeared in some three dozen video & television series, both in the USA, Britain, Europe and Australia, including Castles of the Sea, The Floating Palaces, The Superliners, Inside the World of a Cruise Ship, Disasters at Sea, Deco: Age of Glamour, and Lady in Waiting: The Story of the SS United States. He has also appeared on The Today Show, CBS Evening News, CBS Sunday Morning, Good Morning America, NBC Evening News and many other news broadcasts. He has been guest lecturer aboard over 50 different liners, sailing with the likes of Crystal Cruises, Cunard, Carnival, Holland Americ
a, Princess, Radisson-Seven Seas, Saga Cruises and others. Miller was a public school teacher, in middle school and for social studies, for 32 years. He was named "Teacher of the Year" in 2002.
A native of Hoboken, New Jersey, the once busy port just across the Hudson River from New York City, Miller was named Outstanding American Maritime Scholar in 1994, received the United States Maritime Preservation Award and also the Ocean Liner Council's Silver Riband Award, both in 2004. Also, he has been chairman of the Port of New York Branch of the World Ship Society, serves on the selection committee for the American Maritime Hall of Fame, created the passenger ship database for the Ellis Island Museum and currently serves as Curator of 20th Century Maritime History at Manhattan's South Street Seaport Museum. He has also organized a 14-week college course on liners, and helped to create & then served as historian at the US Merchant Marine Museum. His private collection includes 4,000 books on ships, over 15,000 photos and some 1,000 miniature ship models, most of them being passenger ships.
By 2010, Miller had 10 new books in the works, was curator to Decodence (an exhibit at the South St Seaport on the design & décor of the grand French liner Normandie) and himself was the subject of a one-hour film documentary aptly titled Mr Ocean Liner. (Updated 8/10).
Follow Bill's look back at ship's of yesteryear..
Heard Along the Boat Deck
And his current and past cruise experiences...
Scribblings |
William Miller Books!
On the horizon! Brian Hawley is penning a new book, filled with lots of photos, about the Olympic, the White Star liner completed in 1911 and sister to the infamous Titanic
Ocean liners in words & pictures! An updated list of my published ocean liner books ... and available thru bmce48@yahoo.com.

Last Atlantic Liners: Getting There is Half the Fun (Amberley Publishing, Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK, 2011

RMS Caronia: Cunard's Green Goddess
(co-authored with Brian Hawley) The History Press Ltd, Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK, 2011

Floating Palaces: The Great Atlantic Liners(Amberley Publishing, Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK, 2011

Great British Passenger Ships (The History Press Ltd, Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK, 2010)

SS Nieuw Amsterdam: The Darling of the Dutch (Amberley Publishing, Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK, 2010)

Cunard's Three Queens: A Celebration (Amberley Publishing, Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK, 2009)

Under the Red Ensign: British Passenger Liners of the '50s & '60s (The History Press, Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK, 2009)

SS United States: Speed Queen of the Seas (Amberley Publishing, Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK, 2009)
And yet to come.....
Great Passenger Ships 1910-20 (The History Press Ltd, Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK, due Sep 2011)
I Was Born in Hoboken: Memories of the 1950s & '60s (Hoboken Historical Museum, Hoboken, NJ, due fall 2011)
Along the Hudson: Great Passenger Ships at New York in Photos (Amberley Publishing, Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK, due 2012)
The Last Great Dynasty: The Royal House of Windsor (Amberley Publishing, Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK, due 2012)
Great Atlantic Liners of the 20th Century in Color (co-authored with Anton Logvinenko; Amberley Publishing, Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK, due 2012)
Great American Passenger Ships (The History Press Ltd, Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK, due 2012)
The Cunard Yanks (co-authored with Ian Wright; pending but due 2012)
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WORLD OCEAN & CRUISE LINER SOCIETY'S
HOSTED CRUISES
One of the great things about being a World Ocean & Cruise Liner Society member is joining us aboard one of our "Hosted" member cruises. Each cruise features low group rates, special amenities plus onboard lectures and events
Rotterdam - Transatlantic (9-Night)
July 3rd, 2011 - from $1,499*
(Rotterdam to New York)
Rotterdam - Transatlantic (9-Night)
July 12th, 2011 - from $1,199*
(New York to Rotterdam)
(Bill Miller and Stephen Card will be on both of the above voyages!
Eurodam - Canada & New England (10-Night)
Sep 30, 2011 - from $1,699*
Noordam - Southern Caribbean (10 Night)
Dec 2, 2011 - from $1,019*
Silhouette - Eastern Caribbean (12 Night)
Jan 29, 2012 - from $1,499*
*Rates are per person based on double occupancy.
Government fees are additional |
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