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E NEWS SUPPLEMENT...by Bill Miller
| August 1, 2011 |
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Greetings!
Great News! Our good friend, WOCLS writer and author of our Enews Bill Miller will be aboard our January 29th voyage of Celebrity Cruises' beautiful Silhouette. Please plan to join us. It's a great way to meet WOCLS friends old and new!
All the best!
Sincerely! Tom Cassidy |
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 Belfast - Getting ready!
The city of Belfast is busily preparing for next year's 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. The ill-fated liner was built in Belfast, at the Harland & Wolff shipyard. The Titanic Experience Building is currently under construction and the tender Nomadic, which serviced the Titanic in April 1912, is being restored. |
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Reshuffling
Costa is planning "major refitting" to its large fleet of cruise ships. The Costa Romantica & Costa Classica will undergo extensive refurbishing & updating. Meanwhile, in news from our friend Philippe Brebant in France, there is further news: The Costa Marina, one of the two eldest ships in the Costa fleet, been sold to Chinese operator called All That Cruise. An earlier report this year that the Chinese were buying either the Majesty of the Seas or Monarch of the Seas of Royal Caribbean has been proven untrue.The smaller, 776-passenger Costa Marina will be handed over on November 17th at Savona in Italy, and will sail to China after having been unloaded of some parts of her décor, equipment and computers.She is likely to be renamed Halyu Star. The same Chinese company is also reported to be interested in her sister ship, the Costa Allegra, but for purchase in 2012. Meanwhile, the Costa Allegra will sail under charter next year to Taaj, a French travel company. The Marina's intended itineraries are likely to be taken over by the Voyager of Spain's Iberocruises, but currently under charter to Costa. It appears Costa wants to keep that former Greek cruise ship, the former Olympic Voyager, in their fleet for some time. |
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 Tales of bygone liners!
I will be aboard the splendid Crystal Symphony's Aug 13th cruise from San Francisco to beautiful Alaska as well as charming Vancouver & Victoria. I will be giving talks on the grand age of the great liners as well as the current generation of floating resorts. |
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Bon voyage! 
Reminiscent of the golden era of the original Queen Mary & Queen Elizabeth, I am crossing from New York to Southampton on the Queen Mary 2, departing on Sep 5th, and the returning immediately, but on the Queen Elizabeth, leaving Southampton on Sep 12th. I will be a guest speaker on both 7-night voyages. |
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 | | Fred Olsen Cruise Lines |
Added ideas!
This important UK-based cruise operator is adding 3 theme nights to its ships: Nautical Night, Rock'n Roll Night & International Night.
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German Cruising - Big market! 
The German cruise market is the 2nd largest in Europe, with some 900,000 taking cruises each year. Only the British cruise is larger, with 1.9 million last year. There are some added links of late. P&O's Artemis, the former, 1984-built Royal Princess, has been transferred to Bonn-based Phoenix Reisen as the Artania. Some devotees of that popular are following her into German cruising, which is often geared to some English-speaking passengers. Meanwhile, the onetime Europa, the Hapag-Lloyd flagship built in 1981 and lately sailing as the French chartered Bleu de France, is soon to go into the British market, being refitted as the Saga Sapphire for Saga Cruises. Again, there will be German fans that will follow that famed ship. |
 Change of heart!
MSC will return to Tunisia, called at La Goulette, the port for Tunis. Previous calls were canceled due to civil unrest in that north African nation. |
New York - The big screen! 
Look for a unique festival: ocean liners as portayed in films and from the 1920s onward. Together with Robert Neal Marshall (producer of Mr Ocean Liner), I will be hosting, beginning Fri evening Aug 26th, for Cinematic Crossings: Ocean Liners on the Screen. It will all be held at the Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York City and will run for 5 days. Film titles will be diverse, over 20 in all, and include the likes of Astaire & Rogers in 1937's Shall We Dance and James Cameron's 1997 Titanic. More details to follow. |
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Ocean Liner Collectibles -Bargains!
Sometimes there are bargains, even great bargains! A sterling silver nut dish, monogrammed from the Cunard superliner Queen Elizabeth and dating from the late 1940s, was found recently. It sold for $5! |
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Ocean Liner history
Back in 1907, one of Cunard's finest, largest & fastest liners, the 790-ft long Mauretania, had problems with excessive creaking. The ship's extensive wood panels were removed & padding was applied. But then there was a new problem: the padding would often catch fire, caused by the ship's electrical wiring system. |
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 Changing plans!
P&O has canceled all 3 scheduled calls at Tripoli in Libya due to the ongoing civil war there. Stops by the Adonia, Oceana & Oriana will be replaced by La Goulette (Tunisia), Alexandria, Naples & Palermo. |
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Celebrities at sea! 
In 2009, Oprah Winfrey chartered Norwegian Cruise Lines' Norwegian Gem, sailing about the Mediterranean and with 1,700 employees & their families invited onboard as guests. The gracious hostess occupied, it was reported, one of the ship's sumptuous Garden Villa Suites. Last summer, and for the second time, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II chartered the otherwise small & very select, 49-bed Hebridean Princess for a 10-day birthday celebration (the Queen's 84th, in fact) around the scenic Western Isles of Scotland. Lately, Twiggy was spotted cruising the sunny Mediterranean on the gold-plated Seabourn Odyssey (she was actually godmother to the ship's twin sister, the Seabourn Sojourn). And also making summer cruises, Harry Potter star Robbie Coltrane and Allan Cummings of TV's The Good Wife have been on Queen Mary 2 crossings.
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 Titanic -Interest mounting!
Miles Morgan Travel in the UK has chartered Fred Olsen Line's Balmoral to retrace the Southampton-New York maiden voyage of the infamous Titanic just in time for the 100th anniversary. The voyage has been a sell-out, 1,400 passengers in all --- and from 24 countries. Now, but with a 7-night itinerary to and from New York, the Titanic's ultimate destination, Morgan has chartered the 694-passenger Azamara Journey. The ships will meet on Apr 14th-15th, the exact site of the Titanic tragedy. I will be aboard the deluxe Azamara Journey as one of the guest speakers. See www.milesmorgantravel.com. |
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. |
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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 |
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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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 WOCLS E News & Renewals
If you've been receiving this E-news but not the monthly print publication chances are your subscription has expired. Please renew now as your E-news will stop shortly. Please renew online using the following link http://www.wocls.org/renew.htm
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In either case you may renew securely using your Visa or MasterCard. This form features VeriSign's Secure processing so you know your vital information is secure. You may also mail your check to The World Ocean & Cruise Liner Society - P.O. Box 329 - Northport NY 11768. A renewal ($30/year domestic -or- $36/ year foreign) will extend your existing subscription to both this "E-News" Supplement and Ocean Cruise News a full 12 months from the end of your current subscription |
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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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