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Latest Press Release from Celebrity
Cruises | |
Miami - Consistently striving to provide its guests with unmatchable vacation experiences, Celebrity Cruises is now offering guests an inside look into the fascinating world of cruise ship operations. A new addition to the unique and robust Celebrity Life onboard activities program, "Celebrity Inside Access" takes guests on a once-in-a-lifetime journey behind the scenes of Celebrity's renowned fleet, inviting them to discover the intricate details and functions behind modern luxury at sea. Celebrity's Inside Access program invites guests to join two intimate and exclusive activities, the "See How It's Done Tour" and the "Bridge Sail Away Experience."
Designed to provide a thorough and rich three-hour experience, the See How It's Done Tour guides an intimate group of guests through several otherwise non-public areas of the ship, including the bridge, mooring deck, crew gym, theater, engine control room, prep rooms and the main dining room galley. At each area of the tour, guests have the opportunity to interact with expert members of the Celebrity crew. Each tour is followed by a savory wine-paired lunch hosted by an officer in the main dining room.
The Bridge Sail Away Experience presents the opportunity for vacationers to join the navigational team on the bridge as the ship sails away from port. Beginning 30 minutes before and concluding 30 minutes after departing, guests are given a tour and an overview of the bridge conducted by a senior Celebrity bridge officer. Guests also have the opportunity to meet and take photos with the ship's captain.
"Celebrity has dedicated itself to providing guests with the finest in culinary experiences, award-winning service and engaging onboard activities," said Simon Weir, Director of Hotel Operations, Celebrity Cruises. "Now, with the addition of Celebrity Inside Access, vacationers can also satisfy their curiosity and gain rare, behind-the-scenes insight into a Celebrity ship's inner workings."
The Celebrity Inside Access program is offered on all ships and available for purchase onboard.
About Celebrity Cruises:
Celebrity Cruises' iconic "X" is the mark of modern luxury, with its cool, contemporary design and warm spaces; dining experiences where the design of the venues is as important as the cuisine; and the amazing service that only Celebrity can provide, all created to provide an unmatchable experience for vacationers' precious time. In addition to offering vacations visiting all continents, Celebrity also presents immersive cruisetour experiences in Alaska, Australia/New Zealand, Canada, Europe and South America. One of the fastest-growing major cruise lines, Celebrity is one of five cruise brands operated by global cruise vacation company Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE, OSE: RCL). Celebrity's fleet currently consists of 10 ships, with an additional Solstice Class ship, Celebrity Reflection, scheduled to join the fleet in Fall 2012. For more information, dial 1-800-437-3111 or call your travel agent. |
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E NEWS SUPPLEMENT...by Bill Miller
January 16, 2012 |
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Greetings!
We would like to express our condolences to the families of those who lost their lives aboard Costa Concordia. It was truly a sad, and troubling incident for an industry with an amazing safety record. We will be reporting more news on this incident when more of the true facts emerge.
Our "Ship of the Year" survey is complete. Thanks to all of our members for the record number of entries!
In an effort to serve our members better we have changed our phone number to a toll-free number.
Please make note of this number. While there is supposed to be a message on the old number for some reason the phone company is struggling with this request. Our new number is (866) 631-0611.
Sincerely!
Tom Cassidy |
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 China - Growing & growing & growing!
The 17,000-ton Flamenco I, which has been laid-up for sometime at Port Klang in Malaysia & lately was destined for some Asian scrap yard, has survived. A new owner has been found. The 9l0-passenger ship dates from 1972 when she began sailing as P&O's Spirit of London. She was designed, however, as the Seaward, sister of the Southward, for Norwegian Caribbean Lines. Later renamed Sun Princess for Princess Cruises, the Italian-built ship had a varied life that included renamings such as Starship Majestic, Southern Cross & finally Flamenco. Her new name is Ocean Dream & she is to be renovated for the growing Chinese cruise market. She'll offer cruises out of Shanghai. |
High drama off the Italian coast!
News last Friday from Italy was very sad --- the huge, 114,000-ton Costa Concordia went gone aground, flooded, listed badly & then hideously capsized off the Italian coast. Some 4,200 combined passengers & crew were aboard, then had an uneasy evacuation from the otherwise rather new 965-ft long liner, owned by Costa Cruises & a part of the huge Carnival empire. Reports as of Sunday were that 6 were lost, but many others missing & presumed still "locked below" and under water. The otherwise colorful ship looks grotesque canted over on her side, like something from a wartime bombing, and of course with a deep, rock-encrusted cash in her long white hull. A deep blow to cruising & to Costa itself, who is the largest cruise operator in the Italian market (Carnival Corporation shares dropped by 16% or $1.9 billion as of Monday afternoon, at least according to the London Stock Market, general cruise bookings had momentarily plummeted and the evacuation, rescue, clean-up, etc for the disaster itself is being projected at $100 million. The ship was insured, by the way, for $515 million.) |
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Halifax - Popular port!
This picturesque & historically interesting Nova Scotian port is very popular on Northeast cruises. In 2011, the port welcomed 122 cruise calls (including 7 inaugural visits) with just over 240,000 visitors. Oct 6th was the busiest day of all with 10,000 cruise ship visitors. |
 Business is booming!
While cargo is still the big money-maker at the Port of New York, a record 582,000 cruise & transit passengers passed through the passenger ship terminals in 2010. The number climbed to 645,000 in 2011. And the big news is that the 144,000-ton Norwegian Breakaway will be home-ported in the Big Apple beginning in May 2013. That 4,000-berth ship, now building in Germany, will make 34 calls in Manhattan. Another NCL ship, the Norwegian Gem, will make 47 calls |
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Ocean Liner Collectibles - Still alfoat!
A demi cup & saucer in Wisteria pattern & made by Stonier and intended for the otherwise ill-fated Titanic sold recently for $500. |
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Ocean Liner History - The jet invasion!
Norwegian America Line, created for Oslo-New York trans-Atlantic service back in 1910, turned increasingly to luxury cruising in the 1960s. The airlines had secured much of the business. NAL had 11,300 Atlantic passengers in 1967, a number that dropped to 7,000 a year later. |
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Oman - Vintage liner!
The veteran cruise ship Mona Lisa, the former Kungsolm (built in 1966) and later the Sea Princess and then Victoria (for P&O & then for Princess as well), is now owned by Daewoo Oman, a division of the giant Daewoo Corporation. The 661-ft long ship is now serving as a floating hotel for local construction crews for a shipyard project at Duqm in Oman. Now renamed Veronica, the Scotland-constructed liner will later move around Middle Eastern ports in a similar accommodation role as well as possibly being used as a hotel for the Grand Prix in Dubai. . |
Polishing the fleet! 
Last fall, this Malaysian-based cruise operator spent $13 ˝ million to upgrade and improve two of its ships, the Super Star Pisces & Super Star Aquarius. Now, this month, the Line is making $25 million in improvements & changes to their 75,400-grt Super Star Virgo, a 1,870-passenger ship completed in 1999. Each of these ships is used in Asian cruising. |
 Titanic - Down, down, down!
Looking for a very different experience? You can go down --- for 2 ˝ hours & jammed with two other people --- in a tiny submersible, all the way to the bottom of the Atlantic. The purpose: a glimpse, albeit through a tiny porthole, of the otherwise decaying, almost ravaged remains of the infamous Titanic. The trip, lasting 8-10 hrs in total, costs $60,000. And it's already heavily booked --- especially in & around the centennial of the sinking on Apr 14-15th. One of the 80 on the reservations list said, "It is a dream come true. I've been obsessed with the Titanic since I was 10 years old." |
New Venture!
Viking River Cruises has 23 river boats and a very fine reputation. They appeal to European, British and American travelers. Recently, the Company has decided to expand --- creating Viking Ocean Cruises. They've contracted for 2 888-passengrer luxury cruise ships from the STX Shipyard in France. Delivery will be in 2014 and '15, and itineraries will include Mediterranean as well as Northern Europe. |
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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 --- from those "floating palaces" of yesteryear to the current generation of cruise ships, the "floating resorts". Called "Mr. Ocean Liner," he has written some 80 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 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 450 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 Super Liners, 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 America, 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, deputy director of the New York Harbor Festival, served 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 1,500 miniature ship models, most of them being passenger ships.
By 2011, 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. In 2011, he hosted Cinematic Crossings: Ocean Liners on the Big Screen, a 5-day film festival at Manhattan's Lincoln Center. Currently, he spends some 200 days a year lecturing onboard ocean liners & cruise ships.
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!
Busy scribbling! Our good friends Anthony Cooke & John Maxtone-Graham have new titles out on the shelves. London-based Anthony has just released Favourite British Liners with 216 pages & 216 photos (96 of them in color). Check through Mainmast Books in the UK. Meanwhile, Manhattan-homeported John has just finished a new title on the immortal Titanic. It was published by W W Norton & Company.
In the works! The presses are rolling over in England, at the History Press. I've penned a short, 10,000-word overview of passenger ships entitled The Great Liners. It should be out soon. It will be followed, at the same publishing house, by Great Passenger Ships 1910-20 and then Great American Passenger Ships. Happily, my finger keeps on typing ... and happily, there are still photos and anecdotes and maybe something new to be shared.
Another new book project! Happily, I have been signed to do another edition of the Classic Liners series for the History Press over in the UK. In the wake of our book on the Caronia, Cunard's "Green Goddess," this project will deal with two of the most popular, most beloved post-Second World War French liners, the Ile de France & Liberte. The Ile was built for the French but back in 1927; the larger Liberte came to them as post-war reparations, having been the German Europa of 1930. The Ile sailed the Atlantic between 1949 and 1958; the Liberte ran between 1950 and 1961. They transported thousands on the regular run between New York, Southampton or Plymouth and Le Havre, and even had occasional cruises. They were of course predecessors to the much larger, faster France, commissioned in 1962. If any of our readers has anecdotes, reflections, comments and shared materials on these great liners, please contact me through Ocean & Cruise News.
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.
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It was an age of evolution, when size and speed were almost the ultimate considerations. 'Bigger was said to be better' and ship owners were not exempted from the prevailing mood. While the German four-stackers of 1897-06 and then Cunard's brilliantMauretania & Lusitania of 1907 led the way to larger and grander liners. White Star Line countered by 1911 with the Olympic, her sister Titanic and a near-sister, the Britannic. The French added the France while Cunard took delivery of the beloved Aquitania. But the Germans won out -- they produced the 52,000-ton Imperator and a near-sister, the Vaterland, the last word in shipbuilding and engineering prior to the First World War. They and their sister, the Bismarck, remained the biggest ships in the world until 1935. But other passenger ships appear in this decade --- other Atlantic liners, but also ships serving on more diverse routes: Union Castle to Africa, P&O to India and beyond, the Empress liners on the trans-Pacific run. We look at a grand age of maritime creation, ocean-going superlative, but also sad destruction in the dark days of the First War. It was, in all ways, a fascinating period.
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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
Noordam - Southern Caribbean (10 Night)
Dec 2, 2011 - from $1,019*
Silhouette - Eastern Caribbean (12 Night)
Jan 29, 2012 - from $1,499*
Veendam - Bermuda (7 Night)
Jun 3, 2012 - from $799*
Queen Mary 2 - Canada / New England (11 Nights)
Sep21, 2012 - from $2,695*
*Rates are per person based on double occupancy.
Government fees are additional.
For Reservations and Information Call WOCLS Group Coordinator Beth Schmitt at (800) 828 4813 Ext 1009
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