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| Tom Cassidy Updates | |
REGENT SEVEN SEAS CRUISES UNVEILS 2013-2014 WINTER COLLECTION
Free Post-Cruise Luxury Hotel Package When Booked by Dec.31, 2012
Regent Seven Seas Cruises announced its new Winter Collection, featuring voyages from Nov. 2013 - May 2014 to South America, Asia, the South Pacific, Europe, the Caribbean and Alaska. All sailings include two-for-one fares, free air and bonus savings of up to $15,000 per suite when booked by December 31, 2012.
As part of the introduction, the ultra-luxury line is offering a complimentary one-night, post-cruise luxury hotel package on all 2013-2014 Winter Collection itineraries booked by December 31, 2012. Additional collection highlights include three new ports, five Grand Voyages with exclusive amenities, and special offers on pre- and post-cruise land programs.
Recognized as The Most Inclusive Luxury Cruise Experience™, all Regent Seven Seas Cruises sailings also include all-suite accommodations, 97 percent with private balconies, gourmet cuisine, premium spirits and fine wines, free shore excursions, gratuities, and a pre-cruise luxury hotel stay, at no additional cost.
2012-2013 Winter Collection Highlights
From November 2013 through June 2014, the all-suite, all-balcony Seven Seas Voyager visits the South Pacific and Asia with stops in Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Bali, Vietnam, China, Japan, and India offering guests a variety of itineraries ranging from 10- to 136-nights, including four Grand Voyages.
Regent Seven Seas Cruises offers aspecially priced three-night pre-or post-cruise land program for $499 per person on select South Pacific and Asia itineraries. These include Angkor Wat, Beijing and the Great Wall of China, Hong Kong, Sydney, as well as Dubai and Kuala Lumpur, two new land programs.
Seven Seas Mariner returns to South America where guests can sail along the mighty Amazon, cruise around Cape Horn, explore the Panama Canal and visit the largest Magellanic Penguin colony in the world. Sailings range from 10- to 70-nights, including the coveted "Circle South America" Grand Voyage.
In March, the 700-guest, all-suite, all-balcony ship heads back to the Mediterranean with a grand crossing from Rio de Janeiro to Barcelona featuring maiden calls in Dakar, Senegal and Tangier, Morocco.
The newly refurbished, all-suite Seven Seas Navigator explores the tropics from November 2013 to April 2014 with 16 departures roundtrip from Miami to the Eastern and Western Caribbean ranging from seven- to 24-nights including a maiden call in La Romana, Dominican Republic. The ship then departs Miami on April 21, 2014 for an 18-night voyage to San Francisco transiting the Panama Canal to begin its highly popular cruises through the natural beauty of Alaska.
All Grand Voyages offer an array of exclusive amenities such as free Business Class air, an upgraded pre-cruise hotel stay with ground transfers, visas, internet access, and more.
The American Queen Steamboat Company today announced it will raise fares beginning January 1, 2013, as a result of unprecedented demand for the upcoming second season of the American Queen. According to the operator of the 436-passenger riverboat, many of next year's sailings are selling out, particularly voyages between the paddlewheeler's homeport of Memphis and New Orleans. Overall bookings are up 300% compared to 2012 and the fare increase will be an average of $200 per guest per voyage.
Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall will visit the Line's Queen Victoria on Tuesday December 13 to mark the fifth birthday of the ship, which The Duchess named in December 2007.
This will be the third occasion Her Royal Highness will have visited the ship. She will be escorted aboard by Peter Shanks, president of Cunard Line, and Captain Peter Philpott, master of Queen Victoria. The ship's crew will line the three tiers of the Grand Lobby when The Duchess arrives, while embarking passengers will line the tiers for her departure.
While on board, The Duchess will witness the unveiling of a specially-commissioned portrait of her by noted Royal artist Richard Stone and will also meet 12 Prince's Trust apprentices who will have participated in the Trust's "Get into" work experience program. The Prince's Trust was founded in 1976 by The Prince of Wales with the mission to change young lives by developing key workplace skills for disadvantaged youth in the United Kingdom
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E NEWS SUPPLEMENT...by Bill Miller
December 26, 2012
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Greetings!
HAPPY NEW YEAR !
As the year draws to a close I want to wish all our members and their families a happy and healthy New Year!
Wishing you all the best.
Your Friend & Editor!
Tom Cassidy
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Pen in hand!
Last month during a week aboard the classic American Queen, I had an afternoon interview with John Waggoner, the owner & CEO of the American Queen Steamboat Company, this ship and who is involved with no less than 95 other craft (from dinner boats in San Francisco, US Government craft out in far-off places like Okinawa & Guam, even the Statue of Liberty ferries and now twin dinner boats based at Pier 40, Manhattan). John was onboard for 2 nights and just might be the friendliest, most accessible cruise line CEO this side of, well, the Mississippi.
Illinois-born John Waggoner is the perfect combination: a ship's master with an MDA in finance. He's also dynamic, energetic and the chairman of American Queen Steamboat Company as well as Hornblower Marine Services. But where did it all begin? Out in southern California, in the 1970s, I started on fishing boats. It was a summer job --- I was in the sixth grade. Later, I ran sport and commercial fishing boats, and then offshore oil and gas boats, carrying crew and supplies. By 1989, I joined my first dinner cruise boat, the 1,000-passenger California Hornblower. We sailed in & out of Los Angeles. Hornblower itself was then ten years old. Later, I was made director of operations for their 29 dinner boats, but up in San Francisco. But soon we branched out further. I founded Hornblower Marine Services and we went into the casino boat business. Quickly, it seemed, we were operating the largest Mississippi River casino boat, a vessel that carried up to 5,432 passengers and had 500 crew. Owned by Caesar's of Las Vegas, she made 2-hour cruises out of New Albany in Indiana. In our next venture, we moved into high-speed ferries --- on runs such as Rochester to Toronto, ferrying US Marines out in Okinawa, Japan, a Hawaii inter-island super-ferry and the casino run from Jersey City, in New York harbor, to New London, Connecticut. Then, of course, the next logical step was the overnight cruise business. After American Majestic Cruises folded in 2008 and the American Queen was laid-up, we began planning. It all took time and financing, but we bought her in August 2011.
Happily, over the past six months, the revival of the American Queen has met with great success. Averaging very good load factors (near to 80%), the 435-bed ship also contributes to local economies (such as an estimated $88 million annually to Memphis, the Company's home base and through local tours, hotel stays and airport connections). But what is the overall corporate theme? We are a piece of America, the Mark Twain experience, Rollin' on the River, the roots of jazz, the Front Porch of America. We want to create a unique Heartland-of-America experience. And we are social too --- bringing people together. Our guests actually get to know one another. We are not a 3,000-passenger cruise ship or a luxury mega-yacht. We are casual, informal, pure relaxation. Our guests also want the American experience. They like education plus entertainment. They love lectures but they also love Southern music and New Orleans style jazz band. While mostly retired yet still very active, they also enjoy exploring even the smallest River towns.
John Waggoner is very hands-on. He was seen fetching light bulbs and carrying coat hangars during the American Queen's inaugurals last April. But what of the Company's future? We are most definitely seeking additional tonnage. We see a 3-boat fleet in five years. We might even look to cruising in the Pacific Northwest, along the East Coast, possibly around the Great Lakes. There is, we feel, growth potential in American river and coastal cruising. |
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All aboard!
I'm aboard one of my favorite ships, the mighty Queen Mary 2, for these Holidays, a 12-night Caribbean cruise from New York. All very comfortable, I then stay aboard for the same ship's 7-night crossing, on January 3rd, to Southampton. Once there, I switch immediately to the 8-day westbound crossing of the Queen Victoria. And why not join me in the New Year - on the Queen Mary 2's 5-night Fourth of July cruise, to Halifax & Boston. |
 Dubai - Changing hands!
Just before Christmas, it was reported that the 70,000-grt Queen Elizabeth 2, waiting in Dubai since November 2008 for conversion to a hotel & apartments, had been sold to Chinese buyers for $30 million. The 43-yr old ship was, so it was reported, to be scrapped and that 20 Chinese crew had already boarded the ship. Then came rumors that she was in fact being sold to Singapore interests for further use. Meanwhile, an on-again, off-again plan to make the 963ft-long ship a moored hotel in London was back in the running. All very intereesting for this much loved ship -- but for now, stay tuned! |
Changing cast!
Not only has the ever-expanding MSC Cruises decided to hold off on any future new cruise tonnage, they've decided to retire their 1981-built MSC Melody. Originally built as the Atlantic for the Home Lines & used mostly for cruises out of New York, she changed hands in 1988 to become the Starship Atlantic for Premier Cruise Lines. MSC bought her in 1997.
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Ocean Atlantic - Another new face in town!
The former Soviet Constantin Chernenko has been refitted & revived as the S. C. Atlantic. The 12,000-tonner will be used for charter cruising.
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Ocean Liner Collectibles - Bound for the Cape!
A large, artful poster from the 1950s for the Italian liners Africa & Europa sold recently for $950. The twin 11,000-ton ships sailed for Lloyd Triestino.
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Ocean Liner History - Heading for the Sun!
Home Lines' 680-berth Italia was offering 7-night cruises to Nassau from New York in the fall of 1962. They were offered as "fall value cruises" -- $150 fares and up (or $25 a day!).
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 Panama Canal - Sound the trumpets!
The Panama Canal set its highest record ever for traffic in 2012.
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 In the mail!
Had a letter from a cruise friend who wrote: I've decided --- I'll always get a cabin with a balcony. We sailed out of Bayonne, New Jersey (on Royal Caribbean's 3,600-bed Explorer of the Seas) on a late afternoon last July. We passed under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge with only 20 feet to clear. The sea breeze was sultry, heavy, laden with salt. At nightfall, my wife and I turned off the AC, slid open our cabin's heavy glass door and let the wind blow in through the sheer curtains. With the wind came the rhythmic wash of the swell, the luminous blooms of the white caps and --- like a deep heartbeat --- the faint thrum of the engines. That night, stretched on starched sheets and listening to the conversation of the waves, I relaxed in a way I realized I hadn't for a long, long time and then slept like a walrus!
Big & Bigger News!
It's official -- RCI will build at 3rd 225,000grt, 6400-bed Oasis of the Seas class ship. To be delivered in 2016, it will be constructed by the STX Shipyard at St Nazaire in France (rather than in Finland like the two previous ships). The cost is said to be approximately $1.5 billion. And the bigger news: a 4th ship is said to be in the future planning!
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Taiwan - Changing hands!
The 23,000grt Ocean Pearl, once the Song of Norway of Royal Caribbean, has changed hands again. She's becoming the Formosa Queen & to be used as a gambling ship. |
 Thailand - Reprieve!
Reportedly sold to scrappers, the 1972-built Flamenco instead has become the Ocean Dream for short cruises in the Gulf of Thailand. Her new owners are said to be Chinese, however. The 17,000grt, 800-bed ship has had a long life in the cruise industry - she started as P&O's Spirit of London, then became the Sun Princess for Princess Cruises, Starship Majestic for Premier, Southern Cross for CTC Lines and then Flamenco for Festival Cruises. |
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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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
We are currently putting together our cruises to follow our Jan 26, 2013 Celebrity Reflection cruise. Please stay tuned, or...
Call out WOCLS Group Coordinator Beth Schmitt at (800) 828 4813 Ext 1009 for details or help with any other cruise.
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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
Join or Renew Here
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In either case you may join or 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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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!
 Along the Hudson - luxury Liner Row in the 50's & 60's
In the 1950s and '60s, countless passenger liners called at New York and usually berthed at Luxury Liner Row along the City's West Side. The cast includes the Cunard Queens, the Ile de France & Liberte, United States, Independence, Gripsholm & Queen of Bermuda. It is a grand assemblage of great ships -- both large & small. $29.95
Great American Passenger Ships  The story of American passenger ships over the 20th century -- from the Leviathan to the Lurline, Santa Rosa & America to the brilliant United States. Interesting text accompanied by lots of black & white photos as well as color. $29.95.  Great Liners Story
A fascinating "little book" about the great liners, those floating palaces, of the 20th century -- from the grand German four-stackers to the age of the Oasis of the Seas. Mostly color in this hardcover book. $15.00.
Great Passenger Ships 1910-1920
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 brilliant Mauretania & 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.
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.....
I Was Born in Hoboken: Memories of the 1950s & '60s (Hoboken Historical Museum, Hoboken, NJ, due fall 2011)
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)
The Cunard Yanks (co-authored with Ian Wright; pending but due 2012)
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