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OCEANIA CRUISES ROLLS OUT EXTENSIVE NEW MENU FOR GRAND DINING ROOM
Oceania Cruises has announced the successful completion of an extensive new menu rollout featuring 85 new dishes for its Grand Dining Room on the line's newest ship, Riviera. The remainder of the Oceania Cruises fleet will incorporate the new menus over the next three months.
"Since the founding of Oceania Cruises 10 years ago, we have held a reputation for serving cuisine that is the finest at sea and even rivals the best restaurants ashore," said Kunal S. Kamlani, the line's president. "Our latest innovations in the Grand Dining Room are inspired by classic European fare, with a contemporary, creative touch. They reflect our ongoing commitment to provide an exceptional dining experience that starts with a thoughtful and meticulously researched menu concept, the highest-quality ingredients and the perfect execution of traditional culinary techniques."
Oceania Cruises devotes extraordinary resources to cuisine. While most cruise lines employ a single corporate chef, Oceania Cruises has an entire team at the helm of its culinary program, including its executive culinary director, renowned master chef Jacques Pépin.
Fleet Corporate Chef Franck Garanger, who travels the world sampling international cuisines to inspire his creation of dishes, led the team in conceiving the new menus. The Oceania Cruises culinary team has spent the past eight months designing and rigorously testing the new menu items. As the menus in the Grand Dining Room change daily, the rollout features a total of 85 new dishes, including three new lobster dishes and 10 new pastas and risottos.
New creations include dishes such as Pancetta-Wrapped Jumbo Shrimp with Kalamata Olive Sauce and Vegetable Julienne, Roast Segovian Suckling Pig with Rosemary Fingerling Potatoes, and Diver Scallops over Orange-Braised Endive with Vanilla Vinaigrette Salad. The new dishes also feature unique, high-end ingredients such as Castilla-La Mancha saffron, Lessatini olive oil from Nice and Ibérico de Bellota pork. There is also a selection of new Canyon Ranch® dishes, including Dover Sole Meunière in Lemon Butter Sauce with Sweet Leek Puff Pastry and Steamed Potatoes, as well as Pulpo a la Gallega: Octopus on Warm Potato Salad with Sweet Spanish Paprika de la Vera.
The rollout includes an array of new wines by the bottle as well as an extended list of wines by the glass.
Oceania Cruises' flagship restaurant, the Grand Dining Room, is a tribute to the five-star restaurants in Europe's grandest hotels, which inspired its dignified and elegant ambiance. Tuxedo-clad wait staff graciously serve course after course featuring classic European fare or delectable alternatives such as healthy, savory Canyon Ranch® selections or
Jacques Pépin's signature dishes. The Grand Dining Room features open-seating and accommodates parties from two to 10.
New creations in the Grand Dining Room include Diver Scallops over Orange-Braised Endive with Vanilla Vinaigrette Salad, Pancetta-Wrapped Jumbo Shrimp with Kalamata Olive Sauce and Vegetable Julienne, and Roast Segovian Suckling Pig with Rosemary Fingerling Potatoes.
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E NEWS SUPPLEMENT...by Bill Miller
March 18, 2013
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Greetings!
We are currently putting together a series of WOCLS "Hosted" cruises for all our members. Please stay tuned for the latest information!
Your Friend & Editor!
Tom Cassidy
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California Cruising!
Three Carnival ships - Carnival Imagination, Carnival Inspiration & Carnival Splendour - are operating these days from Long Beach, near Los Angeles.
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 New Entry!
Amidst its problems with the capsized Costa Concordia, construction has begun on the biggest Costa liner ever - the 132,500-grt Costa Diadema. The 1004-ft long ship will carry just under 5,000 passengers. She'll be the biggest Italian-flag liner ever. |
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Moving in new directions!
Disney is expanding in 2014 when the Disney Magic will cruise from San Juan as well Venice (for Med cruising).
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Old Age! 
The 1982-built MSC Melody - the former Atlantic of Home Lines and later the Starship Atlantic of Premier Cruise Lines - is being decommissioned. The 671-ft long ship no longer fits in the "big ship" profile & operation of MSC. |
New Orleans - Business is booming!
No less than 4 mighty cruise ships are running regular cruises from this Southern port - the Norwegian Star, Navigator of the Seas, Carnival Conquest & Carnival Elation.
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Ocean Liner Collectibles - Silverware!
A tea pot with milk jug & sugar bowl from the celebrated French liner Ile de France (1927-58) recently fetched $350 in a sale of maritime memorabilia.
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Ocean Liner History - Wartime service!
Seventy years ago, the 81,000-ton Cunard liner Queen Mary was being used as a gray-painted, high-capacity troopship. In July 1943, she broke all records - she left New York with 16,683 soldiers & crew onboard. This record has never been surpassed.
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Portland, OR - Expanding!
The big Vigor Shipyard at Portland ordered the largest floating dry dock for US operations. It will be built in China and be able to take vessels of 80,000 tons & 960 ft in length. The previous big floating dock was sold to Grand Bahama Shipyard in Freeport in 2001 and is frequently used by cruise liners.
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Life Extension! 
The 1997-built Rhapsody of the Seas has just completed a $54,000,000 mid-life refit at a Singapore shipyard.
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Heading North! 
I have just returned from a special two-week cruise up to Norway, the North Cape & those spectacular Northern Lights aboard the 37,000-grt, 700-bed Saga Sapphire She's not an especially well known ship, however, at least on this side of the great Atlantic.
But like actors in soap operas, some ships have many roles, a bunch of names. Built initially at Bremen in 1981 as Hapag-Lloyd's Europa, she was then said to be the most luxurious cruise ship afloat. Carrying mostly West German multi-millionaires (it was said that wives had to have "at least" $1,000,000 in jewels to qualify for the inner circle of countless repeaters onboard the 655-ft long ship). She reportedly had a 75% repeat factor for her mostly 3-14 week-long cruises.
She stayed with the Germans for 17 years, then being replaced by a new, even more luxurious Europa. Heading to Asian waters, she was sold to Malaysia's Star Cruises --- being briefly renamed Megastar Asia and then Superstar Europe. In 2000, she changed names again -- becoming the Superstar Aries. Three years later, she was earmarked for another change -- to become the Ocean Voyager for NCL-owned Orient Line. That failed to happen in the end, but she was next off to Spain's Pullmanturs, an arm of Royal Caribbean. Her next new name: Holiday Dream. She cruised in Europe, in the Caribbean and on charters for Brazilians. She often called at Havana during her West Indies itineraries. But in 2008, Pullmanturs swung her over to their French arm, Croisieres de France, and she got yet another name: Blue de France.
UK-based Saga Cruises bought her in 2010, kept her on charters for a bit and then brought her into their own service as the Saga Sapphire in Mar 2012.
In all, 7 names ... so, indeed, quite an interesting ship!
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Changing hands!
The 200-bed Seabourn Pride, Seabourn Spirit & Seabourn Legend will be changing hands in 2014-15, going over to Xanterra Parks & Resort, owners of Windstar Sail Cruises. ... Meanwhile, Seabourn itself - under the umbrella of Holland America out in Seattle - will build a 4th member of the larger, 450-berth Seabourn Odyssey class. |
New name!
The smallish Galapagos cruise ship Galapagos Explorer II has been sold to Silversea & will become the Silver Galapagos. She'll offer luxury expedition cruises. The 4,000-tonner was originally the Renaissance Three, built in 1990. |
Upgraded!
The Superstar Libra has just come out of a 1-month refit: better than ever! The 75,000-ton ship cruises in Asian waters.
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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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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 and working on updating information for our WOCLS Group Coordinator.....Please stay tuned!!
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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
If you receive both...we ask you to please help us keep renewal mailing costs down. Renew today before we need to send you a notice.
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...
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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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