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WOCLS Cruise Coordinator
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LONG TIME MEMBER JERRY DAVIS TAKES OVER AS WOCLS CRUISE COORDINATOR
I would like to take a moment to thank my friend, and long time member Jerry Davis for graciously agreeing to become the official coordinator of all of our upcoming WOCLS "Hosted" Cruises.
Choosing an agency partner is never an easy task and when you're President of an organization that represents thousands of members, many of who themselves are agents and are also your friends, this becomes increasingly difficult.
Yet to have these cruises, which so many love, operate requires us to choose an agency as members must book into one group under the line's rules to receive the perks we provide.
While I know of several dear friends who would have stepped up to the plate, I was very pleased that Jerry responded to my request and agreed to handle this task.
Bill Miller and I have personally known Jerry for decades and while he is President of Alice Travel, I have always shared a great relationship with him.
Prior to calling on him to handle this task I had thought of asking him to host a cruise (booked elsewhere) because he brings far more to the table than what he does 9-5pm
Jerry is an avid ship lover with countless cruise experiences under his belt. He is also and avid photographer and world traveller. I believe members will thoroughly enjoy what he has to offer over and above his services, and hope he will share some of his great photos with us on our Facebook page.
.........Tom
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E NEWS SUPPLEMENT...by Bill Miller
May 6, 2013
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Greetings!
A very Happy Birthday wish to ship historian, writer, author and my friend Bill Miller. Here's to wishing you a great birthday with many more to follow!
For those of you who have already signed up for our next hosted cruise, many thanks! For those of you still "on the fence", please consider joining us. It will be a great cruise. Details can be found by following the link below
A Flyer On the Nieuw Amsterdam Cruise Can Be Found Here. Please Invite Your Family & Friends!
For more information please
call (800) 229-2542
Your Friend & Editor!
Tom Cassidy
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 Cargo Ships - Mishap!
Even the biggest and some of the newest ships can have problems. The engine room aboard the giant Emma Maersk of Denmark's Maersk Line was flooded last February and, no less, at the mouth of the Suez Canal. A cracked stern thruster allowed seawater into the massive ship. The ship, carrying over 13,500 containers, had to be offloaded and then towed to a shipyard in Sicily for months of repairs. ... Meanwhile, giant container ships seem to get bigger & bigger. In a South Korean shipyard, Maersk has just launched the first of their innovative, record-setting Triple E Class ships. Carrying over 18,000 containers and measuring 1312 feet in length, the first of this class has been named Maersk McKinney Moller.
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China - Planning for the future!
Chinese shipyards are reportedly making plans to design as well as build large cruise ships. Overall, the Chinese cruise market is beginning to bubble with strong potential.
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Dubai - Rumor mill!
The iconic QE2 remains in Dubai to date but has presumably been leased or even sold to Eastern buyers for use as a hotel, museum & entertainment center but based at either Singapore or Hong Kong. But recent rumors now add that the 963-ft long ship might be refitted in a Chinese shipyard and then move in the course of a year between Chinese ports as well as to ports in Japan & South Korea for use as a floating hotel & tourist attraction. In another rumor, the collapsed deal in the UK to bring the 70,000-tonner to London, again for use as a hotel & museum, is reportedly back on. "There might be hope yet," said a good source in London.
According to some sources, the 1969-built QE2 will be on lease only from her Dubai owners to Singapore interests - and then with the option to buy the iconic liner in ten years time for $35,000,000. Dubai bought her for $100,000,000 in 2008.
Provisional hotel-ship plans for the former Cunard flagship are said to include 400 deluxe rooms, 100 suites, 7 restaurants, 2 ballrooms, a theater & retail spaces.
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Freighter Cruises - New Offering!
There are 6 passenger berths aboard the container-ships MSC Lausanne & MSC Monterey and they are being offered by Germany's NSB Freighter Cruises for trans-Atlantic crossings. A 12-night passage is usually routed from Bremerhaven, Felixstowe, Antwerp & Le Havre and then over to New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore & Norfolk. One-way is priced from approx $1645 per person. These freighters have a lounge, fitness center, sauna, passenger laundry & deck chairs. Passengers dine with the officers. |
 Mexico - Drop in numbers!
Ports along the west coast of Mexico have seen a 40% drop in cruise traffic in the past year. High crime & violence on shore are the reasons. Acapulco, for example, handled 50% less passengers in the past 12 months. Only Ensenada has maintained its original position. |
 Change in plans!
Even port authorities can make errors. It seems that too many cruise ships were scheduled to berth in Nassau last Feb 23rd. Someone made an error - and so, the 4100-bed Norwegian Epic could not call as planned & instead had an added sea day.
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 Newfoundland - Adrift & missing!
The former Russian cruise ship Lyubov Orlova, long idle in bankruptcy and neglect at St John's, was being towed to the Dominican Republic last winter to be scrapped. Two towlines snapped, however, and the badly rusted ship was left adrift. In March, the 4,200-ton vessel - once chartered to Quark Expeditions - had drifted to a point 700 miles west of Ireland. Reports were unsure as to whether the 1976-built ship later sank. |
Norway - New on the horizon!
Two new, innovative passenger ferries will be commissioned this year - the Stavangerfjord & Bergensfjord for Oslo-based Fjord Line. The 1500-passenger capacity ships will sail between Norway & Denmark, and feature cruise ship-like amenities including an onboard conference center. |
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Ocean Liner Collectibles - Dining room service!
A St Louis Crystal water pitcher used aboard the celebrated French Line flagship France in the 1960s sold recently for $1,900. It included the illustrious CGT logo used by the French Line.
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Ocean Liner History - Twenty years ago!
Commodore Cruise Lines, long popular in the Caribbean trades, was sold in 1993 and their ship, the 23,000-ton Caribe I was bought by Regal Cruises. The 1953-built ship's new name: Regal Empress
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Happy Anniversary!
Swan's first cruise was a Mediterranean itinerary 60 years ago, back in August 2014. Next year, the Company's 12,000-ton Minerva will do a similar trip, a 14-night journey departing from Naples.
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Accident! 
5 crew members were killed & another 3 injured when a cable attached to a lifeboat snapped during a safety drill. The accident occurred aboard the 33,000-ton Thomson Majesty. |
Record set!
Viking set a record when they recently christened no less than 10 Viking Longships at Amsterdam in a single day. Guinness World Records was in attendance.
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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
Crystal Symphony
New York to Miami (14-Nights)
Visiting Baltimore,MD; Charleston, SC; Savannah, GA; Jacksonville, FL; Turks & Caicos, Grand Turk; Curacao/Willemstad;Oranjestad, Aruba, Miami, FL
Sailing: November 2, 2013
Exclusive WOCLS Events with Bill Miller
- Special WOCLS Q&A with Bill Miller
- Welcome cocktail reception with Bill Miller for our guests
- Bill Miller will host a dinner in a specialty restaurant with our group
Special Book Now Fares (book by 4/30/13):
You will receive a shipboard credit of $250.00 per person
Outside Stateroom from - $4450*
Balcony Stateroom from - $6060*
Suitex from - $9700*
*Rates are cruise only, per person, based on double occupancy. Government Fees of $685 are not included
* * * * * * *
Oceania Riviera
Sailing roundtrip from Miami and visiting Tortola; St. John's; Bridgetown, Barbados; Castries, St. Lucia; Gustavia and Miami March 28, 2014 (10-Nights)
Exclusive WOCLS Events with Host Art Sbarksy
Special WOCLS Q&A with Art Sbarsky as he takes you through his career in the cruise industry.
This is a Fundraising Cruise for Art's favorite charity.
The American Cancer Society.
- Welcome cocktail reception with Art Sbarsky for our guests
- Art Sbarsky will host a dinner in a specialty restaurant with our group
- Includes airfare from most Oceania gateways or an air credit
- Includes a special $150 per cabin shipboard credit
Inside cabin from - $2899*
Window cabin from - $3199*
Balcony cabin from - $3499
Suite cabin from - $4999*
*Rates are cruise only, per person, based on double occupancy. Includes government fees
CRUISES MUST BE BOOKED WITH THE WOCLS GROUP
COORDINATOR TO PARTICIPATE IN WOCLS EVENTS!!
For more information please
call (800) 229-2542
cruises@wocls.org
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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...
Scribblings |
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William Miller Books!
 Great Atlantic Liners of the 20th Century in Color (co-authored with Anton Logvinenko; Amberley Publishing, Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK. $29.95
 Ile de France And Liberte - France's Premier Post War Liners The latest in the Classic Liners series evokes the glamour and ambience of two of the most beloved liners of the 1950s Île de France, completed in 1927, was a hugely famous prewar liner, a ship with unique style and character. She was said to offer "the cheeriest way to cross the Atlantic." After wartime service as a valiant troopship, she was restored with what Paris fashion calls a "new look," relaunched in 1949. The Liberté was built in 1930, originally the German Europa, but ceded to France as reparations in 1946. She was de-Germanized and restyled in French Line luxury as the Liberté, recommissioned in 1950. The Île de France sailed until 1958; the Liberté until 1961, and this illustrated book concentrates on their heydays in the glorious, post-World War II years, when they were the largest and grandest liners under the French flag. Both ships were famed for their service and onboard ambience, but most especially for their cooking, and they were said to be the best-fed liners on the Atlantic...$25.00
 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)
The Cunard Yanks (co-authored with Ian Wright; pending but due 2012)
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