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E NEWS SUPPLEMENT...by Bill Miller
June 18, 2013
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Greetings!
If your schedule permits, please consider joining our group, hosted by maritime artist Stephen Card aboard Holland America's Nieuw Amsterdam this December.
Full details can be found in the flyer attached 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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Carnival has agreed to repay the US Government for all costs & expenses in rescuing the stranded cruise ship Carnival Triumph last winter. ... Carnival itself will be spending up to $700 million in upgrading its current fleet.
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Added ship!
The former Celebrity Cruises' Zenith, built in 1992 and later assigned to Spain's Pullmanturs, will join her sister Horizon in French cruise service next year. Pullmanturs is reducing its passenger ship fleet due to a downturn in Spanish cruising caused by the country's economic problems.
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Last May, I cruised aboard the superb Crystal Symphony for 12 nights from New York to Reykjavik via Newport, Boston, Bar Harbor, Halifax & St John's.
Overall, it had been at least 6 months since I was on Crystal, on the Crystal Symphony in fact during Hurricane Sandy last October, but nothing in this enchanted, sea-going world ever changes. On a 1-to-10 scale (yes, I could be Len Goodman but on Dancing with the Liners):
Service 14.4
Staff 14.2
Food 13.9
Entertainment 13.8
Decor 12.0
Ship itself 10.0
And speaking of entertainment, Crystal has actually been making some changes & additions. In my opinion, two of the brightest acts on any ship, on any sea, are the dynamic Karen Grainger & the smooth jazz trio In Transit. The dynamic, Toronto-based Karen is a brilliant vocal impressionist. With the easy change of a wig or costume, she becomes - in less than a flash! - Cher or Madonna or Celine or Dolly. But highest energy & greatest thrills might just go to her Tina Turner in a rousing What's Love Got To Do With It. Huge applause (from me) to the spectacular Karen - but where does she get all that talent, be able to make all those quick changes & in a flash become all those other women? And what about her energy levels? Well, a bravura performance all around!!! Then, changing the mood & up in the exquisite Palm Court, there's In Transit, two musicians & a wonderful, Diana Krall-like singer (and each from far-away New Zealand). Smooth is the right word for them - from Roberta Flack to Johnny Mathis to a bit of Broadway to a beautifully reworkedSomewhere Over The Rainbow. And let's not forget the occasional TV or movie theme. They are an absolute treat and - yes - I could listen to them for hours! (I've taken to having night caps in the Palm Court - but less for the cap & more for them & their ever-flowing song.)
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Noted crossing!
I'm aboard the Queen Mary 2 for her 7-night crossing from New York to Southampton on July 6th, 2013 It is the 2,600-passenger ship's 200th crossing.
For information about joining me, please email cruises@wocls.org
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Special Occasion!
A special Dutch tulip has been created for Holland America's 140th anniversary. It has been named "Signature" for the Signature Class of cruise liners. |
Last Stop!
With a noted downturn in Greek & Eastern Mediterranean cruising, the 1967-built cruise ship The Calypso has been pulled from service and sold for demolition in India. The 11,000-ton ship, rebuilt from an Italian ferry, has actually been laid up since 2011
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Finished with engines!
The MSC Melody - built in 1982 as Home Lines' Atlantic - will not operate this year. It is most likely that the 35,000-ton ship will be sold off. ... When she arrives in Miami in November, the 139,000-ton, 3,500-bed MSC Divina will be based year-round in Florida-Caribbean service. |
For Sale Sign!
The 1911-built, four-masted barque Peking - a longtime attraction at Lower Manhattan's South Street Seaport - is for sale. She is reportedly available for little more than $1, but would require a costly tow to another location plus extensive repairs. |
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Ocean Liner Collectibles - Liner in miniture!
A 63-inch long, waterline model of Cunard's Mauretania, a grand liner built in 1939, sold recently for $5,000. The ship appears in her all-green livery, used in her final years in the mid 1960s.
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Ocean Liner History - Forty years ago!
During the spring and summer of 1973, P&O Cruises' 2,200-passenger Canberra was running New York-Caribbean cruises. Marketed by Cunard, the project failed, however, as P&O and the 44,000-ton Canberra were little known in the USA. In fall, the 818-ft long ship returned to Southampton, England for further UK cruising.
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 Portugal - Investment!
Portugese businessman Rui Alegre has reportedly purchased 4 of the 5 bankrupt vessels of Classic International Cruises. Ships include the 1948-built Athena and the Funchal, dating from 1961.
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Troubled Waters!
During a recent cruise aboard the Crown Princess, a blockage developed in the ship's plumbing system and blocked toilets in 410 cabins. |
 New Tonnage!
The two new super-liners under construction in Germany will be the Quantum of the Seas & Anthem of the Seas. Originally to have been the Sunshine Class, they are now re-labeled as the Quantum Class. The twin ships have also increased in size from 158,000 to 167,000 tons. ... Broadway actress Kristin Chenoweth has been selected as godmother to the Quantum of the Seas. Naming is scheduled for fall 2014.
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Windstar - Return to the South Seas!
Windstar has confirmed that they will return to Tahiti cruises next year. It was one of the Company's original operations.
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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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The Sands of Alang - Peter Knego
DVD Video All regions
Running time: 60 minutes
$30.00 USD + 6.95 priority mail shipping in the U.S. ($8.00 airmail for overseas) and 7.5% sales tax for California residents
The follow up to my first Alang documentary, ON THE ROAD TO ALANG, THE SANDS OF ALANG is about my second and third pilgrimages to the shipbreaking yards of Alang, India in the summer of 2005. The impetus for these treks were visits to the former EUGENIO C and former RMS WINDSOR CASTLE (which will be featured in the next volume). The video takes you on board the ex-EUGENIO while still intact and then a couple months later as demolition was well underway. It tells her story from cradle to grave with archival images and footage as well as the guest appearance of historian Maurizio Eliseo, whom I was able to film in the shipyard at Monfalcone where EUGENIO C was realized and built.
THE SANDS OF ALANG also tells the story of the EXPLORER, which was built in 1944 as the P2 troopship GENERAL W.P. RICHARDSON and went on to become LA GUARDIA, LEILANI, PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT, ATLANTIS, EMERALD SEAS and OCEAN EXPLORER I. There is a visit to the half demolished ship and guest historian Gordon Ghareeb, who is penning a book on her, tells of her varied careers with a special emphasis on her oft-overlooked time as LEILANI.
Soundtracks by the EUGENIO C's and LEILANI's onboard orchestras add poignance to the footage. Covered as well are the Danish train ferry KONG FREDERIK IX and the Kay Korbing-designed ferry PRINSESSE MARGRETHE, which were both ending their lives at the same time on the Indian beach.
Some of the footage is shocking and sad but unavoidably fascinating as the video chronicles the end of these ships' varied careers. Here is but one of many scenarios depicted in the film:
"When we were finally granted permission to visit the BIG RED BOAT II (ex EUGENIO C), the monsoon was in full swing. During the low tide, we took off our shoes and hiked out into the knee deep mud. At the water≠s edge, I climbed into a tiny dinghy with the foreman of the scrapyard -- only two of us could fit in the craft, holding on tightly as two men towed us out to the ship. For several minutes, while a squall passed through, we clung to the anchor chain (where I took the cover shot), then passed under the ship≠s mighty starboard bow, ribbons of water plunging through the openings in her bulwarks. Somehow, my drenched video camera kept running and I was able to record our approach to the Jacob≠s ladder, which dangled an intimidating height from the shell door entry. The foreman went before me, getting momentarily stuck half-way up the ladder, much to the amusement of the two men who towed us out there. As soon as I began my climb, they returned to the embankment to get the other people in our group..."
The order page also contains a link to a short trailer on YouTube:
http://www.midshipcentury.com/#!the-sands-of-alang/ckv
For those without computer access, please contact us at: PK Productions, 15485 Mallory Court, Moorpark, CA 93021
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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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