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E NEWS SUPPLEMENT...by Bill Miller
Week of October 21, 2013
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One of the great images appearing on our Facebook Page.
Holland America has provided us once again with Shipboard Credit coupons good for sailing through 2014. These are available to members in good standing. They will be shipped with the next issue after your renewal has been received. If you have already renewed, just send us an email at membership@wocls.org and we will ship them to you. If you haven't yet renewed you may do so online here..
You May Renew Your Membership Here
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First time!
The Carnival Legend made the first-ever Carnival cruise to the fabled Norwegian fjords last summer. Indeed, Carnival all but spans the world! ... Meanwhile, some sad news: a 6-year-old drowned in a pool aboard the Carnival Victory on October 14th. The ship was on a 4-night cruise at the time. |
 China - Released!
The Chinese cruise ship Henna, the former Jubilee of Carnival, was released last month at a South Korean port after claims of unpaid bills.
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Helping hand!
The operators of the luxurious German cruise ship Deutschland will be given $13 million in extended funds by its banking parent. This will allow for an upgrade & refit of the 1998-built ship.
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 Dubai - Facelift!
The projected $100 million refit for the legendary QE2 has now been scheduled at the COSCO Shipyard at Zhoushan, China. The 1969-built ship will be rebuilt internally with hotel cabins, restaurants (with up to to 500 seats) and entertainment venues. The 70,000-tonner will go on a 90-day introductory cruise of Asian cities prior to opening in an Asian port as a luxury hotel & tourist attraction. |
New order!!
The parent of Star Cruises has ordered a 150,000-tonner with nearly 1,700 cabins from Meyer Werft in Germany. The ship is further proof of the great growth expected in the Asian cruise market, especially in China. |
Miami - At the podium!
I was a guest speaker at HD Americas Design Convention, held in Miami Beach in late September. Along with cruise ship designer Francesca Bucci of Manhattan-based BG Studio and who has done interiors aboard Celebrity & Royal Caribbean new builds, we did a chat session TV style on ocean liner interiors & designs brought forward to modern day cruise ships. Art Deco styling peaks, of course. Among those attending was Demitrios Kaparis, former chief naval architect for Chandris and later Celebrity. |
 Pick a name!
NCL had asked fans to select names for their next two ships. Some 100,000 fans responded. The winners are Norwegian Escape and Norwegian Bliss.
Visit at Pier 88: I was among a group that recently visited & toured the 4,000-berth Norwegian Breakaway at New York. She is said to be the best in the NCL fleet these days and I found the 144,000-tonner to be very attractively and often creatively designed & decorated. She has a welcoming warmth about her as well as a sense of excitement, fun, even a buzz. Our three-course luncheon was very nice coupled with friendly, attentive service. The only, quickly noticed shortcoming was that the ship has only two elevator banks, which, when a full house of passengers carrying hand luggage start boarding, the crowding in these areas is very noticeable.
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Ocean Liner Collectibles - Poster art!
The Andes was the flagship of Britain's Royal Mail Lines, serving on the UK-South America run and later as fulltime luxury cruise ship. For many years, she was dubbed the finest liner in British-based cruising. Completed in 1939, the 25,000-tonner was also an heroic World War II trooper. She finally went to the scrappers in 1971. A well remembered ship, a large, colorful poster of this handsome-looking liner, advertising her earlier days sailing southward to Rio, Santos, Montevideo & Buenos Aires, sold recently for $675.
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Ocean Liner History - Seven stars on the high seas!
She was to be called King Solomon, then King David, but the name Shalom prevailed in the end. Eleanor Roosevelt was to have been godmother during launc ceremonies at St Nazaire in France, but later declined due to ill health and so the honor went to Mrs David Ben-Gurion. The 25,000 tonner was the new pride of Israel's Zim Lines and bore seven stars on her blue & white twin uptakes. Commissioned in April 1964, the 629-footer was used primarily in the final days of Atlantic crossings - between Haifa, Piraeus, Naples, Marseilles, Barcelona, Lisbon & New York. Crossing was her alternative - mostly to the Caribbean in winter, but also on the occasional long, expensive jaunt to the Mediterranean & later on trips up to Montreal & its Expo 67. The 900-bed Shalom had a rather short life, however, mostly due to low passenger loads, her mostly all-Kosher status in the dining rooms & hugely expensive Israeli staff & crew. Within three years, by 1967, she was put up for sale - going to West Germany's German-Atlantic Line to become the Hanseatic.
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Project Orient LTD - New project!
Britain's Orient Line ran liners such as the Oronsay, Orsova & Oriana until 1960 & then was merged to become P&O-Orient Lines until 1966. The Orient Line name then all but disappeared. It reappeared, however, in 1993 with the debut of the cruise ship Marco Polo. But that operation has now left the sealanes as well. Now, in conjunction with STX Shipyard, a plan is in place to build one & possibly two 70,000-ton liners for a revival of regular liner service between Southampton & Sydney, the old Orient Line run. The new ships, carrying up to 1600 passengers and with 800 crew, would offer monthly sailings. The voyage via Suez between the UK & Australia generally required 3-4 weeks in each direction. P&O itself dropped regular "line voyages" in the early 1980s in the face of deep airline competition.
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Send up the white smoke!
The name Britannia has been selected for P&O's biggest, longest & perhaps grandest liner yet. Being built by the ever-busy Fincantieri shipyard in Italy, she'll weigh in at 144,000 tons (and compared to, say, the 30,000 tons of the Line's clubby Adonia & the 65,000 tons of their Oriana), carry 3,600 passengers & will be capped by twin funnels. She's due in service in March 2015.
The name Britannia was, of course, used for the first of Cunard's trans-Atlantic paddle-steamers. That was back in 1840. Anchor Line, another British firm, used the name for a smallish passenger ship in the 1920s & '30s and Swedish Lloyd used it for a 4,000-ton passenger ship that shuttled across the North Sea between London & Gothenburg until the 1960s. Then, most memorable, the Queen's yacht was named Britannia. Commissioned in 1954, the blue-hulled craft did royal voyaging for 43 years, until decommissioned in late 1997. She's now a moored museum at Leith, near Edinburgh in Scotland. Onward to the present: P&O's new Britannia will, we might predict, have a royal naming.
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In the beginning!
The very first steel for the 3rd Oasis of the Seas class mega-liner was cut at the STX Shipyard at St Nazaire in France on Sep 23rd. She'll be a tad bigger at 227,000 tons - of course, the biggest liner yet - and it is rumored will be joined by a 4th and 5th sistership.
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 Teething problems!
While all but brand, spanking new, the Royal Princess had power problems last month while in cruising in the Med.
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Ocean & Cruise News
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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
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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!
 Union Castle Liners - From Great Britain to Africa 1946-1977 - William H. Miller
It was one of the most important British liner routes of all - the express run from Southampton to the South African Cape. Carrying passengers as well as cargo, including the all-important mail, it was a byword in travel - 'every Thursday at 4', as one of the big Union-Castle liners set off for Cape Town and beyond. By the late 1950s, these mail ships included the Arundel Castle, Carnarvon Castle, Winchester Castle, Athlone Castle, Stirling Castle, Capetown Castle and two post-war sensations, the Edinburgh Castle and Pretoria Castle. Three new liners arrived in 1959, the last great ships built for Union-Castle. They were Pendennis Castle, Windsor Castle and Transvaal Castle.
The route was not just to the Cape - for Union-Castle also offered a service down the East coast of Africa and a round-Africa route too. In 1977, with the mail contract and passengers lost to the jet and cargo to container ships, the service ceased in October that year and Union-Castle was no more. Amberley Publishing, Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK. $29.95
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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