2009 November |

Dubai may sell QE2 to tackle debt crisis The high-profile “trophy asset” of Dubai’s boom years may have to be sold to pay off the emirate’s mounting debts.

November 27, 2009 By Michael L. Grace Leave a Comment

Is QE2 doomed to the scrap heap in India? Bring out the worry beads!

Cruise Ship History: Dubai may sell former Cunard Line QE2 to tackle debt crisis – The high-profile “trophy asset” of Dubai’s boom years may have to be sold to pay off the emirate’s mounting debts. The QE2 competes with the RMS Titanic for media attention.

From The Daily Telegraph:

The QE2 arrives at Port Rashid in Dubai. The Gulf state may have to sell the high profile asset acquired during the boom years.

Dubai World, the state-run company at the heart of a default crisis that has sent shock waves through the global financial system, bought a string of prestige stakes and properties as the city grew. The team of auditors brought in by the government, led by one of Britain’s leading experts in restructuring troubled firms, is to trawl through all the company assets with no options ruled out, a spokesman confirmed on Friday.

The dream that will never happen. Dubai goes broke and where will the most famous cruise liner in the world end up?

The Daily Telegraph also understands that Abu Dhabi is giving close scrutiny to ‘non-core’ assets like the QE2 in the Dubai World portfolio.

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Filed Under: Cruise History, CUNARD LINE Tagged With: cunard lines, Cunard White Star, Dubai, QE2, SCRAPPED, Titanic

PALM SPRINGS AND THE STREAMLINER

November 25, 2009 By Michael L. Grace Leave a Comment

Retro look at the 1950s – Cruising the Past – A major element in the development of Palm Springs was the Southern Pacific Railroad. At one time the SP offered passenger service on over eight daily trains.

The SP served Palm Springs from a Spanish style station especially built for the resort in the late 1930s.

SP, at one time, had eight daily trains serving the desert resort for passengers escaping the harsh winters of the USA or wanting the desert climate for their health.

The Santa Fe and Union Pacific, through their rail connections in Riverside and San Bernardino, joined the SP in providing the major form of transportation well into the 1950s.

Passengers arriving aboard the Santa Fe and UP trains where driven in Grey Line limousines from the two major Inland Empire cities to the Palm Springs hotels and resorts.

The GOLDEN STATE heading out of Palm Springs – 1950s.

The SUNSET LIMITED, GOLDEN STATE, SUPER CHIEF and CITY of LOS ANGELES were the “retro” way of getting to the glamorous desert resort. Unlike Amtrak, all these trains provided daily service on a year round basis and operated on time.

Palm Springs Southern Pacific Station located on Tipton Road, off 111, on the way to Whitewater – early 1950s.

In 1877, as an incentive to complete a railroad to the Pacific, the US government gave Southern Pacific Railroad title to the odd-numbered parcels of land for 10 miles on either side of the tracks running through the Southern California desert around Palm Springs. The even-numbered parcels of land were given to the Agua Calientes. In 1884, Judge John Guthrie McCallum of San Francisco arrived in Palm Springs with his family, seeking health for his tubercular son. The first permanent non-Indian settler, McCallum purchased land from Southern Pacific and built an elaborate aqueduct. In 1909 Nellie Coffman’s Desert Inn opened.

Rock Island and Southern Pacific operated the GOLDEN STATE LIMITED and the APACHE. Both were daily trains from Chicago with through Pullmans from Minneapolis – St. Paul, St. Louis and Kansas City. This is ad is from the 1930s.

The Sunset Limited arriving at West Palm Springs Station from New Orleans enroute to Los Angeles in 1940. Passengers and visitors are on the platform. Station wagons and limos are waiting to take passengers to hotels in Palm Springs.

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Filed Under: STREAMLINERS Tagged With: Amtrak, chief, city of los angeles, GOLDEN STATE, Palm Springs, retro 1950s, santa fe, Southern Pacific, southern pacific station, SP STATION, SUNSET LTD, super chief, UNION PACIFIC

MARITIME UNIONS HELP KILL THE AMERICAN PASSENGER SHIP – SS AMERICA LEAVES 100s OF PASSENGERS STRANDED IN 1963.

November 24, 2009 By Michael L. Grace Leave a Comment

SS AMERICA – Didn’t sail in Sept 1963 – because of a strike.

Cruising the Past: The Maritime Unions – corrupt leaders, under gangster control, along with the JET, helped kill American passengers ships. Maritime strikes were endless throughout the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. The workers demanded more wages, shorter hours and guess what? All American passengers ships disappeared in the 1970s. Thousands of jobs were lost. The unions would strike at the height of the season. Alaska Steamship was the first to discontinue passenger service in the early 1950s because of labor problems. The other lines such as Grace, US Lines, American Export Lines, Matson – soon went out of business. Now there’s one ship operating in Hawaii – but the American crews were so poorly trained they had to bring in foreigners.

Passengers on SS America departing after ships voyage cancelled when Maritime Union charged engineer with bigotry. (Photo by Truman Moore//Time Life Pictures/Getty Images)

Passenger on SS America disapointed after ships voyage cancelled when Maritime Union charged engineer with bigotry. (Photo by Truman Moore//Time Life Pictures/Getty Images)

Passengers on SS America in lounge after ships voyage cancelled when Maritime Union charged engineer with bigotry. Photo: Truman Moore/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

Filed Under: Cruise History, UNITED STATES LINE Tagged With: LABOR PROBLEMS, MARITIME UNIONS, ss america, STRIKES, US LINES

HAVING A WONDERFUL TIME “CROSSING THE POND” IN 1939

November 24, 2009 By Michael L. Grace Leave a Comment

Cruising the Past: SS MANHATTAN and SS WASHINGTON of the U.S.LINES crossing the pond in 1939. Preview of the SS AMERICA. Just before World War 2.

Filed Under: Cruise History, UNITED STATES LINE Tagged With: 1930s, 1940, ss america, ss manhattan, ss washington, US LINES

DISASTER AT SEA – SS VESTRIS

November 21, 2009 By Michael L. Grace Leave a Comment

CRUISE HISTORY – The S.S. Vestris was a passenger and cargo liner built by Workman Clarke & Co. Ltd. of Belfast, Ireland, for the Lamport & Holt Line. She weighed 10,660 gross tons, had twin screw propulsion, a speed of 15 knots, and could carry 280 first class, 130 second class, and 200 third class passengers with a crew of 250. Launched on May 16, 1912, Vestris made her maiden voyage on September 19, 1912, and was chartered in 1922 to Royal Mail, sailing between New York and Buenos Aires.

Vestris left New York November 10, 1928, with 129 passengers and 196 crew. The next day she ran into a severe storm and developed a starboard list, caused by a partially open coal port four feet above the water line according to testimony later given during the inquiry. The list worsened as first the cargo and then the coal bunkers shifted. An SOS was sent out on November 12, some 200 miles off Hampton Roads, Virginia, and the ship was abandoned. At 1400 hours she fell on her side and sank. Some 112 of the 325 onboard were lost.

Adverse press publicity and public outcry caused Lamport & Holt, already feeling the effects of the deepening depression, to withdraw from the New York service and lay up many of their vessels. It did, however, have its benefits for future seamen and passengers as it influenced life preserver development. It led to the convening of an International Convention for Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) in London in the following year. Rescuers who responded to the Vestris sinking testified that they found many bodies floating face down, even though they were wearing cork life vests. As a result, a U.S. Navy Captain urged that kapok life jackets be required for the merchant marines, because they kept an unconscious individual’s face and head above the water. This resulted in the first SOLAS, agreed in 1929, to win general acceptance by all seafaring nations of any importance.

DISASTER AT SEA

NEW YORK, Nov. 15. – Fred W. Puppe, the first witness at today’s Federal investigation of the Vestris disaster, said that when he went aboard the steamer last Saturday at this port he was informed his cabin steward would be unable to attend him because the steward was drunk. Latest figures indicate that 127 of the 338 persons aboard the Vestris are missing or dead. Seventy of those unaccounted for were passengers. Puppe declared members of the crew took the best boats for themselves. “They winked to their friends to join them,” he testified.

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Filed Under: STEAMSHIP LINES Tagged With: Lamport & Holt Line, ship sinking, SOLAS, SS VESTRIS, Titanic

FINDING STEAMSHIP PASSENGER LISTS, IMMIGRATION RECORDS – 1820s – 1940a

November 20, 2009 By Michael L. Grace Leave a Comment

FINDING STEAMSHIP PASSENGER LISTS, IMMIGRATION RECORDS – 1820s – 1940a

Cruising The Past receives numerous requests for ship’s passenger lists, manifests and listings. The following may help in your search. We suggest you visit the following websites:

JOE BEINE’S LISTING OF PASSENGER LISTS AND IMMIGRATION RECORDS

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By searching Google you will find many indexes of passenger lists (also called immigration records or ship manifests) for ships that sailed to the United States from 1820 to the 1940s, including microfilm, CD-Roms, books and online indexes. Microfilm records listed here are available from the National Archives (NARA) and some of its branches. Most are also available from LDS Family History Centers. Some public libraries (especially genealogy libraries) may also carry these items.

Some of the indexes listed below are linked to digitized images of the passenger lists from the National Archives microfilm, which can be viewed online at Ancestry. If you are only interested in the microfilmed passenger lists for offline research see: National Archives Passenger Lists on Microfilm.

Here are more listings and links courtesy of Joe Beine’s website:

All links are to pages on Joe Beine’s website except where noted — external links will open in a new window.

Indexes for Passenger Lists 1820-1940s

Size Matters: Oasis of the Seas vs RMS Titanic

November 18, 2009 By Michael L. Grace Leave a Comment

OASIS OF THE SEAS vs RMS TITANIC

RMS TITANIC is dwarfed by the new OASIS OF THE SEAS – A comparison in size.

Size Matters: Big Media Coverage For The World’s Biggest Cruise Ship Creates Cruise Ship History

Cruise Ship History: Before Royal Caribbean’s new “Oasis of the Seas” begins its first voyage on December 1, it will already have drawn more pre-inaugural media attention than any cruise ship in modern history. To begin with, WABC’s top-rated “Good Morning America” show will be doing a live national broadcast onboard the Oasis from 7 am to 9 am on Friday, November 20. Then, there are special preview segments on Travel Channel and just about every major newspaper and travel magazine in the U.S. is doing a feature article about this ship.

SS EVA PERON and SS EVITA – DOES MADONNA KNOW?

November 17, 2009 By Michael L. Grace Leave a Comment

Cruise Line History: DOES MADONNA KNOW THAT EVITA (EVA PERON) HAD TWO CRUISE SHIPS NAMED AFTER HER? The Argentine liners were called the SS EVITA and the SS EVA PERON. They were similar in design to the SS JUAN PERON. The ships ran from Argentina (South America) to Europe and the USA.

Three views of the SS EVA PERON (later renamed the SS URUGUAY). Cia Argentian de Nav Dodero’s EVA PERON was launched in 1949. Named in honor of dictator Juan Peron’s wife, the ship was 12,627 GRT, 530 feet in length and 71 feet in width, carrying 96 first class passengers with a crew of 145. The ship was very deluxe and used by a lot of Peron’s cronies. Her maiden voyage was from London to Buenos Aires and later from Hamburg to Buenos Aires. After the fall of the Peron government in 1955 the ship was named the URUGUAY. She was broken up in 1973.

Left: Eva Peron “Mother of Argentina, the SS EVITA and SS EVA PERON”

Argentina was the only South American country to operate long distance intercontinental ocean liners, although always with ships of moderate size and speed.

While ruling Argentina, Eva Peron had dictator Juan Peron, her doting husband, name two-passenger ships after her. The Argentine liners were called the SS EVITA and the SS EVA PERON.

They were similar in design to the SS PRESIDENTE PERON. The ships ran from Argentina (South America) to Europe and the USA.

The SS OLLANTA – 12,500 Feet Above Sea Level – Ernesto “Che” Guevara crossed Lake Titicaca on his revolutionary journey.

November 16, 2009 By Michael L. Grace Leave a Comment

CRUISE HISTORY: High in the Andes mountain range, a huge lake straddles the borders between Bolivia and Peru.

Lake Titicaca is one of the largest lakes in South America being more than 115 miles in length and over fifty miles across at its widest point.

Although over 12,500 feet above sea level and at least 200 miles from the coast, it is also home to a small fleet of ships which makes it the highest navigable waterway in the world.

Ernesto “Che” Guevara (seen above), as a young student, crossed Lake Titicaca aboard one of these steamers.

The two largest steamships to ply their trade across these remote waters in the twentieth century were the Inca (1800 tons) and the Ollanta (2000 tons). The Ollanta is still there, a testament to the engineers who designed and built her.

Although these ships are part and parcel of Lake Titicaca’s rich history, their origins lie far from the Andes or indeed from South America. Both began life on the Humber foreshore, no more than a stone’s throw from the mouth of the River Hull, in the vicinity of what is now the Victoria Dock Estate. This is the story of these vessels and the men who built them.

HISTORY SETTING OASIS OF THE SEAS – THE LARGEST CRUISE SHIP IN THE WORLD SAILS INTO FLORIDA

November 15, 2009 By Michael L. Grace Leave a Comment

Cruise History was made as Royal Caribbean Cruise Line’s Oasis of the Seas arrived into Port Everglades in Ft Lauderdale, Florida. The weather was PERFECT!!! Oasis of the Seas is now the largest cruise ship in the world. Five times bigger than the Titanic. Watch and listen to the excitement as the Oasis enters her home Port for the first time. Filmed from the location of the “World Famous” MortgageMobile.com Webcam.

The Oasis of the Seas was accompanied by a flotilla of small boats and doused by water cannons as it headed into its new home port of Port Everglades on Friday. Royal Caribbean executives and local leaders waited to greet the $1.4 billion ship, which has taken six years from conception to completion.

This year has been one of the most exciting in the cruise industry as by year end it will have seen the introduction of 9 new cruise ships. The biggest and most discussed new vessel is, of course, Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas. Slated for her first voyage in December, this floating city will rank as the largest cruise ship in history. Weighing in at 220,000-tons, the 5,400-passenger ship has created a buzz ever since Royal Caribbean announced the project. The Oasis will feature neighborhoods that replicate land based sites like Central Park and the Boardwalk. Other innovations include an onboard “zip-line”, Aqua Theater and a bar that raises five stories like an elevator. These are in addition to the many distinctive features that are already present on Royal’s Freedom class ships.

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Filed Under: Cruise History, STEAMSHIP LINES Tagged With: AIDA Luna., CARNIVAL, Celebrity Equinox, Costa Pacifica, florida, MSC Splendida, oasis of the seas, royal caribbean cruise line, Titanic