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Luxury Expedition - PONANT has reached 30 years

PONANT , France's number 2 cruise company and world leader in polar expeditions celebrates 30 years of existence. It was on 1 April 1988 that the adventure began in Nantes, where 14 young Merchant Navy officers aged 23 to 29, including Jean-Emmanuel Sauvée, still active as CEO, and Philippe Videau, decided to create the company, which first took the name COMPAGNIE des ÎLES du PONANT (it became COMPAGNIE du PONANT in 2009 and simply PONANT in 2014). PONANT is the only cruise company in France flying the Tricolore. by Earl of Cruise based on an article by Vincent Groizeleau at Mer et Marine LE PONANT in the port of Bonifacio, Corsica - Sourece: Wikipedia ( original seize ) The first ship, built in Villeneuve-la-Garenne, was born in 1991. It is the sailboat and cruise vessel LE PONANT , a modern three-masted ship of 85.5 meters long with 32 cabins, still in service. LE PONANT´s sails became the logo of PONANT.  LE LEVANT - Source: Wikipedia ( original seize ) ...

Heritage - Geniale Göttin, Film über Hedy Lamarr, ohne die Schauspielerin gäbe es weder WiFi noch Bluetooth

Der Film zeigt die verschiedenen Facetten: „Geniale Göttin“ – Hedy Lamarr – im Labor. Foto: The Everette Hedy Lamarr wurde als Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler am 9. November 1914 in Wien geboren. Sie war das einzige Kind einer jüdischen Bankiersfamilie. Die Lamarr galt zu ihrer Zeit als die schönste Frau im Film, wenn nicht gar der Welt. Aber sie war auch eine der umstrittensten Schönheiten überhaupt. „Es ist für Frauen immer noch schwer, in der Technik anerkannt zu werden – gerade für eine Frau wie Hedy. Ihre Schönheit hat den Blick verstellt auf das, was hinter der Fassade steckt“, beschreibt Forscherin Anja Drephal von der Humboldt-Universität in Berlin das Schicksal der 1914 geborenen und 2000 gestorbenen österreichischen Schauspielerin Hedy Lamarr. Das motivierte auch Peter Fotheringham vom Kino Sweet Sixteen im Depot den Film zur Premiere in Dortmund zu zeigen. „Zur Premiere verlosen wir unter den Zuschauern eine Hörbuchfassung ...

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HISTORY - The loss of ps CONNAUGHT, flagship of GALWAY LINE

The loss of GALWAY LINE´s CONNAUGHT intrigued me after a friends sending of a copy of  GALWAY ADVERTISER of Thu, Sep 15, 2016, about . Intuiged by an earlier finding about, I started a research for this article. The loss of the ps CONNAUGHT , ATLANTIC ROYAL MAIL STEAM NAVIGATION Co. or GALWAY LINE , October 8th 1860. The CONNAUGHT was launched to reverse the sliding fortunes of the J Orwell Lever’s GALWAY LINE, and had a severe blow to the company. Although the local press tried to make the most of the fact that of the 591 people on board, not one life was lost, the bad publicity soured the public towards GALWAY LINE, which was at the same time in financial trouble. by Earl of Cruise CONNAUGHT of ATLANTIC ROYAL MAIL STEAM NAVIGATION Co. or GALWAY LINE - courtsey Timothy Collins, Transatlantic Triumph and Heroic Failure: The Galway Line The ATLANTIC ROYAL MAIL STEAM NAVIGATION Co., GALLWAY LINE is one of the examples in the beginning of the Transatlantic steam age, th...

Ocean Liners in Movies or Films at Sea (updated Nov 2017)

For liners and the shipping companies movies and films had been a top marketing tool Movies or Films and liners at sea, had been intriguing me since I have read about in my youth in LUXUSLINER - BILDER EINER GROSSEN ZEIT by Lee Server ( THE GOLDEN AGE OF OCEAN LINERS ). But earlier, mot only since my first crossing, I was keen watching movies with liners in it, and disapointed, which was an understatement, when I realized the films have been made in a set ashore in some movie "factory". That was after my first crossing.   by Earl of Cruise an essay in progress `Sabrina´, Humphrey Bogart in the office, while LIBERTÉ is sailing out of New York harbor - screenshot Ocean liners, especially those of the luxury category, had been the location of dramas, love stories, thrillers, suspense and catastrophies sinde film was born, or nearly. In this list, the most descriptions are taken from Wikipedia, as I guess no one can expect having seen all these films ... otherwise I w...

HISTORY - The CUNARD - WHITE STAR Liner rms QUEEN ELIZABETH (1938-1972)

Over years, in my early youth, the QUEEN ELIZABETH was shaping my mind for the perfect ocean liner, despite having made my first experiences with a liner onboard the HANSEATIC (1), ex EMPRESS OF SCOTLAND, ex EMPRESS OF JAPAN. When leaning at the rail of HANSEATIC entering the port, my eyes where every where and I wished to by a camera, I took all in. And when seeing the QUEEN ELIZABETH with my own eyes, the nice behaving young boy turned into a tomboy, that my grandmére was no longer able to tame ... I did draw quite a lot of looks, back then. I found, while on research, this article and thought it interesting publishing in my blog: written and published by John Sheperd at liverpoolships.org editing and comments by Earl of Cruise I ( John Shepard ) joined the CUNARD LINE in March 1962 as an Assistant Purser and sailed the QUEEN ELIZABETH throughout that year, before transferring to the Liverpool-based CARINTHIA in November, where I remained as Crew Purser for the next five...

HISTORY - The Monster-ships that changed how we Travel at Sea

Our present days sea travel, with its `luxuries´ started with the Monster-ships after the turn from 19th to 20th century, and technical progress and innovations made us think "unbeatable" at sea ... This hybris and belive in the technological progress was destroyed when the TITANIC sank after its encounter off Newfoundland with an iceberg. The beauty salons, fitness rooms, swimming pools, firsts on German liners, and even wireless communications of today’s huge cruise ships all got their start with the `floating palaces´ of a century and a bit ago.   by Earl of Cruise ss GREAT WESTERN, of GREAT WESTERN STEAMSHIP COMPANY, constructed by genius Isambard Kingdom Brunel - Sourece: Engineers Walk ss GREAT BRITAIN of GREAT WESTERN STEAMSHIP COMPANY, constructed by genius Isambard Kingdom Brunel - Sourece: ART UK In the first half of 19th century steam started powering ships. No longer tedious and unpredictable voyages at sea. And with the groundbreaking game chan...

HISTORY - ts / ss BREMEN and ts / ss EUROPA

Germany’s two luxury liners, BREMEN and EUROPA , have not only played an important part in their country’s mercantile revival, but have added also an immortal chapter to the history of transatlantic travel. Copy from Shipping Wonders of the World   From part 6 , published 17 March 1936 editing by Earl of Cruise ss / ts BREMEN in her early years - Source: Shipping Wonders of the World/Bundespresse Archiv The PRIDE OF A NATION - the NORDDEUTSCHER LLOYD quadruple-screw turbine express liner BREMEN . The keel of this ship was laid in June 1927. Her launch took place in August, 1928. In less than a year later, the Bremen made her first voyage to America, when she crossed the Atlantic from Cherbourg to New York in four days seventeen hours forty-two minutes, thus setting up a new record and gaining the coveted “Blue Riband”. During the passage the Bremen attained an average speed of 27.83 knots. ss / ts BREMEN in her early years - Source: W ikipedia For the pop...

HISTORY - Traveling with airliner LZ 129 HINDENBURG was the most luxurious airtravel

The real airliner LZ 129 HINDENBURG enabled the most luxurious airtravel for decades. Imagine, gliding through the air while the landscape or the sea below can be seen ... LZ 129 HINDENBURG marks the climax of airship construction. On May 6, 1937, the story of civilian airship ended in a tragedy. In Lakehurst, New Jersey, the largest flying object and has been with the similar sized LZ 130 GRAF ZEPPELIN II the most luxurious of all time. How this came about can be reconstructed logically, a series of fatal physics concatenations . The airship LZ 129 HINDENBURG marks the climax of airship construction. It was in its time the fastest and most exclusive traveling object between Europe and America. The challenges of the construction of the giant of the heaven were immense. by Earl of Cruise LZ 129 HINDENBURG, 1936, in Lakehurst - digital copy of a coloured cover photo, originally by Bill Schneider, published in Dan Grossman´s book ` ZEPPELIN HINDENBURG: AN ILLUSTRATED HI...

Germany and HAPAG - A Journey through History

HAMBURG-AMERIKANISCHEPACKETFAHRT ACTIEN GESELLSCHAFT - HAPAG or HAMBURG AMERICA LINE is reflecting, as Germany, the LLOYD of Bremen, two times of rsing and two times of devasting downfall and a third rise. BORUSSIA , 1856, First Day Cover 1956 of Deutsche Bundespost - own collection Once Germany´s biggest shipping line HAPAG / HAMBURG-AMERIKANISCHE PACKETFAHRT ACTIEN GESELLSCHAFT-LLOYD, merged with it former old Hanseatic rival NORDDEUTSCHER LLOYD in 1970, to now HAPAG-LLOYD, had its peaks and downs, but rose each time on its own to new hights, without any state subsidies. As German mail subsidiaries did never cover the costs for purchasing or mainting the vessels ordered for the specific German mail lines.   by Earl of Cruise In this article I used most German Wikipedia links, as they proved to be mostly of better research quality, and surprisinf to me, some English lines and liners have only German written articles, for the others, English Wiki links are to ...

HISTORY - FRENCH LINE - COMPAGNIE GÉNÉRALE TRANSATLANTIQUE, a review - Part II Belle Epoque

The COMPAGNIE GÉNÉRALE TRANSATLANTIQUE, known since the Belle Epoque as FRENCH LINE in the English speaking world (or TRANSAT or CGT), had its origins in 1861.  by Earl of Cruise E mperor Napoléon III. wanted strengthening the French primacy on the oceans and an adequate mail line for the French mail. The 1855 established COMPAGNIE GÉNÉRALE MARITIME of the Péreire brothers was the core for the new company. This company´s headquarter was, as any major business in France, situated in Paris, while the homeport of the vessels had been Le Havre for the North Atlantic and Marseille for the route to the Orient and Africa. Houseflag of COMPAGNIE GÉNÉRALE TRANSATLANTIQUE S.A. - soure: ebay "On   limited space, we put our country on display", a crewmember declared once. And no other line put in more of its national personality into its product than COMPAGNIE GÉNÉRALE TRANSATLANTIQUE . After the French - Prussian/German war of 1870/71 France had to sig...

HISTORY - RHEINGOLD the German luxury day express train

Between May 1928 and August 1939 the luxury day express train RHEINGOLD operated between Hoek van Holland and Basel as a FFD Pullman train of DEUTSCHE REICHSBAHN GESELLSCHAFT (DRG) and MITROPA. The name was mystic and elitarian. by Earl of Cruise   RHEINGOLD, the name of the most luxurious train ever of Germany - detail, own photo On May 15th, 1928 the luxury express train RHEINGOLD started for the first time, connecting Hoek von Holland, Netherlands, and Amsterdamn with Basel, Suisse. Name giving was the legendary treasure of the Nibelungen. This special service for most international travelers was an immidiate success. Advertisment for the RHEINGOLD created by Frank Newbould - collection Earl of Cruise For the most travelers in the RHEINGOLD meant the voyage in the luxury train more than being transported in high comfort. From their soft armchairs they could watch the pitoresque Rhine landscape, with wine villages, vine-growing slopes, forteresses and castles, and th...

ss NORMANDIE 1935-1942 XIII - Le NORMANDIE the great triumph and tragic end of the greatest ship of France

NORMANDIE at sea - courtsey coloured by Daryl LeBlanc Le NORMANDIE , the greates ship of France, was a great triumph for the French industry, economy the most gracious ambassador of France - a symbol of cultur and Savoir de Vivre. NORMANDIE never surppassed by any liner. But whom the gods love, they beat him to a tragic ending. In case of NORMANDIE the gods let do their dirty job by careless, ignorant and arrogant US Navy officials and their sub contractors.   by Earl of Cruise   NORMANDIE had 4 years of living and the chance to bring Glitz, Glamour and Luster into a world that was just in front of an abyss since October 1929. Sailing with NORMANDIE , created to cater primarily the First Clas clientele, and enjoying life on board seems to me today, as a Dance on the Volcano, that errupted in 1939. Longitudinal cutaway of PARIS - own collection copy from a CGT broshure ÎLE DE FRANCE , Cie Gle TRANSATLANTIQUE provoking ART DÉCO liner - own collection  ...