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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...

What had happend on sinking LA BOURGOGNE? Why had been so few women and children been rescued ? by João Martins , editing by Earl of Cruise ss LA BOURGOGNE - editors collection From our viewpoint of today we see this disaster of ss LA BOURGOGNE as one of egoism and the right of the stronger, with no "heroism", or stepping back for the weak to be saved. And we blame the crew for not doing their duty ... Are we allowed to judge? Are we allowed to chide? Are we alowed to claime it as typical ... for the seamanship of France - I have heard and read so! - ?  No, we have not been on board.  This tragedy is not the place to be chauvinistic! And looking in todays world we see a lot of chauvinism again and egoism! The ss LA BOURGOGNE was a 7,395 GRT French ocean liner built by the FCM in Toulon for the Transatlatic mail and passenger service of Cie. Gle. TRANSATLANTIQUE and completed in 1886. She was an iron and steel construction, 150 metres long, had two funnels an...

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...

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...

Embarking on the expedition cruise market and following the ULSTEIN © motto - "Stay different" by Earl of Cruise "Stay different." The niche of ULSTEIN , their credo, even when embarking in the expedition cruise market. Years ago, attending the SMM in Hamburg, a friend of mine and me got an idea, when seeing the X-Bow of the ULSTEIN models of Offshore vessels , " Couldn´t this be the right bow for expedition cruise vessels? "  We got into a heated discussion. Me pro, he contra. In his opinion it was too far off from the mainstream what a cruise passenger is expecting from the design of his cruise or expedition ship.  We had been discussing too the up-and-down discussed freak wave casualties. Stay different." The niche of ULSTEIN ©, explorer cruise vessel with X-Bow - courtesy © ULSTEIN "Stay different." The niche of ULSTEIN © , explorer cruise vessel with X-Bow - courtesy © ULSTEIN The expedition cruise market had...

Abu `Abd All āh Mohammed XII, the Spanish name him Boabdil, is the last Muslim king in Spain and at the very end of a 700 year lasting, most fruitful realm. Based on original research, and drawing attention to the connections between the medieval Moorish king Boabdil , actually Abu `Abd All āh Mohammed XII, and current social and political concerns in Europe today, Cambridge academic Elizabeth Drayson presents the first full account in any language of the Moorish sultan of Granada, and head of the Nasrid dynasty. As historian I am fascinated by the once liberal cultur of al-Ándalus . It was once a thriving center of cultural exchange between christian Europe and the Arabian world and knowledge, that Arabian cientists, doctors, astronomers, historians and intelectuals saved from ancient times and developed further on. by Earl of Cruise Especially the knowledge and developments in navigation, shipbuilding and rigging, made it possible for the comming age of discovery. As well the...

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  ...

When BREMEN , the first of the two, the world shocking last German Greyhounds , and ` Ships of State ´, was introduced in 1929 - BREMEN had provoking radical new streamlined lines and broke with any traditions. When asking todays public: what is a typical liner, BREMEN is named among the first five. Only ten years after the Versailles Peace Treaty , with 20,000,000,000,000.00 Goldmark anual reparations for the next 58 years, an occupation of the Ruhrgebiet , a raging inflation till 1923 (then introduction of the Rentenmark ), the resurging Germany and NORDDEUTSCHER LLOYD back at the top again. And BREMEN and EUROPA had been financed private! Bank loans from German and US American banks, plus the liberation of frozen LLOYD capital from pre WWI. by Earl of Cruise BREMEN, in her first years with the squat funnels - courtesy coloured by Daryl LeBlanc The difference to EUROPA are the paired windows in the front of the promenade deck and the big ventilators, the last remains o...

Each year, and each magazine is printing or posting in the web their list of the 10 Best Luxury Cruise Ships. So do I now, with my view about their luxury ... Latest with the press releases at ITB in Berlin, we know, there is a stronger demand for luxury / luxurious cruises.   by Earl of Cruise SILVER EXPLORER, the former PRINCE ALBERT II, ex WORLD DISCOVERER of SOCIETY EXPEDITIONS, she was the expedition cruise vessels for SILVERSEA - Source: Wikipedia ( original seize ) Most it is a copy paste story, as all the time the same ships/cruise companies appear ... and sometime the described vessels are are nothing else than mass market ships, with an added first class space for the "wanna-be´s" in the mass market. So the YACHT CLUB of MSC, the CLOUD 9 at CARNIVAL, the QUEENS GRILL at CUNARD, etc. And this "luxury" areas are promoted as the top of the notch ... still a cramped affair on a high density vessel. Compared to the quarters of the emigrants that had ...

Armistice 1918 and Versailles 1919, Germany was deprived of its German Greyhounds. by Earl of Cruise Laid up German Greyhounds, on the right: ss KRONPRICESSIN CECELIE and ss KAISER WILHELM II source, courtesy NEW YORK TIMES July 16th, 1929 was a great day for Germany, ss BREMEN was setting sails for her inauguaral crossing to New York. 4days, 17h, 42later (22nd) she snatched the Blue Riband off of rms MAURETANIA - source: Bundesarchiv Only ten years after the Versailles Peace Treaty, with 2 billion Goldmark anual reparations for the next 58 years, a raging inflation till 1923 (introdution of the Rentenmark), the resurging Germany and NORDDEUTSCHER LLOYD was back at the top again. Phoenix rose from its ashes. The Allies of WWI got hold of countless German vessels during the war. German vessels did seek refugee in neutral ports. Later during the war, that all wars should end for the future, these countries   turned into enemies and seized the interned vessel...