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NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE has dubbed its new class of ships - LEONARDO PROJECT

The LEONARDO PROJECT of NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE and its builders FINCANTIERI have revealed the first renderings of a new class of ships for the mass market oriented cruise vacation company.   by Earl of Cruise   Once one of the entrepreneurs of the modern cruise industry - Knut Kloster sen. , has grown after quite a number of turbulences into ones of the major players in the industry. From the beginning the cruises have been oriented to the mass market, with the ferries transformed into cruise vessels, sailing out of Miami. After "conquering" the Caribbean NORWEGIAN stepped out into the Seven Oceans. Rendering of the Project LEONARDO of NCL - courtesy FINCANTIERI and NCL After inaugurating the most unattractive cruise vessel ever to be built, the NORWEGIAN EPIC, this design in cooperation with Italian FINCANTIERI, is like a shining star ... for NCL and FINCANTIERI. It looks quite elegant and makes me believing Italian designers havn´t lost their abilities. Looking...

Cruise destination Africa - EU partnership, time for new cruise ideas in Afrika - A Suggestion

In the new EU Africa partnership, which is a new way of Development Aid, it is intended to, engaging civil society in Pan-African issues of civil rights, as  Democratic Governance, Human Rights, Free Press/Media, Peace and Security, Gender Equality and Women Empowerment and a change in economic policies.   by Earl of Cruise   The EU member states have been in most part colonial powers, which plundered the riches of the continent (United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Germany - till 1914/18, Spain, Portugal). And some countries still behave like colonial empires. And the old Development Aid which was given, was in some sort a new colonial power. And besides it was benefitting the African corrupt elites, for decades. This turned into a number of problems and most, inner African wars, to piracy on several coasts and insecurity for investments, and the withdrawing of international investors. Most react quite arrogant when an African investment is proposed. But some countri...

PEACE BOAT is planing its first purpose built ship, a revolutionairy design

PEACE BOAT’s ECOSHIP Project is the first purpose built ship and a transformational programme to construct the planet’s most environmentally sustainable cruise ship. PEACE BOAT is a non-government organisation that is working altruistic for peace, understanding, human rights, enviroment protection and sustainability. So it is only consequent to build an enviroment friendly ship, with less carbon footprint than existing vessels.  by Earl of Cruise Will this vessel and its concept become reality, it will be a breakthrough in enviromental technology on the seas. It will be a lighthouse, hopefully awakening the yesterdays dreaming brickheads, who proclaim global warming is a communist conspiracy. The ECOSHIP - rendering by Oliver Design, courtesy PEACE BOAT This is all the more interesting as the US just having withdrawn its responsibility for the climate and the environment on the G20 summit in Baden Baden , just as this Trump had cried out, loud enough to hear in the ele...

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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...

Review - Le BLEU DE FRANCE la France en Mer

La France en Mer, á bord de BLEU DE FRANCE - a swan song. I have made a wonderful cruise in spring 2009 on board BLEU DE FRANCE, which started her life as HAPAG-LLOYD´s EUROPA in 1981.  by Earl of Cruise BLEU DE FRANCE in Barcelona - own photography © Earl of Cruise Deep rain clouds hang over Marseille. The radiant white city, the gateway of France to the south, shows itself grey. The roads, trotoires and buildings still are wet from the last rainshower. Our car turns into the entrance of the Gare Maritime in the new port. And there she is, the BLEU DE FRANCE. Darkblue hull, white, wet glistening superstructure. The ship seemed to be covered with a layer of laquer. We are unloading the luggage at the check-in and have the boarding, we're early. A steward leads our small group of travellers to the final formalities at the reception in the cabins. that friendly "Bon voyage" from the reception is still echoing in the ears, and the steward opens the door to our Ri...

Cruise - PULLMANTUR ceases CROISIÈRES DE FRANCE a Conundrum or Fait accompli?

CDF is a 100% subsidiary of PULMANTUR and was catering the French cruise market with French styled and with French cuisine offering cruises.  by Earl of Cruise HORIZON of CROISIÈRES DE FRANCE - courtesy CROISIÈRES DE FRANCE You can´t serve a French anything else than French cuisine, as good quality food is one of the most essential needs for French. When money saving is needed the last will be food in France! CDF reported an average of 100,000 cruisers on board their ships HORIZON and ZENITH. CDF was in 3rd place in the French cruise market after COSTA (CARNIVAL subsidiary) and MSC (Italian, based in Switzerland). Both are surprisingly are everything but not French. Their food is acceptable Mediterranean. And the cruises are cheap. When once, 2008, sailing on board the BLEU DE FRANCE, ex EUROPA V, 1991, now SAGA´s SAPPHIRE , I was amazed by the cusine and the really French atmosphere on board the former German vessel, who´s heritage was still to be seen. Back then I ...

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...

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 - 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...

HISTORY - One of the earliest steam ship companies in the world ÖSTERREICHISCHER LLOYD was founded in 1833 - II 1855-1914

One of the "early bird" shipping companies start sailing with steam powered vessels, was 1833 LLOYD AUSTRIACO of Austria-Hungary. With the industrial and engineering progress, LLOYD AUSTRIACO begann with paddle wheel steamships and changed to screw driven vessels, when this technology was still young and innovative. Let´s not forgett, Josef Ressel, an Austrian state serviceman, was the first to test a screw as propulsion for ships. First convoy passing the SUEZ CANAL in 1869, among this convoy had been ships of LLOYD AUSTRIACO, as well the empirial yacht of Kaiser Franz Joseph - own collection And via its board member Pasquale Revoltella LLOYD AUSTRIACO became a shareholder of the SUEZ CANAL , one of the back bones for the British Empire ...  Honi soit qui mal y pense [ɔni swa ki mal i pɑ̃s] by Earl of Cruise Steamer PANDORA - Source: Civicp Museo del Mare Trieste As early as 1857, the Semmering was no longer an obstacle for the railroad, the first...

Starting rms EMPRESS OF BRITAIN from cold

rms EMPRESS OF BRITAIN, 1930, Cold Starting Canadian Pacific Steamships Ltd., Builders: John Brown, Clydebank by Stephen Carey, editing by Earl of Cruise rms EMPRESS OF BRITAIN - own collection   1 Overview of the machinery spaces 1.1 Boiler rooms The ship is (or was) a quadruple screw Canadian Pacific liner fitted with two Scotch fire-tube boilers at 200lb/in 2 , one Johnson water-tube boiler and eight Yarrow 5-drum water-tube boilers, operating at 425lb/in 2 , 725 ° F superheated.   In SI units this converts to 13.8bar saturated (198 ° C) for the Scotch boilers, and 29bar, 385 ° C superheated.   At 29bar the saturated temperature is 234 ° C, so the boilers operate at 151 ° C superheat. The boilers are arranged in 2 boiler rooms, one forward and one aft, separated by oil fuel tanks. In the forward boiler room are the 2 Scotch boilers, the Johnson boiler and two Yarrow boilers.   In the aft boiler room are the remaining 6 Yarrow boilers.   A profi...

Starting rms TITANIC from cold

rms TITANIC, 1911, Cold Starting WHITES STAR LINE Ltd., Builders: HALAND & WOLFF, Belfast by Stephen Carey, engineer, editing by Earl of Cruise rms TITANIC, 1911 © Stephen Carey   Table of Contents 1     Overview of machinery spaces 1.1        Boiler rooms 1.2        Coal bunkers 1.3        Propulsion engines 1.4        Electrical power generation 1.4.1            Main generating sets 1.4.2            Emergency generating sets 2     Lighting up the boilers 2.1        Steam line redundancy 3     Starting the generators 3.1        Auxiliary seawater pump and condenser 3.2        Starting an emergency gener...

HISTORY - HAMBURG-SÜD and the CAP express liner

The CAP express liners of HAMBURG-SÜD, CAP FINISTERRE, CAP TRAFALGAR, CAP POLONIO and CAP ARCONA, are known worldwide for their luxury, renowned service on board and grandeur. Their successors of the 60s, the CAP SAN vessels, have not been that elegant, but truly first class and were known as the "White Swans" of the Atlantic. by Earl of Cruise HAMBURG-SÜD´s SANTA TERESA in Santos - courtesy HAMBURG-SÜD Since its formation in 1871, HAMBURG-SÜDAMERIKANISCHE DAMPFSCHIFFFAHRTS-GESELLSCHAFT ( HSDG or HAMBURG-SÜD ) has evolved from a conventional freight and passenger shipping company into a global operating transport logistics organisation. Today, it ranks among the world's ten largest container shipping lines and is one of the leading providers in the North-South trades. T ill recently it was a member of the successful Oetker Group, one of the largest and best-known family enterprises in Germany. The heirs and owners sold HAMBURG-SÜD to the Danish MAERSK Group ...