United Caribbean Lines is a company without ships that isn’t anywhere near starting service yet, but has come up with an interesting concept. They plan to use converted Danish ferries for service from Tampa, Florida to Havana, Cuba, with a possible secondary service to Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. The overnight voyages…
It was no April Fool’s Day joke when Ambassadors International filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a Delaware court on April 1, 2011. While the Ambassadors name may not be that familiar to the general public, they are the parent company of the three-ship Windstar Cruises and also control…
The new AIDAsol was christened today, April 9th, in Kiel, Germany in a ceremony that the entire population was invited to attend. The 71,100 gross ton cruise ship is the eighth vessel to join the rapidly growing fleet of Carnival Corporation-owned Aida Cruises, and the fifth in the so-called “Sphinx Class”…
An Art Deco masterpiece that created decades of memories and became a landmark on the St. Louis waterfront is about to be scrapped. Depending on water conditions in the Mississippi River, the ADMIRAL riverboat may depart any day now for her final voyage, a 10 hour tow to the Azcon Corporation…
On Friday, March 25, 2011, Steve Rodriguez of www.kalakala.org announced that the former non-profit organization dedicated to saving and preserving the ferry KALAKALA would become a for profit entity. At the same time, it looked like his dream of saving the the unique vintage ferry was literally sinking as the ship took…
In the ongoing efforts to rid Suisun Bay in Northern California of the remaining inactive ships of the Ready Reserve Fleet, the second vessel in a month has left to be scrapped. The PRESIDENT was towed away from the raft of ships at the end of Row J, on March…
Saga Holidays announced their newest acquisition will be named SAGA SAPPHIRE. The inaugural voyage for the 37,301 gross ton vessel will take place on March 26, 2012. At present, the ship is sailing under the Royal Caribbean-owned Croisieres de France banner as the BLEU DE FRANCE. Under Saga, the ship will…
Shawn Dake continues his coverage of three Cunard Line Queens (their newest QUEEN ELIZABETH and QUEEN VICTORIA and the eldest, the first QUEEN MARY) and a very special visit with Cunard Commodore Ronald Warwick, all in one long weekend. Sunday, January 30, 2011 This morning the QUEEN VICTORIA arrived at…
In one long weekend, Shawn Dake visits three Cunard Line Queens (their newest ships, QUEEN ELIZABETH and QUEEN VICTORIA and the eldest, QUEEN MARY) along with a very special visit with Cunard Commodore Ronald Warwick. The Port Of Los Angeles did a fair imitation of it’s New York City counterpart…
The steam-powered freighter SOLON TURMAN was towed from the California’s Suisuin Bay mothball fleet today to be cleansed and dismantled, but unlike previous ships that have gone to the scrapyards this one will not be making the long final voyage to Brownsville, Texas. Instead, the ship will travel about six…
