USS United States

[PAUL161]

It's a possibility that the USS United States might get a reprieve from becoming a sunken reef! Even though it seems to have been sold, a concrete magnet wants to buy it and keep afloat, the reasons are a little sketchy at the moment. I've been aboard the ship when she was first docked in Philadelphia. Working for a marine co. a buddy and I went all through it, she was the queen of the seas in her day! I hope she will be saved! PJ

 

[NutmegCT]

The SS United States was the most advanced transatlantic cruise/troop ship in the world back in the 1950s. Seeing her sad decline over the years, the corrosion eating away the steel, the empty corridors, the flaking paint - really a downer.

Back in the day -

 

[JPSmit]

I have been watching this and was actually thinking a reef might be a nice outcome. I have (had) been watching the restoration of the Aurora in Califonia. (The Aurora was the original Love Boat ) Recently it sank at its moorings.

Well-Known Former Cruise Ship Sinks at Berth in Stockton

One of the best-known retired vessels in the San Francisco Bay area, the former cruise ship Aurora, has partially sunk at her berth. The classic "pock...

maritime-executive.com

Note to self if you are going to restore a ship put it in drydock first to patch the hull.

I know there is historical merit, at the same time the scope and cost of these projects is beyond most people's comprehension. Sometimes I think it is better to keep the memory rather than let it molder at yet another pier.

 

[Bayless]

That was when ships actually looked like ships.

 

[NutmegCT]

This is a ship? More like a floating hotel/casino -

Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas

(sure hope they never have to do an emergency evacuation)

Iconic Wows | Icon of the Seas | Royal Caribbean Cruises

Technology and artistry merge on the new Icon of the Seas, inspiring awe on a grand scale. Icons don’t just steal the show, they change the way you see it forever.

www.royalcaribbean.com

 

[Basil]

(sure hope they never have to do an emergency evacuation)

Brings to mind the Costa Concordia

 

[waltesefalcon]

This is a ship? More like a floating hotel/casino -

Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas

(sure hope they never have to do an emergency evacuation)

Iconic Wows | Icon of the Seas | Royal Caribbean Cruises

Technology and artistry merge on the new Icon of the Seas, inspiring awe on a grand scale. Icons don’t just steal the show, they change the way you see it forever.

www.royalcaribbean.com

That is what should be turned into a reef. I'd actually pay to cruise in the SS United States.

 

[mikephillips]

And who wouldn't want to go on a week's vacation with 10,000 other vacationers and crew all crammed into limited space, compared to being just out in the country or such....

 

[Silverghost]

When I was younger, I thought a dream trip was to fly on the Concorde to France, explore Europe for a month or so and then return on the QE2. Ah well.......one can still dream of what might have been.

 

[YakkoWarner]

In the mid/late 1990s I got to go on a cruise aboard a Celebrity ship that had been built in the 1950s as an Italian ocean crossing liner. It had been through a couple refits and modernizations but there was still plenty of the original design and build to be seen, and there was no mistaking the feel of an unstabilized 30 foot draft hull moving through the ocean. I thought it was fantastic, and being a true steam ship there was NO limit to the hot water in the showers. I'd gladly go on a ship like that again. I did enjoy the cruise I took later on a more modern ship as well, but that old liner just had a touch of class missing from the newer ship (and the stabilizers work on the new ships but they feel very unnatural).

 

[NutmegCT]

RMS Queen Mary - 1936-1967.

 

[equiprx]

This is a ship? More like a floating hotel/casino -

Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas

(sure hope they never have to do an emergency evacuation)

Iconic Wows | Icon of the Seas | Royal Caribbean Cruises

Technology and artistry merge on the new Icon of the Seas, inspiring awe on a grand scale. Icons don’t just steal the show, they change the way you see it forever.

www.royalcaribbean.com

Looks like Micky Mouse and Pluto both barfed.

 

[waltesefalcon]

A few years ago the woman I was seeing wanted to go on a cruise, and we went on one of those new soulless ships. The trip itself was good, I got to climb a pyramid in Uxmal, but the ship itself was pretty forgettable.

 

[NutmegCT]

Back in the 1980s I moved to London to work on a project providing arts programs for people with disabilities. The job included a round trip ticket from NY to Southampton, on the QE2.

Now *that* was a ship! Not a casino or waterslide to be seen.

 

[equiprx]

My one and only Cruise Ship experience was when I was a partner for a travel agency.
I got a "Fam Trip" on the maiden voyage of the Cunard Princess.
The trip was an overnight voyage for 'travel professionals only' out of New York harbor and back.
It included all the food and drink you could consume and a personal Cunard representative of the opposite sex.
No, it did not include any hanky panky.
I have since sworn off cruise ships or anything nautical if it involves overnight, even if they pay me.

 

[NutmegCT]

I have since sworn off cruise ships or anything nautical if it involves overnight, even if they pay me.

Steve - could you share some details why you've sworn off cruise ships?

Thanks.

 

[equiprx]

I have since sworn off cruise ships or anything nautical if it involves overnight, even if they pay me.

Steve - could you share some details why you've sworn off cruise ships?

Thanks.

1. The thought of being in captivity for the duration.
2. I can no longer eat or drink enough for that to be an incentive.
3. Cramped quarters, even my house is smaller than I would want.
4. I get creeped out by all the enthusiasm of the 'activity' cheer leaders.
5. At one time in my life, when I just started sailing, I thought I wanted to cruise the world.
Once I started racing on overnight ocean races, I realized I hated sleeping on boats.
If I wasn't so physically wrecked I would still love to race sail boats, Just not overnight.

 

[Bayless]

Racing sailboats was a big part of my life, including some overnight or even over several nights. But I finally got too old to do all the necessary prep and setup work. I sometimes miss the racing but not the work.

 

[equiprx]

Racing sailboats was a big part of my life, including some overnight or even over several nights. But I finally got to old to do all the necessary prep and setup work. I sometimes miss the racing but not the work.

For part of my yacht racing history I was managing a larger racing sailboat for the owner.
Lots of work, provisioning, maintenance and managing crew.
A thankless job that paid nothing, but I did learn a lot.
One of the things I learned was I wanted to drive and I learned I like dingys.
Large boats never give the feel of the physics of sailing.
And the most important thing...more bang for the buck.

 

[John Turney]

1. The thought of being in captivity for the duration.
2. I can no longer eat or drink enough for that to be an incentive.
3. Cramped quarters, even my house is smaller than I would want.
4. I get creeped out by all the enthusiasm of the 'activity' cheer leaders.
5. At one time in my life, when I just started sailing, I thought I wanted to cruise the world.
Once I started racing on overnight ocean races, I realized I hated sleeping on boats.
If I wasn't so physically wrecked I would still love to race sail boats, Just not overnight.

As a submarine sailor, don't complain to me about # 1, 2, or 3.

We have enjoyed river cruises. No more than 200 passengers per cruise and none of all that "excess stuff."