Category: Ships
Contingent Contract: The Pending Sale of the SS United States
Florida’s Okaloosa County approved a contingent contract to purchase the SS United States on October 1, 2024. The famed ship would be “converted into the world’s largest artificial reef,” which is a really fancy way of saying that the ship will be taken out and sunk (yes, I know there’s more to it than that…
A Royal Night Out: The Queen Mary’s 90th Anniversary Party
Last Thursday, September 26, I had the great pleasure of attending some special events aboard the Queen Mary for the 90th anniversary of her launching…namely, the unveiling of a replica of Her Majesty Queen Mary’s personal standard in Main Hall. I learned about the event when my wife and I stayed aboard in August, and…
The Stateliest Ship Now in Being: The 90th Anniversary of the Queen Mary’s Launch
It was a rainy September day in Clydebank, Scotland when Britain’s King George V stepped up to the microphone. Before him was a towering steel mountain: the hull of the brand-new ship. He and his wife, Queen Mary, and the Prince of Wales were there to participate in the launching ceremony of this new Cunard-White…
The Top Five Most Beautiful Modern Cruise Ships
I know it’s popular for ocean liner aficionados to hate on cruise ships. I get it. Cruise ships often don’t have the clean, graceful lines of ocean liners. They have a very different look and feel about them. But I love them both…they’re different kinds of ships for different purposes. Are there some ugly cruise…
A Royal Pain: The HMT Georgic & HMS Dido Incident
I don’t know about you, but I need something a little lighter after writing about some heavy topics lately (the last few weeks have been unusually challenging at work). So, I wracked my brain and remembered an amusing story from the Cunard Line’s Commodore Harry Grattidge. I chuckled as I re-read the passage in his…
Postcards & Penny Presses: How One New Jersey City Profited from the Morro Castle Disaster
The SS Morro Castle, flagship of the Ward Line, caught fire on September 8, 1934. The Coast Guard attempted to tow the stricken liner but was unsuccessful. The Morro Castle broke free. Onlookers ashore reportedly cheered when the tow line snapped, and the smoldering ship started drifting. She ultimately came to rest on the Jersey…
Tragedy, Mystery, and Exploitation: The Morro Castle Disaster at 90
A disaster was unfolding along the New Jersey coast in the early morning hours of September 8, 1934. The SS Morro Castle, flagship of the Ward Line, was burning out of control in the middle of a fierce storm. Spectators on land could see the orange glow clear as day. Only one SOS call had…
A Night on the Queen Mary
A few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of staying aboard the grand old Queen Mary in Long Beach. It only made sense with our cruise on the Carnival Firenze leaving right next door at the Long Beach Cruise Terminal. I was particularly excited as it’d be my first time back aboard the Queen Mary…
SS United States: The World’s Largest Artificial Reef?
I honestly didn’t think I’d have to write a follow-up post quite so soon. Last week, I wrote about the SS United States and her current, desperate situation. The SS United States Conservancy was ordered by a federal judge in June to move the ship from her longtime pier in Philadelphia. This followed after a…
The Fate of the SS United States
We got back from Southern California the other day, and I’ll be writing some posts in the coming weeks related to the trip (in the meantime, check out the Instagram page for photos and videos). Today, though, I wanted to write about something that’s been on my mind for the last few months but have…