SS United States Profile; Adventure of the Seas interviews

 Last weekend, I had the great good fortune to go aboard the SS United States. It is a ship that I have read about for years as she is indisputably one of the great ships of history. Indeed, I have a painting of her over my desk along with the great French ocean liner Normandie. Inasmuch as the ship is rarely open to the public, it was a privilege to go aboard.

The SS United States is the fastest ocean liner ever built, a title she has held since 1952. No ocean liner or cruise ship before or since has come close to her top speed of nearly 40 knots. She is widely considered the height of American shipbuilding.

During her 17 years in service, the SS United States was a popular ship, carrying royalty, statesmen and celebrities across the Atlantic along with thousands of tourists. Bill Clinton, on his way to study at Oxford University, was one of them. She was a more down-to-earth and informal ship than the Cunard Queens or the French Line ships that were her main competitors.

The SS United States was a very American ship. As her confident, flowing lines and technological prowess suggest, she personified the spirit of America in the post war era.

She was built, not just for commercial reasons, but also for national defense. In fact, the United States government contributed the bulk of the $79 million needed to construct her in the early 1950s. The idea was that the ship could be quickly converted into a troopship capable of carrying 15,000 soldiers across the Atlantic in four days. The fact that the United States could quickly reinforce the NATO troops stationed in Western Europe with large numbers of soldiers acted as a deterrent to any notion that the Soviet Union may have had to invade Western Europe with conventional forces.

The SS United States was prematurely retired in late 1969. Commercial jet travel had arrived and demand for Atlantic crossings by ship was declining. At the same time, labor costs and fuel costs were increasing. Essentially, her owners, the United States Lines, took the ship down to Virginia and gave her to the government.

Once it was decided that the SS United States was no longer of military value, the government sold her to private interests. Then began came a succession of owners who had various grand schemes to put the ship back in service. Fortunes were spent on these dreams but none ever came to fruition.

During one of these episodes the ship was moved from Virginia to Turkey, then the Ukraine, and then back to the United States. She has been in Philadelphia since 1996.

Despite all the money that has been spent on her, the ship looks quite pathetic. She has not been painted in years, her deck machinery is rusting and there is even grass growing where some of the lifeboats once stood. Her interior is empty, stripped down to the metal. Her first owners sold off all of the moveable contents. Then when she was in the Ukraine, her interior walls were removed in order to remove the asbestos that was used to fireproof everything in the 1950s.

Her blemishes, however, are only cosmetic. Surveys have shown that the ship is still structurally sound. In addition, her vast expanse of interior space appears to be full of potential for development.

Finding someone that will realize that potential is the goal of the SS United States Conservancy. It has been talking with real estate developers and government agencies in an effort to preserve the ship. While there is hope for a new future, time is fleeting. It costs some $60,000 a month just to maintain the ship where she is and the Conservancy does not have unlimited resources. Once its money runs out, the SS United States will probably go to the scrapyard.

What a shame that would be! The SS United States is not only an important part of maritime history but is a symbol of the United States. Future generations will condemn us for our stupidity if we let her go. This is especially so considering her potential for future use. The Tate Modern in London, the Musee d'Orsay in Paris and the High Line in New York City are examples of how new uses can be found for old historic structures once they are no longer needed for their original purpose.

I have added an SS United States section to Beyondships with information and photos about the ship. http://beyondships.com/SSUS-home.html It includes a feature article outlining the story of the SS United States. http://www.beyondships2.com/ss-united-states-story.html There is also a photo feature showing the interior of the ship from my visit to the SS United States. http://www.beyondships2.com/ss-united-states-visit.html Also, we have a video showing the fine proud lines of the exterior of the SS United States. http://www.beyondships2.com/ss-united-states-video.html

Also on Beyondships this week is Part Two of our update on Adventure of the Seas. It includes an interview in which the captain, the hotel director and the guest services manager discuss what the cruise experience on Adventure is like. http://www.beyondships2.com/adventure-of-the-seas-101.html In another interview, Hotel Director Gary Davies talks about the recent changes made to Adventure of the Seas and those planned for 2016. http://www.beyondships2.com/adventure-of-the-seas-evolves.html Finally, Captain Olle-Johan Gronhaug explains what is happening when you see a cruise ship's lifeboats being launched while the ship is in port. http://www.beyondships2.com/adventure-of-the-seas-boat-drill.html

Adventure of the Seas review and photos

This week the focus is on Royal Caribbean's Adventure of the Seas. In April, Adventure underwent a refit, which added several new features to the ship. Thus, it is an appropriate time to take another look at Adventure. To this end, we recently did a transatlantic crossing on her followed by a short European cruise.

Adventure is a Voyager class cruise ship. In fact she was the third ship built in that class, entering service just after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Accordingly, she was named in New York by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and her god parents are six New York City firefighters and policemen.

Despite her New York City connection, Adventure is not Royal Caribbean's New York ship. (Somewhat oddly, her sister ship Explorer of the Seas was given that role when RCI decided to base a ship in New York harbor year-round). Instead, she has spent most of her time in the Caribbean sailing out of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The last few years, however, Adventure has been spending her summers in Southampton, England, sailing to the Mediterranean, the Canaries, the British Isles, Northern Europe and Scandinavia. She is doing that this summer but plans for 2015 call for her to revert back to year-round San Juan sailings.

Adventure is a very big cruise ship. At 137,000 gross tons, she is no longer the biggest cruise ship but she is still bigger than the vast majority of ships. Her size allows her to have many features including some that are not at all traditional on passenger ships. These include a pedestrian mall, lined with shops, bars and a cafe, running a considerable length down the ship's center line and a large ice skating arena. These are both used as entertainment venues as well so that there is more to an evening on Adventure than what is going on in the theater and the casino.

Normally, in the Caribbean, Adventure's passenger list is dominated by young families. However, on the two week long transatlantic crossing, there were few children. This left the ship's facilities almost entirely to her adult passengers. As a result, the adults had lots of choices and lots of space to indulge themselves in.

The crossing was not a straight run from Miami to Southampton. Rather, the ship took her time going across with Caribbean stops in Nassau, San Juan and St. Maarten to start the voyage and a stops mid-way across the Atlantic in the Azores. Thus, there were elements of a Caribbean cruise and a European cruise in this crossing. But most of it was long, lazy sea days, which makes these types of voyages so popular with experienced cruisers.

The weather going across was fine. Adventure took the southern route across, which tends to have better weather than the more northerly, traditional ocean liner route. The only grey skies were after the ship left the Azores and was skirting the Bay of Biscay.

For her European cruise, Adventure had a mix of sun and rain. Sun in Zeebrugge, Belgium and rain in Le Harve. Whereas on the crossing, there had been many British passengers, many of whom were going home after wintering in Florida, the vast majority of passengers on this cruise were British. There were more children than on the crossing but still not many as the schools were still open.

I used to find Royal Caribbean's success with the British public somewhat surprising. Royal provides an excellent cruise experience with nice ships, friendly service and quality choices in entertainment and dining. However, it is very much an American-style product, bold, informal and sometimes flashy. I have since come to the conclusion that this experience is successful with the British precisely because it is not British. Just going on one of the RCI ships is like going abroad, a break from the everyday routine.

The cruise was a different experience than the crossing. In Europe, the ports play a much more significant role as there is such a variety of things to see and do in the ports.

The new additions to Adventure include a giant video screen overlooking the pool, flat screen televisions in the passenger cabins, a new lounge for Diamond-level members of Royal Caribbean's Crown and Anchor Society loyalty program and interactive electronic signage in the public rooms telling you such things as what is happening aboard and how to get from where you are to where you want to be. The Portofino specialty restaurant has become Giovanni's Table. These additions are only some of the features that will be added to the ship in the next few years under the line's Royal Advantage program, which is bringing features from the Oasis class ships to the rest of the Royal Caribbean fleet.

I was pleased to see that the ship is being well-maintained. In fact, new carpeting was being installed unobtrusively as we sailed.

We have updated the Adventure of the Seas section on Beyondships. http://beyondships.com/AOS-Profile.html The photo tour of the ship has been updated to include the new features and expanded with more photos of the ship's interior and open decks. http://www.beyondships.com/AOS-tour.html There is a new menus page with menus from the main dining room and specialty restaurants. http://www.beyondships2.com/adventure-of-the-seas-menus.html We've added a daily programs page with examples of the Cruise Compass from past cruises and of other informational materials distributed aboard Adventure. http://www.beyondships2.com/adventure-of-the-seas-daily-programs.html There is a new deck plans page. http://www.beyondships2.com/adventure-of-the-seas-deck-plans.html Finally, we have a new photo feature with exterior photos of Adventure in eight different ports. http://www.beyondships2.com/adventure-of-the-seas-photos.html

Bermuda's Horseshoe Bay, Royal Princess, Celebrity Constellation

 I've just returned from Bermuda where I was again struck by the beauty of the island's South Shore beaches. These lie in a line along the south west coast and have the island's patented pale pink sand. The waters that lap upon the beaches are turquoise in color. To add some drama, there are periodic rock outcroppings that rise up vertically from the water and/or sand.

The most popular and best known of the South Shore beaches is Horseshoe Bay. It is quite large and has the most facilities of this group of beaches including a place to snack and a place to rent umbrellas and beach chairs.

Horseshoe Bay is not far from the Royal Naval Dockyard where essentially all the cruise ships dock these days. The cruise lines offer transfers to Horseshoe Bay. However, there are a number of other alternatives. Therefore, I've put together an article with some information about how to get to Horseshoe Bay. It is posted at http://www.beyondships3.com/getting-to-horseshoe-bay.html

While Horseshoe Bay is the most popular of the beaches, some of the neighboring beaches are even prettier. Chaplin's Bay, Stonehole Bay, Jobson's Cove and Warwick Long Bay have the pink sand, the dramatic rock formations and the added advantage of being more secluded. They are linked together by a sand trail that I've walked many times. I've put together a video showing some of the vistas along the way. http://www.beyondships3.com/bermudas-south-shore-beaches.html

Last Friday was the first anniversary of the naming of Princess Cruises' Royal Princess by the Duchess of Cambridge. Accordingly, in honor of Royal Princess' first birthday, we present a photo feature showing the ship in St. Maarten and in Southampton during her recent eastbound transatlantic crossing. http://www.beyondships2.com/royal-princess-photo-feature.html

We also have a photo feature and video showing Celebrity Constellation leaving Fort Lauderdale and sailing out at sea. The photo feature is at http://www.beyondships2.com/celebrity-constellation-photos.html and the video is at http://www.beyondships2.com/celebrity-constellation-video.html