By JoDell Haverfield, Have Travel Memories
Explore endlessly in your own back yard or travel around the world. Fuel up for adventure and make family memories last forever. Travel back in time through captivating history while visiting countries in a day on a river cruise. It’s your heart that takes you places. So,listen to your heart. Now is the time. Don’t put it off because you never know when it will be too late. Our experiences and memories are the only things we have that are our own. But when we can share them with our loved ones and our friends, and (anyone who will listen really), they become so much more memorable. Stories are told and retold. Here is one of my many stories.
Twenty years ago, I took a large group of friends and family on a once-in-a-lifetime cruise on the SS Norway. She was formerly known as the SS France, put into service in 1962 by a French ocean liner company, and was very reminiscent of the grand ocean liners of her era complete with the autographed photos of the classic movie stars who sailed on her. She was the longest passenger ship in the world until the construction of the Queen Mary 2, 40 years later. Royal Caribbean’s 227,000-gross ton Harmony of the Seas is only 81 feet longer than the 66,300-gross ton SS France was.
The SS France’s last sailing was out of Hong Kong in 1974, and soon she was no longer needed as times changed in the world of jet travel. In 1979, she had sat dormant for several years until she was purchased by Knut Kloster, president and co-founder of Norwegian Cruise Line, previously known as Norwegian Caribbean Line. She received an $80 million overhaul and was rechristened Norway. This was the first time a purpose-built cruise liner was turned into a cruise ship. This meant pools would be built on open decks. A cruise liner or ocean liner is a passenger ship built for transatlantic service with a much deeper hull. Because of the deeper hull she had trouble docking at many of the Caribbean ports like her sister ships, so she carried her own two tender boats known as Little Norway 1 and Little Norway II.
Only guests were allowed to use the elevators; crew had to use the stairs. Another memory, the pool on the main deck had windows in it so you could see people’s legs in it. Her luxurious amenities and décor revolutionized cruising.
Five years after we sailed on the Norway, in May of 2007, while anchored in the port of Miami, there was a boiler room explosion, killing nine and injuring 19 crew. She had just returned from a Caribbean cruise and had 2,135 passengers and 911 crew still onboard. All were safely evacuated. She was scrapped in 2008.
Even though cruise ships are now bigger and better than ever, our memories of sailing on the magnificent Norway are some of our favorites. With her luxurious amenities and décor, she revolutionized cruising. It’s very special to personally experience the evolution of cruising from the SS Norway to the modern ships of today. I love cruise history and especially reading stories of passengers who sailed on her from the time she was the SS France. She was the first cruise liner recommissioned to sail shorter cruises in the Caribbean. She was in a class all her own. I am so glad we had this amazing experience on the SS Norway. Email me if you have sailed on the SS France or the SS Norway at jodell@havetravelmemories.com.Tell me your favorite travel or cruise story.
Do you know the story of the horse soldiers? I will co-host a horse soldier cruise in September 2023 to London, Scotland and Ireland. Call or email me to claim your space now with half-price air. I will tell you about it next month. Follow me on social media to learn more about it.
Thanks for Travelin’ with JoDell!
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