Coming Soon! On The Road To Alang, Part Four: S.S. BLUE LADY (ex NORWAY, FRANCE)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 ก.ย. 2024
- Now that eighteen years have passed, I am free to tell the full story of the S.S. BLUE LADY and her final days at the Indian scrap yards of Alang. I made my fourth trip to India in August of 2006 to document this historic and beloved ship, the former S.S. NORWAY, which was originally the S.S. FRANCE. Once the longest liner in the world and one of the most celebrated, the S.S. FRANCE was converted into the S.S. NORWAY for Norwegian Caribbean Lines (later Norwegian Cruise Line) and became first mega-cruise ship. Her vast success led to the much larger cruise ships of today. A boiler explosion in 2003 ended her career and after years of lay up in Germany and later Malaysia, she was sold for scrap in 2006 and beached at Alang. Her demise was slow, torturous and very controversial and of my nine trips to India, this one was perhaps the most challenged and difficult. The full story is coming soon to MidShipCinema. #oceanliner #ssbluelady #ssnorway #ssfrance #norwegiancaribbeanlines #norwegiancruiseline #ncl #cgt #frenchline #frenchoceanliners #chikungunya
Already teary-eyed seeing her like this.
Sorry, my friend.
I can't wait to see the rest of this!!! She was a beauty!
Thank you Peter ...can hardly wait to watch this. Meanwhile, i am waiting and hoping against hope that you will -- one day soon -- be named Godfather of a newly built and elegant ship!
Oh, Grant! I'm on the floor with that one! I'd be flattered to name a canoe at this point! Thank you so much, lol!
I'll always be grateful that I sailed on her as Norway in 2000.
Club International ! The most Beautiful Room on the High Seas ! HEARTBREAKING !
Yes, it and the Windward Restaurant were the most beautiful rooms on the ship.
CAN’T WAIT!!
Thank you, Chris! Even making the trailer was emotional. So many vivid memories of that visit.
I am probably going to be so heartbroken when i see this. Of all of my voyages, she was my favorite. My cabin was one of the former “patio” rooms that had windows that looked into the pool.
Loved that whole patio thing. It was very clever how they built the walkway around the pool.
Came to you on @chrisframeofficial recommendation. Can’t wait for this video!!
Aww, thank you! Chris is fantastic!
Wow, I absolutely can't wait to see this! Thank you Peter!!
Thank you and hope you enjoy the full movie, as sad as it will be. :)
Looking forward to that, Peter! Your channel surely deserves more members 💪🏼😃🍀
Thank you, Frank. My inability to figure out algorithms and the like is at my peril but I'm hoping more people will subscribe and help me create many, many more videos as the ROI is very challenging.
@@midshipcinema maybe you need to do a colab with Oceanliner Designs, he has a lot of followers 👌
@@fhwolthuis Well, it would be up to him if he were interested. I do have much original footage of many of the ships he talks about. I seem to have gotten a late start on TH-cam and now many who are getting huge followings are basically retelling many of the stories I actually documented and experienced. :)
@@midshipcinema just contact him, he seems to be a nice chap and has done colabs before 😃
Liked and subscribed. Cant wait for your new videos they are so great to watch. Thank you for taking the time to make these videos for us who could not be there in person.
Subscribed. I have been following you online since i was about 13 years old. I am now 33. I was always fascinated by old ocean liners and you were a name that always popped up in my google searches. Thank you for documenting these ships. Some of us never got a chance to sail on the liners.
😅 can't wait peter even though sad these were liners not like the souless monstrosities that are now.well done
Thank you. I miss the liners but time marches on and on...
Sailed on her twice in the early 80’s. She was beautiful then.
Hard to believe that ship is totally gone.
Hard to believe so many ships are now totally gone. But yes.
in 1999 1 year before I was born my grandfather who was a WW2 veteran who served aboard the USS Yosemite during the second world war along with served aboard the USS YF 415 took a Norwegian cruise with my Uncle Forrest back in 1999 aboard the SS Norway which was pretty awesome!I remember since he knew I love historic ships and was close to him , I would always talk with him about the golden age of ships with him along with told me the cool story about him and my Uncle Forrest taking a cruise aboard the Norway back in 1999.Sadly 2 years ago he passed away but everytime I think about the SS France/ SS Norway I think about the story him and my Uncle Forrest told me about their cruise.
So sorry for your loss but so happy you got to enjoy the NORWAY with your Uncle Forrest through his memories. That ship was the source of so many cherished memories for countless people. She was a much loved ship.
I served as musician / crew in 1987 & '88, assigned to hospital duty in emergency drill. Every Wednesday in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, the USCG would observe boat drills to assure safety procedure. Most musicians were directed to 'alert' passengers, but Hospital was engaged to transport simulated victims to the fully-equipped OR (complete with morgue). Only when WE were done could the emergency drill go to boat drill. My team members were 5 ft tall Malaysian dudes, barely 100 lbs., I was the head mule on the Alpine stretcher used to tote the victims. I was the only musician dreading safety drill ~ I had to exert some real effort!
I'll be here! Great coverage so far!
Thank you, Justin! Wish we could go get a nice drink in Club I underneath one of those chandeliers. :)
Very excited to see this. She was an amazing liner and left without the pomp she deserved.
Outstanding as always, Peter! I cannot wait to see the full video in the summer. Bravo as always!!
Thank you, as always, my friend! Hope to see you soon!
This will be special Peter! Thank you I cannot wait. It will be sad, but a tribute to another liner I have sailed on and loved all my life ❣
Thank you , Mark. I hope you enjoy it. :)
@@midshipcinema Not at all Peter, thank YOU! 🤗
Hi Peter !! OH OH OH, I had sailed on Norway prior to the explosion on board.
If you close your eyes and imagine, that very empty enclosed promenade decorated for Christmas, with all the trees and baubles one could ever wish for. We dined in the Windward Dining Room, and I had brought along a very grand tuxedo that Jack wore on the Titanic. I mystified my tablemates. I danced with a young lady from our dining party in the grand ballroom on the Formal Night. It was beautiful.
She had her two toned carpets, for Fore and Aft. I think that might have been the precursor for the "Little Fish" on the carpets now seen on the NCL ships of today. I had a Viking Deck O/S Cabin Forward on Starboard Side.
You know, when I sailed on Norway, that was supposed to be my last hurrah. I should be long dead already !! Alas, I Lived to tell the story.
Mu ha ha ha ha ha
Hi Jeremy, well, I'm so happy that the NORWAY was not your last hurrah and hope you have many more cruises to go. Great memories. I loved the Windward Dining Room, despite its acoustics. Thanks for sharing and posting here.
Sadly the P&O brand will soon cease to exist ☹️ another reason your work is so important. Thank you Peter🥇👍
P&O will still exist. Their Australia ships will just be transfered to carnival.
@@ninob. so P&O will still run cruise ships elsewhere?
@@STB-1 Yeah and Pacific Adventure, Pacific Encounter and Pacific Explorer will be transfered to Carnival
Have they announced P&O UK is being absorbed, too? Bad enough about P&O Australia. Despite a strong recovery from the pandemic, these are still very challenged times for Carnival Corp.
@@midshipcinema From what I have heard not. Would surprise me if they would do it. They already took away ships and ships in construction from the other carnival brands (expect Cunard) which should be enough now with P&O Australia.
I know maybe this didn't happen, But on their visit to the S.S Blue Lady but they managed to visualize the T.S.S Topaz (Ex Empress Of Britain)
THe TOPAZ was beached very close to BLUE LADY but that was two years later which I documented on my sixth visit to Alang.
She was still in great shape.
No, I think the boiler explosion would be an indication of what was going on behind the scenes. You will see much more in the full movie of the boilers and the moldy spaces.
@@midshipcinema ah. I was just judging by the pass thru if Club I and the bridge wing. 💔. I’m gonna need a margarita for that video. 💔💔
@@SeaTravelr123 Oh, yes, parts of her were still lovely but there was a lot of stuff that had begun to decay. Yes, a good margarita or nice glass of wine might be required. :)
@@midshipcinema we just had a lovely Chateneuf-du-pape for my brothers birthday. That would be very appropriate for the former France
Oh wow!!! I can’t wait to see it.
oh my god! This is amazing!!!
I was hoping to see this video someday. I didn't know if you had been able to visit her or not. All I remember was that you weren't able to get anything from the ship because of a certain person. I wish you were able to get the items before he did. It will be worth the wait to see your whole video this coming summer.
Thank you, Deborah. Aaaah, it was such a challenging visit for so many reasons, that included. I look forward to telling the whole story. :)
@@midshipcinema Did you really not manage to salvage anything? I'm interested, I checked the website and didn't find anything.
@@thechosenone9965 Nothing. I'll explain in the video.
@midshipcinema I remember the video you made documenting a cruise on her. And now seeing those same spaces, in their last ever moments...
I'm genuinely crying
I remember emailing you about buying furnishings from the Blue Lady, but no one ever responded to my email!
I'm sorry about that. I try to respond to all serious inquiries but I can confirm that I did not purchase anything from BLUE LADY. It will be explained in the video.
How long must I wait?😅
It will take a while to put together properly but I am really hoping for end of summer. :)