Furness Bermuda Cruises

A companhia de navegação inglesa Furness Whithy operou uma carreira regular entre Nova Iorque e as Bermudas de 1919 a 1968, tendo para o efeito mandado construir diversos navios de passageiros importantes, o último dos quais foi o OCEAN MONARCH (1951-1967, 13 654 grt, 414 passageiros), representado neste cartaz. 

Os navios saiam ao sábado de Nova Iorque e chegavam a Hamilton à segunda-feira, onde permaneciam durante três dias, regressando a Nova Iorque no sábado seguinte. Os  dois últimos paquetes foram retirados do serviço em 1966, quando o QUEEN OF BERMUDA foi vendido para sucata, enquanto o OCEAN MONARCH foi comprado em 1967 pela Bulgária, passando a chamar-se VARNA, tendo visitado Lisboa com esse nome. 

Na década de 1930 as viagens dos paquetes da Furness eram conhecidas como as viagens dos milionários, mas depois da segunda guerra mundial o serviço passou a ser conhecido por viagens das luas de mel. O ambiente a bordo era de facto sugestivo, como se depreende do cartaz...

Texto e imagens /Text and images copyright L.M.Correia. Favor não piratear. Respeite o meu trabalho / No piracy, please. For other posts and images, check our archive at the right column of the main page. Click on the photos to see them enlarged. Thanks for your visit and comments. Luís Miguel Correia

Furness Bermuda ships in NY

The very first ship I visited was the Queen of Bermuda. That was back on May 3rd 1953, my 5th birthday. My grandparents were sailing to Bermuda. How exciting!

For years, the two Furness-Bermuda Line passenger ships were fixtures in New York harbor, most often sailing on Saturday afternoons at 3 o'clock. And usually, the two ships would sail together and then proceed side-by-side along the Hudson. And they were always very punctual. They'd pass Hoboken, just before my eyes, at about 3:15. 

Here's the grand Queen of Bermuda and her royal consort, if you will, the smaller, more yacht-like, very handsome Ocean Monarch, at Pier 95, at the foot of West 55th Street, in a view dated 1964. Combined, each week they'd take as many as 1,200 passengers to beautiful Bermuda. Six nights then for $145!

Texto e imagens /Text and images copyright Bill Miller. Favor não piratear. Respeite o meu trabalho / No piracy, please. For other posts and images, check our archive at the right column of the main page. Click on the photos to see them enlarged. Thanks for your visit and comments. Luís Miguel Correia

Port Everglades about 1960

An old photograph from the Luís Miguel Correia collection dated about 1960 depicting two liners and a cruise ship in Port Everglades, Florida.

From left to right, the imposing Dutch mail liner WILLEM RUYS, the beautiful OCEAN MONARCH and the magnificent SANTA MARIA of Companhia Colonial of Lisbon. Even the cargo ships are interesting - a T2 tanker and a white Swedish cargo liner of the Brostroms Group.

Texto e imagens /Text and images copyright L.M.Correia. Favor não piratear. Respeite o meu trabalho / No piracy, please. For other posts and images, check our archive at the right column of the main page. Click on the photos to see them enlarged. Thanks for your visit and comments. Luís Miguel Correia

Classic cruise ships in Lisbon

The cruise ship MARCO POLO in Transocean colours pasing the OCEAN MONARCH in Lisbon on 2 November 2008. Two classic beauties, the former Soviet liner Alexandr Pushkin looking a bit odd with the Transocean logo in the funnel...
Texto e imagens /Text and images copyright L.M.Correia. For other posts and images, check our archive at the right column of the main page. Click on the photos to see them enlarged. Thanks for your visit and comments. Luís Miguel Correia

CLASSIC BEAUTIES FROM THE FIFTIES

Two classic beauties from the 1950s photographed in the river Tagus, Lisbon on 2 November 2008: the Transtejo passenger car ferry ALENTEJENSE, built at Viana do Castelo in 1957 and still trading although slightly rebuilt, and the 1955 built / 1975 rebuilt OCEAN MONARCH alongside the Alcantara cruise terminal.
Texto e imagens /Text and images copyright L.M.Correia. For other posts and images, check our archive at the right column of the main page. Click on the photos to see them enlarged. Thanks for your visit and comments. Luís Miguel Correia

DESCUBRA as DIFERENÇAS - CHECK the DIFFERENCES

Hoje sugere-se um passatempo: descobrir as diferenças entre os aspectos exteriores dos paquetes gémeos OCEAN MONARCH e PRINCESS DANAE. Digo difrenças exteriores porque internamente também se registam diferenças, a começar pelas máquinas principais, ambas de origem, isto é datam de 1955, mas são de marcas diferentes: Doxford no PRINCESS DANAE e Burmeister & Wain no OCEAN MONARCH.

Sugere-se a observação atenta das fotografias e podem responder usando os comentários.
Check the outside differences of the sister ships OCEAN MONARCH and PRINCESS DANAE. Observe the photographs and do answer leaving your comments. We ask for the outside differences because inside the sisters also have different particulars, starting with the main engines, both still original, dating from 1955, but of Doxford origin on the DANAE and Burmeister & Wain on the OCEAN MONARCH.
Texto e imagens /Text and images copyright L.M.Correia. For other posts and images, check our archive at the right column of the main page. Click on the photos to see them enlarged. Thanks for your visit and comments. Luís Miguel Correia

OCEAN MONARCH in Lisbon 25 January 2008

Classic International Cruises newest aquisition, the cruise ship OCEAN MONARCH arrived Lisbon on 25 January 2008 from Piraeus. She will now be refited in Lisbon before a summer season under charter to German interests, after which she will be further refited and renamed PRINCESS DAPHNE.

With this new ship the fleet operated from Lisbon by Classic International Cruises numbers five ships. OCEAN MONARCH purchase also means she is again reunited with her sister ship PRINCESS DANAE, the former DANAE, that was pruchased in 1996 by the present owners.

The OCEAN MONARCH is scheduled to enter the dry dock nº. 1 of NavalRocha shipyard, in Lisbon, where the Classic International Cruises fleet is refited and docked regularly.

The three photographs were taken on the arrival of the OCEAN MONARCH. She sailed from Piraeus with a crew of 55 and the funnel repainted white.

Texto e imagens /Text and images copyright L.M.Correia. For other posts and images, check our archive at the right column of the main page. Click on the photos to see them enlarged. Thanks for your visit and comments. Luís Miguel Correia

ANOTHER PRINCESS FOR CIC

Lisbon based cruise operator CLASSIC INTERNATIONAL CRUISES has just obtained another PRINCESS for it's fleet of classic passenger cruise ships: the new ship will be renamed PRINCESS DAPHNE, and is expected in Lisbon during December for a refit.
Built in 1955 in the United Kingdom (Swan Hunter) as the cargo passenger liner PORT SYDNEY for Port Line, she was converted into a luxury cruise ship in Greece and started her cruise service under the Greek flag in 1975 as the DAPHNE. She was joined by sister ship DANAE in 1977 but after a few years cruising world wide both ships were taken over by COSTA. In 1996 the DAPHNE became the SWITZERLAND and was later renamed OCEAN ODYSSEY and OCEAN MONARCH.
In the fleet of CIC the PRINCESS DAPHNE will be reunited with her sister PRINCESS DANAE, who joined the CIC fleet in 1996 as has been very successful ever since.
Text and images copyright L.M.Correia. For other posts and images, check our archive at the right column of the main page. Click on the photos to see them enlarged. Thanks for your visit and comments. Luís Miguel Correia