Anyone Interested in Ships

[St Enodoc]

2 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

According to one source on the 'net the ship is in any case due a major overhaul this coming winter before redeploying for the Far East market next year.   The sewage backing up does sound a bit odd in such a short time.   I did find one press report hilarious as it said that passengers were complaining 'because they'd had to endure three days at sea'.  Makes you wonder why they booked on a ship that was originally planned to go to Iceland, particularly at this time of year?

I once had to endure a full 24 hours on a Brittany Ferry from Plymouth to Santander but that was a very long time ago.

[MarkC]

6 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

According to one source on the 'net the ship is in any case due a major overhaul this coming winter before redeploying for the Far East market next year.   The sewage backing up does sound a bit odd in such a short time.   I did find one press report hilarious as it said that passengers were complaining 'because they'd had to endure three days at sea'.  Makes you wonder why they booked on a ship that was originally planned to go to Iceland, particularly at this time of year?

Well, quite...

[The Stationmaster]

Looks like it will be even more amusing for their next sailing as the vessel is stated on the itinerary to be calling at Newhaven for Edinburgh.  I'm assuming  (perhaps incorrectly?) that you read Leith Docks for Newhaven but vessel they say they're using is too large for the lock at Leith so presumably they're using tenders to land passengers - more bad weather in the offing?  And yet again it's Iceland as the destination!

[NorthBrit]

1 hour ago, The Stationmaster said:

Looks like it will be even more amusing for their next sailing as the vessel is stated on the itinerary to be calling at Newhaven for Edinburgh.  I'm assuming  (perhaps incorrectly?) that you read Leith Docks for Newhaven but vessel they say they're using is too large for the lock at Leith so presumably they're using tenders to land passengers - more bad weather in the offing?  And yet again it's Iceland as the destination!

 

Cruise ships tender  passengers at Newhaven Harbour.   (Newhaven is next to Leith)

 

As you say  Stationmaster  'even more amusing'.

[NorthBrit]

(Ex)  Royal Yacht Britannia

 

[peterfgf]

On 02/10/2019 at 01:44, St Enodoc said:

I had a similar experience in a railway context. A derailed van in a yard was labelled as Military Explosives. We all retreated to a safe place while the Army had a look. After a few minutes they waved us over to see what the load was - one single box of 7.62mm rifle ammunition.

Slightly off-topic, but I wondered about the oddly precise size of 7.62mm.  Turns out it's 7.62/25.4 = 0.3 inches. 

Peterfgf

[Hilux5972]

Cunards new Cruise liner has officially begun construction. The steel cutting ceremony was held at Fincantieri’s Castellammare di Stabia Shipyard in Naples.

[drmditch]

Please excuse a naieve question:

What are the handling characteristics of these 'new' cruise liners?

They appear to have a lot of top-weight, and a lot of sail area.

 

[NorthBrit]

Hi drmditch.   I understand  the term 'cruise liners'   is now generally used for new ships being built for Ferry Companies.   How they handle at sea I have no idea having not travelled on any.

 

The new cruise ships  being built now, some  do look 'top heavy'.

 

Having been on 59 cruises Mrs NorthBrit and I have stayed away from those that look 'top heavy'.  The information we have been given (unofficially)  such ships are like 'drunken ducks'  in the slightest of choppy seas.

 

Having said that,  in November we will be travelling on MSC Bellissima;  and at 171,000 GT  will be the biggest ship we will have sailed on.   How she handles the journey to Dubai I shall let you know.

[MarkC]

2 hours ago, NorthBrit said:

 

Having said that,  in November we will be travelling on MSC Bellissima;  and at 171,000 GT  will be the biggest ship we will have sailed on.   How she handles the journey to Dubai I shall let you know.

We have one of our ships presently bound for Dubai from the Med. Interestingly, their destination as per AIS presently reads "ARMED GUARD ONBOARD", which is actually true. Dutch Marines, with some serious "Big boys' toys" to use if necessary...

Edited October 16, 2019 by MarkC

[NorthBrit]

31 minutes ago, MarkC said:

We have one of our ships presently bound for Dubai from the Med. Interestingly, their destination as per AIS presently reads "ARMED GUARD ONBOARD", which is actually true. Dutch Marines, with some serious "Big boys' toys" to use if necessary...

 

Two and half years ago we were on QM2   from Dubai back to Southampton.   We had armed guard on board plus  HMS  Monmouth  for company whilst passing  Yemen.    We made an unscheduled stop in Cyprus to allow the soldiers off.   All good fun.

[MarkC]

4 minutes ago, NorthBrit said:

 

Two and half years ago we were on QM2   from Dubai back to Southampton.   We had armed guard on board plus  HMS  Monmouth  for company whilst passing  Yemen.    We made an unscheduled stop in Cyprus to allow the soldiers off.   All good fun.

I wonder what the <ahem> 'consideration' to the Marlboro Suez den of thieves Canal Authority was, to allow the squaddies/bootnecks to be on board during the transit? We have ours join/leave, along with their gear, at Safaga, which is close to Hurghada (And I had a night in a supposed 5* hotel in Hurghada - no wonder folk get 'Gippo Tum' when staying in such places and eating from the buffet - but that's another story... )

[The Stationmaster]

10 hours ago, drmditch said:

Please excuse a naieve question:

What are the handling characteristics of these 'new' cruise liners?

They appear to have a lot of top-weight, and a lot of sail area.

 

They have a lot of clever devices to give the smoothest ride possible through automatic control of stabilisers and even of weight distribution (by shifting water) ballast.  But I don't think anything can beat the really bad weather and there was report a while back that one of the big modern Cunard branded vessels arrived in the UK from a transatlantic voyage with considerable quantities of broken crockery and sundry cosmetic damage.

 

One thing I don't like is calling these vessels liners - because they aren't (unless somebody has some new ideas?) because they don't maintain regular scheduled services between a stated list of ports - that is what a liner does.  In the purest use of the term there are still plenty of 'liners' at sea nowadays but most, especially the biggest ones, are cargo vessels.

Edited October 16, 2019 by The Stationmaster

[johnofwessex]

AFAIK the QM2 was designed to maintain a scheduled service across the North Atlantic on all weathers unlike the other 'Cruise Liners' that would be hard pressed to do Round the Isle of Wight on a bad day

[Bon Accord]

1 hour ago, johnofwessex said:

AFAIK the QM2 was designed to maintain a scheduled service across the North Atlantic on all weathers unlike the other 'Cruise Liners' that would be hard pressed to do Round the Isle of Wight on a bad day

 

She's a cruise ship with heavier scantlings than some of the others, nothing more - the rest is simple PR for the benefit of the punters. The latter being worth the expense when it came to cost/benefit/analysis time and sellability of cabins, much like how Carnival twisted the arm of Royal Mail to grant her the title RMS as a PR stunt despite the fact she carries no mail.

The last real British liner (and last real mail ship) was RMS St Helena and I think it's fair to say there will never be another. I never sailed in her alas, but enjoyed many an afternoon of drinks and good company when she was anchored off Ascension Island.

[admiles]

20 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

One thing I don't like is calling these vessels liners - because they aren't (unless somebody has some new ideas?) because they don't maintain regular scheduled services between a stated list of ports - that is what a liner does.  In the purest use of the term there are still plenty of 'liners' at sea nowadays but most, especially the biggest ones, are cargo vessels.

 

Correct! Nearly all container vessel services are referred too as "liner" services even if only in the trade.

[johnofwessex]

Ian Muir described his time on a 'Liner', a Harrison Line Liberty Ship, but as it sailed on a scheduled service was a liner.

[Bon Accord]

1 hour ago, johnofwessex said:

Ian Muir described his time on a 'Liner', a Harrison Line Liberty Ship, but as it sailed on a scheduled service was a liner.

 

Was that Ian Muir of Waverley fame? If so his memoirs were known as "Dinosaur down below" and I have a copy somewhere.

I used to do a few jobs for the paddler during leaves to help them out and as I recall he had started his career with "two of fat and one of lean", aka Hungry Harrisons.

 

[jjb1970]

The QM2 is very different to other modern cruise ships, she's 7 or 8 knots faster than other cruise ships with a hugely over powered machinery installation and propulsors relative to normal ships. Her hull form is also significantly different and was optimised for high speed and more adverse sea states than is usual for a cruise ship. I'm not a big fan of the QM2 but I do think she has a little bit more style and much nicer hull lines than other cruise ships.

[MarkC]

5 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

The QM2 is very different to other modern cruise ships, she's 7 or 8 knots faster than other cruise ships with a hugely over powered machinery installation and propulsors relative to normal ships. Her hull form is also significantly different and was optimised for high speed and more adverse sea states than is usual for a cruise ship. I'm not a big fan of the QM2 but I do think she has a little bit more style and much nicer hull lines than other cruise ships.

Very true, but in many ways she's still a floating block of flats, to my eyes anyway.

 

Compare her to, say, Canberra and QE2.They were much more graceful.

[johnofwessex]

6 hours ago, Bon Accord said:

 

Was that Ian Muir of Waverley fame? If so his memoirs were known as "Dinosaur down below" and I have a copy somewhere.

I used to do a few jobs for the paddler during leaves to help them out and as I recall he had started his career with "two of fat and one of lean", aka Hungry Harrisons.

 

 

It is indeed

[skipepsi]

3 hours ago, MarkC said:

Very true, but in many ways she's still a floating block of flats, to my eyes anyway.

 

Compare her to, say, Canberra and QE2.They were much more graceful.

They were not designed by accountants.

[MarkC]

40 minutes ago, skipepsi said:

They were not designed by accountants.

Good point, well made, sir

[St Enodoc]

4 hours ago, MarkC said:

Compare her to, say, Canberra and QE2.They were much more graceful.

Yes, they were (dare I say) more ship-shape.

[Ohmisterporter]

Showing my age now. When Canberra was being built one of the children's tv shows, perhaps Blue Peter, started a construction series on building a model of her and viewers could send off for a set of drawings for the build. Mine duly arrived, was taken out of the envelope to be drooled over, then put back never to be seen again. I wonder if anyone actually built a model?