Cruise Information
For throwback Thursday, here is the Royal Viking Sky April 29, 1976 in Aruba on its way to the Panama Canal to meet its sister ship coming east bound – sister ships meeting for the first time in the Panama Canal going opposite directions. More from this to follow, but Royal Viking Line merged with Cunard in the mid 1990s.
Royal Viking Sky April 29, 1976 in Aruba
Royal Caribbean gave new information today on their 3rd Oasis Class ship due next year:
Royal Caribbean International’s new generation Oasis-class ship, Harmony of the Seas, is set to launch in April 2016. The third in the Oasis class of ships – currently the largest cruise ships in the world – will continue the award-winning cruise line’s philosophy of innovation and imagination to offer a unique vacation adventure for guests.
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With Quantum-class ships Anthem of the Seas (launching in April 2015 in Southampton, U.K.) and Ovation of the Seas (debuting in April 2016), Harmony of the Seas will be Royal Caribbean’s third new ship to launch throughout the next 18 months. Itineraries for Ovation of the Seas and Harmony of the Seas will be announced this coming March.
Stingray encounters can be a nice excursion on a cruise. Encounters can involve feeding the stingrays, snorkeling with the stingrays or wading with them. The photo below is from Disney’s stingray encounter at Castaway Cay in the Bahamas.
Stingrays – Castaway Cay
Initially the Flying Dutchman was at sea, but after the success of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, the Flying Dutchman came to Castaway Cay. The Flying Dutchman remained at Castaway Cay for a number of years, but alas it set sail again a year or two ago and it is no longer at Castaway Cay. With new Pirates of the Caribbean movies coming, will Castaway see ships from the films in the future? Time will tell! If you have the scoop, let us know in the comment section!
Flying Dutchman at Disney’s Castaway Cay
Here are a few nice throw back Thursday images from June 1923. At the time RMS Homeric was making some transatlantic trips between New York and Southampton along with White Star’s Olympic and Majestic. It was also visiting ports in Europe. In one of the images below she is off-shore Cherbourg, France. She had been completed in 1922 and not been in service long, indirectly replacing the Titanic a decade after Titanic was lost. Cunard acquired White Star Line in the mid-1930s.
Note shuffleboard being played on deck. The accommodations are nowhere near as opulent as today’s ships, but for the time, the First Class sections were extremely nice.
The RMS Homeric
Homeric at Cherbourg
Guests On board Homeric
On board Homeric
On board Homeric
On board Homeric
Grace Riley on board Homeric
Shuffleboard on the Homeric – Harold Riley
Homeric On Deck
A Disney Cruise for Spring Break? A cruise on another line? Spring can be a good time to take a cruise with the children. The weather is usually very pleasant, although sometimes a little cool. But often a great time to get away. And if your Spring Break includes Easter, you will probably see some Easter decorations here and there around the ships.
Some Disney Easter Decorations on Disney Wonder
Disney Wonder at Castaway Cay over Spring Break
Cunard’s Three Queens – Mary, Victoria, and Elizabeth – will meet on the river Mersey on May 25 to celebrate 175 years of Cunard sailing.
Cunard Three Queens
Video of Port Canaveral packed with six cruise ships for the first time:
Port Canaveral
As on the Disney Wonder (and Fantasy and Dream), the Magic features the cast of Disney characters around the ship. On the Magic, Mickey is featured in the atrium. Like Ariel on the Disney Wonder, Mickey faces forward, so if you get turned around, you can see which way Mickey is facing to find the front of the ship.
Mickey Statue on Disney Magic
Mickey Statue on Disney Magic
The Disney Wonder at Castaway Cay with a Waterspout (Tornado) in the distance. Later that day, another waterspout appeared off to the forward starboard side of the ship. None came near the shore, but several excursions that involved being at sea were cancelled. It was an exciting time, but Disney did a great job to make sure everyone was safe.
Disney-Wonder-Castaway-Waterspout-Tornado
