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Luxury Travel: SS United States Ship across the Atlantic

pdxleaf
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Vinz Clortho Vinz Clortho
Can't believe there wasn't a plan to bring her back to former glory and turn it into a floating museum. The history of SS United States was something which could of been experienced for generations because when you can touch it, it becomes real. When you sink it, it becomes a footnote in history. Definitely a shame they went with the latter.

Thanks for posting the great read and memorabilia.

There was interest, but no money. She was mostly gutted, which is another level of expense. My head can understand it but my heart is disappointed.
 
hen
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MRC MRC
Pickled walnuts are on sale in most British supermarkets. If we could figure out a way to get a glass jar of un-certified vegetables from UK to you without damage or customs nonsense I'll send you a jar.
D526PickledWalnuts_NB.webp



Or, really easy to make yourself
P1050517m.webp P1050521m.webp
Thanks. I have to check out the local supermarked then, never heard of them i Norway. I love walnuts.
 
Trev
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pdxleaf pdxleaf
There was interest, but no money. She was mostly gutted, which is another level of expense. My head can understand it but my heart is disappointed.
Yeah, such a shame to see they gutted and auctioned off pretty much anything not welded to the superstructure. I think her fate was sealed after that.

This is a ship that should've been preserved and maintained, especially since nothing in that class of ship has beat those Atlantic speed records. Queen Mary 2 (launched 2003) got up to 32.8kts, but only as a one-off record for shorter period of time.
 
Trev
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There was even live stream of it heading down the river:
 
pdxleaf
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Trev Trev
There was even live stream of it heading down the river:
It looks fast just being tugged
 
Evitzee
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Ships like the SS United States were built fast for military reasons, if needed they could be converted to troop transport duty where speed was desirable. They could outrun the submarines of the time, another factor for their speed design. Modern cruise ships will have a speed of 20-25 knots, they are built for a different market. Sad to see liners like this disappear, but technology has vastly improved, they just aren't relevant anymore. Once airplane crossings became affordable in the 1950's the days of the big ocean liners were numbered, they hung on as long as they could.

I've been on a couple of trans-Atlantic voyages on Holland America Line, Ft. Lauderdale to Rotterdam (or reverse). It's a 14 day crossing stopping in various places like the Bahamas, the Azores, France, UK, before docking in Rotterdam. Actually going on the ms Rotterdam in April as it relocates from the Caribbean to Northern Europe for the summer season.
 
DSotW
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Vinz Clortho Vinz Clortho
Can't believe there wasn't a plan to bring her back to former glory and turn it into a floating museum. The history of SS United States was something which could of been experienced for generations because when you can touch it, it becomes real. When you sink it, it becomes a footnote in history. Definitely a shame they went with the latter.

Thanks for posting the great read and memorabilia.
Or why they are not scrapping it in India to get the steel out of it.

I would venture there is a lot of asbestos contained in the ship, hence the sinking rather than restoring or scrapping.
 
Trev
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I wish they'd kept it and never let people gut it. There's certainly other ships we've made floating museums out of that (IMO) aren't as interesting.
 
josiahg52
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The day of the grand ocean liners are long gone. People want to go on a "boat" for vacation and immediately think of one of those monstrous abominations. There's no elegance, no style. They take everything you can get on land and float it on the ocean. I never understood the desire. If I had to to Europe or elsewhere, I'd want to take a proper liner. But I'm a guy that used to take a train on a whim and drive 12 hours or more or across the United States to get where I wanted to be. There's me and probably a few hundred other people who are similar and unfortunately, you can't run a business with those numbers. I think it was stupid and shortsighted to gut her, but in the long term, it probably doesn't matter.

If I had a billion dollars I'd bring her back; updated propulsion, very, very nice and comfortable, but not super-luxurious amenities, crewed by US Navy nuc operators. Not without consulting my accountant, though. It's the continuing costs, however, that get you. So perhaps a period correct restoration and installation out of the water somewhere would be better.
 
Trev
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josiahg52 josiahg52
The day of the grand ocean liners are long gone. People want to go on a "boat" for vacation and immediately think of one of those monstrous abominations. There's no elegance, no style. They take everything you can get on land and float it on the ocean. I never understood the desire. If I had to to Europe or elsewhere, I'd want to take a proper liner.
...
Queen Mary 2 still remains as a proper liner and can likely handle rough seas better than any of the classics could, due to modern design + materials + stabilizers. I've always wanted to do a trans-atlantic crossing on that ship. They're very reasonably priced for anyone near London or NY especially.

Have you been on many cruise ships? In general they're a great vacation and the trip is what you make of it. Various ships and cruise lines have different feelings to them, ranging from traditional (Cunard, Holland America, etc) to floating theme parks. Plenty of elegance and style to be found, if that's what you're looking for. You're just not going to find as much of it on "fun" family oriented or party focused cruise lines. For me personally, a ship having some waterslides isn't going to stop me from enjoying the ocean and ship experience itself. It simply provides more options and activities for the rest of the family.
 
josiahg52
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Trev Trev
Queen Mary 2 still remains as a proper liner and can likely handle rough seas better than any of the classics could, due to modern design + materials + stabilizers. I've always wanted to do a trans-atlantic crossing on that ship. They're very reasonably priced for anyone near London or NY especially.

Have you been on many cruise ships? In general they're a great vacation and the trip is what you make of it. Various ships and cruise lines have different feelings to them, ranging from traditional (Cunard, Holland America, etc) to floating theme parks. Plenty of elegance and style to be found, if that's what you're looking for. You're just not going to find as much of it on "fun" family oriented or party focused cruise lines. For me personally, a ship having some waterslides isn't going to stop me from enjoying the ocean and ship experience itself. It simply provides more options and activities for the rest of the family.

I haven't and I've more of an issue with their aesthetic. They do appear fun and full of activities. Activities that I can do on land, if I wanted to, but I don't. Public pools, water slides, no thank you. Fine dining and a nice quiet bar would be my go to. It doesn't

I studied the United States years ago because I was insanely fascinated with its design intent and execution. It was an excellent seakeeper; long line, high freeboard, stable at cruise (some vibration at flank), good in the weather, but even then, not as opulent as contemporary liners. It's just very, very pretty, taking nothing away from QM or QM2 and the others.
 
Trev
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josiahg52 josiahg52
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I studied the United States years ago because I was insanely fascinated with its design intent and execution. It was an excellent seakeeper; long line, high freeboard, stable at cruise (some vibration at flank), good in the weather, but even then, not as opulent as contemporary liners. It's just very, very pretty, taking nothing away from QM or QM2 and the others.
Certainly unique in my eyes. Some of the innovations from the United States propelled the entire industry forward too, like advances in superstructure steel shapes and cut-outs, making her lighter without sacrificing strength and safety. Ships built today are still using the same techniques pioneered there.

Although the QM2 isn't as fast as ships like the SS US, she does seem unique in her abilities to handle rough seas and charge through storms instead of taking large detours around them. Unfortunately, there's nothing else left like her.
 
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