A younger one which comes to my mid and has been laid up for quite a while now (? - where is she - ?) is the (former?) Odessa.

The only old ship where I would be sceptical whether she lands 'on the beach' is QE2.
Sadly nobody beside ship enthusiast knows the recently beached France - but QE2 is a very, very different story. Also, she is still operated by Cunard - and they are capitaizing on their history and tradition.
Whereas the scrapping or generally the fate of the Norway was completely irrelevant for NCL having QE2 beached would be a disaster for the reputation of Cunard.

[ 08-16-2006: Message edited by: Ernst ]

Mona Lisa ex. Kungsholm
Saga Rose ex. Sagafjord
Oceanic
Maxim Gorkiy ex. Hamburg
Regal Empress

Also, I'm not so sure about Cunard not scrapping QE2. Cunard president Carol Marlow has been qouted as saying that it is technically possible to upgrade QE2 to comply with SOLAS 2010, but that dosen't necessarily mean that it will be done.

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Originally posted by Ernst:
Whereas the scrapping or generally the fate of the Norway was completely irrelevant for NCL having QE2 beached would be a disaster for the reputation of Cunard.

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Nonsense! Having the QE2 quickly rust away as a Hotel or Museum would equally be a disaster. The original Queen Mary is one of the few exceptions and she's had her financial loses and maintenance/renovation issues.

Just because the QM was laid up in a commercial backwater, and the exploitation of her available volume has been pathetic for almost forty years does not mean that she could not have accommodated major retailing, convention or conference activity for a generation now in her empty former machinery, bunker and cargo spaces.

The failure to exploit these areas has been a recurring mystery to me unless it is the usual US paranoia about possible contamination and lawsuits arising from cleaning them up in the 48 contiguous, whereas here we get on with it - subject to regs, and create usable space from problem areas - Look at Meadowhall, the site of former steelworks with contamination beyond belief before conversion.

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:

Nonsense! Having the QE2 quickly rust away as a Hotel or Museum would equally be a disaster. The original Queen Mary is one of the few exceptions and she's had her financial loses and maintenance/renovation issues.

All ships get scrapped sooner or later. Once they finish their passenger service it is kinder to scrap them ASAP, in my opinion.

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Originally posted by steeplechase:
Why was Canberra scrapped anway? I did read somewhere the story of her last cruise but can no longer find it anyone help?

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Old age and high operating costs eventually ended CANBERRA's career. She was an expensive ship to operate in a world of modern cruise ships, and her draft was too deep to enter many of the world's cruising ports. People forget that P.& O. nearly sold her for scrap in the early 1970s, while they were scrapping quite a few of their liners.

As it turned out, she was given a reprieve and updated for cruising, lasting until 1997. That's a 36-year career, which is remarkable for a passenger ship. She was probably one of the most beloved ships of the 20th Century; I'm fortunate to have sailed her, and she is one of my all-time favorite ships!

There are many websites devoted to her. One such site is:

www.sscanberra.com

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Originally posted by Patsy:
With Southampton docks now reportedly under new ownership, I can't help feeling all these mooted plans to keep Lizzie here will go. They don't care about the docks, only money and were determined to buy something after they failed to get the airports. If she's down for a refit in 2010 then she'll have at least another 12-18 months. They're making such a big deal of the 40th anniversary of her launch it wouldn't surprise me if she was retired during the 40th anniversary year of her maiden voyage. They say they'll keep her all the while she has bookings. Well, Canberra still had bookings. Soon as they get Cloney so they can charge more, Lizzie's days are numbered.
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I too suspect something is up with 40th Anniversary next year, although I believe her launching has been celebrated in previous years also. But if she was to be in service in 2009, 40 years after the maiden voyage, would they make such a big deal in 2007?

Back in 1999 there were rumours on board QE2 about her retirement in 2008...perhaps that has not changed after all?

I've not had all of my life yet!

And as for our own Waverley and Balmoral on a smaller scale - would you have had them torn apart?

Of course not, but they are both in good condtion as they still sail.

I just think the QE2 is living on borrowed time. If she was berthed as a Hotel/Museum ship in the UK our wet climate soon rot her. The Royal Yacht Brittania did not look so good when I visited her. Hotel/Museum ships no longer have a crew working on their maintainence 24/7 and no-longer have regular refits.

[ 08-17-2006: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

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Originally posted by steeplechase:
Why was Canberra scrapped anway? I did read somewhere the story of her last cruise but can no longer find it anyone help?

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