First of all the Independence is American Built with NO combustibles on her, which means she will be able to survive past 2010 without a major problem! And do you know what it would cost to replicate a ship like the Indy? Plenty more than NCL has! The Independence is in pretty much turn key condition with very little needed to put her back into service! I'm sure NCL has Big Plans for the Indy in the not so distant future or they wouldn't have her!

The Indy is a Classic ship many of us will never see again and I'm sure NCL knows that and hey who wouldn't want to cruise on a classic ship in pristine condition sailing between U.S. ports!

I still think NCL will use the Independence for San Fransisco-Hawaii service, they would be crazy not too at least part of the year!!

1. the SSUS never has needed any "exemptions" from the law regarding cruising between US ports because she has always been US flagged, the INDY has received a legislative exemption because she did fly a foreign flag when owned by C.Y. Tung prior to starting her Hawaii service in 1981.

2. the INDEPENDENCE may be in excellent condition having undergone a major refit in 1994(?) at Newport News Shipbuilding and she is not built with combustibles but she is no longer meets SOLAS lifesaving rules so could not go foreign again nor can sail more than 200 miles from a coastline because she lacks adequate lifeboat capacity. Secondly, her machinery is over 50 years old, she has 2 separate enginerooms (as required when she was built for damage survivability by the USN) which require 2 engineroom crews on watch at any one time and she is noted for guzzling fuel oil at even the slowest speeds. I honestly, do not think any company could hope to operated a steamship under the US flag again and be able to be competitive with the low per diems that the public expects these days. I do not expect her or the SSUS to ever sail again.

[ 02-16-2004: Message edited by: Marlowe ]

[ 02-16-2004: Message edited by: Landlocked Cruiser ]

I really don't think that SSUS and INDY have much chance of sailing again. Of course I would love to see it happen just as much as anyone else. Stranger things have happened. I definately don't want them to be scrapped!

If the ships aren't to sail as cruise ships again, why not dock them in Miami or NYC (anywhere NCL sails from, really) and use them as pre/post cruise hotels? (I know that I wouldn't be the only one staying on the QM in Long Beach if I were sailing from the new terminal ajacent to the ship).

In the case of the Indy, she is already fitted out with everything she would need! Cabins, restaurants, lounges, pools etc.

It wouldn't be the first time a cruise line also ran hotels. In this case, unlike QM which is seldom at full capacity, NCL would own them and therefore could market a stay on a historic ocean liner as part of the cruise. How hard could it be fill the Indy or the SSUS when you have thousands of passengers embarking and disembarking a week in a port like Miami?

I know there are a lot of reasons this wouldn't work, and I admit to it just being a fanciful thought, but it would probably be a lot less complicated than returning them to regular service.

How about this...

You fly to Miami and spend Friday and Saturday night on board the Independence. You get to swim in the pools, eat in the restaurants, have drinks on deck or in the lounges and tour this great ship.

Sunday morning you board the Norway for a cruise up the coast ending in NYC where you transfer to the United States for a stay until you have to return to the real world.

Anyone interrested?

quote:

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Originally posted by Michael534:
Anyone interrested?

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quote:

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Originally posted by Keitaro:
Landlock Cruiser, do you mean the INDY is at Berth 10 in the ex naval yard or back in SF?

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No guarantees on location, either, but honestly, I think if she'd ever moved from Mare Island, someone here would know. I've Googled until my fingers are raw and found no evidence of that, either.

[ 02-17-2004: Message edited by: Landlocked Cruiser ]

I've posted them to Webshots. Attached is the URL

http://community.webshots.com/album/119174680nLXFAU

Hopefully this works.

I've been reading the posts on this board for a couple of months now and it has been both interesting, fun and informative.

We will be sailing on the QM2 on May 10 (first cruise) and are very excited.

Anyway, Keitaro when you make it down to the Bay area you might also want to go by the Ninth Ave Terminal on the Oakland waterfront to get some shots of the ex DEL ORLEANS (now Artship) Maritime Matters mentioned recently that she is due to be towed back to the reserve fleet soon where shots would be much harder to get of another grand old dame.

[ 02-18-2004: Message edited by: Marlowe ]

quote:

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Originally posted by cljw:
Hi. I've never posted before but I wanted to let you know that I have some photos that I took in September, 2003 of the Independence.

I've posted them to Webshots. Attached is the URL

http://community.webshots.com/album/119174680nLXFAU

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Heyyy, relly nice pics, cljw! Thanks a lot for sharing. By the looks of it, one can sail pleasure craft right up to these mathballed treasures? I wanna go.

She was originally laid up in Suisun Bay with the mothball fleet until NCL purchased her.

I don't know if she is still docked at Mare Island. We're going to try to drive up there on Saturday and see.

I will be in the Bay Area the last weekend in March and plan to see the Indy. Private message me when you know where she is.

Thank you

Desirod

quote:

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Originally posted by cljw:
As of September, she was still docked at Mare Island in Vallejo. We took the pictures from the city park directly across the strait.

She was originally laid up in Suisun Bay with the mothball fleet until NCL purchased her.

I don't know if she is still docked at Mare Island. We're going to try to drive up there on Saturday and see.

Thanks for the feedback on the pics!

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We parked our car at the Vallejo Marina Park and walked the couple mile trail through the park and to the Baylink Ferry Terminal where you can see the INDY from a aft-facing view. The walk was splendid because I was manage to take a couple aft shots, but mainly sideviews.

Marlowe, I was not able to head down to Artship due to limited time. Anyways, I am on my way home already so I should be able to get the pictures uploaded by Friday!

[ 02-19-2004: Message edited by: Keitaro ]