When a reporter asked William Francis Gibbs if he loved his favorite ship more than his wife his answer was surprising both in its honesty and in the fact most didn't doubt that the statement was true. Gibbs answered, "Yes, you are 1000% percent correct!" While working in an industry plagued with high divorce rates, Gibbs is not the … [Read more...]
Cruise Line Cancels Plan to Return SS United States to Sea
Any hope of the SS United States returning to the high seas as a modern luxury cruise ship has now faded with Los Angeles-based Crystal Cruises cancelling its plan to restore the vessel after a feasibility study determined that the project was just a bit too ambitious. Crystal Cruises instead will be donating $350,000 to help secure a future for the famed transatlantic … [Read more...]
S.S. United States Restoration One of Many Grand Projects for Crystal Cruises
(Bloomberg) -- “You either grow or die.” To Edie Rodriguez, president and CEO of Crystal Cruises, those words weren’t just lip service for the journalists and VIPs gathered in the Seychelles recently, they’re a rallying call for a brand that’s won a raft of travel magazine reader polls since its founding in 1988, but never grown beyond two mid-size cruise ships—until … [Read more...]
SS United States: Crystal Cruises Planning Return of Historic Transatlantic Liner
A major development today in the ongoing saga to save the SS United States from a trip the scrapyard. Los Angeles-based Crystal Cruises says it has signed a purchase option for the historic - yet weathered - transatlantic steam ship with the plan to refurbish the vessel and return it to oceangoing service as a modern luxury cruise ship. The announcement was … [Read more...]
SS United States: America’s Flagship, Historic Maritime Artifact and Engineering Marvel
She was built as an unsinkable ship, a claim allegedly attributed to Bruce Ismay, the managing partner of the White Star Line, the direct shipowning company of the famous RMS Titanic. The year was 1912, and liner companies were in fierce competition with each other for the Transatlantic passenger trade. Fate would not be kind to Ismay and RMS Titanic as both soon floundered … [Read more...]