NYCruiseInfo Blog

French Line's SS France (shown) Later Became Norwegian Cruise Line's Norway Originally built in 1962 for the French Line, the futuristic liner ss France was the longest liner of the day, measuring 1,032 feet and weighing 66,000 tons. The elegant 3 class ship had her trademark majestic winged funnels; elegant furnishing and white glove service. A victim of many strikes by the seaman union; the increased popularity of air travel; and mounting losses due to increased fuel prices, fuel hungry engines and low passenger counts. The ss France was laid up in 1974 awaiting a buyer. The ship was eventually purchase by Norwegian Cruise Line, who renamed her Norway and brought her to Bremerhaven, Germany for an extensive conversion to a 1 class cruise liner. Totally refitted from stem to stem the ship reemerged as the Norway with all cabin remodeled, all public rooms renovated, an extensive platform lido area was place on the stern ideal for her new role as a Caribbean Cruise shi...

                   Maiden Arrival of French Line's Newest Liner the s/s France in February 1962. This is a great video flashback to a time in history when a ship's maiden arrival in a port like New York City was a community event. Fire boats, private ships and tugs would escort new liners into the harbor. Viewers would line the waterfront to get a glimpse at the new ships and people would put on their best suits and dresses to take a tour of the ship while docked. Today, unfortunately, the arrival of new ships go mostly unnoticed. Due to security reasons, the general public is no longer allowed on board to visit. Most cruise lines cater to the bottom line so turning around a ship as soon as possible is important. Interesting enough, the last 2 maiden arrival of cruise ships into New York Harbor happened in the middle of the night..... The Norwegian Bliss (of Norwegian Cruise Line) arrive...