5 AWFUL Ship Makeovers

These 5 ship makeovers were terrible - some were engineering failures and others just didn't look right!
0:00 Introduction
0:29 RMS Strathnaver
3:14 SS Castelbianco
6:42 MV Georgic
11:40 SS France / Norway
14:25 Ryndam II / Atlas
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Oceanliner Designs explores the design, construction, engineering and operation of history’s great ocean liners - from Titanic to Queen Mary but not forgetting the likes of Empress of Ireland or Chusan. Join Mike Brady as he uncovers the myths, explains the timelines, logistics and deep dives into the lives of the people and ocean liner ships that we all know and love.

[@OceanlinerDesigns]

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[@davidthompson5766]

Look up SS Indepence operated by American Hawaiian Cruise Line

[@Bruitus1]

I like this video

[@DoWutNow90]

Is the Strathnaver the ship that u did a drawing of for u father which kinda inspired you to create the channel or was it a different ship you were talking about in your local news segment?

[@mathildadeer]

15:55 I believe that is what people in the 70s called a "seagull". It's kind of like a less aggressive goose but for beaches

[@OceanlinerDesigns]

Haha to the right of the seagull is what I'm confused by!

[@torquemada1971]

Beach chickens.

[@sitara2783]

Have you ever met a seagull in the American Pacific Northwest? They can easily get even more aggressive than the geese here. There's an infamous story about a guy who didn't know about the seagulls and left a suitcase with lots of sausages in it, in his hotel room with a window open. The room was trashed by seagulls and he was banned from the city for several years.

[@cjlamber]

@@sitara2783 a suitcase of sausages?!!.....That is a lot of sausages.

[@gdj6298]

@@torquemada1971Known in my hometown as 'shitehawks'

[@ChickVicious237]

Ryndam II is my favorite so far. Being forced into that over the top eccentric makeover, eventually turning to gambling and general degeneracy in her old age, and then finally giving the finger to the world and saying "you cannot have my body!", throwing herself into the abyss. Epic

[@dfuher968]

Poetic justice indeed. In the end, she had just suffered too much!

[@rodatteberry]

As she has suffered so greatly already, I thought appropriate that her name be spoken “correctly”. When I sailed Holland America, Ryndam, at the time, was with a long “I” sound (rhymes with Wine-dam). These are the same people who brought out a new Nieuw Amsterdam, not to be confused with their old Amsterdam. They spelled Nieuw with 3 U’s in a row and threw in an “i”!

[@Rohnski]

@@rodatteberry Indeed, "Rijndam" is the original Dutch spelling but it was later anglo-sised to "Ryndam" to make it easier for non-Dutch speakers to pronounce. It's named after the river Rhine [Rijn in Dutch] which flows through Rotterdam (Where Holland America was established) and in English is pronounced like Rhine-dam. Hope that helps!

[@wayneantoniazzi2706]

I can't help but be reminded of HMS Warspite, that proud old British battleship who broke her tow line and threw herself on the rocks rather than go to a scrapper's yard. They say ships are just machines that don't have souls but sometimes you have to wonder.

[@ukaszwalczak1154]

@@wayneantoniazzi2706 Can confirm. If your boat has a good life, it won't sink itself, if it doesn't, then it probably won't, either, most of the time-

[@wayneantoniazzi2706]

Well, most of the makeovers weren't TOO bad, but the Ryndam was an absolute horror! I don't blame the ship for sinking on the way to the scrappers. "The Ship That Died Of Shame.' I'm reminded though of the time Dad drove us down the west side of Manhattan in the early 1960's. We passed the great ocean liners that were in port at the time, France, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, and United States. What an incredible sight! I was eight years old at the time and never forgot it. Just the beauty and the SIZE of those ships was awe-inspiring.

[@OceanlinerDesigns]

Wow I am jealous of your experience seeing all those ships together!

[@wayneantoniazzi2706]

@@OceanlinerDesigns Luckily I was old enough to know how to read so I knew what I was looking at! There was no missing those proud names! And the white superstructures positively glowed in the sunlight.

[@aimee-lynndonovan6077]

Yes, I’ve been on the France in 1968, to where else France! I was a pretty shy kid, so I don’t remember everything. I do recall the food was wonderful, especially tomatoes/cukes and parsley salad. And the crew waiting on every need . Unfortunately I got seasick also!🤢but it never stop me from loving sea vessels. I had motion sickness in cars!😸I eventually grew out of it.

[@aimee-lynndonovan6077]

The Ryndam died on it’s own terms.🦑🐳⚰️

[@stevenkarnisky411]

Hadthe same experience in 1960, Thanksgiving week! My grandmother and uncle took this seventh grader to see the piers and ships. S.S. United States, Queen Elizabeth, Rotterdam and a couple others. Those giant prows curving over my head was something I will never forget. Years later, I learned my dad had been on patrol in the harbor the day Normandie burned, as a Coast Guardsman. The next day his patrol boat went right into her berth, where he could reach out and touch her hull bottom.

[@tidepoolclipper8657]

I can excuse the MV Georgic not looking the same later in life. It's a miracle the ship even managed to see any more service after its disaster.

[@thomasfinch8599]

I was thinking the same thing...she was heroic!

[@MiniMC546]

The only WSL ship that was ever refloated after its disaster and brought back to life.

[@TheFabrizio3d]

😯😯😯

[@XchillMan]

atleast make the funnel more bigger so its modern abit

[@Quetzalcoatl_Feathered_Serpent]

@@XchillMan She was by that point as noted, owned by the British government and not White Star Line therefore she was only refitted and rebuilt according to what the government felt. Its not like they were going to take the time to bring her back to her glory days.

[@rickfaber413]

Thank you for being gentle with the SS NORWAY. I was (and still am) a huge fan of the NORWAY, did lots of research on the ship's history at the French Line archives and eventually gave some lectures on board as a guest of NCL--the last one being her second crossing to Le Havre in 1997. During the 1990 refit I visited the ship in Bremerhaven and actually stayed onboard for several days. Many of the Norwegian officers were great fans of the ship themselves and I think all of us had mixed emotions on the additions. They did make the ship more marketable and did allow her to reclaim the title of world's largest, but while not improving on the ship's original appearance did at least not harm it too much--her length helping in that regard. To NCL's credit, the stairtowers that were extended up to the new decks duplicated the original FRANCE designs perfectly. A beloved ship by many and deeply missed by me.

[@dckmusic]

We went on the Norway in 1994 for our honeymoon and we loved it. We were saddened to learn of her fate. I was so excited to ride the Little Norway matched set of tenders at Great Stirrup Cay. I asked the crew if they knew of the history but they had no idea. I've strongly considered getting a model of it made from its 1994 state. It may have not looked as good as France, but I still thought it a beautiful ship.

[@NorwegianCobain]

Well said!

[@jackseymour1757]

Totally agree, I sailed on her many times and she was still magnificent with some reasonably well preserved grand public rooms. She had a big feel about her and I felt that she was far superior to the QE2.

[@3fmnorge]

I think SS Norway must be the most beautiful ship i have ever seen.. Even after rebuilds. She improved her look for her time as France. Then she was just... ordinary.. like all others..

[@garysuttles2068]

Sailed on the Norway to St Marten and St Thomas in ‘94 - had the feel of the old liners - huge staterooms and grand parlor areas - classy.

[@cleverusername9369]

Just want to say I really love the silly editing touches you've been adding lately, whether it be the punch sound effects or the Wilhelm Scream or whatever, I really enjoy the little touches of humor that just add to the informative nature of your videos. Well done! Much enjoyed.

[@OceanlinerDesigns]

Yay! I like getting the opportunity to be funny as it’s a rare occasion I’m not talking about some horrific disaster!

[@sierrachief117]

What makes it funny is that these effects are subtle, added only when necessary and not over the top, forced.

[@unrulyjulie4382]

I particularly like the screams inserted at unexpected but appropriate times. 😂

[@ethanblackwood9665]

1950s: let's make a beautiful ocean liner with cleans lines. 1970s: Let's make it look like a apartment building to make money.

[@CCHSMusicDepartment]

As a huge Norway fan I’m happy she was recognized and 100% agree with how bad those upper decks were. France and the pre 1990 Norway was one of the top 5 most beautiful ships ever built.

[@MegaSnow121]

I saw the SS Norway right after she was put into service around 1979/1980. She visited Oslo and was docked right next to the Akershus Festning (Akershus Fort) and she was a sight to see. Beautiful and huge. We saw her from atop the fort, and still had to look up to see the top of her. She was impressive.

[@that90skid72]

Norwegians did whatever the French were unable to do. Convert this awesome vessel to a nice, although altered cruise ship.

[@litamtondy]

@@that90skid72 The fact is, Nowegians could never build such a beautiful ship.

[@FloridaStrayDog]

As a 10 year old kid, I sailed out on my older brothers boat to greet the Norway on her maiden sail into Oslo. She sure was a sight to see. Almost 20 years later, in the late 1990’s and after moving to Florida, my mother absolutely loved cruising on her out of Miami.

[@SgtRocko]

I guess I'm an old fuddy-duddy... I LOVE black-hulled liners, and the more funnels the better. Paint a ship white and it immediately drops in my eyes. Maybe because the stacks of postcards my family sent each other were all of pre-Depression liners... and my one and only time to sail on an actual LINER was on the Stefan Batory. I've been on cruises, but those don't do it for me as a liner-lover (and the newest ones literally look like land hotels on barges LOL). That era is gone, of course *sigh* My other big thrill is that I was able to explore the hulks of two Great Lakes paddle steamers that were the grand liners of the Great Lakes (here in Cleveland and in Detroit). Even decrepit, listing, and sinking they still gave my ship-loving heart a thrill.

[@justforever96]

I agree 100%. I don't even care as much for the more modern liners of the 1930s and beyond. They are infinitely more interesting than modern ships, but they are too big, too sleek for me. My favorite ships are the ones from 1890-1914 or so, with the vertical bows, single or twin (functional) funnels, nice and tall and slender, a relatively informal, small size. My ideal is probably the HMS _Oceanic_ . Just a lovely vessel all around.

[@chris-hz2wd]

I know nothing about ocean liners but I love this channel, learning about the different histories of ships I’ve never heard of is fascinating, please do more ship history videos

[@michaelhardiman7482]

I sailed aboard the SS France in the summer of 1967 from NY to Southampton with my parents. I was 9 y.o. and can still remember running around that ship and marveling at how big it was. My dad had just given me a small Kodak Instamatic camera prior to the trip- I believe I almost used up all the film taking photos of the ship's bow, while still at dock in NYC. That trip was the highlight of my childhood.

[@SchneiderGeorge]

As a former cruise ship musician, I'm always fascinated by your take on ships I've sailed on...in this case the France/Norway. Your work is wonderful. Keep it up!

[@georgemallory797]

Thanks for doing the SS Norway. I remember her in her glory in the Bahamas in 1985, before the makeover. She was so big and drew so much water, she had to anchor way off shore and run her giant tenders into the harbor.

[@3fmnorge]

She was, as far as i know, the only ship in history with two ships onboard. Both her tenders were registered ships, and as far as i know, still sailing, even if SS Norway is long gone ;-)

[@winstonclapper]

The aft "exhaust" of Atlas could be a precursor to the galley exhausts that many cruise ships now have in addition to their main funnels. It's noticeable on ships such as Quantum of the Seas or MSC Seaside. Maybe another galley was added aft during the renovation?

[@litamtondy]

@Dennis Wilson How would it work, since the ship rotates?

[@76marcpalermino]

Is it maybe a garbage incinerator? I remember the Norway’s one funnel was just that. It spewed ash all over the deck and people’s belongings

[@Mick_92]

>Quantum of the Seas >MSC Seaside God, now those are some proper eyesores. Both make everything on these two videos look like the peak of art-deco in comparison.

[@winstonclapper]

@@76marcpalermino I want the plans now 😂

[@winstonclapper]

@@Mick_92 beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

[@Daniel_Huffman]

I think that the next installment in this "Ship Makeover" saga should be another set of good refits so that we can get those bad sights out of our eyes. Also, what is your stance on the more unusual ship prefixes, like QSMV and TSMS?

[@ChickVicious237]

That's a good idea. I'm still trying to find out what WAL and WLV mean in modern US lightships (1975 onward)

[@Eli1234gordon]

@@ChickVicious237 its obvious, WAL for Waluigi

[@Kaidhicksii]

Prefixes like those? They're stupid. Functional, yes. But an unnecessary mouthful.

[@BNuts]

@@Kaidhicksii Waiting for the prefix 'TSKR' to be used somewhere...

[@BurtPhysicsOnline]

Thanks for including SS France / Norway. The "internal" makeover in 1980 was the removal of two engines, reducing her installed power from 160,00 HP in 1960 to 80,000 HP in 1980. That change was as appropriate and necessary as the additional cabins on the upper decks. However, for those of us who love the engineering of a ship as much as the aesthetics, it was just as ugly as the upper decks.

[@rowaystarco]

SS Norway was a fun experience back in 1999. Even though rebuilt and changed, it was welcomed by a large crowd when it was in port in France.

[@jeremy1350]

Hello, I was a travel agent in my young life in Miami. Several times I was aboard the Norway before and after her refit. Yes she was top heavy, But still had graceful lines. I got to sail on her in the 1990's post refit. I had a Viking deck cabin. Sadly after our cruise, I remember the morning she sailed back into port and one of her boilers exploded and she shot black sooty smoke out of her rear funnel. She sat in Miami for a long time before they had worked out a plan to move her back to Bremen. She was supposed to be refit, but it was too costly and the towing situation was not very good. So she was eventually sold for scrap. She was the longest ship for a while at 1,035 feet. We especially loved Christmas aboard. We would go aboard quite often just to see her decorated up for the holidays. She was one of a kind and once she was gone, there would not be another like her.

[@ashleighelizabeth5916]

That boiler explosion was a direct result of poor maintenance and improper procedure on NCL's part. They lied about her fate repeatedly and rebuffed all attempts by various groups wanting to purchase the ship and trying to save her as a floating museum like RMS Queen Marry. I will absolutely NEVER forgive NCL for what they did to her and how they lied to everybody about their plans for her post accident.

[@jeremy1350]

@@ashleighelizabeth5916 I know all about that, I was still living in Miami, and the explosion came maybe 2 to 3 weeks after I had just sailed on her. We were at the port the day the explosion took place, watching her sail back into Miami wit the other ships of the time.

[@ashleighelizabeth5916]

@@jeremy1350 definitely a very sad and ugly result for a grand and noble ship.

[@fabricefauconnier2358]

@@ashleighelizabeth5916 that should have remained in french property anyway..

[@ashleighelizabeth5916]

@@fabricefauconnier2358 you can blame the French for that part of the story. They chose to end the subsidy that was keeping her in business. They chose to put her up for sale. She was almost bought by an Arab oil baron who wanted to turn her into a floating hotel before NCL came calling (a very very different NCL at that time when it was still being run by it's founder Knut Kloster). In a way Knut gave her a second life every bit as glorious as her first one for another decade or so. But changing times and competition caught up to her and NCL and then Star Cruises came in and took over the company in a hostile takeover bid and that was the end of everything that was good about NCL and Norway.

[@kjell-jorvikyvind5205]

I worked on the Norway, loved the ship. so many areas in the crew spaces were left as built with french signage, elevators and so on. a great ship to work on

[@russellcruickshank3168]

I didn't know much about the SS Norway's history when I sailed on her the year before her explosion. I knew that time was nearing an end (hence the reason to sail on her), but I must admit I loved the look of the ship. Now that I know more about those changes (thanks to your great video), I admit I preferred before the additions. Still, that week-long Caribbean cruise was a definite highlight I'll never forget. Competes with the amazing cruise I took on the Royal Clipper - but that's another story. Thank you for doing this.

[@TPEsprit]

I only speak for myself personally I love the extra decks added to the SS Norway. I saw her twice in Southampton. She is forever a most beautiful part of this great universe. 🔹💙🔹

[@danielintheantipodes6741]

For me there is something incredibly romantic about the Strath ships. I am old enough to remember the old Arcadia and it has the same romantic air to it! Thank you for the video!

[@stevenmarsh3706]

I did Coast Guard inspections on the Norway prior to her boiler incident. Always thought she had the prettiest lines of any cruise ship in service. Chief engineer told me that, unlike modern cruise ships, she could run 26 knots in 10-15 ft seas due to her length. She would cover the span between the waves thereby maintaining a fairly civil ride in the inclement weather.

[@michaeltutty1540]

Really interesting video indeed. I have only been on a liner once, Seabreeze, in 1990. She was fairly small but inherently stable. Our penultimate night we encountered quite a storm. We were rocking, but not badly, and there were no injuries worse than a few bruises. We were following one of the more modern, shallow draught boats. It was fun watching her rocking back and forth! When we returned to the Port of Miami, there were ambulances to meet the new ship, none for us.

[@frankmiller95]

Modern cruise ships are built to have the minimum GM (stability) and power allowed international maritime law. They are likely unsafe in any severe weather and it will not surprise to any trained mariner if one of them eventually gets caught out in weather she can't handle and capsizes.

[@gsaturn8614]

I cruised on the Norway a few months before she was mortally damaged by an engine explosion in 2003. The experience was unforgettable; the ship exuded a classic, retro vibe, yet delivered a wonderful, unique, contemporary cruise vacation! Ports of call were reached via the ship's own on-board tenders due to the her deep draft! I cherish the Norway ball cap that I purchased on board! I am still sad that Norwegian ultimately scraped her. She was a wonderful ship. RIP.

[@joemotes]

Thank You so much for covering the S.S. Norway, having been retired from NCL 15 years, I sailed on her 4 times, before and after the refit, and although I have sailed on several other NCL ships, the Norway was alway my favorite, I just discover your channel and I'm a Titanic buff, I really like all your videos.

[@davidlawand2805]

7:07 i LOVE the Oceanic would've been nice if she were actually built i wonder what a story this beauty wouldve had lol

[@iamrichrocker]

Anton, the artist, is incredible with the paintings of these mighty ships..almost give it life and motion..applause many times over

[@AzureWolf3]

This video really touched my heart as my family spent a year in France in 1973/74 and my father wanted us to cross from the US in comfort so we sailed on the SS France. I was a young boy but I remember it vividly. My favorite thing was a huge wall mural of the Atlantic Ocean with a miniature profile of the France that would move along slowly showing you where the ship was in its voyage. Each morning of the five day trip I’d run to see where the ship was now. Given the time of its decommissioning, I may have been on one of its last voyages. I had recently heard about it becoming the Normandy and found pictures online but was baffled as it didn’t look like my memories of the France. Thanks to your video I now know my childhood memories weren’t playing tricks on me. It was a pleasure to see the SS France sail once more across my screen (I still have one of the France’s blue glass ashtrays). Thank you.

[@jeffreyhinton8634]

It would be great if you covered the HMY Yacht Brittania. She is an amazing vessel and I believe your fans would be amazed with her history and her states. I watched a couple documentaries on her but I'm sure you'd be able to go more in debt with the facts of her design and her famous history. I know I would be so so interested. Please cover this very famous ship b

[@hansove1980]

Have you made a reverse of this one? Ships that were ugly new, but became beautiful after the conversion😁

[@YukariAkiyamaTanks]

I honestly have a lot of love for the SS France/Norway, despite that rebuild that added that deck she was always a beautiful vessel. Also Mike can you possibly do the Canberra please?

[@davidcartwright8010]

I agree

[@300guy]

absolutely love it, you should make this a regular series, or whatever you prefer to call it.

[@ninob.]

I have another great suggestion for this series! The makeover of the Hamburg-America Liners SS Albert Ballin or SS Hamburg. Both ships got their bow lengthened in 1934 and after the war both were just a wreckage, but the soviets salvaged both and repaired both. The Albert Ballin (renamed to Hansa in 1935) became the Sovetskiy Soyuz and survived until 1982 and the Hamburg became the Juri Dolgoruki and survived until 1977. Both ships should have been used as passenger ships but the Juri Dolgoruki became a whaling mothership a very interesting makeover for a passenger ship and a long life

[@joker_g7337]

A famous French singer made a song about the France being pull out of service. It broke my heart for a second when I saw the picture of the broken down S S France

[@Carl_Denkan]

Discovered this channel about 2 months ago and loving it! Keep up the splendid work!!

[@robertkerr4199]

There's a lot of good things I can say about your channel, but my favourite by far is that you're always dressed nicely. It's awesome. I bet you're one of the few who still get dressed in your finest clothes when you fly. Keep up the great work.

[@russellcruickshank3168]

Agree wholeheartedly! And such a pleasant 'announcer' voice.

[@dinoslavski]

@@russellcruickshank3168 That's just the Victorian (the australian state, not the era) accent, but I do agree that it's very pleasant to the ear.

[@robertkerr4199]

@@russellcruickshank3168 Yeah, definitely. He should do voice overs as a profession, if he isn't already.

[@justforever96]

@@dinoslavski no, the voice and the accent are different things. There are plenty of people with Victorian accents who mumble or talk too fast or sound low class. His speech is very professional and easy to listen to, the accent just adds some character. And I don't know if he necessarily wears a tie to fly, but it is certainly fitting on a channel on the subject of ocean liners, kind of a suitable reminder that back in the day of these vessels all young men would have dressed like this, instead of in hoodies and track suits (the ones who weren't in cloth caps working in factories anyway).

[@jetsons101]

Always liked the France, I built a model of it when I was a kid. A great list, just like the first.....

[@michaelpruitt7610]

I was a passenger on Norway. We had a lovely suite and enjoyed our days on her.

[@Mr.shipedit342]

The Georgic and the France ones make me sad once these great ocean liner now look odd

[@SerenityNow....]

You have a great voice, and are a very articulate narrator. I enjoy your videos!

[@Roche_Furman]

The Atlas has to be one of the most '70s looking things I have ever seen.

[@goawayleavemealone2880]

Unfortunately the 70s were the ugliest decade in the 20th Century.

[@urotaion9879]

@@goawayleavemealone2880 Eh, the 90’s occasionally give the 70’s a run for their money

[@goawayleavemealone2880]

@@urotaion9879 - A few things in the 90s were ugly, everything about the 70's was ugly.

[@urotaion9879]

@@goawayleavemealone2880 Beauty is a subjective thing, one day there'll be a trend that suggests another style is ugly from another time period and everyone will hop onto the bandwagon as if it was always a fact.

[@goawayleavemealone2880]

@@urotaion9879 - Beauty is subjective, but the 70s are OBJECTIVELY ugly.

[@mikedrown2721]

Enjoyed the video Mike. I saw the France in Naples Italy in 1967 when I was almost 21 years old

[@onewolf3750]

I have very much enjoyed your Liner videos. I went to sea as a 17 year old in 1963 and developed an appreciation of ship design. I remember passing France in the rain and fog near New York about '64 and she made a beautiful almost ghostly impression I'll never forget. A few years later I saw Rafaelo (Sp?) and Michalangelo laid up in Genoa. In '64 my ship was docked directly across from Queen Mary in Southampton. I had to take 4 segmental photos to capture her entire length. I have many good memories of those days. My wife and I made several cruises on NCL and Carnival, but I could never stand to see the ships from a distance because the designs were so ungainly to me. Tim Desmond, JD, MD

[@Ultimaton100]

I was fortunate enough to sail on Norway for a week-long eastern Caribbean cruise in my youth, and I dare say it was the best cruise experience of my life so far. Just the knowledge that I was on one of the last great ocean liners filled me with glee.

[@AstroKevin]

Another great video, and a full pleasure to watch ! You'r channel is truly unique ! Greetings from Belgium ,!

[@toddkurzbard]

Good video, much of which I agree with, with 2 comments: 1. The FRANCE entered service in 1962, not 1960; 2. That weird structure on the RYNDAM, as you speculated, is, I believe, a smokestack. The reason I say this is, I have seen pictures of another ship in a book somewhere (maybe the RYNDAM herself?), and the photo description states it is a smokestack (one of those "modern touches\innovations" that did Oh So Much for a ship's looks, and was then never seen again).

[@TheRavendearest]

I traveled on the Norway a few times, a lovely ship with vestiges of its former incarnation as the France. My most memorable crossing was September 11th 2001, we were in mid Atlantic when the attack came and having just ported in Manhattan a few days previous were all in complete shock and horrified. Internet was spotty and our televised news kept dropping out and we all thought it was the beginning of WWIII. I’ll never forget the fear, confusion and sorrow as we all gathered in the club international, we drank heavily the remaining ten days of our cruise to Europe and the overall atmosphere was somber as that lovely old ship sliced through the waves carrying us all towards an uncertain future…

[@jackseymour1757]

I was on that sailing too. It all started off with a tremendous atmosphere, many travellers were elderly French who has sailed on her as SS France. On Sept 11th it was around 10 am ship time, if I recall correctly, when the Captain announced what was happening and as you write everything changed. We simply didn't know what was coming next, but whatever, it was going to be bad.

[@TheRavendearest]

@@jackseymour1757 Thank you so much for your response here to my comment. It was because of that large group of French tourists aboard that we first knew that it wasn’t an accident that the planes had hit the towers, but an attack. There happened to be a wonderful little French jazz band that was playing aboard that a number of French tourists were there purposely to enjoy during the cruise. It was during lunch in the main dining room that the first announcement came stating that the first tower had been hit. Odd we thought, there were no commercial flights anywhere near there, perhaps it had been a small private plane, but why would they announce that? Soon afterwards a second announcement came reporting the second plane hitting “was it an air show?” What was happening? It was then that an announcement was made in French for the French tourists and in that announcement they used a word that had not been used in the previous two, the word was “terrorist” and with that we bolted from our seats and our cruise, our lives,our world, were never the same ever again.

[@Mondo762]

The SS Monterey is a weird saga. From a popular Matson Lines cruise ship to layed up for many years to odd make-over/failure to cruising the Med. Worth looking at.

[@paulbriere4872]

Another interesting and excellent program! Thanks!

[@charlesharwood5705]

Would like to see some of your picks for your favorite modern day Oceanliners/Cruise ships! My personal favorites are the QM2, Carnival Spirit Class, and Royal Caribbean Voyager Class.

[@Drash2005]

Second comment from me: Can you maybe do sometime in the future a video about the Holland-America Line SS Nieuw Amsterdam from 1938? She is just such a beautiful and completely underrated ship and it's a shame to see that not so many people now even that this ship existed at all. She has an amazing history and was a very successful and well loved ship. Especially her design is in my opinion wonderful balanced and showed all the best of the Netherlands, before and after the war. She was one of the big player of the 30ties and 50ties but because she was not record breaking in any way she got very lost in history aside the big liners that era.

[@johnjephcote7636]

In the mid-1950s, kellog's cornflakes packets had a small (maybe half a dozen) series of c.4cm long, bendy grey plastic liners in every pack. The Nieuw Amsterdam was one of them. They were current liners and I saw all of the real ones but not the Amsterdam.

[@wotan10950]

My mother had a work colleague who sailed on the SS France, and we were all invited to her bon voyage party. I had never seen such luxury before. And the ship's departure from New York was quite an event. I never did see the SS Norway, but even the most horrible designs of the pre-cruise era were superior to today's ships. I am really waiting for the day when we see, for a 'can-you-top-this,' the Orgasm of the Seas.

[@frankmiller95]

Exactly. Modern cruise ships, along just about every other modern commercial ship are obscenities to the eyes any classically trained mariner. At least the old liners had a noticeable sheer to their hulls and some degree of proportion to the superstructure. A few were beautiful, some acceptable and some were just ugly, but none of the looked as if the were designed solely to fit in the largest number of paying fools, with the minimum GM (stability) allowed by international maritime law.

[@everettbruckerhoff6029]

@@frankmiller95 Ships like a modern cruise ship, so shallow of draft and wide of beam to require their stabilizers and gyros to be running at all times so as not to be come terrible rollers even tied up to a dock. There is no longer any attempt to create a good looking passenger vessel and it is truly sad.

[@frankmiller95]

@@everettbruckerhoff6029 Exactly. Nice cover photo.

[@applejacks971]

The France/Norway seem to be the last of the classic steamer ocean liner design, but also being the crossover to the modern cruise ship with its funnels. Also by adding the upper decks paved the way for todays ships to becoming floating square blocks with no character. Interesting video, good stuff!

[@NorwegianCobain]

She was considered to be "The Queen Mother of cruise ships - The God Mother of what we have today". Said by Bill Miller (Maritime Historian & Author)

[@ashleighelizabeth5916]

Norway showed that a megaship could be successful and once that was realized other lines (most notably Royal Caribbean) rushed to design and build their own megaships. Sovereign of the Seas the first of the RCCL megaships was a direct answer to the success of SS Norway and from her RCCL has never looked back. Sovereign and her sisters Monarch and Majesty were still quite nautical and classy in their lines and even the newest of RCCL ships blocky as they may be still tend to look less ugly than their Carnival and NCL counterparts.

[@stingerkendris]

that aft mast/funnel of Atlas could be either for emergency generator or either exhausts for galley

[@frederickkant7340]

Whatever you do Mike, keep this channel going. I did not know how fascinated I would be with old naval iron. Even the horn sounding at the start of your videos gives me goosebumps, such an eerie and powerful sound.

[@justforever96]

Navy refers to military ships, he seems to lean towards civilian more, although he covers both. Marine or maritime refers to nautical stuff in general.

[@frederickkant7340]

@@justforever96 there you go, learning even more. Cheers

[@dartskipper3170]

My Dad, ( who was born in Australia!) was 4th Mate in Strathnaver when she was a troops hip in 1941/42 It wasn't a very happy ship and Dad said she rolled a lot. He was transferred to the P&O liner Narkunda which was sunk off Bougie in 1942. He spent the rest of the War in oil tankers.

[@johnjephcote7636]

Oil tankers carried refined oil at that time, so not only sank when torpedoed but blew up as well, burning horribly. What an alarming change of ship-type!

[@kellypayne91]

Despite those new decks the Norway still had a sleek profile. I think the ptoblem was the second deck built around the forward stack. They could have done without that

[@Unownshipper]

Brilliant choice to end on the Atlas. It's so baffling that it's sure to take the wind out of the sails of the commenters who'd have been too upset by the Norway. Ah, yes the Epirotiki Line, the folks behind the sinking of the SS Oceanos. Did those lovable clowns manage to do anything right? Once again, another certified banger of a video. Love your humor as always!

[@corncobsandtobacco9178]

Mate I LOVE your vids. Would be cool if you did one on the Netherlands line Johan Van Olden Barnenvelt. This ship not only transported my grandfather on my dad's side to Singapore during WW2 but also transported my Family from the Netherlands to Australia in 1956. Unfortunately she's on the bottom of the ocean now. But I have a personal connection to this vessel. Plus...... Was a really good looking liner.

[@jamescasey1696]

I just stumbled upon your site Suscribed and liked Your makeover stories are so hilarious!

[@OceanlinerDesigns]

Welcome aboard James!

[@ogr7771]

When the Norway was converted from a Liner to a Cruze ship they removed two of her engines and props which is sad, but what finished her off was the neglect of maintenance and she had a boiler explosion while docked in port killing some crew members and that drove the last nail in her coffin.

[@leolui4039]

Hi Mike. Let me start to say I thoroughly enjoy your videos. I actually set foot on the Atlas 😊. In 1975 I was a deckhand on a Dutch cargo ship, called the Hermes. While in port in Nassau, we were invited by a fellow Dutchman who was the purser on the Atlas, to visit his ship. While visiting the engine room, I noticed Dutch texts on several machines and then learned that this was the ex Rijndam. I remember I found the look of the ship extremely bizarre, but hey, this was the seventies 😂 I went back to college and became a marine engineer with the Holland America Line, in which capacity I sailed on several steam turbine ships, like the SS Rotterdam (now a hotel) and the SS Statendam. Keep up the good work and don’t mind the rivet counters 😈

[@shaunlaverty8898]

Sailed on the Norway pre-refit, and it had a great ambience as they kept a lot of the original interior fittings. I still remember the main dining room’s curved ceiling, and how you could hear conversations clear across the room as if the people were one table over. If I recall they removed two of four engines? Also it would be rebadged as France once a year for an exclusive sailing.

[@ashleighelizabeth5916]

That was called the Windward Dining Room and it was formerly Le Grande Restaurant. It was the First Class Dining Room in her Trans Atlantic days and was virtually unchanged while in operation as Norway. The steps that descended from the entrance down to the dining room floor were referred to by the French as Le Grande Descent and were part of a ritual of dining where the well dress and well connected could put on something of a fashion show as they descended to their table. One of my grand joys was walking down those steps on formal night knowing that Salvador Dali and others like him had proceeded me on that journey.

[@americanrambler4972]

One of my hot button ships is the departed SS France/SS Norway. She was a beautiful ship designed to be a premium ocean liner, and she had a timeless good graceful beauty about her. She was also a well designed and constructed ship. The decline of trans Atlantic Ocean liner travel put her out of service with very little time on her, thus retaining a remaining long service life ahead of her. Norwegian Cruise lines saw the potential to make her into one of the first supersize cruise ships, purchased her, refurbished her, added air conditioning so she would be comfortable in hotter climates, put her back in service, and she was a huge hit with passengers. And she made a ton of money for her owners. She defined the future of the cruise ship industry. Even after her remodeling and the additional decks being added, she still had a classic look to her, and those internal enhancements made her even more attractive to paying passengers. She lived a very long and productive life. It was sad to see her scrapped, but she was still a beautiful lady, even to her last plate of steel being cut up.

[@NorwegianCobain]

Beautiful said about an Maritime Masterpiece!

[@graemebdh2172]

Love the way you do these videos with their touch of humour. Most interesting for sure. Have you done anything on Sitmar’s Castel Felice. I went England on her on 1968.

[@Straswa]

Nice work, please do more.

[@laurencebrooks7699]

I sailed on the SS Norway twice; beautiful and spacious ship.

[@IZAQ_]

I know this video is a little old, however I feel like for another video the M/S Boccaccio (along with some of her sister ships) should be included, she started off as an Italian ferry, she wasn't the most beautiful ship ever but compared to what she looked like later she looked beutiful, then sometime (I can't recall when) she was rebuilt to have about 3 more decks to her superstructure. She later sank in 2006 and is still remembered as one of the worst peacetime ship disasters after WW2

[@TaT1CaL]

I love your Vids keep up the good work!

[@Kaidhicksii]

Wasn't expecting a part 2 but hey I'll take it. Honestly, pretty much all these ships with their makeovers still looked somewhat decent compared to a lot of them in the last video. I didn't think they were necessarily bad _(and speaking of which, I'm pretty sure that mast thing on Atlas was just there for decoration; makes sense enough to me),_ but yeah: they certainly didn't do the ships any favors either. My most hated one is what they did to France. On one hand, she never lost her beauty as the Norway in my eyes. But on the other hand, plunking 2 rows of balcony cabins on top of her head just like that was both uncreative and awful. Shame she wasn't taken proper care of in her last few years and blew up as a result. _(I know she didn't actually blow up and that it was just the one boiler, but whatever)_ She's my #4 favorite liner of all time. :'/

[@NateTheMeh]

Great content!!!

[@mrtdejulio]

I was on the Norway in 1985. I was 16 ..I remember the whole trip. Even at that age I was impressed with the classic look of the ship...it wasn't just some tropical hotel with a hull on it.

[@jayrogers9798]

Fun to hear the history of the Norway. I was on her in 99 on a cruise to Norway 🙂

[@Bulgarian_Coastline]

Now you should make a video about five of the best ship makeovers. I'm curious what will you mention, and which ships you would talk about.

[@PaulMcElligott]

You mean like this one? kzbin.info/www/bejne/bmeze5iEdqibd5Y

[@KevKevAllen]

The ship that The Love Boat was filmed on (Pacific Princess) has an interesting story. 🙂

[@thesketchydude1315]

if you want another good example, there is always SS Iroquois...she was built in the 1920s as a rather nice little "pocket size" coastal steamer with two funnels in the USA, designed by the Legendary T.E. Ferris, but when ww2 came around she was "drafted" as a Hospital ship, and what they did to her is...rather saddening to say the least, they lopped off the aft funnel, leaving this sort of odd looking "pastuer esc" forward funnel, replaced the original wooden bridge with one that looks like it was stolen from a Victory Ship, and pulled all of her original interiors out and replaced them with "sanitary" steel walls eventually post war she was sold to Turkey as "SS Ankara" and served for many years, but still, she was never brought back to her former glory...which is an honest shame

[@velezdragon3574]

I love the Norway even with her refit and miss her a lot was a blast to have sailed on her in 02&03

[@willoverkill8461]

The Georgic story was great! Could the hull plating really have been structurally ok with that amount of heat distortion, wouldn't the metal have become more brittle?

[@justforever96]

No, metal gets softer when it is heated. It all depends on exactly how much you hear it and how you cool it. I know a knife blade can be ruined by heating it because it removes the heat treat from the steel and it will no longer hold a proper edge. That is why fanatics insist you never use a power grinder, because even the heat of the friction can ruin it. Although I think the fact that almost all knives are sharpened on power tools at the factory goes against them. So no, it won't make the metal brittle, I would worry that it would lose toughness though and become too soft, that rivets would tear out, etc, assuming those weren't equally weakened.

[@paullewis2413]

Thanks for the upload. Just to put the record straight, I was just in my early teens but remember fairly well the “Strathnaver” in 1961. She was still a beautiful ship internally, (public rooms) I guess the cabins were by then very outdated. Externally I actually prefer the 1 funnel arrangement, she never looked quite right with 3 because of her length. Just my opinion of course 😁

[@jonathangodbout6645]

1st cruise I ever went on was on the SS Norway in 1983 with my grandparents and my parents Even at the time I was a huge fan of ocean liners and and had books on the Titanic and other numerous ocean liners I usually could tell could tell you what shape it was just from its profile

[@godlymonkey]

The Ryndam II / Atlas has a front that with some modification would be amazing on a sporty 80+ meter super yacht

[@american101]

My grandparents who passed away a while ago had many a trip on the SS Norway! My grandma told me stories about how amazing the ship was!

[@Silentservice77]

I have a video idea 5 ship makeovers that shouldn't have worked but did work

[@VcrThunder]

i think Norway's problem is that the new edition did not match the rest of the ship. It is 2 very different designs fighting over your attention and its just a mess

[@xmtryanx]

They could have definitely made it blend a bit more smoothly.

[@ashleighelizabeth5916]

There was nothing like riding on one of those tenders around the edge of that knife edged bow and looking up at that towering wall of steel. Definitely one of the fondest memories of my teen years...

[@maxasaurus3008]

That tale of Georgic was really quite remarkable, damn hard to believe that burnt hulk was salvaged. Great video Sir!!

[@robillingworth8503]

YOU crack me up with your enthusiastic descriptions of the Atlas "Why? Because it's the 70s!", & the guys modeling their sleek, flower-print shirts--Polyester was in, baby! The later view of the "casino" looks more like the wreck of a Giant SS Minnow on Gilligan's Island!

[@nallo69]

But at the opposite of what happened with the SS France, when the Ile de France was converted, it appeared to be a much more attractive ship. Two funnels instead of three and a new color scheme.

[@renesagahon4477]

Yes. Most definitely

[@lexpo181]

Interesting list! Thanks for sharing ;)

[@huwmather5477]

Love your work young fella,keep it up

[@benbrady2999]

I remember going on the Copa back in the mid 90s when it was a casino on the Mississippi gulf coast. From what I can remember (I was about 12 at the time) it wasn't run down looking and it was my first time to ever set foot on a ship so I thought it was pretty neat. The arcade (they gotta have something for kids to do on a gambling ship) wasn't that great. I wondered whatever happened to the ship.

[@ardiffley-zipkin9539]

My parents cruised on the Norway years ago and loved it. Thanks for covering it.

[@coolsoap8]

Lovely video!

[@jackrembold4976]

I love the ship makeover videos, both the good and bad makeovers.

[@AlistairKiwi]

That 70s makeover - hideous, inside & out. It would be interesting to see interior shots as well as exterior. Good video!

[@TheRealRandomTube]

I keep waiting for a segment on Yas. A former Dutch Navy frigate turned superyacht. A bit like Christina O, but worse in every way imaginable.

[@Drash2005]

You should please look also into German Liner history. We had the SS Augusta Victoria from 1889, first cruise ship in history and later got enlengthend to gain more passanger cabins. Or the famous SS Deutschland from 1900,which won the blue ribband for the Hamburg America Line, owned it until Lusitania finally took it. She was 1910 converted in the world's biggest first class only cruise ship, called Victoria Luise. After the first world War she was the biggest German passanger Liner remaining in the German fleet because she was in such bad condition that nobody wanted her as reparations. She was then once more converted in a shadow of her former glory and served as the biggest immigration class ship after WWI. And we had the SS Europa which was sent to France after WWII as an excuse gift from the Americans because they burned down the Normandie. So she was converted into a French Liner, called Liberte...

[@brentbiel5425]

My father came to Australia on the CastelBianco in 1950. He loved watching this.

[@OceanlinerDesigns]

Great! :) Does he remember it as rolling a lot?

[@brentbiel5425]

@@OceanlinerDesigns Nah, he was only 5! But I'm sure his mother did!

[@Xamry]

0:10 the scream 😂😂 I love the Zelda Redead’s wail too