Model Boat Mayhem

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length.
Pages: 1 [2] 3   Go Down

Author Topic: Worlds largest cruise ship  (Read 13069 times)

Bryan Young

  • Full Mayhemer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 6,883
  • Location: Whitley Bay
Re: Worlds largest cruise ship
« Reply #25 on: May 06, 2008, 07:22:38 pm »

Bryan, one thing we never had to do on QE2 was queue up for food. We ate in the Mauretania restaurant, one of 5 restaurants on board, (the others are Caronia, Britannia, Queens Grill and the Princess Grill) and the lowest category (you are assigned a restaurant according to the level of your accommodation, and as we were in the "cheap seats" so to speak, we were assigned the Mauretania). The food was excellent, the service fantastic, and all table service. The Lido and the Pavilion are two additional bistro type eateries where anyone can go, but we only did so twice. We felt we would rather be served by a waiter (or waitress) than join a queue, besides, the Lido was always quite noisy. All food, wherever it was eaten, was included in the price of your ticket, and that goes for cabin service too. I don't think I would like to be on one of the new super cruise ships, with over 4000 passengers, I saw a documentary about one of them, and it looked wall to wall people. QE2 had just over 1700 passengers, with around 1000 crew, a good ratio.
Peter
I did mean it as rather "tongue in cheek"...but point made. BY.
Logged
Notes from a simple seaman

cos918

  • Full Mayhemer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2,278
  • Location: Abingdon
Re: Worlds largest cruise ship
« Reply #26 on: May 15, 2008, 09:41:35 pm »

hi all. These ships are all small compared to this if they ever build it.

john

http://www.freedomship.com/freedomship/gallery/gallery.shtml
Logged

captain cook

  • Guest
Re: Worlds largest cruise ship
« Reply #27 on: June 02, 2008, 10:13:25 am »

See  pics  and  specs  of  the  2  ships  in  question.

Independence  of  the  Seas
General characteristics
Class and type:   Freedom Class

Tonnage:   154,407 GT (gross tonnage)[2]

Length:   338.92 m (1,111.9 ft)[3]

Beam:   38.6 m (127 ft) hull
56 m (180 ft) extreme width of superstructure
Draught:   8.8 m (29 ft)[3]

Decks:   15 (passenger); 3 (crew)
Propulsion:   Diesel-electric (kW)/4 pods

Speed:   21.6 knots (40 km/h)
Capacity:   4,370 passengers
Crew:   1,360 crew

Queen  Mary  2
General characteristics
Tonnage:   148,528 GT[2]

Displacement:   76,000 tonnes (approx)
Length:   345 m (1,132 ft)

Beam:   41 m (135 ft) waterline,
 45 m (147.6 ft) extreme (bridge wings)
Height:   72 m (236.2 ft) keel to funnel
Draft:   10 m (32.8 ft)
Decks:   13 passenger decks[3]

Installed power:   117 MW (157,000 horsepower) CODAG

Propulsion:   Four 21.5 MW electric propulsor pods:
 2 fixed and 2 azimuthing
Speed:   29.62 knots (54.86 km/h/34.09 mph)[4]

Capacity:   2,620 passengers
Crew:   1,253 officers and crew

Specs  were  taken  from  wikipedia
Logged

J.beazley

  • Full Mayhemer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 914
  • The building never ends
  • Location: Locks Heath, Hampshire
Re: Worlds largest cruise ship
« Reply #28 on: June 02, 2008, 10:44:01 am »

So all in all she is shorter, thinner, heavier, taller, slower and most inportantly UGLIER then the Queen Mary 2.
Yet the Independence has twice the guests to the same amount of staff as the QM 2  ???

The words "whats the point" spring to mind ::)

Jay
Logged
1:48th scale for my ships. Large enough to show gratuitous detail, small enough to stay married.

Colin Bishop

  • Full Mayhemer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 12,171
  • Location: SW Surrey, UK
Re: Worlds largest cruise ship
« Reply #29 on: June 02, 2008, 11:51:59 am »

The picture below makes an interesting comparison. The bigger ship is Costa Mediterranea, the second one Thomson Celebration (ex Holland America Noordam of 1984)

Dimensions:

Costa Mediterranea: Length: 292.5m, Beam: 32.2m, Draught: 7.8m, Gross tonnage: 85,700, Passengers: 2,680, Crew: 902
Thomson Celebration: Length: 214.66m, Beam: 27.26m, Draught: 7.5m, Gross Tonnage: 33,930, Passengers: 1,250, Crew: 520

Note that the draught of the two ships is almost the same. The old Queen Mary which has a slightly less gross tonnage than Costa Mediterranea has a draught of almost 12m. It does make you wonder about the stability of these new giant cruise ships which seem to sit on the water rather than in it.



Logged

Bunkerbarge

  • Full Mayhemer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2,510
  • Location: Halifax, UK
Re: Worlds largest cruise ship
« Reply #30 on: June 02, 2008, 05:45:00 pm »

Colin, They are designed this way by distribution of weight, i.e. all heavy machinery at the bottom and all upper structures made as light as possible by use of such materials as fibre glass.  Even funnels nowadays are made of fibre glass.

This is all to enable the ships to get along side as many ports as possible of course but the main down side is that they have relatively little resistance to wind on the beam.
Logged
"Dirty British coaster with a salt-caked smoke stack, Butting through the Channel in the mad March days"

Bryan Young

  • Full Mayhemer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 6,883
  • Location: Whitley Bay
Re: Worlds largest cruise ship
« Reply #31 on: June 02, 2008, 05:52:05 pm »

A couple more of "Independence" and one of the interior of "Genesis". Note that the tonnages quoted are "Gross".
Logged
Notes from a simple seaman

Colin Bishop

  • Full Mayhemer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 12,171
  • Location: SW Surrey, UK
Re: Worlds largest cruise ship
« Reply #32 on: June 02, 2008, 06:15:50 pm »

Bunkerbarge, yes I appreciate what you say. I just wonder if there is any analogy with the "form stability" issue with modern yachts. These are built wide and shallow to give good accommodation and are initially very "stiff" due to the hull form factor but they do not make such good seaboats as more traditional designs and can be quite vulnerable in extreme weather conditions. There have been a number of instances of capsizes when the initial resistance to heeling has been overcome.

But of course modern cruise ships will "dodge" bad weather wherever possible whereas traditional liners on fixed routse and schedules had no option but to cope with whatever conditions they encountered.

Colin
Logged

Roger in France

  • Guest
Re: Worlds largest cruise ship
« Reply #33 on: June 02, 2008, 06:35:16 pm »

I have been reading the comments about cruise ships with interest. My only experience was in crossing Southampton to New York in 1968 on the "Queen Elizabeth". If it was not for the food and the booze I would have been bored silly. The highlight was going on a tour of the engine spaces and standing at the "Emergency Steering Station" (the photo never came out!). Only two passengers signed up for the tour!

Now you show a picture of a garden and lawns on a cruise ship, great Scot! Why do folk go on cruises?

Roger in France.
Logged

Colin Bishop

  • Full Mayhemer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 12,171
  • Location: SW Surrey, UK
Re: Worlds largest cruise ship
« Reply #34 on: June 02, 2008, 06:57:15 pm »

Good question Roger. There are a number of reasons I think. The very large cruise ships are really destinations in their own right (and designed to separate you from your money!). I think the ports of call are secondary attractions in many cases. A lot depends on the nature of the ship and the itinerary. My recent trip round the Baltic took in six ports in six countries and was a very good way of getting just a taste of a number of very different places in a way that would be difficult and prohibitively expensive to do by any other method. For example, we spent a day in Tallinn in Estonia which was enough to see the town which is an architectural gem. The palaces in St Petersburg were mindblowing, in Stockholm we visited the Vasa while in Copenhagen the highlight was a boat trip around the canal system. Taking a cruise like that means that you can pack a heck of a lot into a short period of time. Likewise, if you go to Norway, a cruise ship is the best vantage point to appreciate the incredible scenery.

Then there are river cruises. We have been up the Rhine which was very good but the classic Nile cruise is sopmething you can never forget, another world altogether.

On the other hand I would be doubtful about some of the Carribean cruises which stop at a "different" island every day - along with several other ships which swamp the ports with passengers.

As always, the best thing is to do your homework and decide which ship and itinerary is most likely to meet what you want. Horses for courses really.

Colin
Logged

cos918

  • Full Mayhemer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2,278
  • Location: Abingdon
Re: Worlds largest cruise ship
« Reply #35 on: June 02, 2008, 10:46:22 pm »

. Most of these new monsters can only get in to a few of the port on the carribean islands. So in the itinerary/broacher  you get they might say they are calling at island x and y but the stay 1 out of shore. Now try and get 4000+ passengers in to an island via tender ,ant going to happen. So a cruise from Florida to the carribean calling at 3 islands might mean the only shore you touch is the us coast. Also when these monster dock they can cause havoc in towns because suddenly there is 4000+ people come in from the dock.

Heres a quick question what the difference between an ocean liner and a cruise ship.

john
Logged

Peter Fitness

  • Global Moderator
  • Full Mayhemer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 7,376
  • Location: Wyrallah, near Lismore NSW Australia
Re: Worlds largest cruise ship
« Reply #36 on: June 03, 2008, 03:42:30 am »

John, my understanding of the difference between an ocean liner and a cruise ship is an ocean liner is designed to sail between two ports in the shortest possible time, whereas a cruise ship does just that - it cruises, in a much more leisurely fashion. The classic ocean liners were used on the trans Atlantic run, and competition between rival companies to see who could cross in the shortest time was quite intense. The ship holding the fastest crossing time was awarded the Blue Riband. The first Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth were such liners, and faced competition from ships such as SS France, and SS United States. I think the SS United States was the last ship to hold the Blue Riband, but I am open to correction on that. The QE2 is generally regarded as the last of the true ocean liners, but even she was built with cruising in mind, a fact that stood her in good stead when jet aircraft became the principal form of fast travel.
A curious piece of trivia concerns the number of funnels some of the early liners had. Apparently the widely held belief at the time was the more funnels a ship had, the safer and more powerful  it was, so some vessels, for example Mauretania, had 4 funnels, one of which was a dummy. Even the SS United States while having only 1 funnel, this was made disproportionately large, to give the appearance of great power.
Peter.
Logged

Roger in France

  • Guest
Re: Worlds largest cruise ship
« Reply #37 on: June 03, 2008, 06:22:25 am »

The things you learn on Mayhem!

Thanks for the replies to my question, which was largely rhetorical.

I know what you mean, Colin, about swamping an island with tourists. our second son lives on the tiny island of Dominica (not the Dom. Rep.). The island has incredibly deep water right beside the jetty which is also one of the main streets of the capital, Roseau. The cruise ships, tower over the largely single story buildings and the tourists flock down the gangplanks almost taking over the city. It has it's plus side for the locals, they now where to stand to sell their ganja!

Roger in France.
Logged

Bunkerbarge

  • Full Mayhemer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2,510
  • Location: Halifax, UK
Re: Worlds largest cruise ship
« Reply #38 on: June 03, 2008, 07:43:12 am »

Peter, You are quite correct with your funnel and power comparissons, even the Titanic had one funnel that was purely for ventilation and not for propulsion exhaust.
Logged
"Dirty British coaster with a salt-caked smoke stack, Butting through the Channel in the mad March days"

Peter Fitness

  • Global Moderator
  • Full Mayhemer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 7,376
  • Location: Wyrallah, near Lismore NSW Australia
Re: Worlds largest cruise ship
« Reply #39 on: June 03, 2008, 08:31:19 am »

Bunkerbarge, the info regarding funnels etc came from an author and maritime historian called William H. (Bill) Miller Jr, who has written a number of very informative books on liners. He gave several lectures on the history of trans Atlantic liners on board QE2 during our recent trip on her and was a very interesting speaker, having had a lifetime interest in the big ships. Apparently he grew up just across the river from the docks in New York, and recalls the hey days of the passenger liners during his childhood. His lectures were accompanied by numerous slides of many of the great ships, and I found them to be fascinating. I bought one of his books whilst on board, called "The QE2, A Picture History", published this year, and it is excellent.
Peter.
Logged

Bunkerbarge

  • Full Mayhemer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2,510
  • Location: Halifax, UK
Re: Worlds largest cruise ship
« Reply #40 on: June 03, 2008, 09:08:43 am »

Peter, I have just bought a book called "QE2 Fourty Years Famous"  by Carol Thatcher, which is very much a warts and all history of the ship.  It brings back all the memories of the bomb threat, initial turbine problems, details of refits etc..etc..  An excellent book and well worth it if you can get a copy.

It also makes you realise just how close we were to not getting her at all.
Logged
"Dirty British coaster with a salt-caked smoke stack, Butting through the Channel in the mad March days"

Colin Bishop

  • Full Mayhemer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 12,171
  • Location: SW Surrey, UK
Re: Worlds largest cruise ship
« Reply #41 on: June 03, 2008, 10:03:31 am »

Yes, I bought the Thatcher book too - it's a good read.

Just to put the record straight, the United States had two funnels. But they were both big and they both worked as the ship was fitted with the same propulsion plant used in the US Navy's giant post war aircraft carriers. This is what gave her a speed approaching 40 knots, some say even more.

The picture below is a selection of "real" liners from my 1:1250th scale collection. The case hangs on my wall like a picture and I never tire of comparing the different ships.

Colin

Logged

cos918

  • Full Mayhemer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2,278
  • Location: Abingdon
Re: Worlds largest cruise ship
« Reply #42 on: June 03, 2008, 06:05:04 pm »

i have that book to . top read but you wont find one like mine. It got all the top crew and at lot of the rest of the of the crew of the QE2 in it, 4 pages worth. There was a copy of that book on Ebay went for £20 with carol thatcher signature in. Bargin as the books rrp is £25

john
Logged

Peter Fitness

  • Global Moderator
  • Full Mayhemer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 7,376
  • Location: Wyrallah, near Lismore NSW Australia
Re: Worlds largest cruise ship
« Reply #43 on: June 04, 2008, 02:35:07 am »

Colin, I stand corrected re the number of funnels United States had, of course it was 2.
Bunkerbarge, Carol Thatcher was actually on the QE2 as a guest speaker during our cruise, and I got to talk to her in a lift going down to the cabins. She was promoting and signing her book about the QE2 that you mentioned, which I regret to say I didn't buy, mainly because we were concerned about weight as we had to fly home from England. There were some marvellous books on ships for sale in the on board book shop, but I had to resist temptation and only bought the one by Bill Miller, which he signed for me. It is an A4 size paperback, so not too heavy. I have a book by Janette McCutcheon also about the QE2, which I got through Amazon before we went on the cruise.
Peter.
Logged

farrow

  • Guest
Re: Worlds largest cruise ship
« Reply #44 on: June 09, 2008, 09:29:28 pm »

With reference to trained staff for lifeboat stations, when I updated my own last, we had stewardess's from the pass boats on the course. It was interesting as we had to whisper to them how to drive the boat in the practical exam. Apparently when one of the girls was promoted to bar manager she had to do the course to keep the job as she was in charge of loading and launching 4 x 50 man life rafts. As now the term for taking charge of lifeboats etc is no longer qualified seaman but a qualified person. The course is about 6 days.
For a functional holiday complex they are not bad, I mean if you are on her you cannot see outboard in ! an I expect she can go in the same weather as the QE2 or else she would not get a loadline certificate.
Logged

cos918

  • Full Mayhemer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2,278
  • Location: Abingdon
Re: Worlds largest cruise ship
« Reply #45 on: June 20, 2008, 09:04:20 pm »

well here a few photo/pitchers of the worlds largest cruise ship.
Logged

cos918

  • Full Mayhemer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2,278
  • Location: Abingdon
Re: Worlds largest cruise ship
« Reply #46 on: June 20, 2008, 09:08:17 pm »

a few more
Logged

Peter Fitness

  • Global Moderator
  • Full Mayhemer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 7,376
  • Location: Wyrallah, near Lismore NSW Australia
Re: Worlds largest cruise ship
« Reply #47 on: June 21, 2008, 12:38:01 am »

It looks more like a shopping centre than a ship. ;D
Peter.
Logged

cos918

  • Full Mayhemer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2,278
  • Location: Abingdon
Re: Worlds largest cruise ship
« Reply #48 on: June 21, 2008, 10:58:25 am »

yer it like a mobile shopping centre . Bet they put up a sign NO BALL GAMES OR SKATE BOARDS. mm that last photo would be wrong then.

john
Logged

Colin Bishop

  • Full Mayhemer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 12,171
  • Location: SW Surrey, UK
Re: Worlds largest cruise ship
« Reply #49 on: June 27, 2008, 04:19:13 pm »

As a bit of an afterthought on this thread, I was re reading Philip Dawson's book on cruise ships and was interested to see that modern vessels are measured on a different basis to the method previously used and this inflates the gross tonnage figures. Had the old Queen
Mary been measured on the current basis she would probably compare quite well to the latest 100,000 tonners.
Logged
Pages: 1 [2] 3   Go Up
 

Page created in 0.103 seconds with 22 queries.