Disney Ship Color

[pjpoohbear]

On the Panama Canal crossing cruise in May '05, Tom McAlpin was onboard and did an amazing presentation about the ships. We were told that Disney did not like the look of the ships painted black and while they were discussing colors a female Disney employee walked into the meeting wearing a dark blue suit that almost looked black. Disney "colour-matched" her suit and they have always referred to the blue colour by her name...for some reason I think it's Natalie Blue....or something like that.

Is it Natalie blue. Took the tour of the ship in December!

 

[KimberlyC]

Here is the latest on the "Norway", formerly the "France", now known as "The Blue Lady". Still in one piece, locked in a huge legal battle. We sailed her as the Norway in 1983 and again in 1985. Those were my wife's first and second cruises (my second and third), and the ship that got my wife hooked on cruising. Amazing how the cruise industry has changed since then. Less expensive to cruise, more family oriented on the plus side. And unlike now, all the singers and comics on board the Norway were "name" entertainers, folks you had seen on "The Tonight Show", and "The Late Night With David Letterman", and Las Vegas, not the lounge lizards now on board the ships.

----------------------------------------------
'Permission for beaching of Blue Lady illegal'
[ 26 Feb, 2007 2215hrs ISTPTI ]


RSS Feeds| SMS NEWS to 8888 for latest updates


NEW DELHI: The NGO opposing dismantling of the controversial toxic-laden Norwegian ship, 'S S Norway' on Monday contended before the Supreme Court that permission given to it for beaching at Alang coast in Gujarat was illegal.

In a reply to the affidavit filed by Gujarat Pollution Control Board, the NGO, Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Natural Resource Policy, said the beaching permission given to the ship, popularly known as 'Blue Lady', was in violation of the order of the apex court.

The NGO said that before arrival at the port the ship did not have the consent of the concerned authority on the State Maritime Board as it did not contain any hazardous waste.

A Bench comprising Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice S H Kapadia, which had earlier ordered that dismantling of the ship, beached at Alang coast, will not take place without its clearance, posted the further hearing on the issue for March 12.

The court said that besides the issue of breaking of ship it will also hear the arguments for laying down general guidelines for it.

Meanwhile, the NGO alleged the entire series of action starting from voyage to India to anchoring and beaching was impermissible and was in violation of the provisions of the Basel Convention.

"The ship on December 26 was admittedly anchored at a distance of 4,000 feet from the shore and was at a distance sufficient for it to be taken back," it said adding the ship owner never made any application to the Ministry of Environment and Forest and to concerned authorities before sailing towards India.

Thanks for the update!

 

[Soccermom-Cheri]

Thanks for the update!

ok, I know this is totally off topic - but it breaks my heart to see the S/S Norway "beached" (not completely). threads pop up and die frequently -please if anyone gets news, please post. She's too grand a dame to let slip away!
... and now back to your regularly scheduled thread topic....

 

[jasonpicken]

Is it Natalie blue. Took the tour of the ship in December!

i took the tour feb. 10 and we were told monica blue, but the story was the same.

 

[Mickey&JoshNut]

i took the tour feb. 10 and we were told monica blue, but the story was the same.

Ya know....Monica Blue is sounding familiar...I guess I'll have to ask the next time we're onboard.

 

[beachblanket]

ok, I know this is totally off topic - but it breaks my heart to see the S/S Norway "beached" (not completely). threads pop up and die frequently -please if anyone gets news, please post. She's too grand a dame to let slip away!
... and now back to your regularly scheduled thread topic....

The Indian Supreme Court is supposed to rule on March 12th on whether the S.S. France a.k.a. S.S. Norway a.k.a. "Blue Lady" can be dismantled on the beach at Alang, or (because of the hazardous waste issues) must leave India.

Also complicating this is the fact Indian environmental groups are arguing (with strong evidence) that the ship was illegally removed from Germany.

Whatever, in any scenario where the court says "get the ship out of here," ownership of the vessel returns to NCL owner Star cruises (their contract with the Indian scrapper they supposedy sold it to -- Pyria Blue Ltd. --has become public, and it states that if the Indian government refuses to allow the ship entry, the scrapper gets their money back and ownership of the vessel returns to Star. Star would then presumably have to remove it from Alang). Their options then are:

• trying to sell it to a non-Indian scrapper. A Chinese one is the obvious suspect, and isn't what we want - environmental/human rights policies in that country are 15 times worse than in India.
• Return the ship to Germany for repair (this is where it originally went after the boiler explosion). Unlikely, given this is very expensive and Star is currently losing money.
• Find a buyer who wants to save the ship. The scenario we'd love to see, likelihood unclear. There is a French Group (Club France Prestige) that has been raising private funds to try and purchase the ship, for return to France for use as a floating museum. While the appear credible and have been raising a decent amount of money, they are running into problems with the French government, which because of the asbestos issues doesn't want the ship to return to that country.
  
  There is (was?) also a group in Dubia that had interest in purchasing the ship, moving it to Dubai and refurbushing it into a floating hotel/museum. Latest word on their credibility is all over the map.

As for closure on the situation, take that March 12th court decision timetable with a BIG grain of salt. The court was supposed to make that decsion back in August (and didn't, pushing it back to December - and then in December pushed it back to February, and then in February pushed it back to March), so there is unfortunately no guarantee things won't continue to drag out for this grand dame.

Here's a recent picture of the ship anchored off the beach in Alang, India:

 

[Mickey_loves_Minnie]

That's all very interesting about the Norway/France. I hope she can be saved.

On the Celebrity Infinity, there's a specialty restaurant called the SS United States--in homage to that liner. She is currently berthed in Philadelphia and owned, if I'm not mistaken, by NCL. I read up a bit about the ship when I got home from my Infinity cruise.
http://www.ss-united-states.com/
It would have been something to have taken a cruise on her, back in the day. Maybe someday I still could. I'm glad DCL is trying to bring some of that kind of magic back, though I'd have no idea if they'd be successful.

 

[KimberlyC]

Ya know....Monica Blue is sounding familiar...I guess I'll have to ask the next time we're onboard.

Say it isn't so. I saw that and my mind hit the gutter - a former president, an intern, a blue dress Natalie Blue sounded better

 

[beachblanket]

That's all very interesting about the Norway/France. I hope she can be saved.

On the Celebrity Infinity, there's a specialty restaurant called the SS United States--in homage to that liner. She is currently berthed in Philadelphia and owned, if I'm not mistaken, by NCL. I read up a bit about the ship when I got home from my Infinity cruise.
http://www.ss-united-states.com/
It would have been something to have taken a cruise on her, back in the day. Maybe someday I still could. I'm glad DCL is trying to bring some of that kind of magic back, though I'd have no idea if they'd be successful.

Mickey loves Minnie, thanks for the info on that wonderful "homage" to the S.S. United States that Celebrity has invested in on the Infinity. I love it when current day cruise lines salute specific historic passenger vessels, and it would great if Disney did the same (they make local and historic references in naming things at some of their resorts, so adding "maritime" variants on their ships is almost a logical extension).

Another great example of this is on the Costa Fortuna. Many of the major public areas on that Italian themed ship bear the names and the years of entry into service of some of the most famous and elegant vessels of the Italian Line. The ship's huge theatre, which extends over three decks, is named after the Rex (launched in 1932), and two of the restaurants are called "Ristorante Raffaello 1965" and "Ristorante Michelangelo 1965", both named after the twin sisters that shuttled back and forth across the Atlantic between New York and Genoa during the 1960s and early 1970s.

When I boarded the Fortuna years ago, one of the first things I saw was the the massive (20 foot long), hugely detailed model of the Michelangelo that stands outside the restaurant of the same name.

Since I sailed that ship in 1966, it literally brought tears to my eyes, which is why my snapshot of the model below didn't come out so well!!

 

[jasonpicken]

Say it isn't so. I saw that and my mind hit the gutter - a former president, an intern, a blue dress Natalie Blue sounded better

wow! that's fantastic, maybe the whole story is a crew joke. charley was our tour guide and he told us monica had to take her pants off right away so they could get a color match. they said she was provided with other clothing, but things are becoming "curioser and curioser".