NAVIGATION-Cruising and Maritime Themes

"AIDAblu" is a cruise ship operated by German company AIDA CRUISES, she was built also in Germany by MEYER WERFT and delivered in February of 2010, she weighs 71.300 G.T. and can accommodate just over 2000 passengers, this was the second time I saw the ship after 2011 when she came to Liverpool on her maiden call, the photos here included were taken from the inbound cruise ferry CRUISE ROMA at Civitavecchia, 14.7.2013

Built in 2000 "AURORA" is an outstanding cruise ship, these photos were sent to me by Harald Oanes during "AURORA's" call to Stavanger this last week. Thank you Harald for these truly amazing photos of one of my favourite ships, copyright photos Harald Oanes

Civitavecchia is the Port for Rome, I have been there in 1995 for the first time cruising on CAROUSEL, about two weeks ago I was back there on board Cruise Ferry "CRUISE ROMA", this has got to be one of the most difficult ports for ships enthusiasts to take their much loved photos of the ships calling this port. It was a challenge for me to take a few shots of "COSTA SERENA" and the new PRINCESS CRUISES flagship, "ROYAL PRINCESS", the port it's like a secluded fortress, not possible to get any advantage points to photograph our ships, I was persistent and asked permission to get inside the Ferry Terminal, which was allowed, on my way out after a few photos of a couple of cruise ferries I could get close to the cruise ships mentioned above and one gate, the customs gate which is generally closed was this time open, opportunity knocked and I made the most of it, for a very brief period of time though, an officer soon reminded me, in a very polite way, th

"EUROPA 2" entered service last May, I was lucky enough to be in Lisbon at the end of her maiden voyage, less than two months later there she was at Barcelona, giving me the opportunity for some close-up photos, quite appropriately she was docked at the WORLD TRADE CENTRE Cruise Terminal, known as the, "Terminal S", she is a lovely ship indeed. Photos 13.7.2013

"DISNEY MAGIC" is one of my favourite cruise ships, last time I saw her was back in 2007 also in Barcelona, she has been once again been repositioned this July at the Catalan Capital for a series of cruises, the 1998 year built ship with 83.000 G.T., will be upgraded this year before heading to Miami, six weeks that's how long she will spend refurbishing her passenger facilities, bars, restaurants, cabins, spa and main lounges. She always looks in splendid condition not really showing her age, she is still what can be considered a new ship but compared to other cruise ships with the same age, she always looks immaculate, this joy of a ship is operated by DISNEY CRUISE LINE, her maiden voyage was on the 30.7.1998. Photos 13.7.2013

Cruise Ship "GRAND HOLIDAY" is seen here in detail, what I like to call "intimate shots" of a ship, one of my favourite photographic methods, explore and make the most of a ship, particularly passenger ships. "GRAND HOLIDAY" was at PALACRUCEROS, also known as Terminal D, one of the four incorporated on MOLL D' ADOSSAT a fantastic place for ship spotting and enjoy incomparable sea views in the city of Barcelona, all the Terminals are new, providing excellent facilities for passengers in transit or embarking/disembarking to or from their cruises, bars and restaurants, duty free shops, souvenir shops are part of the facilities available, the terminals are connected with the city centre by shuttle bus, there is also a taxi rank. Next "posts" will show other ships in port, the date, 13.7.2013

"GRAND HOLIDAY" was built in Denmark by Aalborg Vaerft in 1985, she was operated by Carnival Cruise Lines as the HOLIDAY. Late 2009 the ship was transferred to another Carnival owned company, the Spanish based Iberocruceros, the word GRAND was added to her name, she has a G.T. of 46.053 and can accommodate just over 1400 guests. In 2005 during her Carnival Cruise years she was used as accommodation ship for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Photos taken Barcelona, 13.7.2013

It was nearly one year ago last time I saw the "SOVEREIGN" in Barcelona, she was still an all white ship with a red funnel, exactly one week ago, there she was once again but this time showing her new colours. At first I thought I would be disappointed, Blue doesn't always work out on cruise ships, more adventurous I heard from a comment on my FACEBOOK page, after all it is always a question of taste and to be honest, I was not disappointed with PULLMANTUR's livery on "SOVEREIGN", let me know your opinion by leaving your comment here, in order to see the ship all white and for further details on this classic, please click  here . Photos 13.7.2013

Five cruise ships were in Barcelona last Saturday, ADVENTURE OF THE SEAS, SOVEREIGN with her new livery, a first for me, DISNEY MAGIC which I had not seen since 2007 also in Barcelona, GRAND HOLIDAY and the brand new EUROPA 2, a ship that I had the opportunity to photograph during her maiden cruise in Lisbon back in May. There will be individual "posts" on each ship coming here soon, keep an eye on the Blog and I trust you won't be disappointed. Photos 13.7.2013