~ IMPRESSIVE MARITIME VISTAS ~ 

Outlining the construction & development of 11 successful cruise ships built in the first decade of the 21st century.  

The story of eleven successful cruise ships from the “noughties”.  For the new millennium Carnival Corporation worked with Italian shipbuilders Fincantieri to design and construct a class of ships for four of their cruise brands.  In this talk Steve  compares and contrasts the ways in which those four lines configured the ships to suit their particular offers to passengers and the consequent development of the platform.

~ VISIONS OF THE NINETIES ~ 

A class of six RCCL cruise ships delivered 1995-98 … if 1988 saw their first “megaship” – what came next? 

When Royal Caribbean’s 73,000 ton, 2,276 passenger Sovereign of the Seas entered service in 1988 it was hailed as a new "megaship" concept and introduced resort-style cruising to the US market. Entering the nineties the group targeted worldwide cruising by initiating “Project Vision” – similar tonnage, lower passenger capacity, larger cabins, more balconies. Steve tells the story of the project and the six ships delivered from 1995’s Legend of the Seas to the eponymous Vision of the Seas.

~ ROTTERDAM TO AMSTERDAM - R CLASS CROSSES CENTURIES ~ 

Ships delivered in each century create the class of four still serving Holland America & Fred Olsen cruise lines …

Holland America Line’s successful S Class and the line’s purchase by Carnival Corporation formed firm foundations for the design and ordering of four R Class ships that were delivered between 1997 and 2000. Two went on to become flagships of the fleet before being sold for a second career and two continue to serve their original owner. Steve tells another story in his Millennial Cruise Ships series.

A V A I L A B L E    F R O M    M A Y    2 0 2 5 

 ~ SEVEN YEARS AT SEA IN THE SEVENTIES ~

A brief career as a Navigating Officer – sixteen ships – a time of seismic changes in passenger and cargo shipping

An educational cruise inspired schoolboy Steve to seek a career at sea. A cadet agreement with shipping company British & Commonwealth … School of Navigation shore-based training, a cadet training ship voyage, general cargo ships, refrigerated cargo, a bulk carrier and passenger ships all feature in Steve’s seafarer story. 

~ 154 DAYS ABOARD 4 POST-WAR LINERS ~ 

Nevasa, Edinburgh Castle, Pendennis Castle & Reina del Mar … ship facts, brochure graphics, images & stories

An educational cruise at age 15 in the late sixties led Steve to a brief career at sea in the seventies. Whilst sailing as a junior Navigating Officer aboard two passenger-cargo liners and a cruise ship by the age of 21 - little thought was given to a camera! So relying on personal recollections, borrowed images, research and a few ship facts - Steve tries to bring these four liners to life.   

 ~ FERRY TALES OF THE EIGHTIES ~

After a career at sea ... ten years in ports operations and sales & marketing with Thoresen Car Ferries and its successors

A brief career at sea and a university degree set Steve up for roles with Townsend Thoresen. Starting out with ferry port operations at Southampton and Portsmouth ... transitioning to Sales & Marketing for the company's western routes ... before moving to Dover for a role managing ferry reservations across the European Ferries group. From Thoresen's Viking I and Townsend's Free Enterprise II to P&O Ferries' Pride of Dover ... via freight ferries, the end of Southampton ferry services, requisitioning ferries for the Falklands, the P&O takeover, traumatic strikes and more ... all these stories provide a backdrop as Steve takes a look at over 20 south coast ferries. 

A V A I L A B L E    F R O M    M A Y    2 0 2 6

 ~ 2001: A CRUISE ODYSSEY ~

A return to sea after a lengthy "shore leave"  ... a first cruise as a passenger in 2001 ... and a review of all the cruise ships encountered in the past 20 years

From Legend of the Seas to Spirit of Discovery and the 20 cruise ships in between.

A W A I T I N G    R E L E A S E    D A T E

~ DORSET OFFSHORE 2020 ~ 

Ships calling at Poole & Portland - plus those anchored in Weymouth Bay & Poole Bay … recalling an “unprecedented” year. 

Cruise ships suddenly stopped trading and sought safe havens where they could be serviced easily. The world slowed and experienced all kinds of restrictions and changes as the global pandemic spread. Day-to-day life still had to go on ashore, at our ports and onboard ship. 

Steve regularly collates good quality images from maritime social media sites featuring Port of Poole, Portland Port UK, Weymouth Bay, Poole Bay and all along the Dorset coast to record the ships that visit throughout the year. Once edited and combined with an informative commentary the talk provides a interesting photo-diary.

~ DORSET OFFSHORE 2021 ~ 

Ships visiting Dorset ports and anchorages … a voyage “seeking recovery” from a global pandemic.  

The world was learning to live with the pandemic. Trade picked up ... cruise lines made tentative steps to prepare their fleets for the return of passengers ... British Isles coastal cruising saw an unexpected boom.

Steve regularly collates good quality images from maritime social media sites featuring Port of Poole, Portland Port UK, Weymouth Bay, Poole Bay and all along the Dorset coast to record the ships that visit throughout the year. Once edited and combined with an informative commentary the talk provides a interesting photo-diary.

~ DORSET OFFSHORE 2022 ~

~ DORSET OFFSHORE 2023 ~

Ships visiting Dorset ports and anchorages … see every year as it happened.