The Golden Horizon

1 April 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  6 minutes

Golden Horizon at Brodosplit Shipyard in Split, Croatia © Ballota/cc-by-sa-4.0

Golden Horizon at Brodosplit Shipyard in Split, Croatia © Ballota/cc-by-sa-4.0

SV Golden Horizon is a steel-hulled five-masted barque rigged tall ship which is intended to serve as a cruise ship, but has almost never seen active service. Originally named Flying Clipper, the luxury vessel was designed by Polish naval architect Zygmunt Choreń, for Star Clippers Ltd. of Sweden, and built by the Brodosplit Shipyard in Split, Croatia. She is the largest sailing ship ever launched. Her design was based on France II, a famous French five-mast cargo windjammer built in 1911.   read more…

The Vision of the Seas

1 February 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  5 minutes

Port of Amsterdam, Netherlands © AlfvanBeem

Port of Amsterdam, Netherlands © AlfvanBeem

Vision of the Seas is a Vision-class cruise ship operated by Royal Caribbean International, the last of her class. She is also the namesake of her class. Her maiden voyage began on May 2, 1998, following which she sailed for a year in Europe before being moved to other routes.   read more…

The Empire Windrush

1 December 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  8 minutes

© Imperial War Museum - Royal Air Force Photographer

© Imperial War Museum – Royal Air Force Photographer

HMT Empire Windrush was a passenger motor ship that was launched in Germany in 1930 as the MV Monte Rosa. She was built as an ocean liner for the German shipping company Hamburg Süd. They used the ship to carry German emigrants to South America, and as a cruise ship. During World War II, she was taken over by the German navy and used as a troopship. During the war, she survived two Allied attempts to sink her.   read more…

The Le Commandant Charcot

1 December 2024 | Author/Destination: | Category: Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  8 minutes

© U.S. Coast Guard - Cmdr. Krystyn Pecora

© U.S. Coast Guard – Cmdr. Krystyn Pecora

Le Commandant Charcot is an icebreaking cruise ship operated by the French shipping company Compagnie du Ponant. Named after the French polar scientist Jean-Baptiste Charcot, the vessel was built at Vard Tulcea shipyard in Romania, from where she was moved to Søviknes for final outfitting and delivery in 2021. Home port is Mata Utu in Wallis and Futuna, part of Overseas France.   read more…

70000 Tons of Metal

12 November 2024 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Cruise Ships, Miami / South Florida Reading Time:  10 minutes

© 70000 Tons of Metal Team

© 70000 Tons of Metal Team

70000 Tons of Metal (officially stylized as 70000TONS OF METAL) is an annual heavy metal music festival that takes place on board a cruise ship. The event is a five-day festival, including one shore day at a select Caribbean destination.   read more…

The MS St. Louis and the Voyage of the Damned

9 November 2024 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Hamburg Reading Time:  12 minutes

Memorial plaque to the Voyage of the Damned at St. Pauli-Landungsbrücken, Brücke 3, Hamburg, Germany © Ajepbah/cc-by-sa-3.0

Memorial plaque to the Voyage of the Damned at St. Pauli-Landungsbrücken, Brücke 3, Hamburg, Germany
© Ajepbah/cc-by-sa-3.0

MS St. Louis was a diesel-powered ocean liner built by the Bremer Vulkan shipyards in Bremen for Hamburg America Line (HAPAG). She was named after the city of St. Louis, Missouri. She was the sister ship of Milwaukee. St. Louis regularly sailed the trans-Atlantic route from Hamburg to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and New York City, and made cruises to the Canary Islands, Madeira, Spain; and Morocco. St. Louis was built for both transatlantic liner service and for leisure cruises.   read more…

The Santa Maria Manuela

1 September 2024 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Tall ships, Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  5 minutes

© panoramio.com - Ramon Espiña Fernand…/cc-by-sa-3.0

© panoramio.com – Ramon Espiña Fernand…/cc-by-sa-3.0

Santa Maria Manuela is a Portuguese four-masted schooner. Originally a codfish fishing ship, Santa Maria Manuela is now used for sail training, hands on sailing holidays, environmental expeditions and team development programs. It belongs to Grupo Jerónimo Martins and is the sistership of the Portuguese Navy‘s Creoula. It’s one of the last ships of the former Portugese “Frota Branca/White Fleet”.   read more…

The AIDAbella

1 August 2024 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  5 minutes

in Kiel, Germany © Wolfgang Fricke/cc-by-3.0

in Kiel, Germany © Wolfgang Fricke/cc-by-3.0

AIDAbella is a cruise ship operated by AIDA Cruises. Built at Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, she is a sister ship to AIDAdiva and AIDAluna. The ship has a passenger capacity of over 2,050. The name AIDAbella was chosen after a competition to name the new ship. The name was meant to signify how beautiful the ship is. Her homeport is Genoa in Italy.   read more…

The Wind Surf

1 July 2024 | Author/Destination: | Category: Tall ships, Cruise Ships, Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  5 minutes

at the Virgin Islands © Windstar cruises/cc-by-sa-4.0

at the Virgin Islands © Windstar cruises/cc-by-sa-4.0

MSY Wind Surf is a five-mast staysail schooner that is one of the largest sailing cruise ships in the world, with two electric propulsion motors powered by four diesel electric generating sets also. She can carry up to 342 passengers, in a total of 150 ocean-view staterooms, 18 ocean-view suites and 2 deluxe bridge suites, with a crew of 210. Wind Surf had been owned and operated by Club Med under the name Club Med 1, and was later transferred to Windstar Cruises.   read more…

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