"I name you the Rotterdam and wish you a safe journey."

SS Rotterdam was launched on September 13, 1958, after having been christened by HM Queen Juliana of the Netherlands. Thousands came to the event. They knew that this would be a great moment in Dutch maritime history - how could they possibly miss it?

"I name you the Rotterdam," the Queen said, "and wish you a safe journey."



With that, the ship entered the water for the first time. Her Majesty could not have known then that now - 53 years later - the ship would still be with us. The Rotterdam is one of those rare liners that escaped destruction at the hands of the breakers. She now operates as a floating hotel in Rotterdam, which is indeed a most appropriate place for her retirement indeed.

Happy Birthday to Queen Elizabeth!

It was 73 years ago today that the RMS Queen Elizabeth was launched by HM Queen Elizabeth (consort to HM King George VI), in the company their Royal Highnesses Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret. This ship was the highly anticipated running mate to the popular Queen Mary (launched four years prior).

The Queen Elizabeth, however, was a different ship than her older sister - and larger too. Building the Mary had allowed the shipbuilders to test new ideas and refine their methods. The effect? Elizabeth was the most technologically advanced liner in the world at that time.

The start of Lizzie's passenger service was interrupted, however, by World War II. She was secretly sailed out of Britain to New York - arriving in March 1940. She and Mary would transport over 1 million soldiers to all corners of the globe before resuming their intended careers as passenger liners.

Together, the two Cunard Queens ruled the transatlantic trade and remain two of the most famously popular ships in the world.

Happy Birthday to Queen Mary!

It was 77 years ago today that RMS Queen Mary was launched by HM Queen Mary (consort of HM King George V) at the John Brown Shipyard in Clydebank, Scotland. It was a true triumph for the British in the darkening days of the 1930s. She really was a symbol of Britain's maritime power.

The Queen Mary began life as Job #534 in December 1930, although construction halted a year later due to the Great Depression hitting Europe. Securing a loan from the British government, work resumed in 1934 which culminated in one of the most anticipated launches in maritime history.

Today the ship lays at anchor in Long Beach, California - a stunning, solitary reminder of the bygone age of transatlantic ocean travel and majestically big ships.

Launch of the Titanic: 100 Years Ago

The ill-fated RMS Titanic was launched by Harland & Wolff on May 31, 1911. She was the new pride of the White Star Line and considered to be the safest, largest ship afloat. The Titanic would rival Cunard's Mauretania and Lusitania in both luxury and elegance. It was White Star's crowning achievement, along with her sisters Olympic and Gigantic (to be renamed Britannic later).


But no one knew what was to come. The RMS Titanic struck an iceberg on her maiden voyage and sink to the depths in pieces; a mere 11 months after her launch.

Happy Birthday Titanic, it's a shame that you never had a chance to live your life the way it was intended. But tragedy and disaster have given you immortality.

Launch of the France

The French Line (CGT) launched its new flagship - the France - on May 11, 1960. Built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique and weighing just over 66,000 GRT, she was smaller than her rivals Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. But that did not concern the new ship's owners; they wanted the longest ship in the world instead. The France came in at 1,035 feet and maintained that record for the next three decades.

Launched by Yvonne de Gaulle, she was to be a new and modern Normandie that would instill a great sense of pride to the French people. Her designers accomplished this task, and the France (later renamed the Norway) ended her sailing days as perhaps the last of the Golden Age liners.