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R.I.P. SS United States [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-03-02
Last October 2024, I took a cruise on the NCL Norwegian Jade as part of a family get together. We visited the Canadian Maritimes, before the war with Canada broke out. (I remember seeing one man on the cruise wearing a MAGA hat — he looked chronically miserable.) It was an enjoyable trip — the ship was pleasant, the food good, the weather mostly okay, and the stops were great. We sailed out of Boston for Prince Edward Isle and worked our way back down the coast. But I digress.
I was surprised to find the ship’s library was also a museum tribute to the SS United States.
The liner had been docked in Philadelphia for decades; the interior stripped and the ship slowly deteriorating. Efforts to preserve her came to naught. (Pity no one thought to interest Elon Musk in using his spare change to turn her into his private yacht.) She’s now on her way as a hulk destined to be sunk as an artificial reef off the coast of Destin, Florida in the Gulf of America Mexico. There have been numerous news stories following her last cruise.
I thought I would share some of the exhibits from the ship’s library instead of photos of the rusting relic she’s become.
Sign commemorating the speed records held by the SS United States
The designers and builders of the SS United States, along with some vital statistics
A view looking bow-on at the model of the ship showing how she was built for speed.
A view of the stern. Notice the inboard propellors have 5 blades, the outboard ones have only 4. That was supposedly one of the things that made her so fast.
Sign at the entrance to the library aboard the Norwegian Cruise Lines ship Norwegian Jade
The Norwegian Jade docked at Portland, Maine. Built for comfort, not speed. Cruise ships are more destination than transportation these days.
It’s hard to resist the temptation to look at the fate of the SS United States and not think of it as a metaphor for her namesake...
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