Ah the Vistafjord she is a special one, the Green Goddess if I remember correctly. She also was very helpful to me in QM2 helping me find the stairwell that led to our cabin.
Two of the most beautifully designed ships ever to set sail.. I had the pleasure of going on board in the 70/80s under their original flags. They were well appointed in a very Scandinavian style.. I still have a wide collection of brochures from the NAL and Cunard/NAC Also a good bit of the "mid range ships' Cunard-Crown Cruises..
I worked for Cunard as the Assistant Vice President of Operations. In August 1991 I took my father and sister on a Baltic Cruise aboard the Vistafjord. On August 19th we were in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), when the Red Army attempted a coup against the new government. Boris Yeltsen was the mayor of Leningrad at the time and he called for the people to man the barricades against the tanks that were amassing outside the city. Those of us aboard the Vistafjord had front row seats to the whole thing. Many of us were in the city when it started and some of our passengers got trapped overnight (a strict curfew was imposed at 6:00 pm). Meanwhile, the port closed down and the ship was unable to move. Throughout the night we could hear gunfire in the city from the decks of the ship, while the captain and crew worked to get the more than 200 trapped passengers back onboard. Finally, the next morning, the passengers returned and by Noon the port reopened and we were allowed to leave. The Vistafjord was always the more adventurous of the two sisters, but this was one adventure none of us wanted to repeat.
We had been on Vistafjord in 1979, January, in the caribbian sea. It was a beautiful ship and we enjoyed it. Nowadays I never would go onto one of this huge Cruisers with different restaurants and shops and so on. Too big for me. 😉😎😇
Wonderful tribute to these gorgeous ladies. They were described as the "Rolls Royces" of cruise ships for good reason. Stunning architecture, quality fittings and so spacious. Thanks for this excellent video.
My parents sailed on the Vistafjord years ago. They went on many cruises but that trip remained their all time favorite. At the time the Cunard acquisition had been announced but had not yet happened.
My Grandmother and I traveled aboard the Vistafjord when it was operated by Norwegian America Line. I still remember our cabin number … U-100 and it was a sizable outside cabin. Thank you for reviving fond memories Chris. Alas, both are gone now 😞
I remember the last two times I saw the Vistafjord. I was working on the small cruise ship Grande Mariner operating Erie Canal and St Lawrence River cruises. We docked in Montreal next to this beauty in 2011? I toured her and she was a time capsule, I cruised on her in the late eighties as a kid. Then 14 days later she was docked in Brooklyn. It was great to see an NAL ship docked where her predecessors use to dock.
Very nice video on the Vistafjord and the Sagafjord. The Sagafjord was at one time - around the mid-80s - considered the most luxurious ship in the world, at least according to Cunard. I do remember the Sagafjord and the QE2 meeting in Sydney on the 1985 world cruise. I saw the QE2 as a small child a couple of days after in Hobart. I still remember the date - Sunday 17 February 1985 !
Hi Chris. When I was a kid, I used to guerilla attack a small travel agency in my neighborhood, for paper brochures. I remember the Norwegian America Cruises. I was a ship junkie through my growing up period. Saga and Vista were beautiful ships. Very classical. (Vista was used in the Table for Five film with John Voight).
I used to do this too from around 1983 in Australia, picking up the occasional Sitmar, P&O, Blue Funnel (Princess Mahsuri), Royal Viking and very occasionally a Cunard brochure. It was actually a great way to learn about world geography from all those itineries as a small child as well as the "marketing speak" from the way the brochures were phrased.
I like your comment about you reading exploring the Titanic by Robert d Ballard that got you into loving ocean liners and ships. That's how I got into ocean liners and ships too because that was my first book that I read when I was 6 years old when I was eight I read by Robert d Ballard exploring the Bismarck and treasures of the isis including lost liners.🎉
I consider both Sagafjord and Vistafjord to be Little QE2 due to how close their design with the single funnel and having balcon suites on the to superstructure pitty none of the sister were preserve!
Thanks for this video Chris! My mom and I sailed on the Caronia in late August 2001 on an Eastern Canada/New England cruise and absolutely loved the ship! Although we’d sailed the QE2 and even the Cunard Ambassador, there was something very special about Caronia and she is sorely missed 😢
Thank you Chris for this walk down memory lane. As mentioned in the past Ive tuned the pianos on the luxury liners / cruise ships for 37 yrs in Vancouver Canada and the Sagafjord still has my vote for best food ever. While I tried every main course they had I always had the tomato gin soup as an appy, simply the best.
I made 21 cruises on those ships, 1 on Sagafjord and 20 on Vistafjord. Unfortunately as from 1996 the standards on board dropped.. incompetent management both on land as on the ships - especially on the Sagafjord the senior hotel staff was incompetent ( later confirmed by an economy study ) Cunard was considered as a toy for the management of Trafalgar House - if they were in short of cash they sold a hotel ... even the Ritz in London. A lot niceties were taken away as from 1994
@@RCKodaknot really.. the NAL twins brought Cunard from low budget cruise line with a 4 star QE2. Overnight Cunard got two five star plus liners. Cunard upgraded the QE2 to the luxury of the Saga Sisters. With the Sea Goddesses and the Royal Viking Sun the company was a Norwegian company with the QE2. Add the only new Cunard ships of the 1990s were the Scandinavian charted Cunard Crown Dynasty and Jewel. Those two ships and the former Royal Viking Sun are the only non Queens left. The Sea Goddesses are in their own category.
Excellent video. When my late husband was alive, he was a travel agent, he knew Chris Haackensen who worked for NAC, he was a rep. for the line. He took Tony on board the VISTAFJORD for a visit. Tony said it was a great ship. NAC had the BEST brochures.
Ah the Vistafjord she is a special one, the Green Goddess if I remember correctly. She also was very helpful to me in QM2 helping me find the stairwell that led to our cabin.
RMS Caronia was the Green Goddess.
Two of the most beautifully designed ships ever to set sail.. I had the pleasure of going on board in the 70/80s under their original flags. They were well appointed in a very Scandinavian style.. I still have a wide collection of brochures from the NAL and Cunard/NAC Also a good bit of the "mid range ships' Cunard-Crown Cruises..
The Vistafjord, that I see as the "little QE2" during her Caronia years
I worked for Cunard as the Assistant Vice President of Operations. In August 1991 I took my father and sister on a Baltic Cruise aboard the Vistafjord. On August 19th we were in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), when the Red Army attempted a coup against the new government. Boris Yeltsen was the mayor of Leningrad at the time and he called for the people to man the barricades against the tanks that were amassing outside the city. Those of us aboard the Vistafjord had front row seats to the whole thing. Many of us were in the city when it started and some of our passengers got trapped overnight (a strict curfew was imposed at 6:00 pm). Meanwhile, the port closed down and the ship was unable to move. Throughout the night we could hear gunfire in the city from the decks of the ship, while the captain and crew worked to get the more than 200 trapped passengers back onboard. Finally, the next morning, the passengers returned and by Noon the port reopened and we were allowed to leave. The Vistafjord was always the more adventurous of the two sisters, but this was one adventure none of us wanted to repeat.
Wow what a fascinating story! Thank you for sharing!!
We had been on Vistafjord in 1979, January, in the caribbian sea. It was a beautiful ship and we enjoyed it.
Nowadays I never would go onto one of this huge Cruisers with different restaurants and shops and so on. Too big for me. 😉😎😇
Wonderful tribute to these gorgeous ladies. They were described as the "Rolls Royces" of cruise ships for good reason. Stunning architecture, quality fittings and so spacious. Thanks for this excellent video.
Glad you enjoyed it. Thank you so much for the photographic support!
My parents sailed on the Vistafjord years ago. They went on many cruises but that trip remained their all time favorite. At the time the Cunard acquisition had been announced but had not yet happened.
Two lovely ships. I preferred Sagafjord because of her elegant double height dining room. Wish they were still sailing.
My Grandmother and I traveled aboard the Vistafjord when it was operated by Norwegian America Line. I still remember our cabin number … U-100 and it was a sizable outside cabin. Thank you for reviving fond memories Chris. Alas, both are gone now 😞
0:53 I think most ocean liner enthusiasts under the age of 50 got started with that book. I know I did too :-).
I recall the ships
I feel they saved the Cunard line
The ships were five star in service and look wonderful
I miss them
I was lucky enough to do two trips on Caronia and loved her.
Great homage to these wonderful ships. ❤️. Loved the montage. I have a bunch of wonderful brochures from the eta
This was fascinating
I traveled on the Vistafjord as a child for the 1985/86 christmas cruise. It was amazing|!
I remember the last two times I saw the Vistafjord. I was working on the small cruise ship Grande Mariner operating Erie Canal and St Lawrence River cruises. We docked in Montreal next to this beauty in 2011? I toured her and she was a time capsule, I cruised on her in the late eighties as a kid. Then 14 days later she was docked in Brooklyn. It was great to see an NAL ship docked where her predecessors use to dock.
Very nice video on the Vistafjord and the Sagafjord. The Sagafjord was at one time - around the mid-80s - considered the most luxurious ship in the world, at least according to Cunard.
I do remember the Sagafjord and the QE2 meeting in Sydney on the 1985 world cruise. I saw the QE2 as a small child a couple of days after in Hobart. I still remember the date - Sunday 17 February 1985 !
7:05 that was an awesome photo man👍
Thanks! We used that one on our Cunard history book cover ☺️
Hahah Chris you have a good sense of humour. When that Trafalgar fell over 😂😂😂
Wow - all new history to me! Great video - thanks so much!
Glad you enjoyed it
Hi Chris. When I was a kid, I used to guerilla attack a small travel agency in my neighborhood, for paper brochures. I remember the Norwegian America Cruises. I was a ship junkie through my growing up period. Saga and Vista were beautiful ships. Very classical. (Vista was used in the Table for Five film with John Voight).
I used to do this too from around 1983 in Australia, picking up the occasional Sitmar, P&O, Blue Funnel (Princess Mahsuri), Royal Viking and very occasionally a Cunard brochure. It was actually a great way to learn about world geography from all those itineries as a small child as well as the "marketing speak" from the way the brochures were phrased.
What lovely ships - i knew nothing about either, so found it a very interesting video, thanks!
I did a short segment on the Sagafjord when she as with NAL back in the late 70's.
Enjoyed your video.
I like your comment about you reading exploring the Titanic by Robert d Ballard that got you into loving ocean liners and ships. That's how I got into ocean liners and ships too because that was my first book that I read when I was 6 years old when I was eight I read by Robert d Ballard exploring the Bismarck and treasures of the isis including lost liners.🎉
I consider both Sagafjord and Vistafjord to be Little QE2 due to how close their design with the single funnel and having balcon suites on the to superstructure pitty none of the sister were preserve!
Thanks for this video Chris! My mom and I sailed on the Caronia in late August 2001 on an Eastern Canada/New England cruise and absolutely loved the ship! Although we’d sailed the QE2 and even the Cunard Ambassador, there was something very special about Caronia and she is sorely missed 😢
Thank you Chris for this walk down memory lane. As mentioned in the past Ive tuned the pianos on the luxury liners / cruise ships for 37 yrs in Vancouver Canada and the Sagafjord still has my vote for best food ever. While I tried every main course they had I always had the tomato gin soup as an appy, simply the best.
I only found out this morning that a Caronia was in service until 2004 😂
Glad to have helped 😊
Thanks for the information. I always like to learn more about ships, especially Cunard. I enjoyed seeing the photos at the end, too.
Glad you enjoyed it 😌
I made 21 cruises on those ships, 1 on Sagafjord and 20 on Vistafjord. Unfortunately as from 1996 the standards on board dropped.. incompetent management both on land as on the ships - especially on the Sagafjord the senior hotel staff was incompetent ( later confirmed by an economy study ) Cunard was considered as a toy for the management of Trafalgar House - if they were in short of cash they sold a hotel ... even the Ritz in London.
A lot niceties were taken away as from 1994
You titled it wrong. The Norwegian sisters that saved Cunard.
They certainly saved cunard as we know it
The princess and countess weren't exactly luxury
Countess and Princess saved Cunard in their own way. For a while there they were cruising pioneers.
@@RCKodaknot really.. the NAL twins brought Cunard from low budget cruise line with a 4 star QE2. Overnight Cunard got two five star plus liners. Cunard upgraded the QE2 to the luxury of the Saga Sisters. With the Sea Goddesses and the Royal Viking Sun the company was a Norwegian company with the QE2. Add the only new Cunard ships of the 1990s were the Scandinavian charted Cunard Crown Dynasty and Jewel. Those two ships and the former Royal Viking Sun are the only non Queens left. The Sea Goddesses are in their own category.
Did you know about Sagafjord and Vistafjord?
Yes, a little bit. For instance, I knew that Vistafjord became Caronia in 1999.
Excellent video. When my late husband was alive, he was a travel agent, he knew Chris Haackensen who worked for NAC, he was a rep. for the line. He took Tony on board the VISTAFJORD for a visit. Tony said it was a great ship. NAC had the BEST brochures.
herd of all of them
Hello from indonesia🇮🇩
Hello 🇦🇺
These ships are far from forgotten Chris.
So glad to hear it 🎉