The SS United States. It is technically a superliner and not a cruise ship, but she did cruise during her career and soon will again, under the direction of Norwegian Cruselines.

At 990 feet long, she's nearly the length of the original Queen Mary. She weighs 53000 tons, but that is deceptive, as the superstructure was made from aluminum, making the ship lighter but of similar size an capacity to the Queen.

With nearly 100,000 shaft horse power more than the Queen Mary (241,000 shaft horsepower for the Big U) she was the most fleet of the transatlantic line and the last winner of the Blue Ribband. She is recorded as having attained a top speed of 43 knots, and able to make 20 knots in reverse.

She was designed by Francis Gibbs, of USS Missouri fame. His goals and principles for the ship were summed up in his quote, "You can't set her on fire, you can't sink her, and you can't catch her". She had a trouble free career and was only hampered late in her career by union strikes. She was ultimately mothballed due to the rising success of jet travel. Her greatest asset, her speed, made her costly to operate.

Daniel