It was a glamorous age, a progressive age and a busy age. New ocean liners were continuously created for routes

On Friday, February 26th, the WSS - PONY Branch welcomed Captain Albert Schoonderbeek, current Fleet Master for Holland America Line.

On Friday, February 26th, the WSS PONY Branch will welcome Captain Albert Schoonderbeek, current Fleet Master for Holland America Line.

The Indonesian State Shipping system -- Pelni, as it is known to its passengers -- is one of the

In lieu of our usual holiday gathering, PONY Branch members and guests were invited to a wintry Zoom presentation hosted by former chairman and current board member Marjorieann Matuszek and current chairman Pat Dacey. The evening's entertainment featured some of our members’ most memorable photographs of winter holidays at sea and holiday ship visits, along with favorite winter ship scenes. This was followed by a selection of historical photos of ships in New York Harbor during winter from the collection of the Steamship Historical Society.

Wayne Yanda's program focused on the transpacific rivalry between the United States and Japan during the interwar years and how it led to the development of the PRESIDENT JACKSON-class of 1940. He shared rarely seen images of the Jackson's interiors, and mural studies generated through a nationwide competition to decorate the Jackson and her sisters.

The ILE DE FRANCE was recognized around the world as an extension of French society. Conceived as a way of proclaiming

In November 2020, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, one of the most iconic names in the cruise industry, will mark

The PONY Branch hosted a summertime membership meeting via Zoom featuring a program by Past Chairman Ted Scull. We

For our June program (our first virtual meeting via Zoom), long-time members Tom Rinaldi and Ted Scull each presented

The PONY Branch welcomed Captain Jonathan Atkin who specializes in meticulously choreographed aerial photography for the maritime industry. Early in his

The great Italian Line with its fine fleet of passenger liners will sail once more. Created in 1932, but

On Sunday, December 8, 2019, 40 members and guests enjoyed food, drinks and the camaraderie of fellow ship enthusiasts at

Ocean liner travel became fashionable at end of the 19th century, and the steamship lines went all out promoting their services,

On Saturday, November 2, 2019, 35 PONY Branch members and friends enjoyed a three-hour luncheon cruise around New

Renaissance Cruises was founded in 1989, and shortly thereafter had eight small 100-passenger ships in their fleet. Quickly

On Friday, October 4, 2019, 78 PONY Branch members and guests visited Cunard's famed QUEEN MARY 2 while

At our September membership meeting, Captain Speiser gave a presentation on the career of a Maritime Pilot, the role

On Sunday, September 22, 2019, 62 PONY Branch members and guests visited Carnival Cruise Lines' 101,509 GT, 2,984-passenger CARNIVAL

On Saturday, August 18th, 38 World Ship Society – PONY Branch members and friends set sail from the Manhattan

Around a dozen PONY Branch members and friends convened for a “No Host” Social on board North River

Although significantly involved in passenger shipping for less than four decades, the family-owned Chandris Group operated a wider variety of

In the summer of 2018, PONY Branch member Tom Rinaldi plotted a course across Northern Europe involving as many

December 1968 was a watershed moment in the history of cruising. The modern port of Miami was launched with

On Sunday, March 24, 2019, 72 PONY Branch members and guests visited NCL's 165,300 GT, 4,266-passenger NORWEGIAN ESCAPE,

Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, today among the premier operators of heritage passenger ships, has deep roots that stretch all

The year 2019 is the 50th anniversary of the maiden voyage of the beloved, iconic QUEEN ELIZABETH 2 --

When American Export Lines began making plans to resume transatlantic service after World War II, vice president John Slater

On Sunday, December 9, 2018, 45 members and guests enjoyed food, drinks and the camaraderie of fellow ship enthusiasts

PONY Branch members and guests gathered for a presentation by Pat Dacey on the HEBRIDEAN PRINCESS. This very small

This year's Ocean Liner Bazaar featured eight enthusiastic dealers of ocean liner memorabilia who exhibited  ship models, brochures,

Everyone loves ships and shipping in one way or another. That’s what formed us as a branch of the

On Saturday, October 13, 2018, 30 PONY Branch members and friends set sail on Empire Cruises' excursion boat

This year's World Ship Society Maritime Enthusiasts Cruise set sail on September 23rd with a total of 16 PONY

At the beginning of a lifetime of travel, putting together complex itineraries that stayed on the surface of the

On Thursday, August 16, 2018, 81 PONY Branch members and guests enjoyed a luncheon on board Carnival Cruise

At our last membership meeting before the summer break, PONY Branch members and friends were treated to a screening

A total of 82 PONY Branch members and guests enjoyed an afternoon visit on board Princess Cruises' PACIFIC

This January, WSS PONY Branch member Tom Rinaldi sailed out of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) aboard what in his view

The Port of New York played a pivotal role in the birth of modern cruising as the center of

Few modern-day passenger ships have earned as loyal a clientele as Holland America Line’s 30‑year old PRINSENDAM. Following

Trans-Atlantic liner travel was still booming in 1958. More passengers were sailing to and from Europe than ever. Alone, Cunard had

By the start of the 20th century, travel was big business. Millions of passengers were on the move, corporations

On Saturday December 9, 2017, members and guests braved a cold and snowy day to enjoy food, drinks

This year's Ocean Liner Bazaar featured ten enthusiastic dealers of ocean liner memorabilia who exhibited ship models, paintings,

For our November program, we joined former PONY Branch chairman Ted Scull on a half-dozen voyages aboard ships that

On Saturday, November 4, 2017, 73 PONY Branch members and guests enjoyed a visit on board Princess Cruises' 2006-built

On October 31, 1967, the QUEEN MARY left Southampton for the final time on her “Last Great Cruise” arriving

On the same day in 2008 that J. Fred Rodriguez notified some of his friends that he’d just gone

On Sunday, August 20, 2017, 62 PONY Branch members and guests enjoyed a tour and luncheon on board

PONY Branch members and friends sailed on a 7-night cruise on Cunard Line's QUEEN VICTORIA out of Rome's

More than 60 years since the sinking of the ANDREA DORIA, mementos associated with the ship's disastrous demise

The May 2017 inauguration of the first NYC Ferry service between Rockaway and Lower Manhattan marked the beginning of

The 1980’s and 1990’s were the heyday of cruising on former transatlantic liners. “Ships of State,” built in

On Saturday April 8, 2017, 50 members and guests participated in the second of two Spring visits to NCL's NORWEGIAN

They were a unique and once very popular type of ship: the passenger-cargo liners. More than 12-berth passenger-carrying freighters, some

On Sunday March 19, 2017, 45 PONY Branch members and guests toured NCL's NORWEGIAN GEM during the ship's layover at

When WSS-PONY Branch member Ben Lyons left his chief officer position onboard QUEEN MARY 2 in 2008, he

In December, 2016, Norwegian Cruise Line marked the 50th anniversary of the arrival in Miami of the MS SUNWARD,

On Saturday December 10, 2016, members and guests enjoyed food, drinks and the camaraderie of fellow ship enthusiasts

On December 7, 1949, Karl Zimmermann boarded the S.S. Nieuw Amsterdam in Rotterdam with his parents, homeward bound to

Following a late spring refit at Blohm + Voss, Hamburg, the QUEEN MARY 2 re-entered service with enough

This year's Ocean Liner Bazaar featured 14 enthusiastic dealers of ocean liner memorabilia who exhibited ship models, paintings,

n March 2016, PONY Branch member Tom Rinaldi traveled to Tanzania and Malawi to seek out two of the

Twenty-four PONY Branch members and friends set sail from the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal on Cunard's newly renovated QUEEN MARY

On Saturday June 25, 2016, 81 PONY Branch members and guests toured Carnival Cruise Line's CARNIVAL SUNSHINE during

Our June guest speaker, maritime historian J. Fred Rodriguez, was immediately inflicted with a condition when he first saw

On Saturday June 11, 2016, 85 PONY Branch members and guests toured Royal Caribbean's ANTHEM OF THE SEAS during

Tied up at Pier 25 in Tribeca, the black-hulled LILAC is the last surviving steam-powered lighthouse tender in America,

Jim Kalafus, a recognized expert on ship disasters, presented a program on the strange misfortunes that befell the

After his first crossings over and back aboard French Line ships LIBERTE‰ and FLANDRE in July 1958, Ted Scull

In September 2015, Bill Miller entertained PONY Branch members with a program on Cunard Line's 175-year history and the

We started 2016 by welcoming back noted writer and historian Allan Jordan for an illustrated program recalling the

All WSS Events prior to 2016 Saturday, December 5, 2015 – 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM 2015 PONY BRANCH