Pitcairn Island issued in 2013 a set of $2 stamps and a first day cover depicting cruiseships.
The set shows the PACIFIC PRINCESS she is also depict on the first day cover, the MARINA, ARCADIA and COSTA NEOROMANTICA.
Below is given what the Pitcairn Island Post gives on the set.
The Guide to Pitcairn states that after Folger's discovery of the community in 1808, the pattern of communication was essentially one of irregular naval and merchant ship visits. The opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 brought new life to the island and changed the connection with Pitcairn's neighbours with New Zealand becoming a more important link than Tahiti. Passenger services however via the New Zealand Shipping Company and the Shaw Savill and Albion Company were eventually withdrawn which left only cargo vessels to call en-route and this vital communication provided vital supplies for the Islanders. In recent years the worldwide increase in interest to cruise the world's oceans has led to a new vitality within the Pitcairn community.
The following commentary has been kindly provided courtesy of the Pitcairn Islands Tourism department:
"With the number of visiting cruise ships steadily increasing each year, Pitcairn's cruise ship season is always a busy time. Typically it starts around Oct/Nov and runs through to April the following year. The size and type of ship ranges from small expedition vessels, carrying 100 or so passengers, to huge ocean liners carrying up to 2500 - 3000 passengers. With this in mind, Pitcairners must find time to get into their studios and workshops to create their carvings, curios and artwork. These days there's a huge range of Pitcairn keepsakes available, from jewellery, to all types of wooden carvings, bowls and platters, caps & T. Shirts, hand-woven traditional baskets, Bounty and Longboat models, handmade soaps and, of course, Pitcairn Honey.
Most cruise ship companies confirm their booking to visit the island at least a year or so in advance. The booking is confirmed by the Island's Immigration Officer, an announcement of the pending visit made over the radio and the ship's name, arrival and departure times added to the Cruise Ship Bookings List which is ever present on the Public Notice Board at the Square.
As the day of arrival draws near the Immigration Officer, Tourism Coordinator, Mayor and Provisions Officer start corresponding, via email, with the ship to coordinate activities for the day. This varies depending on roles and whether the ship's Captain intends to land passengers or feels it's safer to have the Pitcairn Community go on-board to set up the Pitcairn Island Curio and Craft Market, deliver a lecture and mix and mingle with passengers for a few hours. These days approximately 35 - 45 Pitcairn residents might go out to visit a ship which is unable to land passengers. Those who are unwell or perhaps a little too frail to climb the Jacob's ladder to board the ship are encouraged to allow friends and family to take their goods on board for them - ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to trade and benefit from sales.
Landing cruise ship passengers is always at the Captain's discretion, depending on weather and sea conditions on the day. This means that everyone must be ready to either get themselves and their curio and crafts to the landing in time to go out to the ship or to set up their goods and trading tables along the main road or at the Square in Adamstown. Either way it's always a happy and exciting time with no one really sure which way it will go until the Captain has made his or her final decision.
If the decision is to land passengers, the Captain will opt to use either the ship's own tenders or the Pitcairn Longboats to ferry passengers ashore. And, with the first arrivals everything falls into place. Tourism staff welcome the passengers as they arrive at the Bounty Bay landing, providing them with walking maps and general visitor information. A handful of local Quad Bike Operators provide taxi services up the Hill of Difficulty to the Square and later, once everyone's ashore, guided tours of the island. Frequently though, after several days at sea, many passengers prefer to 'walk the island' taking in Pitcairn's natural and built attractions at their own pace. And, for such a small island, there is a lot to see – including the Church where the Bounty Bible is on display, the Pitcairn Islands Museum, the cemetery and the local market. Those who are fit and healthy wander up over the hill to the top of the island and beyond, visiting St. Paul's Pool, Highest Point, Ship's Landing Point and if they're lucky, the island's one and only Galapagos Tortoise Miz.T
For many cruise ship passengers, getting to Pitcairn is the highlight of their trip. Whether they are able to land or not most convey that having the opportunity to personally meet the descendants of the Bounty Mutineers and learn about their day to day lives is what really makes their time at Pitcairn so truly memorable. And it's a mutual experience. Over generations Pitcairners have forged lifelong friendships with passengers, captains and crew who have visited via cruise ships. At the close of a typical visit both visitors and locals are refreshed and revitalised - satisfied with the day's events, sights seen and friends made".
2013 will see eight cruise ships visit with eleven expected in 2014. These ships are often very large and like the Queen Victoria and those in this stamp issue, carry passengers and crew totalling over 2,000 people which is over 40 times the population of Pitcairn!
Built as a cruise passenger ship under yard No 6194 by Fincantiere Cantiere Navali Italiani S.p.A., Genoa for Marina New Build LLC. at Doral, Florida.
18 June 2007 ordered.
10 March 2009 laid down.
04 April 2010 floated out as the MARINA.
Tonnage 66,084 grt, 29.151 nrt, 7,662 dwt, dim. 239.3 x 32.19 x 37.07m., length bpp. 213.36, draught 7.6m.
Powered: Diesel electric by four Wärtsilä diesel engines,32,608 hp (24,000 kW), the electric motors have a output of 12,000 kW. each, twin shafts, speed 19.5 knots.
Accommodation for 1,258 passengers.
18 January 2011 delivered to owners, Marshall Islands flag and registry. Homeport Majuo. Managed by Oceania Cruises.
Building cost about 600 million USA Dollar.
MS MARINA is an Oceania-class cruise ship, which was constructed at Fincantieri's Sestri Ponente yards in Italy for Oceania Cruises. The MARINA is the first in a duo of cruise ships, and was followed by the MS RIVIERA May 2012, the option for the third ship was declined. The ship was named in Miami by Mary Hart on February 5, 2011.
The finalization of contract for the construction of MARINA and her sister ship, plus an option for a third, was reached on 18 June 2007. The MARINA is a mid-sized ship, at 66,000 tons and was designed by the Yran & Storbratten (Y&S) architectural firm The keel of Marina was laid on 10 March 2009 and included the welding of a U.S. silver dollar coin and a pre-Castro Cuban peso coin in the keel and is believed to bring fortune to the ship, its passengers and crew during their seagoing life.
MARINA has nine dining venues. The Grand Dining Room, more casual Terraces, and poolside Waves Grill are open seating, no-charge and open daily. Four specialty dining restaurants require reservations (typically up to two per stateroom) are available at no added charge: the cruise line's signature Polo Grill, Toscana, the new French Bistro Jacques and the Pan Asian restaurant Red Ginger. Two additional venues are available at an added charge: Privee private dining and La Reserve. MARINA has a diesel-electric powerplant with a pair of controllable pitch propellers. The ship's interior is decorated with rich woods, Italian marble, granite, wool carpets...
The following I found on: http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-B ... d6-d4.html
It looks more like a double canoe which could carry from 15 to 30 men; the canoe is made of two large logs with a length of thirty till 50 feet, which got hewn out in the form of a canoe.
These two canoes are fastened abreast of each other, with bamboos extended across them.
These canoes are generally about forty feet in length, and the distance between them is from eight to ten feet. The bamboos which unite them are placed about two feet apart and strongly secured to the gunnels by a lashing of their bark cord. Small sticks of bamboo are then extended fore and aft, secured to the cross-pieces, thus forming a light platform from twenty to twenty-five feet in length, and eight or ten feet wide.
They paddle on the two outsides and insides of the canoes (only on the outside of the canoe on the stamp), propelling them forward with astonishing speed.
They are called war-canoes and many of them have very curiously carved heads and sterns, which rise from one to three feet above the hull.
Their paddles are generally four feet in length, with blades about six inches wide, the whole very neatly finished off with carved work, admirably executed.
Micronesia 1993 29c sg317, scott176.
On November 8, 2012, the Marshall Islands Postal Service issued a new stamp featuring a Traditional Chuuk War Canoe. The canoe is an ancient method of transportation, born when man discovered that he could cross a river or lake atop a floating log. Through experimentation he learned to hollow and shape the log with tools to make it more seaworthy. Soon cultures throughout the world used some form of dugout canoe to traverse large bodies of water. The islanders of Micronesia were once considered to be among the greatest sailors of the Western Pacific. They built outrigger canoes capableof making lengthy journeys and used their knowledge of the ocean, wave patterns and the positions of the stars as their means of navigation. Another canoe known for its ornate stem and stern comes from the Micronesian State of Chuuk. This handsome "war canoe" was lavishly carved and propelled only by paddles
Marshall Islands 2013 sg?, scott?
http://www.unicover.com/H0010852.htm
