U.S. to begin evacuation of citizens in Lebanon by cruise ship on Tuesday.

[Roon]

Breaking on http://www.msnbc.msn.com/

[CottonBear]

1. Meanwhile, other nations have already evacuated their citizens. n/t

[wakeme2008]

2. Wonder what ship and how $$$$ this time

:grr:

[saigon68]

6. i WONDER IF THEY WILL SERVE DRINKS ON THE POOL DECK.

[wakeme2008]

7. Did somebody say drinks at the Sky Bar

Only problem is Seabourn's sisters are only 208 passengers. :)

[saigon68]

8. KOOL

That sounds like a hell of a nice trip


http://www.vacationstogo.com/fastdeal.cfm?deal=21354&id=71416749


Enjoy yourself





Seabourn Pride

This luxurious small ship is a floating country club. Afternoon tea and evening cocktails are served in the glass-enclosed forward lounge, and complimentary spirits, wines, aperitifs and soft drinks are available throughout the ship. There's a casino and show lounge, and music and dancing in The Club. The more casual Veranda Cafe complements the open-seating restaurant. At the Sky Grill, enjoy an alfresco lunch grilled and served on deck. The staff offers 24-hour complimentary room service, and passengers can have dinner served course by course in their suite. Work out in the fitness center or take advantage of the spa, pool, saunas, steam room and whirlpools. A marina at the ship's stern can be lowered for swimming, water-skiing, sailing and sunning. This is an all-suite ship, and accommodations boast a large picture window, safe, walk-in closet, TV/VCR, sofa and chairs, bathroom with tub and shower, and minibar stocked with your selections.

[wakeme2008]

14. My Southern Caribbean trip will have a

Marina day with their water toys and a Fish Eggs in the Surf day LOL which includes a beach BBQ, again with the water toys.

[saigon68]

17. PICTURES OF BEIRUT

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=110191

CAUTION YOU NEED A HIGH SPEED CABLE CONNECTION

[54anickel]

24. Thanks for the link Saigon68 - beautiful place! n/t

[saigon68]

25. It WAS beautiful

so rich in art, architecture and culture. Now Blown to crap

[54anickel]

27. True, I wonder what some of those areas look like now. There haven't

been a lot of photos coming out of there. Maybe I just haven't found the right news sites yet.

[Up2Late]

19. They said on NPR that the ship only has a capacity of 750 and it not Free!

I think they said passengers are expected to pay "...the going rate..." or some thing along those lines. Nice huh? :banghead:

[Virginia Dare]

3. another $236 million deal?....n/t

[MissB]

4. Better than Wednesday.

Monday would be far better. Heck, Sunday would've been timely too.

[RaleighNCDUer]

5. By cruise ship.

What a wonderful target. This could be WWIII's Lusitania.

The set up work has been done, with a missile hitting the Israeli warship. Now all they need is for it to be far enough offshore that it has to be incontrovertible that the missile was of Iranian origin.

Man, if I were there I'd walk to Turkey before I'd get on that boat.

[greccogirl]

9. Setup work?

Are you serious?

[RaleighNCDUer]

10. Just paranoid.

There are too many Armageddonists running around for me not to be.

[Junkdrawer]

15. Here's a more recent photo...

[DoYouEverWonder]

18. They should rename it

the SS Sitting Duck.

[daleo]

21. It is a bit suspicious

Considering the number of ships the U.S. Navy has.

If not suspicious, then possibly reckless or negligent, if something were to happen.

[Az_lefty]

11. What a bigass target !!!!!

Anyone think Hezbollah can hit this one like they did the Israli ship?
This is a disaster waiting to happen. It seems as though we can't get anything right anymore.
:hide:

[sabra]

12. more: USS Gonzalez assigned the task of escorting the cruise ship

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N17283198.htm

U.S. sending ships for Lebanon evacuation duty

WASHINGTON, July 17 (Reuters) - The United States has contracted for a commercial cruise ship to be used for a possible broader evacuation of U.S. citizens from Lebanon due to the conflict with Israel, and is sending a Navy destroyer to escort it, the Pentagon said on Monday.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the Orient Queen, operated by Abou Merhi Cruises, will be available starting on Tuesday for evacuation duties and is heading toward Cyprus. The ship has a capacity of about 750 people, Whitman said. The guided missile destroyer USS Gonzalez will be assigned the task of escorting the cruise ship, he said.

[saigon68]

16. the cruise ship, M V Orient Queen

OWNED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF DUBAI

The Dubai Department of Tourism Commerce and Marketing (DTCM) has announced the launch of the first-ever luxury cruise line service between Dubai and AGCC countries from Saturday (October 29th, 2005).

Operated by the Lebanon-based Abou Merhi Cruises, the cruise ship, M V Orient Queen, will operate the service until May 2006 with two weekly trips on Thursdays and Fridays.

Mr. Awadh Seghayer Al Ketbi, Acting Manager of DTCM-managed Dubai Cruise Terminal, said: “The launch of the new luxury cruise service strengthens Dubai 's position as a sought-after leisure destination among the nationals and residents of the AGCC countries. It also signifies the great potential for the cruise tourism in the region.”

[shadowknows69]

13. Did the world get bigger or something?

we used to be able to mobilize rescue operations from this country. The most prominent piece of technology is cell phone. All that communications capability and no one can be bothered to call the navy and tell them to scramble every helo they have? How about we go in with transport ships escorted by f-15s and if the IAF feels like bombing that day we blast them out of the fucking sky for threatening our citizens. Where's the love for our people George? Any people?

[hack89]

23. It is nearly 3 weeks of steaming from East Coast ports ...

it is much quicker to charter ships in the region.

[Up2Late]

20. Hummm, American Forces Press Service says "Possible" Lebanon Evacuations!

Possible Lebanon Evacuations!!!! I guess the Pentagon is STILL debating whether to help the Americans there!

U.S. Contracts Cruise Ship For Possible Lebanon Evacuations

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, July 17, 2006 – The United States has contracted a commercial ship to assist in a possible mass evacuation of Americans from Lebanon, a Defense Department spokesman said here today.

The cruise ship Orient Queen is expected to arrive in the area of operations sometime tomorrow, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said. The ship can accommodate hundreds of passengers and may be used to ferry U.S. evacuees from the port of Beirut to the island of Cyprus.

The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Gonzalez has been tasked to escort the Orient Queen as a force-protection measure, Whitman said.

A number of options, including the use of commercial ships as well as military vessels, are being considered as means of evacuating U.S. citizens from Lebanon, Navy Lt. Jereal Dorsey, a spokesman for Task Force 59, based on Cyprus, said.

(more at link) <http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2006/20060717_5677.html>

[Opusnone]

22. I'll bet New Orleans denizens wish they had those choppers

after days of living in filth with no food or water.

Amazing how we can rescue wealthy tourists overseas faster than we can help those in an American city.
Amazing.

[daleo]

26. Not every American in Lebanon is wealthy

At any rate, the family of Canadians killed were of modest means, just visiting their grandfather. I am sure the majority of Americans in Lebanon are much the same, or budget travelers.

What happened in New Orleans was a travesty though, and to the eternal shame of Bush, his cronies and anyone that supports them.

[Endangered Specie]

28. So, how long before the DiCaprio Movie comes out?