The 83,000-ton, 1,028-foot long Normandie was not only the largest and most powerful in a long list of great French ocean liners, but she was also by far the most luxurious and innovative. Externally, she was one of the best looking liners ever created — she was streamlined, raked and rounded, and capped by three plump funnels done in the Compagnie Generale Transatlantique’s red and black. Very advanced in design, she was one of the most modern looking ocean greyhounds of her day. Within, she was lavishly bestowed with the finest French decorative touches — Aubusson carpets, Dupas glass panels and Lalique "towers of light". Her first class restaurant was done in bronze and hammered glass, was illuminated by great chandeliers (again by Lalique) and sat 700 guests at 150 tables. The wines were included in the fare, the service impeccable and the food, of course, was the finest at sea. "You can never, ever diet on the French Line," aptly pointed out a Company brochure. Everything about the Normandie was totally and purposefully French, down to the packets of matches in the bars and the notepaper and envelopes in the writing room.

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Opens February 18, 2010.