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P&O’s SS HIMALAYA

November 12, 2009 By 1 Comment

S/S Himalaya was the first new passenger liner of the postwar period for P&O. The Himalaya was a splendid ship and the fastest and largest ship P&O had ever owned until that time. She had a top speed of 25 knots.

The Himalaya was a contemporary of Orient Line’s Orcades and these ships marked a gradual coming together of the new liners of each company in the postwar era. She was a record breaker and cut the UK to Bombay passage by 5 days and reduced the overall voyage to Australia from 38 days to just 28 days. Indeed the six ships worked closely together on their Australian service with their sailing schedules organized so that sailings alternated between P&O and Orient. Thus they formed a Southern Dominions “Big Six” fleet. In January 1958 P&O and Orient services to Australia were extended across the Pacific in a joint service marketed as Orient & Pacific Line. The Himalaya inaugurated the operation and sailings continued from Sydney to Auckland, Suva, Honolulu, Vancouver and San Francisco. In 1974 the venerable Himalaya was finally retired from service.

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Filed Under: Peninsular and Occidental Steamship Company Tagged With: , , ,

SAILING TO JAPAN DURING THE JAZZ AGE

November 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment

CRUISING THE PAST – SAILING TO JAPAN DURING THE JAZZ AGE – ACROSS THE PACIFIC – ABOARD THE NYK LINES AND OSK LINES

Jazz Age Destination – 1920s – YouTube video – great films of the fabulous Orient before WW2.

M/S Asama Maru (1929) and M/S Tatsutu Maru (1930) – NYK Line

One of Japan’s proudest periods in passenger shipping was the 1929 building of two of the finest and most luxurious ships ever to sail the Pacific Ocean – the Asama Maru and Tatsuta Maru. They were routed on NYK Line’s premier express service, regularly sailing from Hong Kong, Shanghai, Kobe and Yokohama to Honolulu, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Their passenger areas were of the highest quality, much of it in traditional European style. There were polished woods, stained glass skylights, fine dining rooms, lounges, library, gift shop, hair salon, comfortable cabins and a swimming pool on deck. This was luxury cruising at its finest. Notable passengers who sailed on these fine ships included Albert Einstein and Charlie Chaplin.

The Asama Maru was the first to enter service in 1929 and she soon set the record for the fastest crossing of the Pacific on the Yokohama to San Francisco route. Her sister, the Tatsutu Maru entered service in 1930. In 1936 the Tatsutu Maru become the first merchant ship to pass under the new Bay Bridge linking San Francisco and Oakland. In 1937 the Asama Maru suffered a mishap when she was driven aground in Kowloon Bay during the Great Hong Kong Typhoon. After the outbreak of the Second World War both ships were requisitioned as troopships but unfortunately both were sunk and did not survive the war and it was left to the Hikawa Maru to re-establish the trans-pacific service.

The OSK AND NYK LINES were the equivalent of Japan’s Cunard and US Lines before WWII. The Japanese trans-pacific service was booming during the interwar years following the First World War. NYK and OSK were ordering new and more luxurious ships for the prestigious trans-pacific service. Seen below are elegant postcards from Japan’s two major shipping companies – during the heyday of their passengers service between WWI and WWII.

OSK AND NYK LINE POSTCARDS – PROMOTING THEIR LINERS

Click below to see a large collection of wonderful post cards from NYK and OSK Lines.

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Filed Under: Nippon Yusen Kaisha NYK LINE Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

OASIS OF THE SEA IS FIVE TIMES THE SIZE OF THE RMS TITANIC – THE OASIS HAS BEEN VOTED ONE OF THE UGLIEST SHIPS IN THE WORLD

November 5, 2009 By Leave a Comment

FIVE TIMES BIGGER THAN THE RMS TITANIC – THE OASIS OF THE SEAS Departs Finland. A new chapter in Cruise History. The Oasis has also been voted one of the ugliest ships in the world.

THE OASIS OF THE SEAS – Aft view.

THE DOOMED TITANTIC

CRUISE HISTORY: OASIS OF THE SEAS, the world’s largest cruise ship, passes the island of Ruissalo shortly after departing the Turku, Finland shipyard of STX Europe, where she was built. The above YouTube footage was recorded October 30, 2009 at 08:30 AM. Her destination is Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Despite months of anticipation and a huge amount of advance publicity, Royal Caribbean’s 6,360 passenger OASIS OF THE SEAS is set to begin her maiden season with a wide variety of available accommodation. Some industry insiders are speculating that the surge of publicity the ship will receive when it arrives in Florida next month for a gala series of inaugural events will help sell more berths. Others remain skeptical as an already soft cruise market continues to be impacted by the sluggish economy.

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Filed Under: STEAMSHIP LINES Tagged With: , ,

HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD – TRIBUTE TO JOHNNY MERCER

November 5, 2009 By Leave a Comment


HOLLYWOOD HISTORY – HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD – TRIBUTE TO JOHNNY MERCER

GREAT YOUTUBE VIDEO OF HOLLYWOOD HISTORY – CLICK TO PLAY

John Herndon “Johnny” Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American songwriter and singer. As a songwriter, he is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others. From the mid-1930s through the mid-1950s, many of the songs Mercer wrote and performed were among the most popular hits of the time. He wrote the lyrics to more than a thousand songs, including compositions for movies and Broadway shows. He received nineteen Academy Award nominations. Mercer was also a co-founder of Capitol Records.

Mercer was probably the greatest song writer in American history.  He wrote many other songs, some of which have entered the Great American Songbook:

* “Lazy Bones” (1933) (music by Hoagy Carmichael)
* “Save the Bones for Henry Jones”
* “P.S. I Love You” (1934) (music by Gordon Jenkins)
* “Goody Goody” (1936) (music by Matty Malneck)
* “I’m an Old Cowhand from the Rio Grande” (1936)
* “Hooray for Hollywood” (1937) (music by Richard A. Whiting)

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Filed Under: SOCIAL HISTORY, STEAMSHIP LINES Tagged With: , ,

SS CHUSAN – P&O LINES – THE LINER WAS KNOWN AS “THE HAPPY SHIP”

November 4, 2009 By Leave a Comment

CRUISING THE PAST: SS CHUSAN – P&O LINES – THE LINER WAS KNOWN AS “THE HAPPY SHIP”

CRUISE LINE HISTORY: The SS CHUSAN was a smaller version of the Himalaya and was designed as the principal element in the postwar regeneration of the Indian and Far East service.

Indeed in some ways she was a long overdue replacement for the celebrated Viceroy of India that had been tragically lost during the Second World War.

Like her celebrated predecessor she introduced superior standards on the route to the Orient and the Far East.

Public Rooms on the “The Happy Ship”

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Filed Under: orient line, P & O Line Tagged With: , , , ,

The Orient Steam Navigation Company

November 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment

ORCADES in Sydney

Cruising Line History: The Orient Steam Navigation Company, also known as the Orient Line, was a British shipping company with roots going back to the late eighteenth century. From the early twentieth century onwards an association began with P&O that eventually culminated in the Orient Line being totally absorbed into that company in the 1960s.

Ten Pound Sterling immigrants from the UK to Australia during the 1950s.   A family only had to pay 10 Pounds to travel to a new country.

The Beginnings (1797 – 1900):

The Orient Line’s beginnings can be traced back to the formation of a shipbroking company by James Thomson in 1797. The company was operating a small fleet of sailing ships by the early 1800s, and by the middle of the century they were sailing on routes all over the world.

In 1828 Thomson was joined by James Anderson, and the company was renamed Anderson, Thomson and Company in 1863. The inauguration of a liner service to Australia with the packet Orient in 1866 saw the company renamed Orient Line of Packets, regularly shortened to Orient Line.

The transition to steam saw another name change in 1878- the Orient Steam Navigation Company.

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Filed Under: orient line, P & O Line, STEAMSHIP LINES Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Rosa Rio at the Tampa Theatre Wurlitzer Organ playing “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” – She’s 107 and the oldest living theatre organist in the world.

November 1, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Social History: Rosa Rio at the Tampa Theatre Wurlitzer Organ – She’s 107 and the oldest living theatre organist in the world.  She was also a famous staff organist for NBC.  She played for such famous radio shows as: Lorenzo Jones, The Shadow and Town Hall Tonight.

Be sure to click on the You Tube Video arrow above – to see Rosa Rio (at 103 years old) playing the Wurlitzer Organ.

This is a two minute excerpt of Rosa playing the Wurlitzer at the Tampa Theatre in 2005. She was a 103 years old.  Rosa is playing: ‘Everything’s Coming Up Roses’ is a song from the 1959 Broadway musical Gypsy: A Musical Fable, with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and music by Jule Styne. It was most famously sung by Ethel Merman. It is notable for its ironic placement in the show, as well its unusual use of musical triplets in the melody.

At a spry 107, Rosa Rio is a testament to the will of spirit. Her extraordinarily positive, motivated and determined attitude has allowed her to seamlessly adapt to changes in the entertainment industry (silents, talkies, radio, tv, and now, back to silents). Since 1996, Rosa has performed for over 30 silent film presentations for full houses at the Tampa Theatre’s 1,400-pipe Mighty Wurlitzer Theatre Organ.

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Filed Under: SOCIAL HISTORY Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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