300x250

When the Stars and Celebrities sailed Cunard’s great liners during the 1950s and 1960s.

November 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Cunard Lines, like many other steamship companies during the 1930s through the 1960s, had public relations staff and photographers cover sailing day of all their liners – including the RMS Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, Mauritania, Medea, Parthia and Caronia.   They photographed the stars as they crossed the pond and sailed from New York.  Here is a collection of photos of a few of the greatest stars and celebrities of all time sailing away on the Cunard Lines.

To cruise today aboard Cunard Line click here for full information.

Frederick Brisson, Rosalind Russell Brisson and Gregory Peck with Mrs Peck sail away on the RMS Queen Elizabeth.

Clark Gable is welcomed aboard the RMS Queen Mary.

Elizabeth Taylor sailing on the RMS Queen Mary.

Jackie Kennedy and Robert Kennedy on the RMS Queen Mary.

Judy Garland sailing from New York on the RMS Caronia.

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditlinkedinmail
Filed Under: CUNARD LINE, STEAMSHIP LINES Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

HISTORY OF CRUISING – YOUTUBE VIDEO

November 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

HISTORY OF CRUISING – YOUTUBE VIDEO

Brief video on the history of cruising…

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditlinkedinmail
Filed Under: STEAMSHIP LINES Tagged With: , ,

Aristotle Onassis, Jackie Kennedy, Sir Winston Churchill, Maria Callas and the fabulous CHRISTINA O – the greatest yacht of them all.

November 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment

SOCIAL HISTORY: CHRISTINA O – the greatest yacht of them all.  Aristotle Onassis, Jackie Kennedy, Sir Winston Churchill, Maria Callas and the fabulous boat.  The famous yacht heads up the Hudson River – 1960s…

(Left: Aristotle Onassis aboard the Christina O in 1950s.) His hospitality was legendary, his charm mythical, his prowess unstoppable, his power formidable, his fortune unsurpassed.

In 1954 Aristotle Socrates Onassis created the greatest yacht of all, Christina.

Named after his beloved daughter, she was a sleek, 325-foot, shimmering-white masterpiece proudly displaying the Onassis signature, the yellow funnel.

(Above: Aristotle Onassis and Churchill in the yacht’s swimming pool. It doubled as a dance floor – Onassis’ party trick was to flood it while people were still dancing.)

While the ship had begun life in 1943 as the Canadian naval frigate Stormont, a convoy escort, Onassis purchased her in 1948 for just $34,000 and converted her during the early 1950’s into the most sumptuous private yacht that the world had ever seen, at the cost of more than $4 million.

(Above: CHRISTINA O’s canopied decks are the ideal venue for any extra special occasion – 1950s.) When Onassis bought the yacht in 1954, he converted the yacht at an expense of over $4 million, into the largest, most modern and most exalted yacht of her era. CHRISTINA O became his floating mansion and headquarters for over two decades until his death in 1975. Onassis’ guests on board the yacht were some of the most famous and influential people of the time. At night, CHRISTINA O served as the stage for Onassis’ celebrated social life, as he played host to Presidents and Prime Ministers, royalty and film stars.

(Above: Elizabeth Taylor and Aristotle S. Onassis aboard the yacht.) CHRISTINA O’s fame owes itself to names such as Maria Callas, The Begum of Aga Kahn, John Paul Getty, John D Rockefeller, Eva Peron, Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Rudolf Nureyev, John Wayne, Greta Garbo and Dame Margot Fonteyn.

[Read more...]

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditlinkedinmail
Filed Under: STEAMSHIP LINES Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The SS FRANCE arrives in port… 1960s…

November 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

SS France arriving during her heyday as one of the most elegant and grand ways to enjoy “crossing the pond” – from New York to Europe during the late 1960s…

SS France was a Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (CGT, or French Line) ocean liner, constructed by the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard at Saint-Nazaire, France, and put into service in February 1962.

At the time of her construction in 1960 she was the longest passenger ship ever built. France’s tonnage stood as a record until being broken by the MS Sovereign of the Seas in 1990, while her length of 316 meters remained unchallenged until the construction of the 345 meter RMS Queen Mary 2 in 2004.

France was later purchased by Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) in 1979, renamed SS Norway and underwent significant modifications that better suited her for mid-market cruising duties – eliminating the first and tourist class operation. Much of her gracisous and elegant style was turned into a more mundane populace atmosphere. She was sold to be scrapped in 2006, and scrapping was completed in late 2008.

To read more about the France click here.


SS France docks in downtown Manhattan. No security lines, no body scanners, no t-shirts and cargo pants – just the only way to go.

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditlinkedinmail
Filed Under: Cruise History, Cruise Memorabilia, CRUISING THE PAST VIDEOS Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

HISTORY OF THE CUNARD LINE – THE WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS STEAMSHIP COMPANY AND A CRUISE LINE CARRYING ON THE TRADITION OF THE GREAT OCEAN LINERS

November 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Social History: History of The Cunard Line – The world’s most famous steamship line… carrying on the great tradition of first class liners celebrating the age of cruising the past with the new luxury liner QUEEN ELIZABETH!

The best YOUTUBE video on Cunard’s newest liner: QUEEN ELIZABETH.   UK’s monarch and a ship named after her.  Great tradition, retro fun and a fun way to travel avoiding airports and all that security ordeal.

This elegant ship joined the CUNARD LINE fleet in October 2010.  She relives, in modern glamor, the high society events of the 1930s and 1940s. Grace ornate rooms whose rich décor recalls the heritage of the first Cunarder to bear her name. Images and features from her predecessors, Queen Elizabeth and QE2, sit comfortably alongside her modern charm.  This is a great video on the newest Cunard ship.

Cunard Line was the only company to continue regular transatlantic ocean crossings by liners after the 1970s. The French Line, Italian Line, the United States Line had gone out of business. Swedish America Line, Holland America Line along with Home Lines continued but only operating cruise ships. Liner service between New York and Europe was only offered by Cunard. The QE 2 made numerous crossings into the 21st Century – making Cunard Line the only way to cross the pond and continuing the tradition of “getting there is half the fun.”

Bob Hope entertains aboard a Cunard liner of the past.

Of all the cruise lines in the market of today, perhaps the most venerable would be the Cunard line. A name that is synonymous with transatlantic crossing, the Cunard Cruise Ship Line is known in some capacity to just about everybody who knows anything about ships. The famous old brand is of course most famous for its White Star Line ships of the early part of the last century, and in particular the tragic and ill-fated liner Titanic, which even those who care nothing for travel of any sort know at least something about. Even if it is only in connection with Leonardo di Caprio and Kate Winslet, surely there is no-one reading this who does not know what happened, ultimately, to this most ambitious of passenger liners.

Today, the Cunard line still sails the sea, though today it is owned by the Carnival Corporation and has just two active ships – the Queen Mary 2 and the Queen Victoria. There are also plans afoot to build a third ship, which will be named for Britain’s current monarch Queen Elizabeth, after the old Queen Elizabeth II (or QE2) was retired from active service pending its conversion to a hotel ship, which will be moored off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. The current fleet is used principally for world cruises, and mixes the stately grandeur of its forebears with the inescapable touch of modernity – no cruise liner of the present day can afford to be without a spa complex, after all.

[Read more...]

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditlinkedinmail
Filed Under: STEAMSHIP LINES Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Ghost Hunters Planning Titanic Mission

November 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Ghost Hunters Planning RMS Titanic Mission

A group of ghost hunters is planning a titanic mission in order to see whether the spirits of the folks who drowned on the RMS Titanic are still haunting the site of the wreck.

In April, 20 paranormal researchers are planning a trip 960 miles off the coast of New York to the place where the ship sank in 1912 in hopes that they can scare up evidence of electronic voice phenomena, or EVP, proving the people who died left a psychic impression on the place.
The wreck happened nearly 99 years ago, but researcher and self-taught Titanic expert William Brower, who will go on the journey, believes he can find evidence the folks who died are still around in some capacity.

Matthew “Sandman” Kelley is organizing an expedition to the site where the Titanic sunk in order to see if the people who died there left “residual impressions” of the experience.

“There is a working theory that areas of extreme trauma can imprint the actions and emotions,” said Brower, who has been studying the Titanic ever since he was 5 and saw a movie called “Raise theTitanic.”

(LEFT) Matthew “Sandman” Kelley is organizing an expedition to the site where the Titanic sunk in order to see if the people who died there left “residual impressions” of the experience.

Matthew “Sandman” Kelley, a retired truck driver who is organizing the trip as part of a group called Society of DEAD (Direct Evidence After Death), says EVP can best be explained as the psychic version of a photographic negative.
Kelley believes the trip represents uncharted waters for the field of paranormal investigation, and, as such, the investigators plan some unorthodox ways of arousing the spirits.
“We will re-create the atmosphere by eating the exact meal that was served the night the ship crashed, and we will play the same music heard that night,” he said. “But I want to make one thing clear: I don’t believe in any spirits. We are looking for residual impressions.”

Each investigator on the expedition has a reason for participating, but none may be more personal than that of a Marine pilot named Angelica Harris.

“Her great uncle died on the Titanic,” Brower said. “She plans to do a classroom at sea over the Internet for students who are discovering the Titanic.”

However, there is a risk the expedition could run aground before it even sets sail.

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditlinkedinmail
Filed Under: STEAMSHIP LINES, Titanic Tagged With: , , , ,

ANDREA DORIA – The fabulous Italian Line ship whose fate was sealed by the Swedish America Line’s STOCKHOLM.

November 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Joanna Coleman’s terrific color footage from her terrific site on YOUTUBE of the Italian ocean liner SS Andrea Doria in the 1950′s which sunk after colliding with the MV Stockholm.

LINER AND SOCIAL HISTORY — ANDREA DORIA – The fabulous Italian Line ship whose fate was sealed by the Swedish America Line’s STOCKHOLM.

By the mid-1950s, with the postwar passenger boom at its peak, more than 50 passenger liners sailed the sea-lanes between Europe and America.
Among the most splendid were two new ships of the Italian Line, the Cristofor Colombo and the Andrea Doria. They were built for luxury, not speed, and to take advantage of the sunnier southern route.

The Andrea Doria was the first liner to possess three outdoor swimming pools, one each for first, cabin and tourist class. Her lines were graceful, her public rooms lavishly decorated and crowded with artworks and her most desirable first-class suites as rarified as any that had come before. She was a superb expression of her time and nationality, a ship that combined 1950s modernity with a keen awareness of Italy’s extraordinary artistic heritage.

She was also equipped with the latest in navigational equipment, including two sets of radar, the still-developing technology that had transformed the maritime battlefields of World War II and was now standard equipment in the merchant marine. But even if the radar failed and somehow a collision happened, the Andrea Doria was in theory unsinkable. Her 11 watertight compartments were so constructed that she would remain afloat if any two were breached –more than that her builders could not imagine — and so that she would never take on a list of more than 15 degrees. As an extra safety precaution, her lifeboats could still be launched if the list reached 20 degrees. Yet the Andrea Doria was destined to become the last great lost ship of a transatlantic passenger era that was about to fade away.

We are pleased to share the following feature story on the Andrea Doria from NEW YORK SOCIAL DIARY…


SS ANDREA DORIA by Scott Houston McBee

I was initially drawn to the Andrea Doria at the age of 14 after reading the book, Collision Course, by Alvin Moscow. The book tells of the Andrea Doria’s birth, her brief but glorious life, and her tragic end, in the summer of 1956.

To me the Andrea Doria embodied the hope and optimism that Italy was searching for after the War. I was very moved by the story of her master, Captain Piero Calamai, who after a distinguished career with the Italian Line decided never to return to the sea after the Andrea Doria’s sinking.

He was quoted as saying “When I was a boy and all my life, I loved the sea. Now I hate it.”

He died after a long illness in April of 1972.

In the late 1940’s Italy had lost most of her passenger ships to the War. The Italian Line sought to revive its postwar liner fleet in order to restore Italy’s place in international passenger shipping. The creation of the Andrea Doria was based on the principle that Italy’s new postwar fleet had to communicate a new message about Italy itself: Italy was no longer a belligerent adversary but a beautiful country brimming with art and culture.

CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE AND READ THE FULL STORY COURTESY OF NEW YORK SOCIAL DIARY…

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditlinkedinmail
Filed Under: ITALIAN LINE, STEAMSHIP LINES Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wonderful color footage of the great liner SS NORMANDIE…

November 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Wonderful color home movies of the great liner SS NORMANDIE…

Crossing The Pond will never again be like this… elegance, glamor and chic passengers are a total thing of the past. No matter what the ship is like – the passengers reflect its greatness – and one look at t-shirts and cargo shorts along with baseball caps – makes one long for the these wonderful former times of first class travel.

SS Normandie was an ocean liner built in Saint-Nazaire, France for the French Line Compagnie Générale Transatlantique. She entered service in 1935 as the largest and fastest passenger ship afloat; she is still the most powerful steam turbo-electric-propelled passenger ship ever built.

Her novel design and lavish interiors led many to consider her the greatest of ocean liners. Despite this, she was not a commercial success and relied partly on government subsidy to operate. During service as the flagship of the CGT, she made 139 transatlantic crossings westbound from her home port of Le Havre to New York and one fewer return. Normandie held the Blue Riband for the fastest transatlantic crossing at several points during her service career, during which the RMS Queen Mary was her chief rival.

During World War II, Normandie was seized by the United States authorities at New York and renamed USS Lafayette. In 1942, the liner caught fire while being converted to a troopship, capsized and sank at the New York Passenger Ship Terminal. Although salvaged at great expense, restoration was deemed too costly and she was scrapped in October 1946.

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditlinkedinmail
Filed Under: FRENCH LINE, FRENCH STEAMSHIP AND CRUISE LINES, STEAMSHIP LINES Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The World’s Largest Yachts

November 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment

THE PAST: J. P. Morgan built the CORSAIR at the height of the Great Depression.  She was a classic yacht and reflected a style of life now totally something of cruising the past.

THE FUTURE: 2010 – The largest yacht in the world.

Cruising the past and future: The World’s Largest Yachts in 2010…

The world’s super yachts are some of the biggest and most expensive toys of the super rich, floating palaces with unique features that can carry price tags into the hundreds of millions.

Super yachts are privately owned vessels that are professionally crewed and are found in the greatest abundance in the Mediterranean, Caribbean and the Middle East.

Cruising The Past presents its annual list of the largest yachts currently on the water, giving owners the bragging rights of having one of the world’s largest boats, and at times, competing with each other.

Although some of these yachts have not yet had their first voyage, the vessels not yet on the water are expected to be delivered before the end of 2010.

So, which super yachts rank as the largest in 2010?



Number 10 – Al Mirqab

At approximately 437 feet, the Al Miqab, is the 10th largest yacht in the world. Owned by Qatar’s Emir Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, it was launched in 2008 and is estimated to value between $250 and $300 million. The vessel is considered one of the most beautiful in the world, awarded “Motor Yacht of The Year” and “Best Interior Design” at the World Super yacht Awards in 2009.

The Al Mirqab can accommodate up to 60 guests and 60 crew members and features a helicopter landing pad, a Jacuzzi on deck, a movie theater and an on-board elevator. With gross tonnage of 5511 tons, the hull is made of steel with an aluminum superstructure and is nearly 64 feet at its widest point. She sails under the flag of the Cayman Islands.



Number 9 – Serene

Built by Fincantieri Yachts and designed by Monaco’s Espen Oeino designers, the Serene is set to launch in 2010 and is currently being outfitted, according to SuperYachtTimes.com. When completed, it will be the largest yacht ever to be built in Italy.

The yacht began construction in 2007 and is considered to be one of the most technologically advanced super yachts currently being built. It features seven decks, two helicopter landing platforms, storage for a large submarine and a large internal seawater pool.

Number 8 – Savarona

Once the world’s largest yacht, the Savarona was built in 1931 and had a length that was certainly ahead of its time. Originally intended for Presidential use, the vessel is owned by Turkey but had been leased to a number of clients in recent years. However on September 30th 2010, the vessel was reverted back to the Turkish state after being involved in a prostitution scandal involving a Kazakh businessman.

[Read more...]

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditlinkedinmail
Filed Under: STEAMSHIP LINES, YACHTS Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Revealing Titanic exhibition to open in London

November 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Revealing RMS Titanic exhibition to open in London

STILL the most famous ship of all time, Titanic is the focus of a new exhibition opening at the O2 this week 98 years after the tragedy.

Some 300 artifacts including the ship’s porthole and wheel will be on display from Friday, some having never been seen before. There will also be footage from the Titanic Expedition 2010, the eighth and most ambitious trip ever to the seabed, as part of the Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition.

As visitors enter they will be presented with a replica boarding pass of an actual passenger who boarded the ship for its fateful journey in April 1912. They will go on a journey through the ship’s life, from how it was built to what it was like on board with the chance to see first and third class cabins, the cargo and hold rooms.

Cheryl Mure, vice president of Education for RMS Titanic, Inc said: “On that unexpected night in 1912, more than 1,500 passengers met the same fate no matter their class or place in society; a shocking ending to what was a joyous journey. Their story is our story and it is our honor and duty to share these treasures with London at such a poignant time.”

A Connections area will show visitors how the tragedy resonated through London as they look through people’s stories and find out what happened to the person on their boarding card.

Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition is housed at The O2 Bubble in Peninsula Square, (SE10 ODX) in London, UK. The Exhibition will open on November 5th, 2010 as a limited engagement.

ADDRESS:

The O2 Bubble
Peninsula Square
SE10 ODX
London, UK
Phone: 44 (0) 208 463 2000
Fax: 0208 463 2301

Exhibition Hours:

Sunday-Wednesday: 11:00 AM – 7:30 PM
Thursday-Saturday: 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM

The exhibition runs until May 2011. For tickets, see the website by clicking here.

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditlinkedinmail
Filed Under: STEAMSHIP LINES Tagged With: , , ,