This is a wonderful historical video of a 1954 sailing aboard the SS ALASKA on a cruise to Alaska and the Inside Passage.

The SS Alaska.

A retro 50s look at a style of cruising and travel now vanished. Views of the ship leaving the Port of Seattle, with streamers, confetti and visitors waving goodbye — something rarely seen today. See the ship sail up the inside passage… with passengers dancing, dining, playing shuffleboard and man nostalgic scenes of an Alaska steamship far different from the massive ships sailing the Inland Passage today.

Breakfast Menu aboard the SS Alaska in 1954.

The Alaska Steamship Company operated passenger service from Seattle to all ports in Alaska from 1895 until 1954. During the summer weekly sailings visited the Inside Passage. The line challenged all kinds of winter conditions and operated year round offering regular sailings as far north as Nome. These are family films and footage taken during the 1920s through the 1950s.

SS America (US lines) docked in New York.

SS Constitution (American Export Lines) docked in New York.

Currently, there the Pride of America is the only ocean going passenger ship flying the American flag.  She was the first new U.S.-flagged cruise ship in nearly 50 years. She operates on a 7-Day Hawaii Cruise for Norwegian Cruise Line.

Here is part one of the passenger ships operating under the American flag in 1955:

African Endeavor (Farrell Lines) New York to South Africa
African Enterprise (Farrell Lines) New York to South Africa
Alcoa Cavalier (Alcoa Steamship Co.) New Orleans to the Caribbean
Alcoa Clipper (Alcoa Steamship Co.) New Orleans to the Caribbean
Alcoa Corsair (Alcoa Steamship Co.) New Orleans to the Caribbean
America (United States Lines) New York trans-Atlantic to UK and Europe
Ancon (Panama Canal Co.) New York to Panama Canal
Argentina (Moore-McCormick Lines) New York to West Indies, (East Coast) South America
Brazil (Moore-McCormick Lines) New York to West Indies, (East Coast) South America
Chiriqui (United Fruit Co.) New Orleans to Cuba and Guatemala

The Great Northern Pacific Steamship Company was formed by James Hill on September 30, 1914.

The line was to compliment the passenger train service on the Astoria Line and compete with the Southern Pacific trains to San Francisco.

The company operated two ships, the S.S. Great Northern and S.S. Northern Pacific.

The ships proved faster than the Southern Pacific’s express trains until bridges replaced much slower ferries in the northern area of San Francisco Bay. 

During the winter season of 1915-6, the ships also ran to Hawaii.

Eventually the service was not a success and the line was for sale when World War I intervened.

The U.S. government commandeered the ships on September 17, 1917, ending the line.  Both ships survived the war, but the Northern Pacific burned and sank on while being towed to be refit.

Dining Salon aboard the H. F. Alexander.

The Great Northern returned to coast wise liner service for many years with the (Admiral Line) Pacific Steamship Co. as their H.F. Alexander.

Noble Peace Price recipient — African-American Ralph Johnson Bunche, worked aboard the H. F. Alexander as a waiter.

He did this during summers while studying at the University of California in the 1920s.

African-Americans were employed as bellman, waiters and stewards.  This was similar work as the Pullman Porters.  There were no unions at that time.  Hours were long but pay, including tips, was good enough to put your way through school.  From the photos, it is obvious America was very segregated – even on the West Coast of the USA.

Scenes aboard the H. F. Alexander.

S.S. Great Northern (American Passenger Liner, 1915). Later renamed H.F. Alexander.

S.S. Great Northern, an 8255 gross ton passenger liner, was built in 1915 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She maintained a fast (23 knot) passenger service along the Pacific Coast during the next two years and, in 1917-1922, was in U.S. Government service as the Navy transport Great Northern, Army transport Great Northern and Navy fleet flagship Columbia. Returned to merchant service following her March 1922 decommissioning, the ship was the Admiral Steamship Lines’ H.F. Alexander over the following two decades.

During World War I, as the USS Columbia officers are seen in the ward room.  A former public room.

During World War II. 

During World War II she was briefly under British ownership before rejoining the U.S. Army in July 1942. Renamed George S. Simonds later in that year, she was in Army service until March 1946. Regaining the name H.F. Alexander, she was laid up in the Maritime Commission’s reserve fleet facility at Lee Hall, Virginia, from then until sold for scrapping in February 1948.

S.S. H. F. Alexander (former Great Northern)

This could be an ominous sign for Cunard Line’s former liner the QE 2.

The new owners of the QE 2 may scrap her because of the credit crunch. The ship, bought by the ruler of Dubai for £50million, sailed from Britain just three months ago. There had been plans for a major refit to turn her into a sixstar hotel, but those have been scuppered by the economic downturn.

But for the S.S. United States, the possibility of being scrap metal is very real as we learn from the following story.

IKEA AND SS UNITED STATES
By Steven B. Ujifusa
For PlanPhilly

The rusting but still magnificent ocean liner moored near the South Philadelphia IKEA might be on the move after more than a decade of sitting idle. Unless something is done quickly, the S.S. United States – once a floating symbol of American might – could be yanked from her pier, towed to Asia, and run aground on a foul, oil-smeared beach. There, she will be wrenched and sliced into piles of unrecognizable scrap metal.

As of Feb. 10, 2009, Norwegian Cruise Lines/Star Cruises, the S.S. United States’ Hong Kong-based owner, are preparing to sell America’s national flagship to the highest bidder. Judging by the current economic climate, it appears that the most likely purchasers will be Chinese or Indian ship breakers. Right now, it appears that the ship has been transferred from NCL to a holding company.

The glamour and speed of the SS United States attracted celebrity passengers, including Jackie Gleason (top left) and John Wayne (top right). Above: The first-class ballroom, which was auctioned with the rest of the interior fittings in 1984. (Jackie Gleason and John Wayne photographs by Big U Photos. Interior photograph by Mark Perry Collection)

In 2003, NCL purchased the ship with the intention of restoring her as a world-class cruise liner. But these promises have come to naught.

Today, many observers are terrified that the ship- which captured world headlines in July 1952 with its record-breaking maiden voyage from New York to Southampton – will make its final voyage. If she is towed to the breakers, there will be no streamers, cheering well-wishers, or Navy planes soaring overhead to give her a final send off.

Despite the announcement that NCL is listing the 990-foot long liner for sale, advocacy groups such as the (click here for information) S.S. United States Conservancy have not given up hope.

“The word is out that it is for sale,” said Joseph Rota, a board member of the S.S. United States Conservancy and former member of the crew. “We are continuing the battle to save her.” He added, “If the company has hoped to make purchasing the ship legally confusing by transferring her to a holding company, they have accomplished their goal.”

The S.S. United States sailing from New York in the 1950s…

The Conservancy’s webpage has an ominous warning: “The S.S. United States is once again in danger. Her owners, NCL/Star Cruises, intend to list her for sale. We must work together NOW to prevent our nation’s flagship from going to the breakers.” Click here to read more of the PlanPhilly story.

The S.S. United States and QE 2 could end up like the S.S. France (aka S.S. Norway and S.S. Blue Lady) scrapped on the beaches of India two years ago.

This great video uses archival footage and a rare 78rpm recording of the SS United States theme song to highlight the glory days of this fabled ship. The song, “First Lady of the Sea,” was written by brothers Meyer & Emery Davis, who also conducted the ship’s orchestra, and is perhaps a one-of-a-kind demo cut at Apex Records just days before the ship’s maiden voyage in July of 1952.

Please help us save the SS United States by visiting www.ssunitedstatesconservancy.org.

The SS United States leaving New York during the 1950s…

Another video on the SS United States showing celebrity passengers…

This is the Time Magazine announcing the end of the Panama Pacific Lines…

From the May 9, 1938 issue of TIME MAGAZINE

PANAMA PACIFIC LINES OUT

SS California – Transiting the Panama Canal – 1930s…

When the S.S. California was built for the Panama Pacific Line in 1928, she was the largest (17,833 tons) commercial ship ever constructed on U. S. ways, the largest in the world with electric propulsion.

Last week, when the California tied up at Pier 61, Manhattan, near her idle sisters, Pennsylvania and Virginia, it was the first time the three vessels had ever been in port together, the last time any one of them would slip a hawser for Panama Pacific.

Panama Pacific’s coffin had three big nails in it: Last June, after Congress withdrew all ocean mail subsidies, empowering the Maritime Commission to make a new deal, Panama Pacific lost its annual $450,000 mail subsidy and got nothing in its place.

Beginning nine weeks ago, the Panama Canal changed toll charges in such a way that Panama Pacific’s annual expenses would have been increased about $37,000. Third coffin nail was a rusty West Coast labor problem.

As the line prepared last week to dismiss 1,200 men for good & all, Panama Pacific expressed the hope that the Maritime Commission would buy the three idle ships, charter them for operation by other companies between New York and the east coast of South America.

From a 1937 magazine advertisement. A year before Panama Pacific Line ended service.

More advertisements and folders about Panama Pacific Line…

An advertisement tempting Americans Europe-ward, in the 1920s.

The SS United States: ultra-fast in the 1950s and 1960s — but just too late.   “Crossing the Pond” by liner was killed by the Jet.

All those cruise lines advertise what great times the passengers are having. They’re wrong. You use to be able to hang out with crew members.

No more.

Most of the time the cruise lines are pitching junk like spas, art auctions, napkin folding, etc.   Yet the crew are having a blast.

And the following youTUBE video proves it.   This was shot aboard the Norwegian Sun several years ago cruising Hawaii. The cruise lines need to put this on the stage instead of rejects from Vegas showrooms.

The SS United States.

The SS United States was the brainchild of one of the world’s foremost marine architects, William Francis Gibbs. His dream was to build a passenger ship that was faster, safer and more technologically advanced than anything else afloat. It was truly a construction project that challenged conventional thinking. In 1952, his dream became a reality when the SS United States crossed the North Atlantic in 3 days, 10 hours and 42 minutes averaging 35.59 knots (65.48 km/hr or 40.96 mph). The design characteristics encompassing the United States read straight out of a James Bond novel, many remaining classified by the Navy well into the late 70’s: Her 241,000 horsepower engines allowed her to reach a top speed of 43 knots (79.12 km/hr or 49.48 mph)* at 990′6″ in length, she is the largest passenger vessel ever built in the United States. Materials in construction included over 2,000 tons of aluminum; she has a power-to-weight ratio that has never been equaled She could steam 10,000 miles without stopping for fuel or supplies. The ship was totally fireproof, being constructed completely of non-flammable materials (publicists were so fond of pointing out that the only wood on board were in her pianos and the chopping blocks). The SS United States’ $79 million construction cost was heavily underwritten by the federal government. After the wartime success of Britain’s Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, as troop transports, the Navy wanted a superliner of their own that could be easily converted to troopship duty. Such was the case when the British government called on the liner Queen Elizabeth 2 to transport British troops to the Falkland Islands in 1982. The United States was constructed so that in just one day, she could be converted into a troop transport capable of carrying over 15,000 men. She could outrun anything afloat and steam non-stop anywhere in the world in less than 10 days. Although she was briefly on stand-by during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, she was never called to troop-ship duty. Throughout her brief 17-year career, the United States held a near perfect schedule and never experienced an engineering failure. By comparison, the Queen Elizabeth 2 experienced recurring engine troubles that dated as far back as her builder’s sea trials in 1969. It was so plagued with turbine troubles that after being adrift at sea without power on more than two occasions, her troublesome steam turbines were finally replaced with diesel units in 1986. Toward the end of the sixties, the jumbo jet invasion finally took its toll on the famous trans-Atlantic superliners. On frequent sailings, the ship’s 1000-plus crew often outnumbered paying passengers. In November 1969, faced with on-going union troubles and declining profits, the United States was sent to the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in Newport News, Virginia for her annual overhaul. As fate would have it, her boilers were never fired again. As the years passed, she remained docked in Norfolk, Virginia with little hope of revival. The Pentagon, which was largely responsible for her construction, was, ironically, largely responsible for her demise. Because of the ship’s highly secret design specifications, one of the stipulations that was incurred by the government was that the ship could never be sold to foreign interests. In the late 1970’s Norwegian Caribbean Cruise Lines was looking for a large vessel that it could convert to cruise service. After being turned down by the Maritime Administration to purchase the SS United States, the company purchased the idled superliner France from the French government, rechristened her Norway, and returned her to service as the world’s longest cruise ship. In 1973 the Maritime Administration installed an extensive dehumidification system throughout the United States, leaving it virtually airtight. The system proved remarkably well when an unfaded copy of the New York Times from November 1969 was found in a lounge, ten years later. It was evident at this point that the government had no future plans for the United States. Once the proud flagship of a nation, the Maritime Administration now saw the SS United States as a liability on their balance sheet. In 1978, the Maritime Administration accepted a bid of $5 million from Seattle-based United States Cruises Inc. who planned to return the ship to service as the world’s first condominium-style cruise ship. The ship’s new owner, Richard H. Hadley, planned to finance the $150 million refit by selling cabins on a time-share basis. Brochures were printed, press releases issued and even contracts with shipyards signed, but nothing ever came to pass. Unable to pay the mounting dockage fees, in February 1992, United States Cruises Inc. was forced into bankruptcy. U.S Mar-shoals seized the ship and filed a court motion to sell the ship at auction. The ship’s fate was sealed. After a failed attempt at returning her to service, the ss United States, it seemed, would wind up at the ship breakers somewhere in the far east. A stay of execution was granted when Fred Mayer of Marmara Marine Inc., purchased the ship at auction for $2.6 million. Mayer, chairman of Commodore Cruise Lines, emigrated to the United States in the mid-60’s aboard the ss United States. He and his partners, one of which was a wealthy shipyard owner in Istanbul, Turkey, negotiated a plan with Cunard who would operate her as a running mate to the Queen Elizabeth 2. The ship would sail between New York and Southampton in the summer months while the winter months would be spent cruising the tropics. In June 1992, the ship departed U.S. waters in tow, for Istanbul, Turkey, where once financing was secured workers would restore the ship to her former glory. Originally designed as a fireproof ship, asbestos was used extensively in the ship’s interior construction. An asbestos compound called Marinite was used in favor of plywood. The ship was loaded with it and if she were to sail in the 90’s, the compound would have to be removed. Workmen began the arduous process of stripping the ship’s interior right down to her metal bulkheads. As was the case ten years earlier, attempts to secure government assistance in the project proved unsuccessful. Furthermore, faced with corporate restructuring, Cunard was no longer interested in operating another ship, especially one the size of the United States. It was thought that she would never see U.S. waters again, but in July 1996 the SS United States returned to her homeland, but this time to Philadelphia, where the dormant Navy yard would reopen with the task of restoring the superliner to it’s long lost former glory. As before, financing for the enormous project failed to materialize. The ship remains idle, awaiting the final chapter of her story. * It is now known that the SS United States achieved speeds exceeding 44 knots, or 50mph (footnote by the SS United States Foundation).