300x250

THE CHILEAN LINE – South American Steamship Company (Compañía Sud Americana de Vapores – CSAV) from New York to Chile in the 1930s…

May 9, 2013 By

monowai005

Alonso de Ercilla, Chilean Motorship

TRAVEL AND SOCIAL HISTORY – THE CHILEAN LINE – NEW YORK TO CHILE via THE PANAMA CANAL – PERU AND ECUADOR

Steamship History and Cruise History – South American Steamship Company (Compañía Sud Americana de Vapores – CSAV) – Their passenger service did not survive after World War 2.  This is the cover of a folder advertising their first class steamship service from New York.

This Chilean company started service in the 19th Century.  Up until World War 2, the Chilean Line competed with Grace Line with passengers service from New York to Chile and return.

Various Views of their passenger vessels during the 1920s.


Pictured here is one of the sister ships Aconcagua, Copiapo or Imperial (7,237, 7,279 and 7,279 grt, 440 ft. long). These Chilean Line vessels were built in 1937-38, but taken over by the U.S. as troopships in 1943.

[Read more...]

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditlinkedinmail
Filed Under: Cruise History, Cruise Memorabilia, STEAMSHIP LINES

THE GREAT GATSBY STYLE – a 1929 cruise aboard the Swedish America Line’s MS KUNGSHOLM…

May 1, 2013 By

image

Brooks Bros. collection for the new film The Great Gatsby – very 1929 cruising fashion… 

The First Class Lounge on board MS Kungsholm – by many regarded as one of the most beautiful rooms afloat.

The MS Kungsholm (II)/Italia – 1928 – 1965

The MS KUNGSHOLM was built in Hamburg, Germany in 1928.

Her gross registered tonnage was 21,256 and her passenger capacity 1,544.

The Kungsholm inaugurated cruises for SAL on January 19, 1929, when she first visited the Caribbean.

The chic liner made many trans-Atlantic crossings and cruises out of New York.  Exceptional Swedish service, cuisine and atmosphere helped propel SAL to a first class operation until it went out of business in the 1970s.

On January 20, 1940, the Kungsholm made the first South Seas Cruise.

In February 1941, J. D. Salinger (the famous author – Catcher In The Rye) took a position on the entertainment staff of the M.S. Kungsholm, touring the Caribbean for nineteen days.   Upon leaving the ship, Salinger attempts to join the army but is deferred due to a minor heart irregularity.  During the summer, he begins a romantic relationship with Oona O’Neill, daughter of the playwright Eugene O’Neill.

The Kungsholm was taken over by the U.S. government on December 12, 1941. On January 2, 1942, the Swedish flag was lowered and the American flag was raised as the vessel was named John Ericsson.

During World War II John Ericsson served with distinction as a troop transport in the Pacific, the Mediterranean, as well as during the invasion of France in 1944.

She was repurchased by SAL in 1947 and operated by the Home Lines as the Italia. While in Swedish American Line service, the Kungsholm carried 82,745 transatlantic passengers and 58,779 cruise passengers.

[Read more...]

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditlinkedinmail
Filed Under: Cruise History, Cruise Memorabilia, Swedish America Line

CRUISING THE PAST AUCTIONS – RMS TITANIC and RMS QUEEN MARY MEMORABILIA…

April 18, 2013 By

CRUISING THE PAST AUCTIONS – RMS TITANIC and RMS QUEEN MARY MEMORABILIA…

RMS QUEEN MARY AUCTION…

750_1

April 26th: Grogan and Company Auction: LARGE ASSEMBLAGE OF RMS QUEEN MARY ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS, RENDERINGS AND PLANS; Morris & O’Connor, N.Y., Architects; the renderings of various interior sections of the ship comprising approximately 156 loose, unmounted drawings, 11 large scale mounted drawings, 1 framed drawing, 1 blue print booklet, and 2 rolls of miscellaneous blue prints (brittle and torn); some drawings bearing dates 1932-1934; together with RELATED QUEEN MARY EPHEMERA, including a FRAMED PHOTOGRAPH, titled The “534″ Ready for Launching, by Stewart Bale, Liverpool and a DINING TABLE BELL . Between 1915 and 1930 Benjamin Wistar Morris (1870-1944) designed the Cunard Steamship Company Building in New York.

[Read more...]

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditlinkedinmail
Filed Under: Cruise Memorabilia

The RMS QUEEN OF BERMUDA – One of the great mid-century cruise liners…

April 3, 2013 By Leave a Comment

queenb

The RMS Queen of Bermuda docked in Hamilton, Bermuda – 1950s. One of the most beautiful cruise ships of all times. The Furness Line vessel was designed for cruising to Bermuda in the style of a great liner and lasted until 1966.

[Read more...]

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditlinkedinmail
Filed Under: Cruise History, Cruise Memorabilia, STEAMSHIP LINES

Cruise and Social History: Brooke Astor’s disgraced son is allegedly selling a fraudulent RMS TITANIC heirloom pocket watch for one million dollars and claiming it is the one worn by John Jacob Astor to his death…

March 6, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Cruise and Social History: Brooke Astor’s disgraced son is accused of hawking fake heirlooms to Titanic II partiers… 

The Astors were a sailing family… Wonderful video of Brooke Astor sailing on scores of ocean liners from the 1900′s – 1950′s. She died in 2007 aged 105.

Brooke Astor’s son is allegedly trying out a new fraud as he was allegedly hawking a fake gold watch that he claimed belonged to his famous relative who died on the Titanic.

article-2288549-1875C840000005DC-288_634x391

The real watch: Collector John Miottel (pictured) bought the watch that belonged to John Jacob Astor at an auction in 1997.

Anthony ‘Tony’ Marshall, who was convicted of conning his philanthropist mother Brooke Astor out of $60 million in 2009, and he and his current wife Charlene made a rare public appearance last week at a lavish party for a new cruise ship called the Titanic II.

[Read more...]

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditlinkedinmail
Filed Under: Cruise History, Cruise Memorabilia, SOCIAL HISTORY, Titanic

5 STAR CRYSTAL CRUISES CARRIES ON DELUXE PASSENGER TRADITIONS OF THE GREAT NYK LINE…

February 21, 2013 By Leave a Comment

THE M/V HIKAWA MARU was operated by the NYK Line (now Crystal Cruises). She was the only Japanese passenger vessel to survive WW 2. In her 30 years of service, the HIKAWA MARU crossed the pacific 254 times, carrying around 25,000 passengers and a great volume of cargo.

Screen shot 2013-02-21 at 8.17.44 AM

5 Stars Rating: Crystal Cruises maintains the great glamor, first class standards and excitement of ocean travel.   When getting there was half the fun.  

CC131

nyk ad posCrystal Cruises Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of NYK Line,  currently has two large, luxury-class cruise ships, Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity. These ships are highly regarded around the world, and the company has won the prestigious Travel & Leisure magazine’s World’s Best Large-Ship Cruise Line award for 16 consecutive years, an unprecedented achievement in the industry.  Cruising The Past awards the Crystal Cruises one of the best and most reliable cruises lines operating. Carrying on the great tradition of the NYK Line.

A brief history of NYK Line… 

Michael L. Grace is an authority on the history of NYK Line and trans-Pacific passenger services.

[Read more...]

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditlinkedinmail
Filed Under: Cruise History, Cruise Memorabilia, cruise reviews, CRYSTAL CRUISES, Nippon Yusen Kaisha NYK LINE, STEAMSHIP LINES

Rumor Mill Over Dubai-Based QE2 Liner Scrap Threat – Former owner Cunard Line dismisses reports that the Queen Elizabeth II liner will be scrapped.

December 28, 2012 By 1 Comment

Cruise History and News: Rumor Mill Over Dubai-Based QE2 Liner Scrap Threat – Former owner Cunard Line dismisses reports that the Queen Elizabeth II liner will be scrapped.

As reactions spread around the globe on Facebook, Twitter, newspapers comments and enthusiasts’ websites, Cunard have felt it necessary to issue a statement on their own Facebook page regarding the UK Daily Mail’s story recently on speculation that the QE2, the last of the Clydebuilt Queens, was on its way to Chinese breakers.

Cruising The Past found many conflicting stories regarding the QE2 scrapping. Cunard Line contacted the current owners of the QUEEN ELIZABETH 2 and then posted the following on their Facebook page:

“We have noted the messages of understandable concern with regard to the recent article in the Daily Mail with reference to QE2. We remain in close contact with Dubai and can reassure you that to the very best of our knowledge this story is pure speculation – one of a number of stories and rumors as we have seen over recent months.”

The Facebook statement was followed by many expressions of disbelief and comments from people who refuse to accept Cunard’s assurances.

[Read more...]

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditlinkedinmail
Filed Under: Cruise History, Cruise Memorabilia, CUNARD LINE

HISTORY – MOORE-McCORMACK LINES

October 19, 2012 By 2 Comments

History – Moore-McCormack Lines…  the SS Brazil

On the 9th July 1913 Messrs. McCormack and Moore (both just shy of 33 years of age) formed Moore & McCormack Company, Incorporated, to charter ships, then to own them.  Capitalized at $5,000 with three officer-directors (Henry F. Molloy, as Secretary), with two desks in a ninth floor office of an eleven-story building at 29 Broadway and with ambitions, plans, and hopes as the Company’s major assets.

On the 16th January 1921 a new direct steamship line between Philadelphia, Cork, Dublin and Londonderry was announced by Director Sproul of the Department of Wharves, Docks and Ferries.  The line was operated by Moore & McCormack Company, Inc.

In 1926 Moore & McCormack, Inc., as operators, took over the Republics Line which consisted of 11 steamers and the motorship, Tampa. In 1927 the American Scantic Line was sold to Moore &McCormack and was improved under private ownership, with the Pennsylvania railroad eventually purchasing an important interest in it. The American Scantic Line was the first of the Shipping Board lines to enter into agreements with competitive foreign lines under which the United States acquired an equal division of the freight moving between American and foreign ports.  The next year the service was extended by adding Leningrad and Gdynia to the ships‘ ports of call.  Mooremack played an influential part in the transformation of Gdynia from a small fishing village into a valuable seaport not only for Poland but for all Central Europe.

[Read more...]

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditlinkedinmail
Filed Under: Cruise History, Cruise Memorabilia, MOORE-MCCORMICK, SOCIAL HISTORY, STEAMSHIP LINES

FIRST CLASS HISTORY: CRYSTAL CRUISE LINES AND ITS NOBEL PARENTS – NIPPON YUSEN KAISHA (NYK LINE)

September 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment

FIRST CLASS HISTORY: CRYSTAL CRUISE LINES  AND ITS NOBEL PARENTS – NIPPON YUSEN KAISHA (NYK LINE)

Excellent Video: N.Y.K. Line passenger ship M.S. Chichibu Maru sets sail in 1935 for Shanghai, Hawaii and San Francisco.  The video is probably one of the few surviving films of NYK’s great passenger service. 

The NYK Line seal proudly graces the bow of each Crystal Cruises ship.

Crystal Cruise Lines, most commonly seen as Crystal Cruises, is a Japanese luxury cruise line founded in 1988 and notable for its two medium-sized, high-end ships, Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity, which each hold about 1,000 guests. The line is a wholly owned subsidiary of the large Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kaisha – providing excellent travel since 1885.

The Crystal Serenity: The NYK Line seal proudly graces the bow of each Crystal Cruises ship.

Cruising The Past awards Crystal Cruise Lines for offering a shipboard experience that reflects the luxury of the great liners during the 1950s. Crystal presents first class travel that is first class. Their ships are deluxe and are not floating Vegas Strip resorts. Readers of Condé Nast Traveler have voted the line Best Large-Ship Cruise Line for 17 years. Readers of Travel + Leisure have voted Crystal Cruises World’s Best for 16 consecutive years. Both ships travel the world and visit destinations. The luxury cruise line also offers a World Cruise on the Crystal Serenity each year of about 110 days in length.

Crystal Cruises announed that their cruise fares became all-inclusive starting in the Spring of 2012.

NYK LINE M.S. CHICHIBU MARU - California Orient Service 1930s...

STORY OF NYK LINE: NIPPON YUSEN KAISHA

“NYK gained prominence in the North American cruise market by building Crystal Harmony in 1990. We are pleased with what Crystal Cruises has become and accomplished in the market. We understand that the cruise population has tripled since the time when we started our study on cruise business back in 1988. NYK firmly believes in the continuous growth of the cruise market and therefore, we are committed to increase our presence in the cruise industry.”
— Mr. Takao Kusakari, President, NYK Line

[Read more...]

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditlinkedinmail
Filed Under: Cruise Memorabilia, CRUISE SHIP REVIEWS, CRUISING THE PAST VIDEOS, Nippon Yusen Kaisha NYK LINE, STEAMSHIP LINES

THE REAL STORY: RMS TITANIC

June 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment

For over a decade, “Titanic” stood as the world’s top-grossing movie, an epic tale of love, adventure, disaster and sacrifice.

When it was made, James Cameron was lauded for his attention to detail and accuracy, but modern technology and new theories are telling a different story of what really happened to the “unsinkable” ship.

Smithsonian interviews historians, engineers, and scientists for their expert testimony. The Smithsonian even set simulated sail aboard a virtual Titanic to retrace the final moments before impact, and get to the bottom of the truth.

Click here to view this excellent video from the SMITHSONIAN CHANNEL.

A century has sailed by since the luxury steamship RMS Titanic met its catastrophic end in the North Atlantic, plunging two miles to the ocean floor after sideswiping an iceberg during its maiden voyage. Rather than the intended Port of New York, a deep-sea grave became the pride of the White Star Line’s final destination in the early hours of April 15, 1912.

More than 1,500 people lost their lives in the disaster. In the decades since her demise, Titanic has inspired countless books and several notable films while continuing to make headlines, particularly since the 1985 discovery of her resting place off the coast of Newfoundland. Meanwhile, her story has entered the public consciousness as a powerful cautionary tale about the perils of human hubris.

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditlinkedinmail
Filed Under: Cruise History, Cruise Memorabilia, STEAMSHIP LINES, Titanic, WHITE STAR - CUNARD LINE
« Older Posts