Heard Along the Promenade Deck
Northern Waters
Two splendidly moodful photos from fellow author & shipboard lecturer David Perry, who was on an Alaska itinerary aboard Holland America’s Westerdam. He caught passing ships Celebrity Edge and Discovery Princess.
Theme Cruising
In late April, the Pacific World, the former Sun Princess, cast off from Yokohama. The ship was away on a round-the-world cruise for the Peace Boat Organization. According to the not-for-profit organization, the 103-night cruise will include visits to 23 destinations in 19 countries. The 120th voyage will continue to highlight and amplify the voices and actions of people around the world working to build peace. Celebrating 80 years since the end of World War II, the cruise will host the “Time for Peace” project, which aims to connect individuals and organizations dedicated to peace-building and conflict prevention around the globe. The sold-out voyage has 1,700 passengers aboard.
Mail from Brazil
Nelson Carrera wrote: “Your views of mornings over Manhattan bring me a lot of memories. I was 13 and saw Eugenio C entering Santos port on her maiden voyage, September 10, 1966, a Saturday.”
Slow Passage!
A now long retired businessman from Rhinebeck, New York, told me (and as he sipped his espresso martini) of a college graduation present to Europe.
“The date was May 1959 and I sailed from your hometown [Hoboken] on a little Dutch passenger ship called Groote Beer [Great Bear in English and seen below departing from Rotterdam]. It was an old wartime transport later made over to carry immigrants, low-fare students and maybe the odd tourist traveling on a tight budget. My fare, for the 9 or 10 days from Hoboken to Rotterdam, was $110 as I remember. I shared with 5 other students in a six-bunk room. It was really quite awful. The ship tossed and rolled – and even in the calmest seas! It was like an empty tin can! Lots of people were seasick. But I was lucky – I was not. The food was very basic and service simple, but we had fun. There were 800 onboard, fully-booked, and no privacy. The shower and the toilet were down a long corridor. And sometimes you had to wait! We passed the time with reading, afternoon & evening parties and drinking lots of very cheap Dutch beer.”
He added, “Then, after a summer wandering around Europe, I made my way back to Rotterdam, coincidentally rejoined the Groote Beer and returned to Hoboken (and soon began looking for a job). These days, I’ve made 20 or 30 trips on Silversea – in a suite, with my very own big bathroom and an attentive butler! Yes, quite a difference from that trip on the Groote Beer!”
German Style!
Our good friend Dieter Killinger replied to our recent posting of the German liner Berlin. “Thanks for this. Fond memories! As you know, I was a booking clerk for North German Lloyd from 1962 to 1964 and booking passengers on the MS Berlin was my first assignment. Fares began at $189 one way to Bremerhaven. Our offices were in the then fairly new 666 Fifth Avenue (on the 33rd floor). We had about 30 employees and I was assigned berthing books for Berlin departures. Nowadays, most people don’t know the meaning of using berthing books. They were huge green books that covered the whole desk when opened. One lived with these books until sailing day and then one closed them down. The Berlin sailed at 11 AM. Staff was allowed to sleep onboard the night prior. We were assigned a first class cabin. They were huge. First Class was small as most cabins were in Tourist. We had breakfast in the elegant First Class Dining Room. There was a small caged elevator one rode down on just as in the movies of those days. One could close one’s eyes and imagine Greta Garbo sailing to New York on the Gripsholm (as she was then named). Passengers were mostly German and I was often required to speak German which honed my skills at bettering my knowledge of the language. Those were wonderful days. I wouldn’t have missed them for the world.”
Long Ago Days!
Rob Lewis, a fellow guest, served as a cabin steward on Cunard, aboard the Queen Mary [seen below at Southampton] & Queen Elizabeth, in 1958-59. “I did about 10 trips to New York [from Southampton],” he recalled. “The Queens carried passengers in three classes [first, cabin & tourist class] and were tightly segregated. But I remember there were divisions among the staff & crew as well. There was a very rigid hierarchy. A first class crew member would barely associate or even speak with crew from cabin class and – never, ever – from tourist class. And they would never be seen together ashore. And I also remember that some stewards, waiters & bartenders in first class often made massive tips — $50 and even $100 from rich Americans. Some stewards & waiters actually drove home in a Bentley while the captain went home on a train!”
(CruiseNews is proud to reprint Bill Miller’s dispatches with permission. Heard Along the Promenade Deck draws from Miller’s Scribblings, Lives of the Liners, and Millergram.)
