Passengers Share Timeless Stories at Sea

ByBill Miller

Peace Boat

The latest version, the former Sun Princess, visited New York this summer. An earlier ship, the chartered Topaz, had a long if prior New York connection – it had been the Empress of Britain and then the Greek Queen Anna Maria. Later, it went on to become the Carnivale, Carnival’s 2nd ship, then the Fiesta Marina and Olympic.

The Topaz, an earlier Peace Boat bunkers at Manhattan Cruise Terminal. From the William H. Miller collection.
The Topaz, an earlier Peace Boat bunkers at Manhattan Cruise Terminal. From the William H. Miller collection.

West Side Memories

A fellow guest told me: “I listened to your lecture and a flood of memories followed. My father worked on the Manhattan piers, the ones called Luxury Liner Row, from 44th to 57th streets. We lived nearby, along West 52nd Street. Back in the 1950s, I was a young girl and sometimes my father would take my brother and I aboard some of those beautiful ships. I seem to remember names like Queen Mary, Flandre and Independence. It was exciting – a sort of wonderland but it moved. Once we were there for the departure and when paper streamers were tossed, the whistles sounded and everyone waved goodbye. What a wonderful era, a grand time! It is not the same these days at, say, Kennedy Airport!”

"Luxury Liner Row" on an April morning in 1959: the Media (top), Mauretania (departing), Queen Mary, Ivernia, Liberte, United States and Giulio Cesare. From the William H. Miller. collection.
“Luxury Liner Row” on an April morning in 1959: the Media (top), Mauretania (departing), Queen Mary, Ivernia, Liberte, United States and Giulio Cesare. From the William H. Miller. collection.

Special Voyage

Fellow guest Maria was just 20 when she emigrated from Naples to New York. It was back in July 1960 and on board the westbound maiden voyage of the gleamingly new Leonardo da Vinci. “It was exciting,” she told me. “There was a special sense of festivity, of happiness, of pride. When we reached New York, it was a grand ending: tugs and fireboats and helicopters greeting us. Colorful flags were strung from end to end on the ship.”

Leonardo da Vinci was one of the most advanced ships of her time, with modern safety systems designed in direct response to the Andrea Doria disaster. She is pictured here on her maiden arrival at New York Harbor in June 1960. From the William H. Miller collection.
Leonardo da Vinci was one of the most advanced ships of her time, with modern safety systems designed in direct response to the Andrea Doria disaster. She is pictured here on her maiden arrival at New York Harbor in June 1960. From the William H. Miller collection.

Down Under

Another guest who migrated in 1964 on the Fairsea of the Sitmar Line, traveling from Southampton to Sydney, told me, “We thought it was exciting, even thrilling. The ship was full, mostly with Brits on the 10-pound migration scheme, but it had mostly an Italian crew. And the food was very Italian – actually my very first sampling of pasta!”

Originally laid down in 1941 as an escort aircraft carrier as USS Charger for the U.S. Navy, but was transferred to the Royal Navy and renamed HMS Charger during WWII. After the war she was stripped and rebuilt into a passenger ship. From the William H. Miller collection.
Originally laid down in 1941 as an escort aircraft carrier as USS Charger for the U.S. Navy, but was transferred to the Royal Navy and renamed HMS Charger during WWII. After the war she was stripped and rebuilt into a passenger ship. From the William H. Miller collection.

Pacific Voyages

This summer, ocean liner historian and master collector Clive Harvey penned a fine article on the famed Matson Line trio of sister ships: Mariposa, Monterey and Lurline (of 1931-32).

A colorized photo of the Mariposa and Monterey at Pago Pago in 1940. From the William H. Miller collection.
A colorized photo of the Mariposa and Monterey at Pago Pago in 1940. From the William H. Miller collection.

The three liners were solidly built, beautifully decorated and went on to long and colorful lives. The Marposa and Monterey sailed between San Francisco and Los Angeles and the South Pacific, including Australia and New Zealand; the Lurline was assigned to shorter San Francisco-Los Angeles-Honolulu service.

A quick review: In 1953, the Marposa was sold off to become the Homeric of Home Lines; the Lurline became the Ellinis for Chandris in 1963; and the Monterey, which became the Matsonia in 1957 (and seen below) became the Lurline in 1963, but then also joined Chandris (in 1970), becoming the long-lived Britanis. 

Marposa was sold to Home Lines and became the Homeric. From the William H. Miller Collection.
Marposa was sold to Home Lines and became the Homeric. From the William H. Miller Collection.
Lurline became the Ellinis for Chandris in 1963. From the William H. Miller Collection.
Lurline became the Ellinis for Chandris in 1963. From the William H. Miller Collection.
Lurline also joined Chandris in 1970 and became the long-lived Britanis, picutred laid-up at Tampa at the end of her days in 1997. From the William H. Miller collection.
Lurline also joined Chandris in 1970 and became the long-lived Britanis, pictured laid-up at Tampa at the end of her days in 1997. From the William H. Miller collection.

Honeymoon

A couple from Florida told me that their honeymoon, back in 1967, was on the immensely popular Oceanic of Home Lines.

“We sailed on a Saturday afternoon, New York down to Nassau and back. $200 a person. The ship was so beautiful, so modern, so shiny and immaculate. But it was the incredible service and especially the food. I still remember Luigi, our waiter. Charming, handsome – he could have been a movie star! Afterward, we made six trips on the Oceanic – and some longer, to the Caribbean. It remains our favorite ship ever!”

The Oceanic (right) and Atlantic at New York in 1985. From the William H. Miller collection.
The Oceanic (right) and Atlantic at New York in 1985. From the William H. Miller collection.

Tales at Lunch & Dinner

My talks prompt maritime memories. A couple from Florida how they endured a “huge” storm off Cape Horn. “Our ship [the Celebrity Millennium] nearly capsized. Everything seemed to crash!” 

Another Florida couple noted, “We were only two of about 25 passengers left on the Zaandam when Covid and the lockdown started. Happily, we made it home!”  

A lady from Brisbane told me that as a young girl she made a trip around the world with her grandparents in 1963. “We went from Sydney to Auckland, Fiji and Honolulu and then to Vancouver on the Oriana. Then we crossed Canada by rail and then down to New York. From there, we took the Queen Mary across to Southampton. Then after three weeks in England, we caught another P&O-Orient Lines’ ship, the Arcadia, sailing from London to Marseilles, Naples, Suez, Colombo and to Fremantle, Melbourne & finally home to Sydney. The entire trip took six months!”

The Oriana at dock. From the William H. Miller collection.
The Oriana at dock. From the William H. Miller collection.

Finally, a guest from Port Elizabeth in South Africa noted: “Yes, I remember all the Union-Castle liners and sailed on many of them. They were wonderful ships – all true ocean liners. They were the link to Britain. But South Africans used them for local ‘mini cruises’ – Capetown to Durban via East London and Port Elizabeth. My favorite was the Pretoria Castle.”

Pretoria Castle from the William H. Miller collection.
Pretoria Castle from the William H. Miller collection.

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