Rutland Gate

My brother (retired Army Major General) and I (Army Captain, retired as totally and permanently service connected disabled) have worn Mess Dress on all of our cruises for the last twenty years. We have always met good people and made good conversation. Some of the comments have been touching. Never any disrespect.

My two unmarried Aunts taught school and had their summers free to travel. We lived not far from New York City, and each June my father (and later I) would load their luggage and drive them to their ship for their summer adventure. This was in the 1950's, when there was no TSA and no Terrorists. If you were with a passenger, you could board the ships and tour for a few hours until the call "All Ashore Thats Going Ashore" came over the loudspeakers. In this way I had self-tours of the Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, Rotterdam, France and the Gripsholm. Each had it's own style, and on sailing day everything was polished and in full dress. Those early experiences brought me back to the ships on my own many years later. I think I stick with Holland America Line because of the Ocean Liner feel of their ships remind me of those happy days.

In the early 1960's I began driving my Aunts (two single schoolteachers) from Scranton, Pennsylvania to the Port of New York to put them on their annual summer trip. In those days there was no restriction on visitors on the ships - they would call "All Ashore That's Going Ashore" about forty five minutes before sailing. So I got to see the Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary and Gripsholm for a few hours each. It was a few years later that I began my own travel, first on the Italian Lines Leonardo Da Vinci, then Home Lines Homeric. We finally found our home with Holland America Line, and have over one hundred days on HAL ships, including the magnificent SS Rotterdam, now a museum in Holland. We'll be on the Noordam on February 12 for the Southern Caribbean, and the Oosterdam in the Mediterranean on April 25. Then a transatlantic in October. Too much Fun!

In the early 1960's I began driving my Aunts (two single schoolteachers) from Scranton, Pennsylvania to the Port of New York to put them on their annual summer trip. In those days there was no restriction on visitors on the ships - they would call "All Ashore That's Going Ashore" about forty five minutes before sailing. So I got to see the Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary and Gripsholm for a few hours each. It was a few years later that I began my own travel, first on the Italian Lines Leonardo Da Vinci, then Home Lines Homeric. We finally found our home with Holland America Line, and have over one hundred days on HAL ships, including the magnificent SS Rotterdam, now a museum in Holland. We'll be on the Noordam on February 12 for the Southern Caribbean, and the Oosterdam in the Mediterranean on April 25. Then a transatlantic in October. Too much Fun!

The first was the Leonardo da Vinci in 1972. A magnificent ocean liner with well appointed formal public rooms and a lot of music around the ship. This was a cruise, but the transatlantic nature of the ship was apparent.

The first was the Leonardo da Vinci in 1972. A magnificent ocean liner with well appointed formal public rooms and a lot of music around the ship. This was a cruise, but the transatlantic nature of the ship was apparent.