Who remembers this name in Pacific cruising?

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Crystal Serenity is cruising across the Pacific . Yesterday she was at Guam and today at Saipan in the Marianas Islands. Could not help noticing the name on the containers on the wharf. Matson. It used to be a big name in crusing with regular calls to both AU and NZ , but now just does cargo around the Pacific , based in Hawaii.

 

[Sandielle]

Oh, the name Matson rang a tiny little bell for me, but I couldn't remember the ships. Mr Google came to the rescue - Mariposa and Monterey. I recall those names but not where they sailed. :D

 

Mariposa

 

Monterey

 

More info here

http://www.lastoceanliners.com/cgi/lolline.pl?MAT

[Suiteaft]

Almost 60 years ago I was on board the SS Lurline for lunch with my Grandmother and Great Aunt. They were about to sail from San Francisco to the Hawaiian Islands. I credit them with my love of the sea and cruise ships!

I believe the ship belonged to Matson lines.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Some of their old posters....

 

 

 

 

[LibbyLee]

Crystal Serenity is cruising across the Pacific . Yesterday she was at Guam and today at Saipan in the Marianas Islands. Could not help noticing the name on the containers on the wharf. Matson. It used to be a big name in crusing with regular calls to both AU and NZ , but now just does cargo around the Pacific , based in Hawaii.

 

Hi. As a child I sailed on both the Mariposa and Monterey from Sydney to Hawaii and then Hawaii to Sydney another occasion. Great ships, wonderful memories of both. My first tast of cruising from a young age and now 40 years on still loving it. Those were the days we threw streamers from the ship to the wharf before moving out from the wharf.

[kuldalai]

The Matson Line ships Mariposa and Monterey were not cruise ships, they were ocean liners and till the early 1970's both ships provided the regular Trans Pacific passenger service between the US West Coast and Sydney in Australia.

 

The arrival of the Boeing 747 revolutionized air travel for the masses and made air travel affordable for the majority of travellers for the first time.

 

As such in the early 1970's the great ocean liner routes of the world including London - New York (Original Queen Mary & Queen Elizabeth), London - Melbourne - Sydney (P & O UK many liners), and Sydney - US West Coast (Mariposa & Monterey) virtually ceased to exist overnight .

 

Matson lines still exists today as a freight carrier. In Europe MSC whilst primarily a freight operator, does also operate in the passenger cruise business .

[LibbyLee]

The Matson Line ships Mariposa and Monterey were not cruise ships, they were ocean liners and till the early 1970's both ships provided the regular Trans Pacific passenger service between the US West Coast and Sydney in Australia.

 

The arrival of the Boeing 747 revolutionized air travel for the masses and made air travel affordable for the majority of travellers for the first time.

 

As such in the early 1970's the great ocean liner routes of the world including London - New York (Original Queen Mary & Queen Elizabeth), London - Melbourne - Sydney (P & O UK many liners), and Sydney - US West Coast (Mariposa & Monterey) virtually ceased to exist overnight .

 

Matson lines still exists today as a freight carrier. In Europe MSC whilst primarily a freight operator, does also operate in the passenger cruise business .

That is true......It was early 1971 when I sailed on SS Monterey. At the time it certainly was quite comparably cheaper to travel from Sydney to Hawaii with a family of five versus flying. In 1976 when I sailed on SS Mariposa from Hawaii to Sydney, it was probably similar....but oh what a great way to see the South Pacific. I remember it stopping in Tahiti, particularly Moorea for the day, then Raratonga, Cook Islands and New Zealand.

It may not have been a 'cruise ship' in the same fashion as these days cruise ships however I remember the activities, entertainment, and food to be very similar and in fact, there was a person called the 'cruise director' in charge of entertainment.

In that time, it was quite common to actually be invited to sit at the Captain's table for dinner. Most of the officers would be seated at one table or another. There were cocktail party and dancing etc.

Does anyone else have similar memories of these ships?

[cmlvngstn]

Thanks for the memories! Took the SS Mariposa (Pacific Far East Lines) in summer of 1976 to Hawaii. It was a wonderful time!

[MMDown Under]

 

The arrival of the Boeing 747 revolutionized air travel for the masses and made air travel affordable for the majority of travellers for the first time.

 

As such in the early 1970's the great ocean liner routes of the world including London - New York (Original Queen Mary & Queen Elizabeth), London - Melbourne - Sydney (P & O UK many liners), and Sydney - US West Coast (Mariposa & Monterey) virtually ceased to exist overnight .

 

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Yes, the introduction of affordable air travel changed shipping for ever. I was on the last P&O ship which called at Bombay to exchange its crew, as it became cheaper to fly the crew to the ships.

[cmlvngstn]

I just completed a cruise through the Norwegian fjords and was so disappointed. The ship was enormous. I was spoiled by the PFEL liners.