Great Cruising Memories

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, CGTNORMANDIE said:

Most of the seafood restaurants here, near the ocean, are sit down and dine...knives and forks, plates and no newspaper! 🙂. 

 

We are fortunate in Metro Vancouver, as we have an excellent "Chippie" chain that offers both dine-in and carry-out. Rather than eating in, lately we get a carryout and enjoy finger food in the truck.

[Lowiepete]

Ahhh, finger-food. It's about where I came in really - making sure that history doesn't get too distorted. CGT himself mentioned not liking beer batter, but does anyone know why it was traditionally made with beer? Fish cooked in beer batter should, correctly, be fried in animal fats with a flavour all of their own. Whereas, today they use a completely tasteless and homogenised plant based oil.

 

Beer was used in batter because, in early Victorian Britain, you could not trust the water. Also, with the fizziness of the beer, and indeed cider, they also found that you could cover more fish with a thinner coating that also didn't drip, or drop off, into the cooking fat as much. The best bit of going to the chippy, back in the days before the more recent veggie fat, was asking for a scoop of "scraps" - lovely crunchy pieces of well-fried batter. Those were the real days!

 

Eating fish and chips with a knife and fork? Oh, the ostentation of it 😉

 

Regards,

Steve

 

 

Edited February 7, 2021 by Lowiepete
not disabled fingers friendly this software!

[shipgeeks]

The word YUMMMMM was mentioned a few posts back.  Some time prior to that was Steve's mention of Caronia Green Goddess ice cream.  That sounds yummmmm to me; even better than Celebrity's After Eight, or my grocery store's Mint Chocolate Chip, both of which are quite good.

[rkacruiser]

1 hour ago, Lowiepete said:

 

Beer was used in batter because, in early Victorian Britain, you could not trust the water. Also, with the fizziness of the beer, and indeed cider, they also found that you could cover more fish with a thinner coating that also didn't drip, or drop off, into the cooking fat as much.

 

Never knew that.  I continue to learn.

 

For my taste, the difference in flavor between a batter for seafood that is beer based or not is not distinguishable.  

[rkacruiser]

19 hours ago, CGTNORMANDIE said:

AHHHHH...no...I’ll admit to a whopper

 

I prefer a Big Mac.  Do you recall a burger chain called Burger Chef?  Not sure how wide spread they were in the country, but their Big Chef was delicious, I thought.  

 

18 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

Haddock & Chips is my favourite.

 

Haddock is a delicious fish and once was an inexpensive one.  Due to over fishing, if one finds it on a menu, it's not as inexpensive as it once was.  

 

I agree with your Haddock & Chips.  But, as I posted earlier, the Halibut & Chips that I enjoyed in a small restaurant in Juneau was the best of that type that I have eaten.  

[CGTNORMANDIE]

3 hours ago, Lowiepete said:

Ahhh, finger-food. It's about where I came in really - making sure that history doesn't get too distorted. CGT himself mentioned not liking beer batter, but does anyone know why it was traditionally made with beer? Fish cooked in beer batter should, correctly, be fried in animal fats with a flavour all of their own. Whereas, today they use a completely tasteless and homogenised plant based oil.

 

Beer was used in batter because, in early Victorian Britain, you could not trust the water. Also, with the fizziness of the beer, and indeed cider, they also found that you could cover more fish with a thinner coating that also didn't drip, or drop off, into the cooking fat as much. The best bit of going to the chippy, back in the days before the more recent veggie fat, was asking for a scoop of "scraps" - lovely crunchy pieces of well-fried batter. Those were the real days!

 

Eating fish and chips with a knife and fork? Oh, the ostentation of it 😉

 

Regards,

Steve

 

 

Way back in the 1970’s when I owned a restaurant (everyone has a restaurant fantasy) we fried in lard.  I know this is not healthy but the flavor of the fried food was fantastic.  Up here in New England we have a two dip method whereby the fish gets dunked in a milky liquid mix and then placed into the seasoned flour mixture and placed in the fryer...very nice.  

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, rkacruiser said:

Haddock is a delicious fish and once was an inexpensive one.  Due to over fishing, if one finds it on a menu, it's not as inexpensive as it once was.  

 

I agree with your Haddock & Chips.  But, as I posted earlier, the Halibut & Chips that I enjoyed in a small restaurant in Juneau was the best of that type that I have eaten.  

 

Totally agree with Halibut. Still remember the best Halibut I have enjoyed. It was on the local ferries, when we picked up some fresh Halibut, right off the boat in Prince Rupert. The cook made a crew special that evening. OMG, it was amazing.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

43 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Totally agree with Halibut. Still remember the best Halibut I have enjoyed. It was on the local ferries, when we picked up some fresh Halibut, right off the boat in Prince Rupert. The cook made a crew special that evening. OMG, it was amazing.

Halibut is a luxury fish these days.  The fish market I patronize would charge about $20 per pound for fresh halibut.  It is some of the best fish in the world.  I once did a dinner for two hundred at a special event.  The fish course was fresh Halibut Mornay...superb.   

[CGTNORMANDIE]

Great bartenders we have known...

I remember Jesse who I met onboard Celebrity Horizon in 1998.  Jesse was a hot ticket who was always ready to prepare your favorite beverage at lightning speed.  He was so fast he had the nickname of Jesse James.

 

[rkacruiser]

On 2/15/2021 at 10:01 AM, CGTNORMANDIE said:

Great bartenders we have known...

I remember Jesse who I met onboard Celebrity Horizon in 1998.  Jesse was a hot ticket who was always ready to prepare your favorite beverage at lightning speed.  He was so fast he had the nickname of Jesse James.

 

 

In this discussion, may we include outstanding wine stewards?

 

2002, Volendam's Asia Pacific Cruise, my table's wine steward's name was Sumi.  When he first told me his name, I thought:  you are joking.  Why would I was to Sue you?  Then, I got smart, and I realized that really was his name.  He helped to educate me in vinology and introduced me to wines that I would never have considered.  

 

2008, Amsterdam's Grand World Voyage:  my table's wine steward was Roy.  He also was very guest friendly, provided great service and added to my education about wines.  The poor man was subjected, however, by a gentleman at my table of 8 who "thought" he knew more about wine than Roy.  Lengthy discussions between the two resulted and the non-verbal behavior of Roy's was not very positive towards my tablemate.  But, Roy never flinched from providing excellent service.  

 

During our visit to Manila, I had the opportunity to encounter Roy and his family while I was ashore.  It is one of my most personnel highlights of that Grand World Voyage. 

 

I think about Roy and Sumi often.  I have photos where I daily see them.  I hope their families and them are well.

 

 

[CGTNORMANDIE]

Good one RK.  It’s always grand when you can establish a personal relationship.  

[rkacruiser]

19 hours ago, CGTNORMANDIE said:

Good one RK.  It’s always grand when you can establish a personal relationship.  

 

Such a relationship sometimes results in a better drink.  Attending the sailaway party at Vancouver in 2019 on the Westerdam, the bartender that served me recognized me from a previous cruise.  "I remember you, Sir ....."  (I was surprised because I did not initially recognize him.)  I had ordered a CC-7.  He filled the glass half-full with CC!  

[CGTNORMANDIE]

I made 4 cruises on RCI Jewel off the Seas.  The top deck lounge was always the dedicated Concierge Lounge where we would meet every evening for cocktails.  We had a bar crew of 4 people who were from the Philippines.  That bar crew remained the same for all 3 cruises that I was on from 2007-2009.  They knew me by name and they knew what to pour as soon as I arrived...the French 75...LOL.  Every night I would begin with a French 75...and go on from there.  There is nothing better than having a close personal repore with your bartenders.  

[Lowiepete]

Hello Folks,

 

I'm gonna let this fly for a couple more days, then do what I usually do and turn it on its head. I should warn that the story may contain attitudes that were prevalent back then (1960s) which you'd be correct at frowning about now...

 

Regards,

Steve

 

[shipgeeks]

Steve, I'm looking forward to your story.....

Re being recognized by crew:  I'm always amazed when this happens to us.  We are not unusual looking (no green hair, no 6-foot beard).  And yet we were warmly greeted by the man who had been our cabin steward two years earlier, when we unexpectedly met him in the corridor, as well as by some of the bar servers from time to time.  It's a gift.

 

[CGTNORMANDIE]

31 minutes ago, Lowiepete said:

Hello Folks,

 

I'm gonna let this fly for a couple more days, then do what I usually do and turn it on its head. I should warn that the story may contain attitudes that were prevalent back then (1960s) which you'd be correct at frowning about now...

 

Regards,

Steve

 

Let it rip Steve...that’s what we are here for!😂

 

[rkacruiser]

36 minutes ago, Lowiepete said:

Hello Folks,

 

I'm gonna let this fly for a couple more days, then do what I usually do and turn it on its head. I should warn that the story may contain attitudes that were prevalent back then (1960s) which you'd be correct at frowning about now...

 

Regards,

Steve

 

 

4 minutes ago, CGTNORMANDIE said:

Let it rip Steve...that’s what we are here for!😂

 

 

10 minutes ago, shipgeeks said:

Re being recognized by crew:  I'm always amazed when this happens to us. 

 

As well as I am amazed.  How do they remember us?  For me, there have been certain crew members that particularly stand out in my memory for a variety of reasons, i.e. an Assistant DR Steward whose service for my table was excellent, but at a neighboring table, those guests were always displeased with Joko.  He was unfairly "dumped on" regularly by those guests.  

[Heidi13]

On the Sea Princess WC, one of the Accom Supervisors came to our cabin, welcoming us by name and mentioning that he was our cabin steward on a ship 7 or 8 years previous. He also mentioned that he thought our son worked on the ship, as an officer.

 

Our son was S/2/O on that ship. It blows me away that they remember that level of detail.

[Lowiepete]

Hello Folks,

 

We go back to late December 1964. I've been transferred, at short notice, away from standby for the Caronia's 1965 Great World Cruise instead to board the RMS Carmania. She's scheduled to do a series of 12 to 17 day cruises from Ft. Lauderdale to the Caribbean, finishing from New York with a month in the Mediterranean ending at Southampton in late May.

 

I have to say that from the outset of boarding that ship I daily / hourly cursed the clerk back in the Cunard office who had issued that transfer order. I had no choice but to comply. Basically, we were "company servants" and they treated us with that level of scorn. My orders were to be sailing to the US the very next afternoon, instead of enjoying several more days at home. Every time I think of it, I shudder!

 

Carmania had not long been converted from a Canada run ship into another Cunard Cruising Green liner and renamed. The other piece of "history" being the Irish "troubles" and that there were many Irish and Liverpool Irish seafarers in the complement. It was us Southerners who'd signed-on in Southampton which caused these others so much consternation. It paid to keep your mouth shut!

 

On the 2nd of these cruises, I had been elevated to Staff Captain's Commis. This meant that I covered the whole station for breakfast and luncheon on my own. The SC Tiger would be aloft doing his thing and only be in the restaurant for Dinner service. Bear in mind that at this point I'm not classed, or even paid, as a waiter, but expected to do the exact same job, on my own at breakfast where other stations would have 2 adult ratings serving. Another baptism of fire, it was!

 

The station comprised of the 8 seat Staff Captain's table and a separate 6 table. On this latter there came an elderly couple (to me as still a teenager) who both turned out to be retired Doctors. However, they were not suited one bit to be sitting at large table with so much going on. He was painfully shy and his wife wasn't much better. On a large table, you do need to be able to hold your own.

 

Anyway, there's barely a night where there's not a fight amongst the crew. I tended to avoid any places of congregation and if asked about a "united Ireland", I'd just nod and slip away before being challenged further. Our cabin housed 4 commis waiters and one was an Irish lad that held so much hate you could only feel sorry for him. That little perisher made our lives hell for the whole 5 months we were away. It wasn't until many years later that I was shocked to learn this hate came from school-classrooms!

 

Back to our Doctors, I'll call them Jack & Jill. They came down to the aft restaurant for every meal, often being the only ones in for breakfast at that table. Thankfully, I'd rarely get more than 6 bloods down for breakfast. The same for lunch at sea with a deck buffet. In port, there was barely a soul stayed on board. Hardly surprising, really.

 

Anyway, it allowed me to get to know them and to gently guide them on how to cope at their table when it was full. There were one or two other "companions" whom we could have a good gossip about.

 

Now, the atmosphere on board amongst the crew did not go unnoticed by the passengers! How could it? I'd often find myself apologising on behalf of some clumsy idiot who didn't understand "the gravy train". Anyway, I got to know this couple very well and made sure that they weren't buried by their companions.

 

When it came to the end of the cruise,  Jack hands me an envelope and makes me promise that I'll not open it until after the ship has docked in FL. Once opened, I find a lovely letter and a clear invitation to give them a call after the next cruise. They didn't live far away, so they would come and collect me.

 

Well, there were some fantastic steak houses in FL back then, with some very fancily decorated restaurants, fully air-conditioned and very reasonably priced. It made a change from ship-board grub that wasn't quite at Caronia standard. Cruising green she might have been, Caronia she was not! A group of us could not wait to get off the ship once the bloods had disembarked. However, I did take up J&J's offer.

 

Their address was a 4-digit number along an avenue, the length of which I could not compute. So, Jill came to collect me in a "woody", her cherished piece of machinery that floated better than the ship! Once we pull into their drive, I see they live in this beautiful white wooden chalet, with a long lawn out front. Inside, the place is tastefully palatial and out back is another long lawn, bordered by really tall avocado palms and their own boathouse and jetty on the canal in the distance.

 

 Next thing I know I'm invited to go to their Country Club with them. Before I could protest that I wasn't dressed for the occasion, I'm assured that I'd only need a tie and they'd no doubt find me something suitable. The next big surprise was to learn that the establishment in question was nearly an hour's drive away and we'd be chauffeured in Jack's big black limousine. You don't do things by halves in the US, do you?

 

It was during this drive that the couple open up to me to express their thanks for "making their cruise". It turned out that their bedroom steward was quite a nasty piece of work, so there wasn't much solace in their accommodation. With the ship nearly full, there wasn't a transfer opportunity. They had also sensed that I had been a bit under pressure, but by this time I was a tad overwhelmed by their compliments.

 

Oh my, the Country Club was everything I'd imagined and more! I was introduced to their friends, who'd already heard a lot about me. Blushing - my 17 year old self was! However, I was all the more grateful for the respite and it would be me climbing back aboard with a very heavy heart.

 

Now, a Brit abroad is to be avoided at all costs - just think "football"! Thing is that back then, USCs abroad were equally painful. I'd served them in a top hotel in Zurich and they'd proved the worst reputations of the "nouveau riche" as being completely beyond doubt. However, Americans in their homes, and likewise the Irish, and you could not fault either their welcome or their hospitality! 

 

On the night Carmania visited Barcelona, just 3 days before reaching So'ton, around 20 men were sent home in disgrace. The ship was 4 hours late leaving. Earlier that day, while I was in the restaurant wanting to go out to the galley to rinse water tumblers, I'd heard a commotion outside which stopped me in my tracks.

 

An "Extra 2nd Steward", one of the good ones to boot, had been climbing the metal companionway to the starboard side of my exit when he was attacked and landed head-first back down in the working alleyway. Exiting seconds earlier could have seen me being bowled over in the rush. His screams of agony will never leave me!

 

Aboard the ship it was an offence punishable by dismissal to "fraternise with passengers". I did it ashore and told no-one. All these years later I often think fondly of Jack & Jill and their wonderful souls. Instead of finding another ship, I decided to go to Switzerland to work for a couple or three months, then come back for the Caronia's Summer Med Cruise.

 

Regards,

Steve

 

P.S. I hope there's not too many typos. There isn't much time to edit stuff here. 😞

 

 

Edited February 19, 2021 by Lowiepete
missing word correction

[CGTNORMANDIE]

3 hours ago, Lowiepete said:Hello Folks,

 

We go back to late December 1964. I've been transferred, at short notice, away from standby for the Caronia's 1965 Great World Cruise instead to board the RMS Carmania. She's scheduled to do a series of 12 to 17 day cruises from Ft. Lauderdale to the Caribbean, finishing from New York with a month in the Mediterranean ending at Southampton in late May.

 

I have to say that from the outset of boarding that ship I daily / hourly cursed the clerk back in the Cunard office who had issued that transfer order. I had no choice but to comply. Basically, we were "company servants" and they treated us with that level of scorn. My orders were to be sailing to the US the very next afternoon, instead of enjoying several more days at home. Every time I think of it, I shudder!

 

Carmania had not long been converted from a Canada run ship into another Cunard Cruising Green liner and renamed. The other piece of "history" being the Irish "troubles" and that there were many Irish and Liverpool Irish seafarers in the complement. It was us Southerners who'd signed-on in Southampton which caused these others so much consternation. It paid to keep your mouth shut!

 

On the 2nd of these cruises, I had been elevated to Staff Captain's Commis. This meant that I covered the whole station for breakfast and luncheon on my own. The SC Tiger would be aloft doing his thing and only be in the restaurant for Dinner service. Bear in mind that at this point I'm not classed, or even paid, as a waiter, but expected to do the exact same job, on my own at breakfast where other stations would have 2 adult ratings serving. Another baptism of fire, it was!

 

The station comprised of the 8 seat Staff Captain's table and a separate 6 table. On this latter there came an elderly couple (to me as still a teenager) who both turned out to be retired Doctors. However, they were not suited one bit to be sitting at large table with so much going on. He was painfully shy and his wife wasn't much better. On a large table, you do need to be able to hold your own.

 

Anyway, there's barely a night where there's not a fight amongst the crew. I tended to avoid any places of congregation and if asked about a "united Ireland", I'd just nod and slip away before being challenged further. Our cabin housed 4 commis waiters and one was an Irish lad that held so much hate you could only feel sorry for him. That little perisher made our lives hell for the whole 5 months we were away. It wasn't until many years later that I was shocked to learn this hate came from school-classrooms!

 

Back to our Doctors, I'll call them Jack & Jill. They came down to the aft restaurant for every meal, often being the only ones in for breakfast at that table. Thankfully, I'd rarely get more than 6 bloods down for breakfast. The same for lunch at sea with a deck buffet. In port, there was barely a soul stayed on board. Hardly surprising, really.

 

Anyway, it allowed me to get to know them and to gently guide them on how to cope at their table when it was full. There were one or two other "companions" whom we could have a good gossip about.

 

Now, the atmosphere on board amongst the crew did not go unnoticed by the passengers! How could it? I'd often find myself apologising on behalf of some clumsy idiot who didn't understand "the gravy train". Anyway, I got to know this couple very well and made sure that they weren't buried by their companions.

 

When it came to the end of the cruise,  Jack hands me an envelope and makes me promise that I'll not open it until after the ship has docked in FL. Once opened, I find a lovely letter and a clear invitation to give them a call after the next cruise. They didn't live far away, so they would come and collect me.

 

Well, there were some fantastic steak houses in FL back then, with some very fancily decorated restaurants, fully air-conditioned and very reasonably priced. It made a change from ship-board grub that wasn't quite at Caronia standard. Cruising green she might have been, Caronia she was not! A group of us could not wait to get off the ship once the bloods had disembarked. However, I did take up J&J's offer.

 

Their address was a 4-digit number along an avenue, the length of which I could not compute. So, Jill came to collect me in a "woody", her cherished piece of machinery that floated better than the ship! Once we pull into their drive, I see they live in this beautiful white wooden chalet, with a long lawn out front. Inside, the place is tastefully palatial and out back is another long lawn, bordered by really tall avocado palms and their own boathouse and jetty on the canal in the distance.

 

 Next thing I know I'm invited to go to their Country Club with them. Before I could protest that I wasn't dressed for the occasion, I'm assured that I'd only need a tie and they'd no doubt find me something suitable. The next big surprise was to learn that the establishment in question was nearly an hour's drive away and we'd be chauffeured in Jack's big black limousine. You don't do things by halves in the US, do you?

 

It was during this drive that the couple open up to me to express their thanks for "making their cruise". It turned out that their bedroom steward was quite a nasty piece of work, so there wasn't much solace in their accommodation. With the ship nearly full, there wasn't a transfer opportunity. They had also sensed that I had been a bit under pressure, but by this time I was a tad overwhelmed by their compliments.

 

Oh my, the Country Club was everything I'd imagined and more! I was introduced to their friends, who'd already heard a lot about me. Blushing - my 17 year old self was! However, I was all the more grateful for the respite and it would be me climbing back aboard with a very heavy heart.

 

Now, a Brit abroad is to be avoided at all costs - just think "football"! Thing is that back then, USCs abroad were equally painful. I'd served them in a top hotel in Zurich and they'd proved the worst reputations of the "nouveau riche" as being completely beyond doubt. However, Americans in their homes, and likewise the Irish, and you could not fault either their welcome or their hospitality! 

 

On the night Carmania visited Barcelona, just 3 days before reaching So'ton, around 20 men were sent home in disgrace. The ship was 4 hours late leaving. Earlier that day, while I was in the restaurant wanting to go out to the galley to rinse water tumblers, I'd heard a commotion outside which stopped me in my tracks.

 

An "Extra 2nd Steward", one of the good ones to boot, had been climbing the metal companionway to the starboard side of my exit when he was attacked and landed head-first back down in the working alleyway. Exiting seconds earlier could have seen me being bowled over in the rush. His screams of agony will never leave me!

 

Aboard the ship it was an offence punishable by dismissal to "fraternise with passengers". I did it ashore and told no-one. All these years later I often think fondly of Jack & Jill and their wonderful souls. Instead of finding another ship, I decided to go to Switzerland to work for a couple or three months, then come back for the Caronia's Summer Med Cruise.

 

Regards,

Steve

 

P.S. I hope there's not too many typos. There isn't much time to edit stuff here. 😞

 

 

Steve, thanks sooooo much for a great piece of soul-baring insight of historical significance.  You really need to put these stories into a book!  I hope you found as much catharsis in the telling as we found enjoyment.  

[Lowiepete]

5 hours ago, CGTNORMANDIE said:

 I hope you found as much catharsis in the telling as we found enjoyment.  

 

Thanks for recognising the emotional effects of writing that piece. There were mixed feelings, mostly because by the time that Caronia called at FL in January 1966, both Jack and Jill had passed away. The sadness of hearing that news just added to the distressing memories of that floating prison, with its angry and desperate inmates.

 

No-one should be surprised over the natural human attachments made on board ship, from either side of the aisle. After all, we're both sides coping with neighbours we cannot choose, nor change. Just know that kindness is never forgotten and triumphs over anger by factors!

 

Regards,

Steve

[CGTNORMANDIE]

1 hour ago, Lowiepete said:

 

Thanks for recognising the emotional effects of writing that piece. There were mixed feelings, mostly because by the time that Caronia called at FL in January 1966, both Jack and Jill had passed away. The sadness of hearing that news just added to the distressing memories of that floating prison, with its angry and desperate inmates.

 

No-one should be surprised over the natural human attachments made on board ship, from either side of the aisle. After all, we're both sides coping with neighbours we cannot choose, nor change. Just know that kindness is never forgotten and triumphs over anger by factors!

 

Regards,

Steve

Well said and well received!

[Heidi13]

Excellent story relating your experiences. They don't only happen on ships, but when aboard, you very few options to avoid the conflict.

[Lowiepete]

23 hours ago, CGTNORMANDIE said:

You really need to put these stories into a book! 

 

Now, I'm reminded of my English teacher at the first Secondary School I attended. No matter that she was diminutive, with a strong Irish accent, she ruled her classroom with a rod of iron. Almost literally; it was 15 inch long steel rule that would go off like a firecracker if it met your desk. Misbehave and it could reach your knuckles...

 

I have to write fondly of her because over 60 years later I thank her almost daily for the gift that she meticulously instilled in me.

 

Write a book, you say? Well, I can imagine Mrs. O'Keefe whispering in my ear: "Who is your target audience?" and once you have decided that, "How will you reach them?" CGT, I thank you for the compliment and I seem to receive similar suggestions almost weekly from Timeline visitors. All that goes through my mind when it's suggested is that I'm presenting, maintaining and hopefully improving a web site of over 1,000 pages on an almost daily basis. Is that really not my "book"?

 

In trying to answer the first question, what crosses my mind is who is going to want to spend actual money to hear a bunch of tales from an old salt? The second question is far more serious because to get there you need to get past a publisher. Is that person or outfit then going to take charge, appoint editors and so on until you barely recognise your own writing style? Having been around someone who did publish a book, it seemed that there was more than just one straitjacket.

 

You'll maybe have noticed that there is absolutely no advertising on the Timeline. That's done on purpose because the very last thing I want is to be controlled by another party thinking that because of their money, they can call the shots. Call me a control-freak all you like, but it is not going to happen! 

 

Rather than get a book published, I'd rather secure the Timeline into perpetuity, if only to help people researching former crew and passengers. Among the top arrivals to the site are the crew and pax transcript indexes. What seems to happen is that the crew/pax name is the hook and the details of their lifestyle at that time is there for the visitor to explore to their heart's content. Am I wrong, or just a bit obstinate? 😉

 

Regards,

Steve

[Heidi13]

Although significantly different from Steve's experience, I can relate to something I experienced on my 2nd ship about 10 years later.

 

I started as a cadet in 1975, joining a cadet training ship for my first trip to sea. We had about 50 cadets, who were there for character building and learning basic seamanship the old way. It was the equivalent of 4 months of military boot camp.

 

Every morning started with PT, followed by entire ship wash down before breakfast. Scrubbing alleyways with tooth brushes, cleaning toilets with hard soap and a hand brush were just a couple of the valuable skills we learned. Cleaning toilets, I still remember the big Yorkshireman standing tall above us, screaming, "Come on lad, scrub harder, get hand around the corner, lad." We only went to the Bridge to clean by day and steer the ship by night. When steering, the Officer would walk past with cups of hot tea/coffee and sandwiches. They never talked to us unless giving orders, or a bollocking for being off-course.

 

After the first 4 months, we were exceptional seamen and had developed the aforementioned skills, but knew nothing about navigating a ship or Bridge procedures.

 

For my next ship, I was assigned SS Uganda, a school cruise ship. Another fellow Scot, who was also on the first ship with me, was also assigned to SS Uganda. With flights out of LHR to Malta, we booked the British Rail sleeper service from Glasgow to London. Waking up, when we should have been arriving in London, we were surprised to find we were still in Crewe, in North England. Basically, we arrived in London late afternoon, missing our flight to Malta.

 

Got to London, called the company and explained the situation, so they put us up in a hotel and rebooked flights the next day. Fortunately, the ship wasn't sailing until the day we eventually arrived.

 

Finally, we arrived aboard, when they were preparing for departure. We had to travel in our company's college uniform, so on finding the Chief Officer he gruffly stated something along the lines of get your buts up on the Bridge. Never having been on the Bridge before, we made ourselves scarce, blending in at the aft bulkhead.

 

Shortly after arriving the Staffy said, "Stand-by". We had no idea what he meant and even worse, had no idea that it was an order directed at us. Basically it means move the Engine Room telegraph handle to "Standby Below". With no response, he repeated the order again, just louder. With again no response, he pounded over in our direction screaming something along the lines of, "Don't you useless .......... understand Standby". We responded "No, Sir", at which point we were literally drop kicked out of the Bridge and ordered to see the Chief Officer after departure.

 

Masters and Senior Officer are supreme experts in delivering bollockings, especially in P&O and I have no doubt Cunard were the same. Our crimes - arriving a day late and then being incapable of doing the required junior officer job expected of us. Note - SS Uganda only had single deck officers on watch, so the cadet was expected to be a capable junior officer.

 

He, not overly politely, advised if the gangway were still down, we would have been down it with our bags following behind. Since the gangway had been removed we were given 2 weeks to learn how to become a Deck Officer. Now that was a steep learning curve, but eventually enjoyed a great 3+ months on that ship.