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Your first Cruise was it on the SS Uganda


Shogun
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Hi Shogun,

I couldn't help but register to reply to this thread. I've never forgotten my first cruise, which was aboard the SS Uganda. It was @1967-68, I was 10 years old, a student in Birmingham England and I got the green light from my parents that I could go on the school trip. I don't remember the port we left from, but we travelled through the Kiel Canal in Germany, our first port of call was Copenhagen Denmark where I saw my first Hydrofoil, a statue of Hans Christian Anderson's Little mermaid still sits in my home, we also visited Tivoli gardens. The SS Uganda then sailed off to Bergen in Norway, where we cruised through the Fjords. I remember our cabin being quite low in the ship. I had to get high up on my toes to see through the porthole. There was an altercation (scuffle) between myself and a fellow cubscout named "brian", I never forget being out in the middle of the ocean, in our cabin, scuffling, and hearing him yell out for his "mommy". Thanks for the thread guys, I haven't been able to share these memories with anyone for almost 40 yrs. It sure feels good to be part of such an historic vessel as the SS Uganda.

 

Spooks.....

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  • 4 weeks later...

HI

I sailed on the SS Uganda August 1980 from Tilbury to Malmo (Sweden), Copenhagen (Denmark) and Brugges (Belgium).

Had a great time, except being woken up by the songs "Green onions" or "Wonderful Copenhagen".

I was 15 years old and my school was Sweyne, in Rayleigh, Essex.

I remember there were sea cadets, paratroopers and army catering corp on board, as well as other schools.

Shame shes gone.

Happy cruising.

Regards Julia :)

 

 

 

 

SS Uganda, Aug 1980, Tilbury, Malmo, Copenhagen, Brugges, Tilbury.

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I took my first cruise on SS Uganda in 1969 /70 when I was 14. All I can remember is landing at Venice, when it looked like were were going into the sea, St Marks Square, Dubrovnik, Tripoli and the Bay of Biscay in a storm, when deckchairs were sliding all over the deck and loads of kids being sick, leaving me loads of rum and raisin ice-cream to finish up!

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You may be interested in the fact that there is a very fine book and still available about Uganda - "UGANDA -The Story of a Very Special Ship" ISBN 0 9531082 0 1 - Published 1998 by the The SS Uganda Trust (A4 Format 460 pages) (Contact : The SS UGanda TRust, Tarven, Corfe Lodge Road, Broadstone, Dorset, BH18 9NF)

 

Barrie Sanderson, one of the co-authors/editors of the above book is hoping to have a similar, but not so large,book about NEVASA on the British bookshelves in about November 2008. I will try and remeber to post details when it is available.

 

(Cruiseluvva: I was probably with you on your Nevasa cruise to the Baltic in the summer of 1968 (Staff Captain). If I remember correctly that "South Wales Schools" cruise had a large number of the Welsh National Youth Orchestra travelling and they "wiped the board" at the usual joint (USSR v UK) concert held in the Assembly Hall onthe evening of the Leningrad call. The hand-picked young Soviet performers were very "put out" and their propaganda effort was a complete failure.

 

Involved as I was with the Independent Cabin Passengers, which of course included about 80 Party Leaders (teachers), I can assure you, the ICP's booked in many many cases on Uganda, Nevasa Dunera and Devonia, just because there were so many young students aboard. The British India Line had a huge ICP repeat trade on these ships, and I remember one lady at my table on several cruises who had done over 30 trips in Nevasa alone!

 

Arranach

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The Dunera and Nevasa were also school ships. They cruised in the 60`s

I was on Nevasa in 1969, when it was chartered by the Civil Service. We were staying in the school dormetory accomodation.

The food was lowsy but the cruise was good.

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Reading this thread reminded me of my first cruise and educational trip in 1970, not on Uganda but on USSR Nadezhda Krupskaya. An amazing experience, we went to the Baltic visiting Copenhagen, Helsinki, Stockholm and Leningrad (St Petersburg as it is now). My children cannot believe we visited the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War. Like you in Biscay I remember the North Sea crossing as being very rough. I've just done a search and found a picture of all 5200 tons of her, its no wonder she got bounced around in rough seas. Rather different to Ventura who we are sailing on next month!

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Hi Folks,

 

Who many of us went to sea the first time in the SS Uganda.

 

yours Shogun

 

Hi there, came across this site by chance. S S Uganda was my first & only cruise, sailing from Tilbury 11th May 1969 to Andelnes (Norway), Copenhagen & Amsterdam on a 10 day cruise, had an absolutely brilliant time. I remember we all had a crush on a matron by the name of Susan May !

 

I'm 2nd from left on front row

 

uganda691-1.jpg

 

And front left in grey jumper on this one, bring back memories for anyone?

 

uganda692-1.jpg

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  • 4 months later...

I just discovered this thread. My first cruise was also on the Uganda. We sailed from Greenock I think. Our ports of call were Lisbon, Malaga, Barcelona and Gibraltar. We all had a great time except one poor boy who suffered the worst seasickness - he was sick every day of the cruise. I don't suppose we'll be hearing from him on these boards!! I am taking my "first cruise" this year as a "grown-up" although I've always wanted to cruise again after that first wonderful experience. We were lucky - I don't remember any rough seas.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi there pepps,

Gees the SS Uganda wow that brings back some fun memories.

Does anybody or was anybody on the mediterranean school cruise 1979/80 that in Athens and in Cyprus , also Egypt, Israil, Italy and yogoslavia and i think maybe Malta too.

We also went through a large storm . And yes I do remember the pool being salty to. I also was sick and stayed in the hospital room for 3 days and given to drink salty orange juice.

Hey I also remember the big oranges being green rather than orange and the oblong rubber cheese in packets.

Does anybody remember when that was exactly . Does anybody remember being on that cruise .

Gees just remembered something else.

Our group of lads and I were caught fishing from the port hole window , whilst we were docked in Israil. The aemy came on boared burst into our cabine with guns, checked what we were doing , threatened to arrest us, Captin carmed it down , then they left.

Oh what fun we had. Well we did have a good laugh though.

Must admit though its was the first time I saw projectile vomit from this poor lad called Cealy or Ceelly , Boy did it travel.

Hey be cool to here from you if you know any news.

kind regards

Greeko

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My ex-wife sailed on the Uganda in the seventies. It made her the woman she is.

 

I rest my case.

 

Shogun,would it be unbelievably crass to ask after the health of Mrs Shogun? You are, without doubt, the cuddliest poster on CC and I have often thought of you and Mrs S.

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Not on the Uganda but the Devonia in August 1963. We went from Grangemouth to Vigo, Lisbon and Casablanca. i'm going back to Casablanca shortly on Brilliance! I was a ship's prefect and we got to dine with the teachers one night. Rather different menu there! We also had a rough crossing of the B of B with folk being ill all over the place.

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Hi, just found this thread.:) My first cruise was a school trip on the SS Uganda...I think it was summer '76.....we sailed from near Glasgow and called at Lisbon, Casablanca and Madeira amongst others. I remember everyone (but me:p) being really badly seasick as we crossed the Bay of Biscay!

It took a long time to get back to cruising....30yrs:eek:

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My first cruise was on SS Uganda. We sailed from Liverpool and called at Ceuta, Malta, Corfu, Istanbul and Dubrovnik.

 

It was 1973 I think - George Macrae Rock You Baby was in the charts.

 

It was memorable because I was seasick within hours of sailing (no change there - I've sailed numerous times since and still get seasick).

 

Also, I experienced my very first kiss on deck, under the stars, somewhere near the Dardanelles I think.

 

Happy days

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  • 2 weeks later...

I was on the SS Uganda in 1972 ( ish) . I seem to recall we flew to Naples, then to Gythion Greece, Cyprus , Haifa Israel,Alexandria for the pyramids and back to Venice. We were in dorms of girls and I can remember there was some particularly bad weather between Haifa and Alexandria and nearly everyone was sick - although I was lucky enough to escape and was rewarded with a tour of the bridge!! Recall many happy moments from that time.

My next cruise was over Christmas /new year to the caribbean in 2007/2008

quite a long wait. This year 2 cruises: August in the western med (HAL) and then in December through the panama canal(P&O). Waited a long time for the second one and am now looking forward to the next 2.

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  • 1 month later...

Thank you for posting this thread. I was on SS Uganda in late March 1982 as part of a school group from Canada. We set sail from Malta and visited Izmir, Turkey; Kalymnos, Greece; Haifa, Israel; Piraeus, Greece and Venice, Italy. While Santorini was also to be a scheduled port of call, we couldn't tender there due to rough seas.

I also have very happy memories of the ship and my time on her. Our dorm was made up of 6 guys from my school in southern Ontario and 14 from schools in Vernon and Kelowna, British Columbia. Being a group of anti-authoritative louts, we set out to get the lowest scores for our dorm in the housekeeping department. Imagine our chagrin when we kept getting beaten by the trade school lads in the next dorm over, and they weren't even trying. We were eventually spoken to by the ship's officer in charge of the students; a big ex-Sergeant from the Australian Air Force who "convinced" us to see the error of our slovenly ways.

I thought the food in the galley was excellent! We let the galley staff know we were coming by singing aloud. By the time we got in the serving line, the East Indian staff would laugh and sing along; all the while ensuring we got extra servings and the freshest food.

This should be no surprise that our dorm won the deck hockey championship. I still my prize T-shirt somewhere in the house.

I had a HUGE crush on a girl from Birmingham, whom I think was named Julia. I never got a chance to talk to her, as her and her friends seemed to hold us ruffians from the wilds of Canada in some degree of contempt, although I would sometimes catch small smiles from her in my direction and my heart would melt.

This cruise was also memorable as it was the last complete school cruise the Uganda would make. About a week after we got home, Uganda was put into military service and sent to the Falklands as a hospital ship.

I look forward to reading more of these posts and sharing everyone’s memories.

 

Cheers!

Chris

 

Past Cruises

  • SS Uganda - March 1982 - Eastern Mediterranean
  • Sea Princess - January 2001 - Western Caribbean
  • MSC Opera - March 2005 - Western Caribbean

208968202_SSUgandaMarch1982.jpg.dc7137d15c17f4e1bb12882320f92200.jpg

1702757571_SSUgandaMarch1982001.jpg.466e37027e8ce0ce130d7579dbd3df8a.jpg

491840687_SSUgandaMarch1982002.jpg.afbf33a0116c8611539c1ffd00a9f1fc.jpg

Edited by oldsouthcruisingfamily
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It wasn't my first cruise, but I sailed as third officer on the Uganda in 1982. Just did one trip from Ascension Island to Port Stanley and back.

 

We had a music teacher on board from the Fellowship of the Seas and he taught a few of us to play the organ, something which I still enjoy to this day.

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Have just found this thread, I was not on Uganda, but the Nevassa. Flew out to Venice and boarded the ship there. A fabulous experience, first time I had been on a plane. We were allowed up onto the flight deck. Thought we were going to land in the sea at Venice. Went on a water bus to the ship which was berthed by St Marks Square. Can't remember a great deal else, but do remember that we visited Athens, Naples, Istanbul. We stopped in a small bay at some island, I think it was somehwere near Messina - I do remember we were allowed up on deck to watch the flames from Mount Etna. We had a sort of sports day, rowing competitions in the ships boats. Vaguely remember the classrooms on board, and having todo a project. I also remember that we were allowed to mix with the adults for one evening when we paraded round the ship for a fancy dress competition. Not sure of the other ports, but do remember that we sailed home to Southampton (think the Bay must have been calm as I don't remember being ill). It was wonderful to arrive back in Southampton and being met on the dockside by my parents. Can't remember the year but I think I was aged about 12 - so sometime in the late 60's. At the time I was living in Guildford Surrey. Yes, I think it gave me a taste for cruising.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi everyone,

The SS Uganda was my first cruise, I think it was about 1969, we flew to Venice and joined the ship there. Can't remember many people except Collette Higham and at that time we became good friends unfortunately as we grew up and got married we lost touch so if anyone knows her tell her get intouch with me! If I remember correctly we went to Venice, Athens, Santorini and had to go up on a donkey, Egypt, Tangiers, Malta, Gibraltor and then sailed back into Liverpool. I had a great time and have wanted to go on another cruise ever since, but circumstances of one kind or another have never let me......till now.....Am about to embark on my very first life time dream to Scandinavia and Russia...only 10 days to go....can't wait.

My name was Vicci Thompson and the school was Roscoe Common in Liverpool. If anyone can recall me or the cruise please get intouch.. you can email me at vicci12@btinternet.com

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  • 2 months later...
Hi Folks,

 

Who many of us went to sea the first time in the SS Uganda.

 

yours Shogun

Hi

I can remember going on a school cruise ( Paignton Secondary School),but I cant remember the date.I remember us flying fro I think Gatwick (B/A) to Athens,spending a whole day looking at the ruins then after that we visited Israel,Italy,Eygpt,Turkey,Malta or Crete before returning to Italy for our flight home.The teachers who came where Mrs Rodgers ( Home Economics),Mr Hempton,Mr Warwick (P.E),Mr Moseley (Headmaster) and a few others but cant remember names.

Since then,I have been with my family ( mum,dad,sister) the Emerald ( Thomson Hols),Oceana (P&O Cruises) & Astorias (First Choice Hols).I love cruising,but unfortunately cant do it now because of finance & time.

If there is anyone who can remember this cruise then please get in touch.

Regards

Neil Slade

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Hi Folks,

 

Who many of us went to sea the first time in the SS Uganda.

 

yours Shogun

 

I do remember going, must have been around 1971-1972.

The only thing I remember is having a fancy dress competition and being allowed to parade through the passenger lounge. Can't even remember what I was wearing!

Liz

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Yes! First cruised on Uganda in June 1974 - with all Aberdeen Schools taking over the ship (it was labelled "ABC '74" - Aberdeen Baltic Cruise!).

 

We left from (and returned to) Dundee - we were on chartered trains from Aberdeen to Dundee and then a fleet of double decker buses to the ship! Great memories - including the overnight sleeper from Leningrad to Moscow! And the food on the ship being thrown at you into those little compartment trays that you had to put your whole meal on at once!

 

I still have a Uganda bookmark, which I use all the time - it has drawn a number of comments on more recent cruises!!

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