Saga Rose Greenland Voyager August 2007

[Conte Di Savoia]

Do you have luggage tags from past voyages on ships?

 

Yes. I have one bag with tags dripping from the handles. It has become too fragile and valuable to use, but often got several remarks as we would wait to board ship. Unfortunately, the traditional tags are fast being replaced with airline-like tags, which IMO are not worth collecting.

 

Patwell, I enjoyed your recollections about the Scandanavian ships. I remember when Stavengerfjord departed New York for the last time. She was a much beloved ship and, I think, the last of her era to be seen in these parts. I found a beautiful print of her on the cover of one of my Sagafjord menus. I also have a commerative plate from a limited series on ocean liners.

 

was probably the only 10 year old girl who would read the NY Times shipping news every Sunday to see which ships were in port and when they would sail

 

I was never a 10 year old girl, but I used to faithfully follow the daily shipping page in The New York Times. They would list the arrivals and departures of passenger ships for an entire week. The arrival section was particularly interesting because it not only named the ship and line, but from where it was coming and the number of passengers on board. Over the years it was sad to see the numbers going from over 1,000 to perhaps a couple of hundred. Towards the end, the crew outnumbered the paying clientele.

Werner Bamberger was the shipping editor for The Times. He wrote a column called Port Notes. It was my lifeline to the shipping world for many years.

[Conte Di Savoia]

Sorry, the picture of the Stavengerfjord is here:

[dougnewmanatsea]

Unfortunately, the traditional tags are fast being replaced with airline-like tags, which IMO are not worth collecting.

Yes, they're awful :( .

 

HAL still has pretty nice traditional tags. Cunard has the ugly pre-printed airline style ones which I loathe...

 

The last generation of "real" QE2 baggage tags (I think CARONIA, ex VISTAFJORD, may have had them too) was really nice, with a painting of a different old Cunard ship for each deck.

 

By the way, love the STAVANGERFJORD poster! She was a very remarkable ship. Well before my time, but still remarkable.

 

A friend of mine was on VISTAFJORD in 1980 (I think it was 1980?) when NAL sold out to Leif Hoegh (aka NAC) and they were getting rid of everything that said NAL on it. They still had blankets from STAVANGERFJORD on there! Of course he "borrowed" a few - he claims they were throwing them overboard anyway :eek: !

[patwell]

Hello all, and thanks for the welcome.You don't find a group like us often anymore, but then considering the time period of some of these ships, we get fewer and fewer.

 

CGTNORMANDIE..it was the old Gripsholm and I still have a couple of the postcards from the trip that my Mom saved. We had a fire on that trip she told me and all passengers spent a good bit of the night on deck at the lifeboats, lifejackets on. I was 3 and the passengers took turns holding me while I slept to keep me warm on the cold North Atlantic and also give my Mom a break. She was traveling with just me and my 17 year old sister to go home and find the family after the war. Happily I have no memory of that but I think it helped turn my sister off crossing as she never went with us again. I thought the "new" Gripsholm was a beautiful ship and remember seeing her on our jaunts to NY.

 

Conte Di Savoia....thank you for posting that wonderful photo of her. I actually got a tear in my eye when i scrolled down and there she was. That picture is on the cover of a wonderful book called Amerikabåtene (the America boats) all about NAL and her ships from the very beginning. It's an incerdible history with some truly great old photos of the early Bergensfjord, Stavangerfjord, etc. It's in Norwegian which fortunately I read quite well and I do enjoy the reminiscing. It's also the cover on another book of the history of NAL from 1910-1995...that one is in English. Both had great photos of all the ships.

 

What a sturdy gal she was...we had some seriously rough weather several times and she just plowed through although we were a day late on one trip. I remember wet tablecloths, sea-sick bags every 10 feet on the handrails and ropes strung everywhere and of course no access to the decks. When we arrived in NY after one of those trips and they opened the metal cover on our porthole, it was cracked...and it hadn't been when we left. Even though I saw all the other grand ships of that era, and she was so small compared to some of them, I always felt safe boarding her. As we crossed the gangway and stepped on board we'd immediately switch into speaking Norwegian...she had the effect on Norwegians of being on home soil.

 

There is a wonderful tribute to her with some lovely interior color photos at this site....http://www.worldshipny.com/stavessay.html I sailed with Captain Odd Aspelund and might well have been onboard in one of those Oct 1963 photos they show. I remember well scampering up that first class stairway where I didn't belong, but everyone looked the other way as I was the only available playmate for the lone little girl in First Class on that trip, and everyone left us alone wherever we went. I never felt the class restrictions all that much until I got older.

 

And Host Doug...I'd KILL for that blanket! I spent many a day at sea wrapped in one of those on deck! You might enjoy the tribute to her. She's not one of the early glamour ships but she was loved by all who had the privilege of sailing her. Only the war stopped her for a short while...the rest of her life she never stopped doing her job.

 

Well then, thank you all for letting me ramble on about some treasured memories. How lovely we all have them and remember them so well. Could that be becuase they were so very special? Little did we know how the world of ocean travel would change. It's very nice to be able to share these thoughts with others who understand why they were so special.

 

Thank you and cheers, Penny

[dougnewmanatsea]

I thought the "new" Gripsholm was a beautiful ship and remember seeing her on our jaunts to NY.

Even in her old age as REGENT SEA she was a beauty. That wonderful blend of Italian and Scandinavian style - how much better could it get :) ?

 

SAL had great ships. I guess my favorite would be KUNGSHOLM of 1966 though - now that was a beautiful ship - still is, in parts. In the winter she is now going to be a university ship and in the summer she will sail for Pullmantur as OCEANIC 2.

 

The previous KUNGSHOLM of 1953 was also a lovely ship and like GRIPSHOLM of 1925, wound up with Norddeutscher Lloyd. As EUROPA she was immensely popular c.1966-1982. I know two friends who sailed in her just before she was replaced and both loved her. One still writes me notes on EUROPA note paper from time to time!

 

Of course the pre-war KUNGSHOLM and GRIPSHOLM were pretty special too. GRIPSHOLM had really traditional Gustavian interiors but KUNGSHOLM was very Art Deco and in some opinions better than NORMANDIE (really). Quite extraordinary really.

 

It's also the cover on another book of the history of NAL from 1910-1995...that one is in English. Both had great photos of all the ships.

If I may ask, do you have the title, author or any other information on this book? If I could track it down (even if out of print) I would love a copy. Sounds like a wonderful book.

 

I do recommend the wonderful "The Saga Sisters" by Clive Harvey and Roger Cartwright, about SAGAFJORD and VISTAFJORD. A lovely book with lots of color photos, deck plans etc. There is also a lot of nice information about other NAL ships, especially their direct ancestors OSLOFJORD and BERGENSFJORD (both whose lives were far too short).

 

Also "Passenger Liners Scandinavian Style" by my friend Bruce Peter, who probably knows more about Scandinavian liners than anyone else I know. Of course the NAL and SAL are in there as well as the RVL ships and all sorts of others.

 

There is a wonderful tribute to her with some lovely interior color photos at this site....www.worldshipny.com/stavessay.html

Ah, yes, I forgot about that article. Lovely photos. Isn't it amazing that a ship that was practically a contemporary of the TITANIC was still crossing the Atlantic in 1963?

 

And Host Doug...I'd KILL for that blanket!

I do not think my friend is planning on giving it up ;) ...

[patwell]

Host Doug...check out this site for a copy of the NAL history book...it shows 3 copies available at various prices. I was lucky enough to find mine on ebay!

http://www.bookfinder.com/search/?ac=sl&st=sl&qi=fPIrLWbZKuZR11LCNlg2Haz3zTM_7538468010_2:4:5

 

It has a complete history and photo of every ship, including freighters, that the line had. And even though "Amerikabåtene" is in Norwegian (with a brief English summary), for the ship enthusiast it is well worth owning for the great interior, and shipboard life photos alone (black and white). They show 1 copy available here...

http://www.bookfinder.com/search/?author=b%E5rd+kolltveit&title=amerikab%E5tene&lang=en&submit=Begin+search&new_used=*&destination=us&currency=USD&mode=basic&st=sr&ac=qr

 

Her last trip to the Hong Kong breakers took 40 days and she did it under her own power.

 

And yes, that Saga Sisters book is fabulous! I bought mine in the QM2 bookshop and enjoyed the reminiscence sitting on my balcony listening to the sound of the ocean as we sailed. A lovely tribute to some lovely ships.

 

I hadn't thought to equate Stavangerfjord's age with the Titanic, but of course you are right...they were almost contemporaries. Stavangerfjord maintained her charm right up to the end. I was glad to have crossed on her shortly before that end came. She was in wonderful condition.

 

Hope you can get ahold of one of these books...you'd definitely enjoy the Norwegian one.

 

Cheers, Penny

[Druke I]

As I told SagaRuby, my parents went on Bergensfjord and I think Sagafjord.

 

Host Doug mentions Kungsholm. We sailed her as Sea Princess, Kobe Japan to Vancouver, BC, via Honolulu, 5-89. We were also supposed to go to Maui, but she had tipped a prop somewhere, and with slightly reduced speed, that stop was eliminated.

 

The ship was half-full to Honolulu, and went to single-seat dining, splitting the time. Service was outstanding! We were upgraded at the dock, from an inside to a "stateroom", perhaps the equivalent of today's minis. Beautiful wood paneling, and shoji-like screens over the portholes.

 

From Honolulu to Vancouver, ship was full, and dining room service returned to traditional first and second seating.

 

Sea Princess was a lovely ship, and remains one of my favorites.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

Talking about the KUNGSHOLM of 1966...I think it was 1975 that we had reservations to sail from France to NY in October on a transatlantic crossing. We got a telegram in September announcing the demise of the Swedish American Line. I still have that telegram...for me it was a sad day...one more line that I would not be able to try...sailing off into history. We ended up taking the QE II back to NY. I also missed a crossing on the Polish liner STEFAN BATORY...when friends had to cancel at the last minute...I should have stuck to my guns and stayed with the STEFAN...in 1978.

 

HI PENNY!!! You have some great memories with "the old" GRIPSHOLM. It is too bad you were never able to sail on the GRIPSHOLM of 1958. She was an extremely comfortable ship. The cabins in First Class were the best. The closet space and custom made shoe racks and dressers were just superb. They used a lot of nice wood everywhere. The cabins were designed for long voyages...with lots of storage. The Promanade Deck had a really intersting enclosure with wooden partitionsso so you could stay warm in cold weather...a really nice ship.

[dougnewmanatsea]

Host Doug...check out this site for a copy of the NAL history book...it shows 3 copies available at various prices. I was lucky enough to find mine on ebay!

Sorry - the web site says the links expire after an hour! But if you do have the title of the English book nearby I would really appreciate it. I will also consider Amerikabåtene though I do not normally buy books not in English (I spend too much money on ship books without expanding to foreign ones ;) ...).

 

I still have that telegram...for me it was a sad day...one more line that I would not be able to try

A sad day indeed. Until then SAL was the high-end cruise line in the US - even NAL did not have the same reputation, and RVL was just a new upstart to the old guard. Of course, that was a different old guard from the people who are the "old guard" today, who remember RVL fondly. In 30 years I guess I will be the "old guard", fondly remembering Oceania or something ;) .

 

I also missed a crossing on the Polish liner STEFAN BATORY...when friends had to cancel at the last minute...I should have stuck to my guns and stayed with the STEFAN...in 1978.

That is one ship that everyone - and I mean everyone - I know that sailed in her said was absolutely unique, with an atmosphere unlike anything else. It is a pity that POL did not acquire another ship after that. They were looking at MARDI GRAS which would have been great for them, I think. Alas, it did not work out and that wonderful ship is no longer with us either...

 

There is a nice web site on STEFAN BATORY here. Also some nice photos of her here.

[Conte Di Savoia]

Rather than let this thread die, I thought I would add another remembrance from this “old timer”, this time about entertainment aboard.

 

I recently was revisiting the past through an old Italian Line brochure and came across this photo found here . It reminded me how much entertainment aboard ships has changed over the decades.

 

On my first ocean voyage aboard the Leonardo da Vinci in 1961, the passengers, after a fine dinner in The Capri Restaurant, would ascend upon The Arras Room, the beautiful Nino Zoncada designed ballroom, for the evening’s entertainment. There was no social director or entertainment staff. One of the dining room section captains hosted the evening’s events. I remember he looked very much like Guy Lombardo, who was his first cousin. The evening might start with bingo, a game which thankfully is disappearing from many vessels. And then there was the not-so-fast paced horse races upon which the guests were invited to place wagers. We could hardly restrain our excitement as the horses charged forward!! Hey, it was a much more innocent age.

 

The band played for the balance of the evening. One member was the featured singer. There were not acts, no Las Vegas showroom lounges, but the passengers took the dancing seriously and the dance floor was usually mobbed as people danced in place, barely able to move.

 

It’s a much different experience nowadays and overall, a vast improvement, even if many of these revues are similar. Only the ship changes. What are your recollections of entertainment back in the stone age?

[CGTNORMANDIE]

THE LEONARDO DAVINCI

 

The classiest ship afloat. The ship that Liz Taylor and Richard Burton honeymooned on. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor's favorite ship. The ship that replaced the ANDREA DORIA. The LD had more panache than any ship of that era. The Arras Room was gorgeous...it was also the site of my debut as a Can-Can dancer...LOL!!! The final night of our cruise (May1976) was the passenger talent show. Angela was the ship's hostess who organized a group of young women she hand picked for the grand finale'. The final act was the ensemble of 8 gorgeous women passengers doing the Can-Can. Angela picked my wife and 2 of our friends who were traveling with us. She trained the "girls" to dance the Can-Can with perfect precision...they looked spectacular. Nobody knew that Angela also picked the husbands and other male pax to make up an ensemble of 8 male Can-Can dancers. While the show was going on we were escorted up to the Library where we were liberally plied with assorted cocktails...all we could drink...while we got down to our bathing suits. Then we were made up with tu-tu's, bras, lip stick, rouge and bonnets!!!...LOL. The women went on and danced perfectly...setting off a great round of applause in the Arras Room. The MC asked the audience if they would like an encore...of course they applauded madly. The band struck up another round of the Can-Can and down we came from the Library above the Arras Room. I have to tell you how ridiculous we looked...I was laughing so hard as we attempted the Can-Can that I fell down laughing on the dance floor. The audience was in hysterics. So now you know all about my debut in the Arras Room...LOL!!!:D:D:D

[Saga Ruby]

Conte - Ah, the stone age! As soon as I started scrolling down and saw the top of your photo, I thought, "It’s the horse races!" Thank you for the photo. It still amazes me to remember the intense interest by passengers as the horses "raced." Surely there wasn’t private wagering going on?

 

I never could get into bingo. Long ago and under pressure, I tried one game one afternoon. The entire time I was looking out the windows at the seas rushing past. "Number 22, ducks in a row, quack, quack." Toward the end of the voyage, the entire ship would buzz about the "snowball" and the regular players would get huffy as their pot grew and opportunistic players began to barge into the game.

 

I do, however, like shipboard trivia games. I still have and enjoy using several quality leather bookmarks in different colors from RVL. Each bookmark has a gold-embossed imprint of the ship (Sea, Sky, or Sun) granting the prize. The hardest trivia games I ever played were British trivia on Cunard. Until those games, I didn’t know there was a Burkina Faso.

 

Hanging proudly on a wall in my home is an elaborate 18"x24" certificate, elegant brown-ink script on ecru paper, issued by "The United States of America, Panama-Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco, MCMXV" . . . "Be it known that ‘Doodah’ transited the Panama Canal" etc. Along the vertical sides, the certificate is covered with fin de siècle artwork, large faux intaglios of "Columbus" and "Balboa" decorating each of the upper edges, and an embossed seal at the bottom to make sure we knew it was authentic. Since it was my third transit, I decided to frame it. I consider it one of my best souvenirs.

 

A food story - On one cruise, we passengers laughed daily about a theoretical cargo hold being loaded with artichokes. The ship seemed to be attempting to use up the entire crop before we landed. We were presented daily with artichokes fresh, cooked, broiled, boiled, chopped, whole, in salads, on fish, as a vegetable, a side dish at the buffet. I was mildly surprised not to see an artichoke amongst the other "salad" on the captain’s hat.

 

One hopes that this thread will not die out. At one point, it was turning more toward facts printed in books. However, since CGTNORMANDIE has been brash enough to tell us his personal story about being a member of the Leonard DaVinci chorus line, we demand to know the obvious. Where are the photos? They must exist unless perhaps he paid off the ship’s photographer for the negatives?

 

Thanks, everyone, for sharing your personal stories.

 

Ruby

[CGTNORMANDIE]

LOL!!! I wish I had photos of that momentous performance...I would still be laughing right now if I had those pictures. I really did fall down on the dance floor...and rolled around a bit...it was THAT FUNNY!!! I do have some great pictures of us in some of those rooms...and they were gorgeous. I also loved the pool arrangement. When the LEONARDO DAVINCI cruised they had all 3 pools open on the aft decks. The deck chairs were assigned and you had to pay for them. I remember a woman who thought she could just sit wherever she wanted...and she sat in one of our deck chairs. All I had to do was signal the deck steward and without a word he arrived on the spot and offered to rent a chair to the lady...she was off like a shot...LOL. I wish we had that system today...but there is not enough pool space and too few chairs...so now we have the CHAIR HOGS instead of that wonderful system that gave you a permanent chair by the pool.

 

NEXT: THE NIGHT CLUB!!!:D

[Conte Di Savoia]

My first assignment after boarding the ship was to go up to the Lido and pick out the spots for our chairs. I loved the Sun Deck above the First Class pool. I remember one year finding a woman and her husband occupying MY CHAIR!! I asked her to sit elsewhere, but she answered that paying for a chair only meant that you were guaranteed one. She got the lecture but then told me I was too young to get angry. Little did she know!

[Conte Di Savoia]

I found this wonderful site which has great pictures of the Saga Rose/Sagafjord throughout her long career.

http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/Sagafjord.html.

[Saga Ruby]

Conte, thanks so much for that website. I grew misty-eyed looking at her long, honourable history in the medium of postcard photos.

 

Not to throw a damper on our party, but I assume you and our other ship-daft friends have heard the recent news about Saga Rose. This information is from a friend of mine at Saga: "It still isn't "official", but Saga has decided to start taking Advance Registration for the Rose's "Final Voyage". As you know, it's been rumored to be in 2010."

 

If anyone wants to sail on Saga Rose, they should book now as time grows short and demand to sail on any itinerary for this 550-passenger ship will grow. I will not be on the Final Voyage. As I have told several of my friends, being a passenger on that final voyage would be like sailing on the Titanic while knowing that there is an iceberg "dead ahead."

 

Sagavista, I am curious to know how you picked your screen name. I was on these boards years ago under another name then dropped out for two years because there was zero information about Saga. When I came back to the boards, I couldn't sign on with the original name, was fresh from my cruise on Saga Ruby, and you know the rest. What was the inspiration behind your choice of screen names?

 

Ruby

[dougnewmanatsea]

The latest rumors I am hearing are that SAGA ROSE's final voyage will in fact be the 2010 world cruise. Just a rumor - take it for what it's worth.

 

Given that they are already taking deposits for a 2010 world cruise and the new SOLAS regs she doesn't meet (and it would cost a fortune to upgrade her for these) come into effect in October 2010, I think it is quite safe to say that the final voyage will be sometime during that fateful year. I doubt she will be the only classic liner retiring that year, either :( .

 

Whatever the final voyage is, I am sure it will be booked years in advance - during the past decade she has taken on a very, very loyal following.

 

I am told Saga is exploring a number of options for replacement of ROSE. A newbuild is one but personally I do not see this as terribly likely as at this point it would be difficult to have a new ship ready at this time. Obviously, the other choice is an existing ship - I will leave it to your imaginations which ships could be possibilities.

[Saga Ruby]

Where is CGTNORMANDIE? I'm looking forward to hearing his memories of the night club on the DaVinci - or anyone else's memories for that matter.

 

Ruby

[CGTNORMANDIE]

HERE I AM!!!

 

THE LEONARDO DAVINCI: THE NIGHT CLUB:

 

When the LD cruised they opened up the partitions from the First Class to the Cabin Class and the Tourist Class. The passageways were really confusing...I can remember my wife getting lost...it took her more than 15 minutes to find our cabin one time...LOL. We had originally booked an inside but found it rather small...so the Purser offered to let us have a quad...but it was 2 decks below...the water line...LOL. It turned out to be a great cabin with plenty of room but it took us a while to figure out how to get to it...LOL.

 

THE ATLANTIC NIGHT CLUB:

 

They used the Tourist Class main lounge as the Atlantic Night Club and it was a few decks down on the stern. You could actuallly walk out behind it to the aft deck overlooking the stern of the ship. What I loved and dearly miss on today's "shopping malls at sea" is the intimate caberet style night club where everyone went late at night. Today you have ships that are so large that the pax get lost at night and everyone ends up going to bed instead of celebrating into the early morning.

 

The Atlantic Night Club would open at 11:00 PM and you would have a party atmosphere that you just cannot find on today's ships. Sometimes there would be a guest vocalist...I even saw a belly dancer performing there. The band was the quintessential Italian group that could sing just about anything that was requested...with the usual favorites thrown in. My ears are still ringing with Volare' playing inside my head...LOL. The drinks were extremely reasonable (another reason you don't see a lot of celebrating on today's ships) and people would make friends and sit together for the evening. One person would buy a round and then another etc.on into the night. Sometime around 2:00 AM they would serve fresh pizzas and I have to tell you...they were the best pizzas I ever had...anywhere. The party would go on and on...I can remember getting back to our cabin around 4:00 AM...THOSE WERE THE DAYS!!!

 

NEXT: UNLIMITED CHAMPAGNE!!!

[Conte Di Savoia]

CGT thanks for the Night Club recollections. On transatlantics, each class used their respective Lido's as a night club and you had better get there early if you wanted a seat. Ah yes! Those wonderful pizzas!! There was also the Pasta Contest. Each dining room section captain would prepare his "favorite" pasta sauce. We would carefully sample each and then vote by ovation. Our favorite was the spaghetti Calabrese, which in retrospect was pasta Puttanesca, the translation of which was probably too offensive for some. Passengers enjoyed staying up late and continuing the transatlantic party. We recently experienced this party mentality on our crossing on QM2 last June. The G32 was quite the place and we often didn't get to bed until 3 AM.

 

Well, today I thought I would add some memories of The Bon Voyage Party, the loss of which I greatly regret. Departing by ship was a BIG DEAL!! Friends and relatives expected to be invited to a Bon Voyage party. Our vacation became part of their lives as well. Reservations had to be made before arriving on board. Large sections of the dining rooms and lounges were marked off for the private parties. Waiters were assigned and champagne brought on board. Canapes were ordered from the kitchen. Arriving guests brought flowers and, for some inexplicable reason, fruit baskets. I think they wanted to ensure that we wouldn't get scurvy while on the "long' voyage. One year a friend of mine from high school was traveling with us and we happened to be leaving on my 16th birthday so we had a huge party aboard the Leonardo with our favorite school mates. Well the champagne flowed and they did not miss out on any of it. When we returned home later in the summer we heard the rest of the story. At one point our friends wound up walking home along the Long Island Railroad tracks, one can only presume with a measureable alcohol level. To this day I shutter at what would have happened if they had gotten struck by a train.

 

The activity was frenetic and a great time was had by all until the announcement was made advising "la nave in partenza", the "sheep is sailing."

 

A couple of years ago I had my aunt over for dinner. She brought me a gift, two beautiful champagne glasses with the "Italia" logo. She confessed that she had pocketed them during one of our Bon Voyage parties over 40 years ago. She thought I would appreciate having them. I do.

 

One of my favorite recollections of Bon Voyage parties is of those given on the old Queen of Bermuda. Although I never sailed on this beautiful English Deco ship, I did visit on board. This was back in the days when Bermuda was a favorite destination for newlyweds. Brides actually came on board the ship in their wedding gowns for a reception before departure. What a great idea.

Very cost effective and mercifully short!!

[CGTNORMANDIE]

THANKS CONTE DI!!! The Bon Voyage parties are now legend. How I miss those New York sailings...when the ships would stay in the harbor overnight and sail the following day. The parties were outrageously fun. I have to say that the most outrageous one for me was my first transatlantic sailing onboard "the old" QUEEN ELIZABETH. I was in a drum and bugle corps that was sailing onboard the QE headed for England. We actually went into formation on the large after deck and played several songs while the ship pulled away from the pier...I think we played Anchors Aweigh at least 2 times...as a film crew flew overhead in a helicopter and actually filmed us performing. After the performance we headed for our cabins to change...we traveled in Cabin Class...D Deck. Having missed the Bon Voyage parties we were anxious to partake. Needless to say we were at the Cabin Class aft bar immediately. The crew loved us and took great care of us...I was only 16 at the time...what a great crossing it was. The second day out we reported for rehearsal on the aft Promanade. Captain Jones came down to introduce himself and told us that since we were traveling with a large group in First Class that we had the run of the entire ship...as per the Captain's orders...LOL!!! We rehearsed all day and partied all night. Most of us found the Tourist Class Forward Observation Lounge where we could gather undisturbed. We put on a final performance in the First Class Queen's Lounge...what an incredible time we had.

 

BACK TO THE LEONARDO DAVINCI: UNLIMITED CHAMPAGNE:

 

Each night, when we went down to the Atlantic Night Club, we were invited to sit with a famous Italian furrier who had shops in Rome, Paris, London and New York. Antonio loved to party in the night club so he invited the 6 of us to join him. I guess he knew who liked to party...LOL. All night long his waiter (he had his own private waiter) would pour Moet et Chandon. The waiter told me Antonio's bar bill was more than $10,000 for the time he was on the ship. Sometimes Antonio would stay onboard the ship for more than 90 days...so the bill was even more $$!!! I know this was true because one night I picked up the tab for the entire evening...OUCH!!! LOL!!! Antonio would have cake sent down around Midnight...it really went well with the Moet. What wonderful memories.

[Saga Ruby]

Oh. Tales. What a wonderful name for a pasta dish! Question - Why did the Italian Line have the announcement of "la nave in partenza", the "sheep is sailing"? We had a crewman walking around with a xylophone plus the announcement for "all ashore who’s going ashore." Why was that Italian idiom used for a final announcement?

 

Royal Viking had a sailaway song they played each time we slipped silently from a local port. It was a ghastly tinny ditty but after a few sailings, it became embedded in my mind and, predictably, I now miss it.

 

I enjoyed watching the crewman who walked the fire watch. When one of the officers explained what the sailor was doing, I watched him as he used his key to check in to the various fire box stations on the many decks. The man was like a panther - quiet, quick, almost invisible. Did the Italian Line and French Line use the same method?

 

I'll see you a fruit basket and raise you jewelry. The richest woman in Fort Worth was mad for my father although he was happily married and had two wonderful darling daughters (that would be me and my sister). My father mentioned that Fort Worth should have a municipal blood bank and Nenetta agreed to fund the organization with my father as director. I am proud to say that "Carter Blood Care" today is the offshoot of that financial pairing. But I digress.

 

When my family sailed from Montreal on the Empress of Britain in 1957, we had the traditional fruit baskets in our staterooms, but there were two small gift packages for us daughters. Upon opening our gifts, we found exquisite pearl necklaces from Nenetta. Until that time, I didn’t know that pearl necklaces were required to enjoy a 10-week Grand Tour of Europe.

 

Did anybody sail into Liverpool in days gone by? I have intriguing memories of that busy industrial port with a simple gangway leading from the deck to level ground. No fancy "cruise terminal" in those days!

 

Ruby

[dougnewmanatsea]

Why did the Italian Line have the announcement of "la nave in partenza", the "sheep is sailing"?

"Nave" is Italian for ship.

 

Enjoying everyone's reminiscences but the pasta discussions are making me hungry ;) ...

[Saga Ruby]

"Nave" is Italian for ship.

 

At the grand old age of 20, Host Doug has an admirable grasp of maritime history which he shares generously with those of us "of a certain age." He will be cruising on the QM2 next week and we wish him bon voyage.

 

I speak some Italian in addition to other languages and have a personal interest in cultural, lingual idioms. To others who have sailed on the Italia Line, why did they use that phrase "la nave in partenza", the "sheep is sailing"? I find it fascinating.

 

Ruby

[Druke I]

Well SagaRuby, as soon as I saw Doug's response I thought: Aha, ship pronounced by someone with a heavy Italian accent would sound like sheep to an untuned ear.

 

Shows what I know - but admit to having barely passed Jr.High School Spanish, which was mistaught by a lady who spoke Castillian Spanish, not the Mexican Spanish we hear in the West.