Transatlantic Crossings Remembered..."the Only Way To Cross".

[Matsonbrat]

Ross above reminds me when I was in Africa in the 50's and no one to associate with much but Brits. In order to dress in the hot climate of the Sudan the dress was usually the Red Sea Kit. White short sleeve shirt, white shorts, white knee sox and even white shoes if not then black will do. With this there is a red or black bow tie and matching cumberbund. Goes quite well with gin and quinine water and also good to drink to help fight off malaria.

 

Cheers! ;)

[CGTNORMANDIE]

HI MATSON!!! GREAT STORIES!!! KEEP EM COMING!!! LOL!!!

 

What a wealth of knowledge and experience you have had through your father. I believe their is a hidden gene called "The Shipdaft Gene". I know I have it...5 of my ancestors were sea captains from the 1600's-1700's-1800's. My great-great grandfather, John Pendleton, was the last one to come in from the sea around 1845. I guess once the sea is in your blood...it stays there in that hidden gene. We know we are shipdaft when we no longer care where the ship is going...just as long as we are on it!!! LOL!!! There are Travelers and there are voyagers...we belong to the latter.

 

I was always interested in ships...they fascinated me. I was only 7 years old when the Andrea Doria went under but I can remember it all...I was glued to the TV and newspapers. My sister was born in November that year...her name is Andrea...LOL.

 

My first real contact with ocean liners came when I was 16 years old. I was a member of a Drum and Bugle Corps and we were chosen to play in England. We sailed on July 14th. 1965 from NY onboard the first QUEEN ELIZABETH running mate to the original QUEEN MARY. I can remember the bus pulling up to the dock in NY. We were able to go onboard the night before at 11:00 PM. I got out of the bus and walked up to the pier and stood beneath the giant bow of the QUEEN ELIZABETH and then looking at her in the night...all lit up black and white with those famous red/orange funnels...what a sight she was. It was love at first sight and that love grew when I crossed in her. I became accutely aware of the momentous effort it took to run a great liner. I loved walking the decks at night and watching the ocean crash against the hull. It was July and the weather outside was as good as it gets on the North Atlantic. I can remember the phosphorous lighting the dark waters at night. The moon lighting the way ahead as the light bounced off of the water in front of the great ship. I can remember the late afternoon sun turning the sea to that rich green that you can only find in great paintings of seascapes. There is no feeling in the world like a ship at sea...when you have your feet planted firmly upon the deck. And there is no ocean in the world like the North Atlantic. You develop a reverent respect for the North Atlantic...like a wild beast that can attack without warning. I was just 16 but I had learned so much in such a short space of time.

[Druke I]

I believe it was Constitution that was used for the filming on An Affair to Remember.

 

We had a great cruise on Constitution, San Francisco to Los Angeles to Honolulu, 12-84. She had been in San Francisco getting her bottom scraped, etc, as there were no dry docks in Hawaii at the time capable of doing the work.

 

In Los Angeles, the authorities took off a "stowaway" in handcuffs. Truth of the matter was he was probably a drunk who failed to get off the ship before she sailed from San Francisco. Bon voyage parties were still allowed back then, pre Achille Lauro affair.

 

We had a fairly rough crossing, with lips on dining table up and tablecloths wetted down, in futile attempt to keep dishes on tables during meals.

 

One night, the grand piano in the main lounge broke its guy wires, and went across the floor, crashing through the glass doors of the casino, knocking slots aside. Luckily, no injuries reported.

 

One night there was a man overboard call, and the ship was turned and commenced searching while a headcount was conducted. All accounted for -official speculation was that call was good intent after parties unknown spotted garbage floating by (they still dumped garbage at sea in the 60s).

 

While still 24 hrs out of Honolulu, there was a medical evacuation of an elderly lady. Three choppers, 2 USAF and 1 USMC, supported by a C-130 tanker (USAF) involved. 1st chopper tried to get on deck, ship bouncing too much; 2nd chopper rappelled EMT and stokes litter to deck - patient loaded into litter, doctor gave her shot, and they were winched up to the chopper.

 

Ship's band playing martial music, and the Captain giving blasts on the ship's whistle (horn) in salute to job well done. We were later told that the patient had emergency surgery upon arrival at hospital, and was doing fine.

 

Great trip.

 

Saddened to hear of Constitution's sinking while under tow to the scrappers, 12-97.

 

Her sister, Independence, is still tied up, rusting and forlorn, over at Hunter's Point, San Francisco.

[DeepWaterMariner]

Great stories! It seems we have the blood lines on this thread.

 

I'm off to a cruise out of Galveston this afternoon. I'll check in when we get back to see what stories have been added.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

THANKS DRUKE!!! Was it the INDEPENDENCE that Grace Kelly used to go to Monaco for her wedding??? Which of the two ships was used for the "I LOVE LUCY" show???...when Lucy was lowered to the ship by helicopter...LOL!!!

 

BON VOYAGE DEEP WATER!!!

[dougnewmanatsea]

I believe Grace Kelly's crossing was aboard CONSTITUTION as was the "I Love Lucy" episode.

 

Fans of INDEPENDENCE and CONSTITUTION should seek out the excellent book by Bill Miller on the subject of these two ships. You will like it :) .

[Sugar*Magnolia]

Hey Ross,

Just stopping by your thread to read the great stories everyone has posted! Makes me wish I was born before the mid-60s!! :rolleyes:

Anyway, MatsonBrat~thanks for sharing...

Deep Water, Druke....GREAT Stories!

The best is "someone being taken off in handcuffs" Oh my...............:eek: I have defintely never seen that....

Deepwater...Sorry I missed your Bon Voyage..Come back and let us know how great it was!

[Matsonbrat]

April 56 on the Constitution is right on as Host Doug says.

 

Also remember Chief Steward Charles Regis on the Independence telling me on my trip in March 56 that they had taken Sir Harry Lauder over previously and he wore his famous Scot outfit with the Sham O Tanter? and kilt and he did sing for the folks including his famous "Roaming in the gloaming with my bonnie lassie by my side". He had an Scotch accent that would not quit.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

HI MATSON!!! KEEP THEM COMING!!!

It's amazing what you can remember if you try.

 

HI STACEY!!!

If you email me at BIOCLEAN at RCN dot com...all caps...I will try to send you some photos so you can post them. If you would like???:D

[DeepWaterMariner]

Just back from a weeks cruise on the Rhapsody of the Sea from Galveston. A good cruise but unfortunately a farewell to the Rhapsody which will be leaving Galveston for good in September...but that is a whole different thread.

 

Anyway, the Scot outfit reference reminded me of another crossing story from the "magical mystery cruise" on Splendour of the Seas. Americans made up less than 50% of the passengers on that crossing. Most of the rest were from Scotland. Formal nights were something to see with all the kilts on young and old alike. An activity offered on Royal Caribbean on longer cruises is (or was) Academy at Sea. On that particular cruise I took the classes given by the bartenders. One of the tidbits they gave us was that they have to stock the bars to fit the passengers...on this crossing they had to stock extra beer due to all the Scots on board. It's always fun and interesting sailing with our friends in the UK.

[chasetf]

HOW MANY OF YOU were lucky enough to cross the Atlantic in the days of the classic steamships??? How many of you newbies have crossed the Atlantic on the big ships of today...and loved it??? .............I was fortunate enough to have sailed on THE QUEEN ELIZABETH, THE SS FRANCE, THE TS BREMEN, THE AMERIKANIS, THE GALILAO, THE LEONARDO DAVINCI, THE GRIPSHOLM, THE QE II and others.

 

Please join me in sharing our memories...right here. ROSS

I was fortunate to sail the SS France in 1963. I traveled to Europe for the summer with my Aunt / Uncle / Cousins. They were moving and invited me to go along. My Uncle was an executive with Ford so we traveled First Class.

 

I remember being in the First Class dining room and could not make up my mind what I wanted for my entree. The waiter said "I will bring you both" ..... and was surprised when he did.

 

I took some slides, which I just recently ran across and scanned in. Here are a few. Hope it brings back some memories.....

[chasetf]

I took some slides, which I just recently ran across and scanned in. Here are a few. Hope it brings back some memories.....

Do not know why the attachments did not load.... Trying again.

[chasetf]

Do not know why the attachments did not load.... Trying again.

Once more try. First picture is at the NY pier and the second is sailing with NYC in the background.

[chasetf]

Once more try

And the other two...... Do not know why the first attempts failed. :confused: These pictures are at sea and coming into La Havre. We had great weather mid Jul in the Alantic Ocean......

[DeepWaterMariner]

Great pictures. Thanks for posting them.

 

I worked with a guy who also crossed on the France, going to Europe on a temporary assignment with his wife. Unfortunately he is super sensitive to motion and spent most of the trip seasick while his wife enjoyed the finest cuisine at sea.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

HI CHASETF!!!

 

THANKS for showing us the SS FRANCE vintage 1963!!! She was gorgeous!!! How lucky you were to be able to cross with your extended family...and FIRST CLASS too!!! Tell us some more stories about your crossing.

 

ROSS

[chasetf]

HI CHASETF!!! THANKS for showing us the SS FRANCE vintage 1963!!! She was gorgeous!!! How lucky you were to be able to cross with your extended family...and FIRST CLASS too!!! Tell us some more stories about your crossing. ROSS

As I mentioned, I traveled with my aunt, uncle and cousins. They invited me along to be kind of an au pair to my cousins who were younger (5 aged 5 to 12) (I had just graduated from high school)

 

My aunt and uncle had late seating and us "kids" had early. We hardly saw them during the crossing, which I thing is they way they wanted it. I also remember seeing the movies Irma La Douce and West Side Story multiple times on the ship.

 

The weather and seas were calm although a couple of the cousins got a little motion sick. We landed in Le Havre, meat by some Ford Corp drivers who drove us to Rouen, and then on to Brussels which is where my aunt and uncle were moving to. I spent the rest of the summer in Europe and had the opportunity to take a number of "side trips". My uncle even took me to London for an extended weekend.

 

So it was quite an opportunity for a high schooler. Here are a few more pictures.......

[Sugar*Magnolia]

Once more try. First picture is at the NY pier and the second is sailing with NYC in the background.

 

Hi chasetf!!

Wow, Great stories and Fabulous pictures!!! Well I cant recall 1963 but the NY Harbor never looked so good, lol I dont recall the water ever looking so blue either! :)

Other than fairly calm seas and lots of movie watching does anything else stick out as a fond memory?? What were the crew like? I cant fathom

NOT coming together dinner time with my kids and enjoying conversation, especially when cruising.

Those pictures are truly wonderful.

 

Hi Ross, I'll post anything ya send, NP!! I use photobucket and it is SO EASY to use to post pictures here.

 

DeepWater!! How was the cruise?? Sorry to hear Rhapsody is leaving TX, she will be in China, NOLA and....Seattle to Alaska??

Where did you sail to? Any pics? We're thinking about a smaller ship for a short 5 day sail. (no kids just us) Im glad Bayonne here in NJ will be home to Explorer. I wish RCL would add one more ship here.

[DeepWaterMariner]

Chasetf, I noticed in one of your pictures the little gates that use to be found on multiclass ships. When I use to cruise on some of those old transatlantic liners the gates were always open for one class cruising. One of the novelties on the old Rotterdam were partitions that stored away in the bulkheads for one class cruising.

 

You mentioned the movies you watched on the France. I imagine the movie theater was the beautiful theater that still existed when she sailed as the Norway. One of the most striking features of the Rotterdam was the great movie theater, sometimes used for live entertainment when I sailed on her. Movie theaters, even the small ones, seem to be gradually disappearing from cruise ships. It's a treat when we sail on a ship that still has a real movie theater.

[DeepWaterMariner]

CruiseDivaNJ, it was a good cruise. It certainly isn't new to us, this being our fourth time on the Rhapsody and the same itinerary. Our port calls were Key West, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. We love Key West where we spent several hours ashore. In Grand Cayman I tendered ashore, found a quiet square and painted a watercolor. We barely left the pier in Cozumel aside from a drink at Senior Frogs.

 

Our last cruise on Rhapsody we took our kids, their husbands, and our grand kids and it was terrific with the family. I notice that since then both the dinner and lunch menus have changed and not for the best. Otherwise we love the Rhapsody which has been well supported in Galveston for over five years. Apparently RCI thinks there is more money to be made in Asia. She will leave Galveston in September, going trans canal to the west coast. She'll sail from the west coast to Hawaii and then transpacific from there. Our only RCI ship from Houston/Galveston will be the Voyager which comes in December for the winter season. She will be doing transatlantic as her repositioning in December and next spring.

[Sugar*Magnolia]

A thread I started a few days ago, if anyone might have any good stories!!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=9990238#post9990238

 

[Sugar*Magnolia]

CruiseDivaNJ, it was a good cruise. It certainly isn't new to us, this being our fourth time on the Rhapsody and the same itinerary. Our port calls were Key West, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. We love Key West where we spent several hours ashore. In Grand Cayman I tendered ashore, found a quiet square and painted a watercolor. We barely left the pier in Cozumel aside from a drink at Senior Frogs.

 

Our last cruise on Rhapsody we took our kids, their husbands, and our grand kids and it was terrific with the family. I notice that since then both the dinner and lunch menus have changed and not for the best. Otherwise we love the Rhapsody which has been well supported in Galveston for over five years. Apparently RCI thinks there is more money to be made in Asia. She will leave Galveston in September, going trans canal to the west coast. She'll sail from the west coast to Hawaii and then transpacific from there. Our only RCI ship from Houston/Galveston will be the Voyager which comes in December for the winter season. She will be doing transatlantic as her repositioning in December and next spring.

 

 

EVERY CRUISE IS A GOOD CRUISE....

Ahhhhhhh Voyager is a Favorite here! When we were on her, it was myself, DH, DD & DS and my Parents. It was their first cruise and we had a great time.

I probably wouldnt get off in Cozumel either, Im not fond of Mexico but........... Grand Cayman is one of my absolute favorite places. Twice there we've chartered a sailboat with one Captain who took us the same area's as other tours woujld like the catamaran ones....but it was amazing to just be our family and not 20-30 others. Ahhhh Cayman...... :) I also dont mind doing repeat itineraries (especially when they involve GC lol)

[CGTNORMANDIE]

HI GANG!!!

 

THANKS CHASETF!!! Got to love those old FRANCE pictures...what great memories!!!

 

HI STACEY!!! SORRY...I have not had time to get albums out and cart them down to my office. I will be heading for NJ early Friday morning for a rendezvous with the brand new LIBERTY OF THE SEAS...we will be going out on her for 2 nights. SOOOOOOOOO...maybe nextweek I will be able to send you something. Right now...it's full speed ahead to get to NJ for Friday morning...LOL.

 

ROSS

[Matsonbrat]

Pulling out of her pier as the same time as the SS Independence was at NYC in March 1956. I was on the latter. She was used to make the movie The Last Voyage with Robert Stack and Dorothy Malone where he is trying to get his wife and daughter out of a cabin where they are trapped as the ship sinks. I also heard it was filmed in Hong Kong before she was broken up in 1959. I heard also that the ship was partially sunk to make the film.

[Sugar*Magnolia]

HI GANG!!!

 

THANKS CHASETF!!! Got to love those old FRANCE pictures...what great memories!!!

 

HI STACEY!!! SORRY...I have not had time to get albums out and cart them down to my office. I will be heading for NJ early Friday morning for a rendezvous with the brand new LIBERTY OF THE SEAS...we will be going out on her for 2 nights. SOOOOOOOOO...maybe nextweek I will be able to send you something. Right now...it's full speed ahead to get to NJ for Friday morning...LOL.

 

ROSS

 

 

I'm soooooooooooooooooo jealous! LOL What time does she arrive, I think I'll stop by & stare!! Wonder if I could stow away?? (I know Explorer arrives next Friday, I was thinking of going to stare at her too lol)

Have fun.... Oh yeah, dont worry about the pics!!