RMS Caronia Timeline

A New Cruise is Introduced

With the increasing popularity of Caronia's cruises to the Mediterranean, this was the first year that an Autumn Cruise was undertaken. However, it would not be until 1961 that both a summer and autumn cruise to that area would happen. The reason for this probably being the political situation around the Middle East.

The attractions of the area were something of a magnet for intending passengers, with calls at places like Istanbul, Haifa, Venice, Naples and Barcelona being very popular. With tensions rising that would lead to the eventual Suez Crisis, a lot of calls to countries on the Northern Africa continent would be missed until much later in Caronia's career.

With tourism beginning to be an ever increasing source of local funds, a call by the Caronia was always seen as quite an event. This was probably because of the reputation she had gained as “The Millionnaire's Yacht”. Whether or not this was borne out in fact is a moot point. One thing about wealthy people is that they aren't necessarily easily parted from their money! So, there may have been some disappointment...

Of course, a lot of these places were famous for the availability of specific things. Turkish rugs and Venetian glass spring immediately to mind. In many places, the art of bartering or haggling over prices really had to be mastered, and guidance would be given to passengers by the on-board cruise staff, particularly on where and when to practice this.

The cruise staff always dined at tables at the forward end of the Sandringham Restaurant, and although they were there primarily for the passengers, they were always approachable for advice by us stewards who served them. Often it would be very useful advice, as it was quite extraordinary to witness the differences in local culture, even between neighbouring countries!

On many cruises, gatherings were held in the main lounge where passengers were encouraged to bring along their prized mementos from a recently visited port. Curiously, a lot of the crew would buy similar items, so I suppose we were all being beguiled into buying leather-bound camel stools, wood carvings of various game animals, and even furs! The only ones I could ever afford were Kangaroo skins, which I used as wall decorations for over 30 years, until all the hair started falling out.

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