RMS Caronia Timeline: Green Goddess January 1955 daily position, course and activities

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Sunshine Cruise logo from Caronia brochure

Great World Cruise 1955

Passenger artefacts for the Timeline Archive are always a valuable resource, so finding those from Mrs. James (Lola) Meriwether from Shreveport, Louisiana, who travelled on the 1955 Great World Cruise plays an important part here. Mrs. Meriwether was travelling with her sister, Mrs. Clarence (Julia) King.

Note the fashion of the day, where wives were only addressed with their husband's first name, rather than with their own. Both had been previous “Green Goddess” travellers, on the 1952 North Cape Cruise and 1953 Round South America Cruise.

From Mrs. Meriwether's artefacts, I have appended a separate page that illustrates the process of booking for the Caronia Great World Cruise at that time.

See Booking Accommodation for 1955 Great World Cruise

Caronia Stamp Club

Was the “Caronia Stamp Club” a passenger or crew activity? Maybe the Caronia print shop was asked to produce a special envelope for Caronia's visit to Colombo on 12 March 1955.

[Right:]
Graphic on a Caronia Stamp Club envelope produced for the 1955 Colombo visit

The clue which seeds this query and points toward it being a passenger activity is that the graphic design, as seen right, is signed by Mary Wortman. Miss Wortman from Emporium, Penna., was a passenger on this cruise.

Caronia Stamp Club envelope - Colombo 1955

What this means is that by this date, maybe there was graphic block production as well as the usual typesetting facilities available in the on-board print shop. It was, however, very unusual to see items from that source printed in green ink. Perhaps the envelope could have been printed ashore, maybe in Bombay ahead of Caronia's Colombo arrival?

If you can contribute any information, do please get in touch…

02 January 1955

Sunday At Sea
Steaming North Kingston, Jamaica to New York 1,472 miles

02 Jan Luncheon Suggested Menu

Arrive New York 6pm with 677 passengers
End of Christmas / New Year Cruise

21 Dec 1954 W.Indies Cruise Passenger List transcript

03 January 1955

At New York

04 January 1955

04 January
programme

At New York
Embarkation 8am to 10.30am

Depart New York 11am
Start of 1955 Wine & Liquor Convention Gala Winter Cruise

Crew Complement: 04 January 1955
Deck Dept: 136
Engineers Dept: 97
Catering Dept: 461
Total: 694 (including Master)

04 January 1955 Crew Manifest transcript

04 Jan Luncheon Suggested Menu

04 Jan Dinner Suggested Menu

DOCTOR IN THE HOUSEFeaturing: Dirk Bogarde | Muriel Pavlow at 2.15 & 4.30pm

05 January 1955

05 January
programme

At Sea

Steaming South New York to Barbados - 1,825 miles

05 Jan Luncheon Suggested Menu

05 January Dinner Suggested Menu

THE BEACHCOMBERFeaturing: Robert Newton | Glynis Johns at 2.15, 4.30 & 9.30pm

06 January 1955

At Sea

06 Jan Luncheon Suggested Menu

07 January 1955

07 January
programme

At Sea

Steaming South to Barbados - 1,825 miles

Note the date on this daily programme is shown as 1954. To have such a typographic error was very uncommon indeed!

HAPPY EVER AFTER David Niven | Yvonne de Carlo | Barry Fitzgerald at 4.30 & 9.30pm

08 January 1955

08 January
programme

Arrive Bridgetown, Barbados 7am

Bridgetown, Barbados

THE SEEKERSFeaturing: Jack Hawkins | Glynis Johns at 9.30pm

09 January 1955

Sunday Depart Barbados 12.30am

At Sea
Steaming Barbados to Grenada 151 miles
Arrive Grenada 9am

09 Jan Luncheon Suggested Menu

Depart Grenada PM
At Sea
Steaming Grenada to La Guaira 318 miles

10 January 1955

Arrive La Guaira AM - Depart PM

At Sea
Steaming La Guaira to Curaçao 148 miles

10 Jan Dinner Suggested Menu

11 January 1955

Arrive Willemstad, Curaçao AM - Depart PM

Curaçao 1959

11 Jan Dinner Suggested Menu

At Sea
Steaming N.West Willemstad to Havana 1,138 miles

12 January 1955
13 January 1955

At Sea
Steaming N.West to Havana 1,138 miles

13 Jan Luncheon Suggested Menu

14 January 1955

Arrive Havana AM

14 Jan Luncheon Suggested Menu

15 January 1955

Depart Havana AM

At Sea
Steaming North Havana to New York 1,199 miles

16 January 1955

Sunday At Sea
Steaming North Havana to New York 1,199 miles

16 Jan Luncheon Suggested Menu
§ See full-text transcript

Farewell Dinner Suggested Menu

17 January 1955

At Sea
Steaming North Havana to New York 1,199 miles

Arrive New York at 1.30pm with 610 passengers
End of Caribbean Cruise

04 Jan 1955 W.Indies Cruise Passenger List transcript

17 Jan Luncheon Suggested Menu

18 January 1955
19 January 1955
20 January 1955

At New York

Caronia at her New York berth in January 1955 — RMS Caronia south side of Pier 90, New York, January 1955
[Photo: © John Blake 1955 - Courtesy of Richard I. Weiss]

21 January 1955

21/22 January
programme ¶
Gt. World Cruise
PaxList Cover

At New York

Embarkation 4pm for Sailing at 7pm
Depart New York 7.05pm with 549 passengers
Start of 1955 Great World Cruise.

Crew Complement: 21 January 1955
Deck Dept: 142
Engineers Dept: 96
Catering Dept: 457
Total: 695 (including Master)

Log Abstract…
At: 7.05pm (LT) Left Pier 90 New York
At: 9.06pm Ambrose C.L.V. abeam, NYC departure

Departure Summary: 21 January 1955 sailing
Passengers Total: 549
Crew Total: 695
Total souls on board: 1,244 (including Master)
Passengers to Board at Rio: 10

DOCTOR IN THE HOUSEFeaturing: Dirk Bogarde | Muriel Pavlow at 10pm

United Nations & New York skyline — A mid-1950s view of the United Nations Building and
New York City skyline at night, seen from Welfare Island
[Image: Mirro-Chrome Postcard, Courtesy of George Peterson]

22 January 1955

22 January
Breakfast

At Sea

Steaming Southward New York to Port of Spain, Trinidad 1913 miles

Log Abstract…
At: 12 Noon Position: 36.22N | 71.47W
Travelled: 263 nmi
Fresh S.Westerly gale, rough sea, heavy swell, continuous heavy rain

LAST TIME I SAW PARISFeaturing: Elizabeth Taylor | Van Johnson at 2.15, 4.30 & 9.30pm

Cocktail invite
for 23 January
Image: Rich Rabbett
Collection

23 January 1955

23 January
programme ¶

Sunday At Sea

Log Abstract…
At: 12 Noon Position: 29.16N | 68.02W
Travelled: 466 nmi
Strong S.Westerly breeze, rough sea, heavy swell, overcast and clear

DOCTOR IN THE HOUSEFeaturing: Dirk Bogarde | Muriel Pavlow at 4.30 & 9.30pm

Clocks advanced 30 minutes at Midnight

24 January 1955

24 January
programme ¶

At Sea

Steaming Southward New York to Port of Spain, Trinidad 1913 miles

Log Abstract…
At: 12 Noon Position: 21.38N | 64.58W
Travelled: 487 nmi
Moderate S.Easterly breeze, moderate sea, mod. S'ly swell, cloudy & clear

ROMAN HOLIDAYFeaturing: Gregory Peck | Audrey Hepburn at 4.30 & 9.30pm

25 January 1955

25 January
programme ¶

At Sea

Log Abstract…
At: 12 Noon Position: 15.11N | 62.36W
Travelled: 412 nmi
Moderate Easterly breeze, mod. sea, low E'ly swell, cloudy & clear
285 nmi to Trinidad

25 Jan Luncheon Suggested Menu
Images: Peter Dawes Collection

THE MILLION POUND NOTEFeaturing: Gregory Peck | Jane Griffiths at 4.30 & 9.30pm

Clocks advanced 30 minutes at Midnight

26 January 1955

26 January
programme ¶

Arrive Port of Spain, Trinidad 6.06am

Log Abstract…
At: 06.06am (LT) Port of Spain arrival
Passage: 4 days, 8 hours, 0 mins.
Voyage Distance: 1913 nmi
Average Speed: 18.39 knots
At: 8.18pm (LT) Port of Spain departure