As retrospectively described in her very first brochure…
It was at this same berth that, in 1904, the first Caronia was built. Forty-three years ago the name Caronia
symbolised, as it does again today, all that was most modern in Atlantic liners. A comparison between the
first Caronia and her namesake of today throws into sharp relief the great developments in ship design
that have come with the passage of the years.
The two tall, slender funnels, the straight, knife-edge stem and elegant counter stern that, in the first
decade of the 20th Century, earned for Caronia and her sister-ship Carmania, the affectionate nickname of
“The Pretty Sisters” are replaced now by a single oval funnel, free of
external guys, by a cruiser stern and a well-raked stem whose graceful curve recalls the beautiful bows of
the clipper ships.
Undreamt of were such developments as air-conditioning, fluorescent lighting and individually controllable
ventilation, all of which, with many other refinements, will be features of the new Caronia.
The stern of Caronia just before her launch
Her magnificent range of public rooms lounges, libraries, writing-rooms, cocktail bars and restaurants will
be remote indeed from the period drawing-rooms and cabins of forty years ago. It is by no means necessary
to go back forty years to find radical changes and developments, for the new Caronia with her bold, clean
yacht-like lines, differs strikingly even from her immediate predecessors.
Speaking of the new Caronia in 1946, the late Sir Percy Bates, Chairman of Cunard White Star, said :
“We are paying much attention to making our new passenger ship at Clydebank rather attractive
for cruising, without seriously detracting from her usefulness for service in the North Atlantic.” With
this aim in mind, a great deal of experimental work was carried out long before the actual preparation for building
began, to determine the basic features of the hull form.
In the builders’ tank at Clydebank a wax model of the ship sailed up and down many hundred times amid all
types of weather, faithfully reproduced in miniature, while at Liverpool considerable calculations were
made to determine that a vessel of her draught and size would be able to enter all those ports likely to
be visited on a world cruise.
Dual Purpose
The successful achievement of this dual purpose design, of a ship planned at once for cruising and for
normal transatlantic service, was already partially evident in the graceful lines of the giant hull as it
slid down the ways on October 30th. And when the new Caronia is completed, then will be seen how completely
these exacting requirements have been fulfilled.
HRH Princess Elizabeth inspects Caronia prior to her launch.
Designed for long days of warm sunshine are the broad, open decks, with their open-air lido and swimming
pool, and when the Caronia lies at anchor in some tropical bay, her six large launches will carry passengers
ashore in comfort. Special attention has been given to ventilation, and each of her public rooms will be
air-conditioned.
The great majority of her staterooms will be “outside” rooms, and all will be equipped with ventilation
which the passenger can regulate at will. The fully-equipped laundry, which is to be installed, will be one of the
largest ever fitted aboard ship.
In the decoration of the public rooms, coloured plastics will combine with fine veneers, decorative metals, glass and
leather to create gay interiors which will be equally pleasant in warm, southern latitudes as in the cooler climate of
the North Atlantic.
Majesty and Grace Combine
The skill which has so strikingly blended in the new Caronia the majestic proportions of the Atlantic liner with the
feminine grace of the cruising yacht, will reach, in her completion, a new milestone, not only in the long history of
the Cunard Company, but also in the development of the passenger liner.
