Caronia's First Passenger Trip

The “Coastal Cruise”

Caronia's first passengers joined the ship at anchor at Tail o' the Bank, Gourock from the Clyde steamer Duchess of Hamilton, having been brought to Glasgow by special trains from London and Liverpool.

Many of the 415 travelling guests were Cunard shoreside staff, along with most of the Cunard Board and their relatives. Among the passengers was Cunard Baggage-Master R. Tilling, on his one and only voyage aboard a Cunard liner.

At 8pm on 18 December, a special guest was to board; HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh climbed the accommodation ladder with his Equerry, Lieutenant Michael Parker RN. A crew inspection would be held the next day.

Caronia's Inaugural Brochure

Very lavishly produced, considering the shortages of the time, the photograph below of the Inaugural Brochure doesn't do justice to the beautifully designed gold leaf additions to the cover. Inside, the colour photographs are interspersed with margin pages, giving the feel of a quality book rather than just a brochure.

Most of the colour artist impressions of Caronia's interior that feature in previous pages of this tour have come from this brochure.

Image: The Tilling Collection

• The Coastal Cruise Passenger List transcript

The transcript link above also carries images from Cunard's published list.

The Coastal Cruise

Departure

At 9pm on the evening of Saturday 18 December Caronia departed from her anchorage at Gourock on her Commissioning Run, described as “The Coastal Cruise” within the ephemera.

Log Abstract…
At: 9pm left anchorage at Gourock
At: 10.24pm Little Cumbrae Head abeam, departure

Steaming Gourock to Southampton

The Programme for Today card was also much abridged compared to the ones usually produced, with, for example, no notification of mealtimes shown.

Log Abstract…
At: 12 Noon Position: 51.49N | 05.44W
Travelled: 246 miles
Moderate breeze, fine, cloudy and clear
311 miles to Southampton

MOTHER WORE TIGHTSFeaturing: Betty Grable | Dan Dailey at 2.30 & 4.30pm

19 December Dinner Full Menu
Images: The Tilling Collection

QUARTETFeaturing: W. Somerset Maugham | Basil Radford at 9.30pm