No Great World Cruise on the “Green Goddess” would be complete without a ceremony to induct
novices to that most noble and honourable distinction of crossing from the Northern to the Southern
hemisphere or vice-versa. On Caronia the ceremonial would start on the aft end of the promenade deck, where
King Neptune's Court would appear from the depths, led by a policeman, ready to take prisoners forward to
the crew swimming pool. The passenger pool was never used for what could become a very messy ceremony.
An Extension
This section of the Timeline has now been extended to feature a page of 7 photographs of the “Shellback
Ceremony” mostly taken on the 1954
Japan & South Pacific Cruise. This page serves to amplify how the “Green Goddess” stamp
was applied to a very traditional ship-board activity.
All of the slide show photographs used to illustrate the ceremony have been re-scanned to a better quality.
These were taken by me on the trip South to Rio de Janeiro on the 1966 Great World Cruise. Three of the
pictures illustrate rarely seen views of Caronia's working alleyway, which will soon feature as header
topic on the Timeline.
Preparations
Being one of the highlights of a sometimes lengthy period at sea, plenty of preparation was needed
for the ceremony. Of course there was plenty of excitement, and in some cases trepidation, over
what was to happen. To build up the tension, on the previous evening, while the passengers were
at dinner, the bedroom stewards would deliver King Neptune's Oceanogram to every stateroom.
On the crew deck the following morning, the crew swimming pool area would be prepared with bunting
and a small stage erected next to the pool. At precisely 2.30pm, Neptune's Court would emerge at the
aft end crew deck, greeted by cheers from the passengers watching from above.
The Neptune Ceremony
Having started off in the depths of Caronia's working alleyway, Neptune Rex's Court procession
would make its way up the companionway to the aft crew deck. It would then make its way up to the
Raleigh Room and eventually arrive at the passenger swimming pool to collect the passengers who
were crossing the line for the first time.
Quirky Characters
The “Crossing the Line Ceremony” always allowed for some quirky characters to display their
unique talents. Below we see Dr. Hackem with his tongue-in-cheek sandwich board adding a touch of the
macabre to the proceedings in January 1952. I
wonder if there's anyone who can throw light on who Dr. Hackem was, and tell us the story.
Right:
Dr. Hackem,
Physician and Mortician
Teeth and Legs Pulled
Watertight Coffins made to order!
[Photo: Caronia 1952 Africa Cruise
Courtesy of Peter Heath]
[Above:] Photo Ref: RDG12
Crossing the Line in 1959
Roger Debbage, behind Queen Amphitrite, struggles with the train of the Neptune cloak.
[Click on photo for enlargement in new window]
[Photos Above: Courtesy of Roger Debbage]
Temporary, for Nearly 20 Years!
The Caronia was probably unique in the way that on-board traditions always involved both passengers and crew.
Whilst “fraternising with passengers” was distinctly frowned upon, this ceremony, along with
talent shows, and of course the Annual Football match at Bergen always involved a mix of both.
Mention should be made of the “temporary swimming pool” erected on the foredeck on the orders of
Caronia's first Captain. This is an example where the term temporary can stretch over a period of nearly 20 years.
This is where the dunking part of the Crossing the Line ceremony was always performed mostly because it gave the best
viewing area for a greater numbers of passengers and crew.
The Ceremony Begins
Having processed from the passenger swimming pool, descended to the promenade deck and made their way forward,
the Court arrives at the crew swimming pool where the Captain and senior officers are waiting to greet
King Neptune and Queen Amphitrite, his Consort.
Of course, the ceremony involved a lot of “dressing-up”. However, this wasn't the LGBT
gay guys finding another excuse to wear “drag”! They would seek to “dress” quite a few
straight ones too. The more butch the guy, the better, as several photographs reveal.
Photo Ref: RB33
King Neptune's Court in SessionNavBar
First there's a speech by King Neptune, greeting and welcoming the gathering to his domain. Then
Queen Amphitrite reads out her list of those novices soon to be inducted into Neptune's Court. I say novices,
however from this point they are only referred to as “prisoners”.
One by one, they are presented to the Magistrate, who, having heard the highly imaginative “charges”
read out aloud, will ask the time-honoured question: Prisoner, are you guilty, or very guilty?
At which point the assembled crowd will chant, in triumph: Very, very Guilty!
Photo Ref: JAH10
The sea-urchins grab their man as the next for a ducking during the Crossing the Line ceremony of 28
February 1951
Once through their ordeal, all the inductees were then issued with a celebratory scroll which
was personally signed by the Captain and Cruise Director - as witnesses on King Neptune's behalf.
[1955 Image: The Rich Rabbett Collection]
[1963 Image: Courtesy of John Higgins]
[Click on the images to enlarge in new window]
Thanks to Peter Quinn, we can now see King Neptune's Court, all assembled in front of Caronia's funnel, before they
descend through the ship and reappear from the Raleigh Room, and process their way forward to the crew swimming-pool.
Down below in the crew quarters, being an Equatorial Novice was the source of some often fearful threats
of what was to happen when the day came. I suppose it depended upon how vulnerable you were as to the scale
of severity that was threatened.
As an extreme, the threats could include being stripped naked, blackened all over with shoe polish and ending
up in a cold shower. Being in a confined space like a ship could mean that there was no hiding place.
However, this kind of treatment was rarely carried out for real. I imagine that the fun was to be had in making
the prospect of crossing the line for the first time seem just a bit scary.
