The "Plonkies"

The Balmoral Rangers and the Sandringham Dynamos didn't have it all their own way in establishing a reputation for football or other sporting skills. Not to be outdone, there was also a fearsome team made up from the cooks and glory-hole stewards (the guys who looked after the crew accommodation) called “The Plonkies”. A feature of their World Cruise would be a match played in Bombay against a local police team.

See the dedicated Caronia Football Teams page, which includes a photograph of “The Plonkies” team.

A Caronia Crew Tradition

One other crew tradition aboard the Caronia was to make sure that you arrived back in the UK with a good “ bronzie .” After all, how could you tell anyone that you'd just returned from a “world cruise” and not have the skin colour to prove it?

In these days of factor sun-lotions and scare stories about skin cancer, just hanker after the days when you could go up on deck and get yourself the most enviable tan you could ever wish for! Arriving back in the UK in June ready to kit yourself out in the latest fashions, were you about to “knock 'em dead” or what?

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

Commentary extracts below also come from
the 1957 Great World Cruise Brochure

At Sea
Steaming Port Victoria to Bombay 1,748 miles

Log Abstract…
At: 12 Noon Position: 14.36N | 69.27E
Travelled: 482 miles
Gentle breeze, slight sea, cloudy & clear
315 nmi to Bombay

Fittingly, the liner lands at the foot of a huge and lovely arch, “The Gateway of India.” You'll travel upward to Malabar Hill, the finest residential district, for a magnificent panoramic view of the bay… the imposing buildings standing out against the skyline… the colourful Chowpatty beach immediately below. In the distance the blue outline of the burning western ghats. Still above the Hill are the Parsee Towers of Silence where the dead are exposed to the elements and the vultures sweep down to the offices of death.

Log Abstract…
At: 6am (LT) Bombay arrival
Passage: 3 days, 16 hours, 17 mins.
Voyage Distance: 1,748 miles
Average Speed: 19.8 knots

Bombay & India 1961

Bombay & India 1963

Bombay, 1965

India, 1956

India, 1967

Sunday
At Bombay

But after your days here you have only begun to see India. A variety of optional tours take you inland for a comprehensive view of many-sided India - equally proud of her ancient heritage and her modern ideas.

Depart Bombay 5am

You will now either leave India at Bombay, aboard the Caronia, or take an optional tour overland to Colombo, crossing the Bridge of Adam to Ceylon. And now the scene changes. It is India and yet it is not - and the Ceylonese will not wish you to confuse the two.

Log Abstract…
At: 5am (LT) Bombay departure
At: 12 Noon Position: 16.47N | 73.04E
Travelled: 133 miles
Light variable breeze, rippled sea, cloudy, fine & clear

Sunday At Sea
Steaming Bombay to Colombo 889 miles

Log Abstract…
At: 12 Noon Position: 09.57N | 75.51E
Travelled: 479 miles
Light variable breeze, rippled sea, part cloudy, fine & clear
314 nmi to Colombo

Arrive Colombo 5.54am

You'll drive along a roadway bordered by palms on one side and the Indian Ocean on the other, to Mount Lavinia… and then on up to Kandy, where Buddha's tooth is enshrined, through dense tunnels of lavish foliage. The native Sinhalese men with their brightly coloured petticoats and tortoise shell combs contrast strangely with the loosely draped dull materials of their hardworking women folk.

Log Abstract…
At: 5.54am (LT) Colombo arrival
Passage: 2 days, 0 hours, 54 mins.
Voyage Distance: 889 miles
Average Speed: 18.18 knots

Colombo 1963

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At Colombo
Depart Colombo 9.06pm

Log Abstract…
At: 9.06pm (LT) Colombo departure

At Sea

Four days of leisurely relaxation at sea and you're in Singapore the “crossroads of the World” - a small island off the southernmost tip of the Malay peninsula. A Chinese city under British rule.

Log Abstract…
At: 12 Noon Position: 05.50N | 83.47E
Travelled: 292 miles
Light variable breeze, rippled sea, fine & clear

At Sea
Steaming Colombo to Singapore - 1571 miles

Log Abstract…
At: 12 Noon Position: 06.00N | 91.49E
Travelled: 485 miles
Gentle Northerly breeze, slight sea, low swell, cloudy, fine & clear

At Sea

Log Abstract…
At: 12 Noon Position: 04.07N | 99.20E
Travelled: 479 miles
Light variable breeze, rippled sea, cloudy, fine & clear
315 nmi to Singapore

Arrive Singapore 4.51am

Log Abstract…
At: 4.51am (LT) Singapore arrival
Passage: 3 days, 5 hours, 45 mins.
Voyage Distance: 1,571 miles
Average Speed: 20.21 knots

Sunday St Patrick's Day
Depart Singapore 12.45pm

Log Abstract…
At: 12.45pm (LT) Singapore departure

At Sea
Steaming Singapore to Bangkok 800 miles

Log Abstract…
At: 12 Noon Position: 08.10N | 102.41E
Travelled: 461 miles
Slight sea, cloudy, fine & clear
345 nmi to Bangkok

Arrive Bangkok 4.51am

Log Abstract…
At: 4.42am (LT) Bangkok arrival
Passage: 1 day, 16 hours, 27 mins.
Voyage Distance: 806 miles
Average Speed: 19.93 knots

Singapore & Bangkok 1961

Singapore & Bangkok 1963

Bangkok, 1963

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Depart Bangkok 2.06am

Log Abstract…
At: 2.06am (LT) Bangkok departure
At: 12 Noon Position: 10.27N | 101.50E
Travelled: 201 miles
Rippled sea, part cloudy, fine & clear

At Sea
Steaming Bangkok to Bali 1,655 miles

Log Abstract…
At: 12 Noon Position: 02.56N | 105.04E
Travelled: 492 miles
Rippled sea, part cloudy, fine & clear

Cross Equator Southbound

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At Sea

Log Abstract…
At: 12 Noon Position: 03.49S | 109.55E
Travelled: 509 miles
Slight sea, part cloudy, fine & clear

Log Abstract…
At: 12 Noon Position: 07.50S | 115.12E
Travelled: 401 miles
Slight sea, overcast with frequent rain
65 nmi to Bali

Log Abstract…
At: 4.05pm (LT) Bali arrival
Passage: 3 days, 13 hours, 29 mins.
Voyage Distance: 1,668 miles
Average Speed: 19.51 knots

Bali 1963

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At Bali
Depart Bali 11.36pm

Log Abstract…
At: 11.36pm (LT) Bali departure

At Sea
Steaming Bali to Manila 1,511 miles

Once again you'll welcome the restful interlude of 3 or 4 days at sea before the Caronia slides gracefully into Manila, on one of the seven thousand Philippine Islands.

Log Abstract…
At: 12 Noon Position: 04.58S | 117.29E
Travelled: 249 miles
Slight sea, part cloudy, fine & clear

At Sea
Equator crossed Northbound

Log Abstract…
At: 12 Noon Position: 02.34N | 119.22E
Travelled: 477 miles
Slight sea, part cloudy, fine & clear

At Sea
Steaming Bali to Manila 1,511 miles

Log Abstract…
At: 12 Noon Position: 10.19N | 121.04E
Travelled: 479 miles
Slight sea, part cloudy, fine & clear
306 nmi to Manila

Arrive Manila 8.09am - Depart 11.09pm

Spanish tradition permeates the city, and within the old walled town of Intramuros there are ancient churches, forts and dungeons, among them Fort Santiago and its torture chamber, that reflect the three hundred years of Spanish Colonial rule. The Eternal Flame still burns at MacArthur's war-time Military Plaza headquarters in constant memory of the Liberation.

Log Abstract…
At: 08.09am (LT) Manila arrival
Passage: 3 days, 8 hours, 3 mins.
Voyage Distance: 1,511 miles
Average Speed: 18.88 knots
At: 11.09pm (LT) Manila departure

Manila 1959

Manila 1963

At Sea
Steaming Manila to Hong Kong 626 miles

Now you sail on to another outpost of liberty, and certainly one of the most important in the world, the island of Hong Kong.

Log Abstract…
At: 12 Noon Position: 17.08N | 118.00E
Travelled: 252 miles
Slight sea, moderate Northerly swell, cloudy, fine & clear
374 nmi to Hong Kong

Sunday Arrive Hong Kong 6.39am

Log Abstract…
At: 6.39am (LT) Hong Kong arrival
Passage: 1 day, 6 hours, 30 mins.
Voyage Distance: 626 miles
Average Speed: 20.52 knots

Hong Kong 1961

Hong Kong 1963

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