The RMS Caronia Calendar

1965 Calendar

Thanks to George Peterson, I'm reminded of another item that was produced by the Caronia's print shop, the ship's calendar. Nothing special in that perhaps, except you could obtain one for taking or sending home whilst you were away.

Its usefulness was in the annotations that were added to every day, so that folks back home could tell at a glance where the Caronia and their loved-ones were. As I have found with building these Timeline pages, the detail put into the production of this calendar was by no means a five-minute job!

The Sterling Cruise

Another reminder that this calendar brings is that the trip taken this month, from Southampton to New York via the Caribbean and Port Everglades, was called “The Sterling Cruise” and was priced in GB Pounds. This first trip of the year was so-called because all the ports East of New York were in the Sterling currency area. Also, the accommodation was offered as Cabin and First Claas whereas Caronia's other cruises were First Class only.

On 30 January 1965 London witnessed one of the largest State Funerals in history held for Sir Winston Churchill, who had died on 24 January. In memory of such a great man, no British ship would have missed holding a Memorial Service for the benefit of everyone aboard wishing to pay their respects.

Just 3 days into the 1965 Great World Cruise and arriving early that morning into Port Everglades, the service was conducted in the open on Caronia's deck aft of the Verandah Café. The start of the funeral proceedings in London had been at 9:45am, after Big Ben had chimed its 3rd quarter that hour.

The End of An Era

Accordingly, the service in Florida was timed to begin upon the ¾ hour rather than on the hour which was normal for religious worship. Proceedings would be conducted by the Captain, with maybe the Lesson reading performed by an attending priest.

Churchill's passing was the end of an era; the twilight of an Empire and a herald of great change in the UK. The shadows of WWII had been very long indeed! What was remarkable was Her Majesty the Queen breaking more than one Royal protocol at his funeral, as a profound mark of esteem.

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Depart Southampton PM
At Sea
Crossing English Channel 75 miles

06 Jan 1st Dinner Suggested Menu

At New York
Embark passengers for 1965 World Cruise 8pm to Midnight
Depart New York 1am on 28th

At Sea
Start of 1965 Great World Cruise

Sunday Depart Port Everglades AM with 493 passengers

• 1965 Great World Cruise Passenger List transcript