Whilst most of the rest of the site conveys the standard of luxury aboard, within this and next month's
Page Headers I'll try to convey the kind of atmosphere aboard, especially in the Balmoral Restaurant.
Even for the 1966 Great World Cruise, the clientèle aboard Caronia were fabulously wealthy.
Prior to this there had been the Sterling Cruise, a 14-day transatlantic positioning crossing; the only cruise
of the year that would start from Southampton, and carry mostly British passengers. The atmosphere on board
on this crossing, with 2 classes, was very different to that found whilst Caronia was cruising as a one-class ship.
On this outward transatlantic we would have none other than a Rothschild (of the famous Banking family)
sat at one of the deuce tables with his “personal nurse”. During the whole of the 14 days
this elderly “gentleman of the old school” barely said a word directly to us; his meal order
always being placed by his nurse.
As Cunard waiters, we knew our place! Don't for a moment think that this man was rude, he came across as
being a very kindly person and he was certainly generous towards us at the end of the voyage. My mate and
I had a friendly wager on whether he would “come across”, and I won!
Diagram of Seating Plan in Balmoral Restaurant
[Image: Gaillard Collection]
During the 1965 refit, both the private dining rooms (seen annexed bottom left in the diagram)
were removed and formed a new annexe with 3 deuce and 2 four-tables. This would be my station
for the next 5 months.
Then came the introduction to the people whom we'd be serving up to three times a day for the
next 96 days. Of our dozen, there were four people whom I shall never forget. The first two
were elderly sisters from New York. For every meal whilst we were at sea, they would always be
the first two people to enter the restaurant, as soon as the doors were opened.
Don't get me wrong, these two were tremendous characters and they were a total joy to serve. One of them, although
nearly 90 years of age, was as sprightly and as quick-witted as someone half her age. Whenever I was asked what I
recommended from that day's menu, I'd always ensure that a good hearty meal was proposed.
I'd then be gently admonished - “You'll make us both fat!!” to which I'd answer in a whisper -
“You'll only get fat if you worry about it - just look at me!”
Meet Mr. & Mrs. Handlebar
The other notable pair were from Chicago. They had taken one of the new suites on Main Deck and also had a large cabin
each on “A Deck” for their exclusive use as walk-in closets and dressing rooms. One of the reasons why my
two ladies above used to come into the restaurant so early was to avoid this other couple, derided with a simple shake
of the head and… “All that ostentation!”
We only ever saw this couple for dinner and then only ever for meals served at sea. For the benefit of the story I'll
call them Mr & Mrs. Handlebar, for Mr. H. sported quite a grand and generous moustache of that pattern.
For dinner the restaurant doors were open from 7.30pm until 9.15pm. Despite this, they did their best to make sure
that no-one would miss their arrival each evening. Never before 8.30pm was their grand entrance ever made. I did say
grand entrance didn't I?
From the very first evening until the very last, not on any occasion did Mrs. Handlebar ever enter the Balmoral
Restaurant wearing either the same outfit, or the same accessories. Don't for a moment think that Mr. Handlebar was to
be out-done either.
Just how many shades of black, blue, red or brown blazer - each with a different pocket badge could there be?
…and then there were the many styles of tuxedo and dinner jacket!
Nevertheless, it was definitely Mrs. Handlebar who stole the show. She never failed to look totally amazing. Every
outfit was perfectly themed and matched and then decked out with enough diamonds and/or pearls to make even Dame
Elizabeth Taylor blush.
Clearly, even in the tropics, Caronia's air-conditioning worked very efficiently. Enough to keep the ship sufficiently
cool to ensure that Mrs. H. would wear a fur stole the 2 decks down in the elevator to the restaurant.
In today's money that couple would have spent well over half a million dollars just to get aboard Caronia and park
their steamer trunks. The jewellery and furs carried by Mrs. Handlebar would have been worth tens of thousands of
dollars each and every evening.
Whilst on transatlantic crossings the atmosphere in the Balmoral was slightly formal. On cruises, although dress for
dinner was mostly formal, it was much more like a country-club. Many of the passengers knew each other from previous
cruises and there was quite a “cachet” in being able to throw the most glamorous of parties aboard.
So, it would be a full 10 mins before Mr. and Mrs. Handlebar would reach their 4 seat table as they did their meeting
and greeting. Of our 12 passengers rarely did anyone other than our two sisters come down for lunch, preferring either
the deck buffet or being served in their staterooms.
This pattern was soon noticed by the Restaurant Manager's team and one of us would usually be seconded to the Deck
Buffet up on the Promenade Deck when at sea. It was a good job too, otherwise lunchtimes would have been really tedious.
This page shows the Actual Itinerary followed by Caronia after the original was replaced in
June 1965 to take account of security issues in the Indian sub-continent. This link will take you to
the Originally Planned Itinerary
for February 1966.
On a 96 day Great World Cruise several of the more popular films would feature on more than one daily programme . Both
of these films, being pre-releases, needed to be returned to New York once the Caronia arrived in Rio de Janeiro
Log Abstract… At: 12 Noon 14:00 (GMT) Position: 18.29S | 37.22W Travelled: 471 miles
Light N.N.Easterly breeze, slight following sea, cloudy and clear
463 nmi to Rio de Janeiro
Log Abstract… At: 10:30 (LT) 12:30 (GMT) Rio de Janeiro arrival Passage: 6 days, 4 hours, 33 mins. Total Distance: 3,240 miles Average Speed: 20.44 knots
Log Abstract… At: 00:09 (LT) 02:09 (GMT) Rio de Janeiro departure At: 12 Noon 14:00 (GMT) Position: 24.34S | 39.17W Travelled: 230 miles
Fresh NE by Northerly breeze, slight to moderate sea, cloudy & clear
At Sea
Steaming Rio de Janeiro to Cape Town 3,272 miles
The low mileage today was due to the ship being stopped at sea the previous evening! The fires were going out
in the boilers due to the fuel-oil being salt-water contaminated. Chief Engineer Willie Farmer quickly arranged for
fuel to be transferred to settling tanks from where the separated fuel could be fed, and the fires relit.
This arrangement continued until the “Green Goddess” reached Cape Town. Being aboard a ship stopped at sea
is a very eerie feeling! All the while, even in port, you are aware of the constant faint whine and slight vibration
of the ship's turbines.
With the ship stopped, and only lit by the emergency lighting, you become far more aware of other sounds, even people's
voices seem to change. This is all highlighted by missing that comforting background effect that the ship is somehow
“alive”.
Log Abstract… At: 6:30 (LT) 04:30 (GMT) Cape Town arrival Passage: 7 days, 2 hours, 21 mins. Total Distance: 3,272 miles Average Speed: 19.21 knots
Mystery Solved
The fuel mystery was solved when waiter Ricky Collinson, scuba-dived to inspect the ship's hull
during the stay at Cape Town. Apparently, during the Belfast refit, the shot-blasting had been so powerful
it had weakened several rivets to the point where their heads broke off while under stress at sea, allowing
the ingress of seawater. New plugs were made and fitted to make the tanks oil-tight once again.
with slide show
