The 1966 Virtual Spring Mediterranean Cruise

Introduction

Caronia's Spring Mediterranean Cruises in the period from 1964 to 1967 inclusive followed the same itinerary, only varying by a day either way, depending on the length of stay at the very popular port of Alexandria. This makes it a good candidate for transcribing into a Virtual Cruise here.

The other virtual cruises on the Timeline illustrate the earlier years of Caronia's cruising. With this cruise I have picked the penultimate season, which shows the several changes that had developed over the previous years. By 1966, the latest vogue in corporate branding had also been taken up by Cunard with several stark results.

Up until then everything that was published for her cruises was very much personalised to the Caronia. The new so-called professional approach did away with all that to the point where standardised booklets were produced that could be used on any Cunard ship. Of course, it all made good business sense because by the mid-1960s Cunard excursions to the Mediterranean were no longer the preserve of just the Caronia. The newly refitted “Carmania” and Franconia, along with the Mauretania were all being employed on “Cruises to the Med.” All three of these other ships now sported Caronia's famous “Cruising Green” livery too.

For a ship that had thus far enjoyed her uniqueness, not only with her livery, but also with her itineraries, there must have been a feeling of slight despair, as one of her main attractions was indeed her unique status. Corporate branding would, in the case of Caronia, signal a little downgrading of standards. She was very much a ship that people made their own, both from a crew and passenger point of view. It was this cachet that was perceived to be under attack.

The resources for this cruise come from the aforementioned corporate booklets, which despite my remarks, now carry a map of each the visited ports. Also used is a souvenir folder from the cruise, and the shore excursion books published by Thomas Cook & Son in 1964 and 1965. Even this company became “Cooks World Travel Service” in the interim.

So, lets begin our journey…

As with the Virtual Great World Cruise, you can either start from the beginning of the Virtual Mediterranean Cruise, or you can pick any port visited from the day index below.