The 1965 Virtual Summer Mediterranean Cruise

Preface

The 1965 Summer Mediterranean Cruise was the 3rd one that I worked on, having rejoined the Caronia after an absence of 7 months working in Switzerland. Even this late on, former stewards from a particular ship could get called back by the Shipping Federation. As I was under contract by them I had no option but to return. Within less than 12 months, the British Seamen's Strike would put paid to all that!

Looking back, the 1960s was probably a great rival to the 1920s for being a bit of a decadent decade within the 20th Century. After all, it wasn't called the Swinging Sixties for nothing! You may be wondering: “What does all this have to do with this Summer Cruise?”

The answer is that by this time, both on board and ashore, the world seemed a happier and much more relaxed place. Probably the only thing to mar this was the Vietnam War. To us Brits, seeing and hearing about this on every news broadcast not only became: “Oh, those tiresome Yanks”, the level of brutality seemed to escalate in parallel opposition with its progress toward U.S. victory. Strafing of people with burning fuel?

Reflecting Changes

If this seems to have any parallels with today, perish the thought. Back then, elsewhere on the planet there was far more trust and the future of the World seemed to be much more secure than it is now. Security was not an invasive or even that restrictive process. Embarkation days would see passengers and their guests made welcome aboard the ship with little more than someone in their party able to brandish their embarkation card.

Not everyone saw the changes with great glee. There might have been bright or garish colours, depending on your point of view. Of course there was also easy washing, and drip-dry but there were drawbacks too. Static electricity, and the inability of man-made threads to cope well with contact between fabric and human skin, especially in the warmer climes that Caronia visited, soon meant a search for a return to proper cotton sheets, shirts and underwear.

The ship returning from its refit later this year with blue plastic deck chairs was another sign of things to come, and not greeted with that much glee. They might have been easy to clean and stack, but they looked quite incongruous on a lido deck where the wind could easily blow them over, move them untidily around or, of course, simply pick them up and fly them overboard. Not so for the much comfier Cunard “steamer chairs” that are still not out of place, even on the deck of a 21st Century ship!

A Relaxed Approach

If you have followed the other Virtual Cruises here, you will probably have noticed that there is a slight difference in style with each one. While I'm keen to keep the presentation of the site as uniform as I can, I'm also keen on not making the content too repetitive. In places where I can do other than simply report Caronia's position, I feel that it's important to try and reflect the modern World, as it was back then. As a result, this Virtual Tour will be a far more relaxed affair, influenced by three factors…

• Firstly, by this time all the stuffiness and formality of the 1950s was but a distant memory
• Secondly, although talk of rationalisation on Cunard had begun late in 1964, the effects of it were yet to show on board the ship. You will probably notice this stark difference in the 1966 Virtual Spring Mediterranean Cruise
• Thirdly, this cruise isn't overshadowed by a looming strike loaded with potentially devastating consequences

All this allows me to describe a cruise literally at the top of Caronia's career. The ship was full and also full of good cheer.

Introduction

The basic material that forms this Virtual Cruise comes from the acquisition of a Souvenir Voyage Folder from a passenger, now Mrs. Margaret Walsh. Margaret is as delighted as I am that this has ended up in my archive. On top of this I'm intending to not only place my recollections here but also those of others, including Margaret, to try and give a real flavour of the period and how enjoyable it was.

Adding all the various pieces together will take a while, so at first the pages of this cruise may not seem very different from the others. However, the magic of the Internet allows this fluid building approach, so probably each time you visit there will be something new to see.

So, lets begin our journey…

As with any of the other Virtual Cruises here, you can either start from the beginning of the Virtual Summer Mediterranean Cruise, or you can pick any port visited from the day index below.