Introduction

Below are the descriptions of the six Virtual Tours that are about the Caronia, her building, crew areas and her maiden voyage, along with the enormous impact she made on the World. At a time of recovery from World War II, and certainly a period of severe austerity in Britain, Cunard's launching of the “Green Goddess” caused quite a sensation!

Caronia Maiden Voyage Tour

Now split into two parts…

Part 1 has 4 pages of researched news extracts covering Caronia's Maiden Voyage to New York.

Part 2 features 10 pages of mostly text. The source being 16 sheets that formed the insert to a Souvenir Folder produced in the USA for Caronia's Maiden Arrival.

Reproducing exact facsimiles of the Souvenir Folder pages was not really a viable on-line reading option, so the texts from the original pages have been rearranged to provide easier access.

Below Decks Virtual Tour

Presently consisting of 6 pages, this tour illustrates various aspects of the “Crew Only!” areas aboard the Caronia. There are deckplans, sectional drawings, descriptions of Caronia's funnel and two sections of the Engine Room. A rare copy of a Chef's Vegetable Order has also been transcribed into this tour.

Below Decks - Crew Areas Tour starts here…

The Cunard Brochure Tour

Spread over 8 parts, this tour carries pictures from a number of Cunard brochures showing the range of public rooms and other passenger accommodations.

The first four parts show pictures and text that give an insight into the luxurious surroundings provided.

Part 5 is devoted to the dining experience and Part 6 shows the passenger accommodation. A significant move in the mid-1950s to maintain dress standards on board ship is reflected in Part 7, while Part 8 provides the Caronia deck-plans.

Introduction

Providing a selection of Virtual Cruises has been built upon the premise that the amount of source information to hand would overwhelm the content of the Daily Activity pages. It means that there is sufficient information for me to present a format where one day or a small group of days can feature on each page.

A different style approach has deliberately been taken for each cruise, so that each will hold their own interest. If you have never cruised before, the 1951 World Cruise starts with all the planning stages, ahead of boarding to enjoy the sights.

The range of Virtual Cruises offers you an opportunity to live vicariously aboard Caronia for a whole year, but in different periods throughout her career. The best bit being that there's no fares or port taxes to pay, no packing and no rush to get anywhere!

With all these virtual cruises, be prepared to be transported…

The Virtual
1949 Caribbean Sunshine Cruise

The selection starts with Caronia's very first cruise to the Caribbean in February 1949… All of Caronia's short Caribbean Cruises included ports on the north-east tip of South America as well as popular places like Cuba and the West Indies.

Virtual Caribbean Cruise P:1Intro + Itinerary

The deck-hike pages are pretty special in that some extremely rare colour photographs are used as illustrations to keep you fully in context as to where you are at any moment.

T.R. Schoonover's
1952 Africa-India Travelogue

This Virtual Cruise follows the 2nd “Green Goddess” around Africa adventure, which was extended to visit India. It is based upon Caronia passenger Thomas R. Schoonover's privately published booklet, comprised of regular reports back to his local newspaper, the “The Lima News”.

Africa-India Diary Introduction

I was initially restricted by possible Copyright issues, so there were only extracts from this booklet placed here. However, following contact with his grand-daughter, Christine Zachary, I'm delighted to offer a complete transcript of this document, and enhance it into a fully illustrated Virtual Cruise.

As with many other documents I have transcribed here, this offers a unique insight into the social history of the period, and it makes quite fascinating reading.

Starting in 1951, the Caronia North Cape cruise was an unbroken event starting annually in July from New York, initially with calls to Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Scotland and Ireland before ending at Le Havre and Southampton. Spread over 16 pages this virtual cruise will take you to the lands of the Midnight sun and arguably the most scenic places found on any Caronia itinerary.

1952 was the 2nd of 17 annual Caronia pilgrimages made to the North Cape. Only the basic planning details are provided, as these are well covered in the Virtual Great World Cruise pages. Over the years the ports of call would be extended, until by the end Caronia would also visit Poland, Denmark, Germany and Holland before crossing to Scotland.

A.M. Staehle's Travelogue

Day-to-Day Index…

Letters home on the 1961 Great World Cruise

Even as late as 2021, someone pops up with a set of texts that are plain and simple social history recordings of their time. Sharon Atkins, grand-daughter of “Al” Staehle offered me just such treasure.

Al and his wife, Lois, climbed aboard Caronia in New York on the same day that President John F. Kennedy was inaugurated in Washington, DC. His texts are a collection of letters about how they viewed their destinations. They were sent to family and chosen friends, collated by Sharon, and also shared with us.

Although there was much political strife in World of that time, and despite his own interest in politics, Al has kept his personal commentary almost uniquely about the places they visited. If you think that attitudes were never driven by media so much such as they are today, you might need to review that opinion.

Begins with Sharon's Introduction

This Summer Mediterranean Cruise was the fifth of seven excursions to this area of the World, and the third cruise that I worked on board Caronia. The tone of this cruise is different to that of the 1966 Spring Cruise, as it reflects a far more care-free period.

This Virtual Cruise shows Caronia more or less at the epitome of her career. It also demonstrates that by the mid-1960s social changes had made their mark almost all around the World, with perhaps one major exception. Gone are the reserved attitudes and stuffiness of the 1950s, the “Swinging Sixties” had truly arrived!