The Pacific Idyll
Such was Caronia's reputation by this time, that she featured as the full-cover picture of a
January 1954 issue of “Newsweek” magazine. She was the flagship of their special
feature entitled “Booming Winter Travel: By Air, Land, and Sea.” The message to its readers
being that Caronia was the epitome of luxury and confirmed that indeed, this was “the
only way to travel…”!
An extract follows…
Travellers’ Choice:
Then there are the bespangled packages sold by the sea-foam-green Caronia and other luxury cruise
ships. The Caronia will steam out of New York harbour Jan. 23 with about 450 passengers who will
have paid all the way from $2,750 (stateroom for one) to $31,500 (a super suite for two, with
numerous shore tours) on a 99-day cruise of the South Pacific.
Cartoon which accompanied this Newsweek special report extract.
Image: © 1953 National Newspapers Syndicate
Chef William Ransom and his staff of 79 cooks, butchers, and bakers will provide the same choice of food for all passengers, regardless of what they paid. Ransom's luncheon suggestion for the first day of the voyage includes Minestrone Milanaise; poached Havana red snapper, Flamande; and grilled sirloin steak.
The Caronia will sail with 550 tons of foodstuffs, including delicacies from America and Europe (Bordeaux pigeon, fifteen varieties of foreign cheese) - enough to last the entire cruise.
She also will take on specialities of the islands she touches. There will be 17,000 gallons of beer aboard, mostly for the 680-strong British crew (one and one half crew members per passenger).
Still Setting the Pace!
To think that a ship, now 5 years old, could still make the front cover of a popular American magazine ahead of more recently launched ships was quite a triumph for Cunard's publicity department. Not only that, in a world where the pace of change was beginning to speed up, it was also a testimony that despite these new pretenders, the “Green Goddess” was still setting the pace!
The only concern about the report was the suggestion that while there was ample free food for the passengers, the possibility of free beer existed for the crew! Before you run away with the idea that we were all a bunch of drunkards, the average per crewman works out as just 2 pints a day, and we paid for it!
Mediterranean 
