Normandie Brochure, 1939 Rio Cruise

So would you or wouldn't you sail on this cruise?  That was the question prospective passengers were faced with when choosing to sail on this Normandie voyage.  The 1938 cruise had been popular enough despite the VAST cost which limited the passenger list to those wealthy few who could have afforded the trip.  Because of the coming war, I suppose,…

Olympia (1953), Chair

There are so many wonderful things to say about the old Greek liner Olympia.  You might know her as the cruise ship Regal Empress.  I was lucky enough to sail on her 3 times, and as many of you know, she was stunning inside and out.  Built on the Clyde in Scotland, she was the Greek Line's only new build,…

Chair, First-Class Dining Room

One of the most beautiful and stylish (not to mention desirable) ocean-liner chairs available anywhere.  A first-class dining-room chair from the Queen Mary.  Recently restored, this chair is made of solid sycamore and now glows just like it did when the QM was in service.  Something that not many people know is that there were actually two sizes of dining…

Caronia (1949) Cabin Telephone

A phone by GEC and made for the most luxurious ship Cunard ever operated, the RMS Caronia. "You can telephone to any part of the world whilst at sea."  Can you imagine being in the middle of the North Atlantic and sitting in your cabin on an ocean liner talking to people back home?  It must have seemed like the …

Britannic (1914) Woodwork, First-Class Smoke Room

Britannic was to become more important than ever to White Star Line's future in 1914 and 1915, but as we know, it was not to be.  Her interiors were largely completed, however, and much was installed before she became a hospital ship.  Her first-class smoking room was not installed when she sank in 1916, and that is fortunate for us…