CRUISE HISTORY - The S.S. Vestris was a passenger and cargo liner built by Workman Clarke & Co. Ltd. of Belfast, Ireland, for the Lamport & Holt Line. She weighed 10,660 gross tons, had twin screw propulsion, a speed of 15 knots, and could carry 280 first class, 130 second class, and 200 third class passengers with a crew of 250. Launched on May 16, 1912, Vestris made her maiden voyage on September 19, 1912, and was chartered in 1922 to Royal Mail, sailing between New York and Buenos... Read Full Story

FINDING STEAMSHIP PASSENGER LISTS, IMMIGRATION RECORDS - 1820s - 1940a Cruising The Past receives numerous requests for ship’s passenger lists, manifests and listings.   The following may help in your search.  We suggest you visit the following websites: JOE BEINE’S LISTING OF PASSENGER LISTS AND IMMIGRATION RECORDS _______________________________________________________ By searching Google you will find many indexes of passenger lists (also called immigration records or ship m... Read Full Story

OASIS OF THE SEAS vs RMS TITANIC RMS TITANIC is dwarfed by the new OASIS OF THE SEAS - A comparison in size. Size Matters: Big Media Coverage For The World’s Biggest Cruise Ship Creates Cruise Ship History Cruise Ship History: Before Royal Caribbean’s new “Oasis of the Seas” begins its first voyage on December 1, it will already have drawn more pre-inaugural media attention than any cruise ship in modern history. To begin with, WABC’s top-rated “Good Morning America” show will be do... Read Full Story

Cruise Line History: DOES MADONNA KNOW THAT EVITA (EVA PERON) HAD TWO CRUISE SHIPS NAMED AFTER HER? The Argentine liners were called the SS EVITA and the SS EVA PERON. They were similar in design to the SS JUAN PERON. The ships ran from Argentina (South America) to Europe and the USA. Three views of the SS EVA PERON (later renamed the SS URUGUAY). Cia Argentian de Nav Dodero’s EVA PERON was launched in 1949. Named in honor of dictator Juan Peron’s wife, the ship was 12,627 GRT, 530 feet in l... Read Full Story

CRUISE HISTORY: High in the Andes mountain range, a huge lake straddles the borders between Bolivia and Peru. Lake Titicaca is one of the largest lakes in South America being more than 115 miles in length and over fifty miles across at its widest point. Although over 12,500 feet above sea level and at least 200 miles from the coast, it is also home to a small fleet of ships which makes it the highest navigable waterway in the world. The two largest steamships to ply their trade across these... Read Full Story

Cruise History was made as Royal Caribbean Cruise Line’s Oasis of the Seas arrived into Port Everglades in Ft Lauderdale, Florida. The weather was PERFECT!!! Oasis of the Seas is now the largest cruise ship in the world.  Five times bigger than the Titanic.  Watch and listen to the excitement as the Oasis enters her home Port for the first time. Filmed from the location of the “World Famous” MortgageMobile.com Webcam. The Oasis of the Seas was accompanied by a flotilla of s... Read Full Story

S/S Himalaya was the first new passenger liner of the postwar period for P&O. The Himalaya was a splendid ship and the fastest and largest ship P&O had ever owned until that time. She had a top speed of 25 knots. The Himalaya was a contemporary of Orient Line’s Orcades and these ships marked a gradual coming together of the new liners of each company in the postwar era. She was a record breaker and cut the UK to Bombay passage by 5 days and reduced the overall voyage to Austral... Read Full Story

CURISING THE PAST - SAILING TO JAPAN DURING THE JAZZ AGE - ACROSS THE PACIFIC - ABOARD THE NYK LINES AND OSK LINES Jazz Age Destination - 1920s - YouTube video - great films of the fabulous Orient before WW2. M/S Asama Maru (1929) and M/S Tatsutu Maru (1930) - NYK Line One of Japan’s proudest periods in passenger shipping was the 1929 building of two of the finest and most luxurious ships ever to sail the Pacific Ocean - the Asama Maru and Tatsuta Maru. They were routed on NYK Line&... Read Full Story

FIVE TIMES BIGGER THAN THE RMS TITANIC - THE OASIS OF THE SEAS Departs Finland. A new chapter in Cruise History. The Oasis has also been voted one of the ugliest ships in the world. THE OASIS OF THE SEAS - Aft view. THE DOOMED TITANTIC CRUISE HISTORY: OASIS OF THE SEAS, the world’s largest cruise ship, passes the island of Ruissalo shortly after departing the Turku, Finland shipyard of STX Europe, where she was built. The above YouTube footage was recorded October 30, 2009 at 08:... Read Full Story

HOLLYWOOD HISTORY - HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD - TRIBUTE TO JOHNNY MERCER GREAT YOUTUBE VIDEO OF HOLLYWOOD HISTORY - CLICK TO PLAY John Herndon “Johnny” Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American songwriter and singer. As a songwriter, he is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others. From the mid-1930s through the mid-1950s, many of the songs Mercer wrote and performe... Read Full Story