Author: Neil.B.Ennis

Postcards from CruiseCritic friend Lesley. Thanks Lesley!

Ellinis

Chandris liner Ellinis circa 1971.

This one makes a lovely match to another postcard I have of Ellinis here: https://blog.neilennis.com/index.php/arriving-in-oz/

The “X” on the funnels is a greek “Chi” and stands for “Chandris” – she was part of the Chandris line.

This was the ship that my family migrated to Australia aboard in 1965. She carried many migrants to Australia in her time.

Built in 1932, she was originally named “Lurline” of the Matson line, and had distinguished herself during WW2 serving as a troop carrier, and was fortunate to have left Pearl Harbour in 1941 about 3 days prior to the Japanese attack.

Former Australian PM John Curtin sailed on her as part of a voyage to meet with President Roosevelt.

She was scrapped in the 1980’s and parts of her were cannibalized for use on “Britanis” another Chandris ship.

She may not be as pretty as some of the more modern ships, but with a history of over 50 years she touched the lives of many people who, todoay, would probably never have had the chance to cruise.

Fairsea

Sitmar liner Fairsea.
You can read a more detailed history of Sitmar ships here: http://www.prijt-priet.nl/htm/fairsea.htm

Fairsea was built in 1941, and originally named “Rio de la Plato”. She was taken over by the Royal Navy in 1941, renamed “HMS Charger” and fitted out as an aircraft carrier. She was later handed over to the US Navy who renamed her “USS Charger” after which she spent most of her war service in the Pacific.

Purchased by Alvion Steam Ship Corporation in 1949, she was converted into a Passenger Liner, and renamed “Fairsea”, and operated as a Passenger Liner and Cruise Ship until 1969 when she was eventually broken up for scrap.

DE-253807
Originally uploaded by MagicTyger

“Ile de France”, French Line. Built 1927. A Postcrossing Postcard from Maren who lives in the west of Germany on the River Rhine.

The “Ile de France” was the first major ocean liner built after WW1, and was entirely decorated with Art Deco designs. She was considered the most beautifully decorated ship built until the SS Normandie.

Her dining room was said to be magnificent – three decks high, with a grand staircase.

She boasted a gymnasium, shooting gallery, a gothic style chapel and merry-go-round/

Her entrance foyer was four decks high, and cabins boasted beds instead of bunks.

She was the fastest mailship of her time. Not because of excessive speed, but because she had a sea-plane catapult at her stern. When the ship was within 200 miles of land, she would launch the mail in a seaplane. Thus the mail would arrive sooner than if it had stayed aboard the ship.

She had a distinguished record in World War 2, on loan to the British admiiralty.

She was eventually sold to Japansese scrap merchants in 1959.

What a grand old ship.

Thanks for the postcard, Maren!

More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Ile_de_France

Here’s a couple of postcards that Shiona from Cruise Critic sent me.

Marco Polo
Built in the old communist East Germany in 1965 as the “Alexandr Pushkin”, she was renamed “MS Marco Polo” in 1991 when she was purchased by Orient Lines. At just under 20,000 tonnes, and 176m long, she was capabile of carrying about 650 passengers. Some unusual things about her: Some cabins had six berths. All cabins had an outside view. Bathrooms had 3 taps: Hot, Cold and Seawater. She also had a reinforced hull to allow navigation through ice. She also was built with potential military use in mind. Her larger than usual storage capacity meant a cruising range of over 10,000 nautical miles.

Fair Princess
Originally built in 1955 for Cunard as “RMS Carinthia”, she sailed under a myriad of names: Fairland (1968 – 1970), Fairsea (1970 – 1988), Fair Princess (1988 – 2000), Emerald Fortune (2000 – 2001), China Sea Discovery (2001 – 2005), Sea Discovery (2005 – 2006). Weighing in at almost 22,000 tonnes, she was 185m long and could carry about 1,300 passengers. She was build in the same shipyard as QE2 (John Brown & Co, Clydebank), and was eventually broken up for scrap at Alang in India.