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Southern Pacific’s OAKLAND PIER in the 1950s was the gateway to San Francisco. The Oakland Long Wharf, later known as the Oakland Pier or the SP Mole was a massive railroad wharf and ferry pier in Oakland, California. It was located at the foot of Seventh Street. Ferry approaching San ... Read More »

With the 65th anniversary of the record-breaking voyage of the SS United States, the SS United States Conservancy has published a clip from the documentary film Lady in Waiting showing footage from the ship’s maiden voyage. On July 3, 1952, the SS United States departed New York and proceeded to ... Read More »

National holidays were celebrated onboard liners and cruise ships with special events and elaborate menus. From Russian Caviar to Filet Mignon to Ice Cup, Independence Gourmandizes. Anchor Line’s SS CITY OF ROME – July 4th Menu – 1900 The Anchor Line trans-Atlantic passenger liner CITY OF ROME, built by the ... Read More »

When the last night boat ended its service in April 1962, a travel editor noted that it would be especially missed by one particular group of passengers: honeymooners. Twelve hours is plenty of time to get to know someone. These “night boats” operated throughout the United States and Canada from ... Read More »

Instead of those boring shows presented by the cruise lines – the ship’s should rely on their entertainers to produce them.  This is a great video of cast members doing their own video instead of the dreary shows created by someone like Barry Manilow. All those cruise lines advertise what ... Read More »

Mar-a-Lago, the grand estate now owned by President Donald Trump in Palm Beach, Florida, was built from 1924 to 1927 by cereal-company heiress and socialite Marjorie Merriweather Post. Trump apparently feels more comfortable at Mar-a-Lago than almost anywhere else, and his pleasure in the estate was in evidence when I ... Read More »

The German shipping magnate was responsible for turning Germany into a world leader in ocean travel prior to World War I. With 25,000 employees, Hapag was the largest shipping line in the world for both freight and people (464,000 passengers in 1913). It was Albert Ballin who also invented the ... Read More »

Fall River’s Borden family helped fund the company.  They were mainly known for their famous family member: Lizzie Borden. B was tried and acquitted of the axe murders of her father and stepmother… Cruise History – The Old Fall River Line – Everyone from presidents to swindlers sailed the Sound on ... Read More »

The RMS Empress of Ireland sinking resulted in the deaths of more passengers than the RMS Titanic disaster. In this horrific maritime disaster, over a thousand passengers en route from Quebec to Liverpool were lost in just fifteen minutes—the length of time it took for the ocean liner to sink ... Read More »

The first all-gay cruises were operated by RSVP cruises aboard the SS BERMUDA STAR thirty years ago. This is a retro look at gay life in the 1980s aboard the first gay cruises.  Operated by gay pioneer RSVP, the passengers dubbed the ship Bermuda Star Cruise Line ship the SS BRENDA STARR. ... Read More »