THE PAST AND NOW | News, Travel & Social History News about Cruising, Social History, Ships, Trains, & Travel

Chasen’s was a glamorous world – “Celebrity chefs” will never replace stylish hosts and personalities such as Dave Chasen or Vincent Sardi or Mike Romanoff. I had dinner at Chasen’s many times. First, with my parents and then later on when I had become a producer. Dinner with Groucho Marx, ... Read More »

Over fifteen hundred passengers lost their lives onboard the Royal Mail Ship (RMS) Titanic. She was one of three Olympic Class passenger liners commissioned by the White Star Shipping Line. Scene from Titanic movies. Hailed as a wonder of luxury, power, and style she first rolled into the water from ... Read More »

The S.S. ACAPULCO was the first passenger liner to fly the Mexican flag and commenced service from Los Angeles to Acapulco with regular cruise service in 1962. There were special connecting airfares from San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, and San Diego. The Acapulco, a 24,400-ton cruise ship formerly sailed between ... Read More »

When President Biden unveiled his major new infrastructure plan last week, the proposal included much more than fixing crumbling bridges. And for those who wish America had a more robust passenger train network, it gave them something new: hope. Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure package has two provisions involving passenger rail: ... Read More »

A new Senate subcommittee on travel and tourism held its first hearing on Tuesday and called for the U.S. government to enact specific steps to kickstart U.S. tourism after a devastating 2020. Lawmakers were eager to know when international inbound restrictions that have hit tourism-dependent states like Florida, Nevada and ... Read More »

The New York to Detroit market was once crowded with trains, served primarily by the New York Central and Pennsylvania while the Baltimore & Ohio also offered exceptional services via Washington, D.C. The trains weren’t the victims of cancellation due to weather. The North Easter last week wouldn’t have stopped ... Read More »

Few commercial sectors have been battered by COVID-19 as badly as the cruise industry, which came to a screeching halt at roughly this time one year ago. The CDC first signed its No-Sail Order on March 14, 2020, and cruise ships around the globe, already in mid-voyage, scrambled for somewhere ... Read More »

Travel by cruise ship or passenger liner in the 1950s and 1960s was far different from today’s cruising. Many passengers were traveling from one point to another, they had a destination, while others were taking cruises. You could be sailing across the pond to Europe for business or pleasure, heading ... Read More »