Cruising The Past Cruise News

The Delta Line was cruising to South America from New Orleans in the 1950s. The steamship company introduced three revolutionary passenger-cargo ships to its South American services in the post-war years of the 1940s. In keeping with the trade name of the company, “Delta Line”, the three vessels were given ... Read More »

The GORDON C. GREENE sailed south on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers – from Cincinnati to New Orleans and back. Nearly 70 years ago.  When times were much different. The cruise cost $220 or about ten dollars a day  Capt. Mary Greene – co-owner of the Greene Line, and for ... Read More »

Greene Line Steamers originated as a family-owned and operated business established by Captain Gordon C. Greene and his wife, Captain Mary Greene. After working his way from deckhand to captain, Gordon Greene purchased his first steamboat with his own savings in 1890. The last years of the 19th century and ... Read More »

First as the trans-Pacific record holder liner, then serving during World War 2, followed by being renamed the Empress of Scotland on the trans-Atlantic run and then finally sailing under the German flag. It was ironic, the allied ship used during WW 2 to fight the Nazis, was sold to ... Read More »

The USA Olympic Team sailed aboard the SS America to England in 1948. The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in London, England, United Kingdom. After a 12-year hiatus because of World War II, these were ... Read More »

Social History: Los Angeles icon novelist John Rechy, a first-generation Mexican American who has chronicled gay life in America, received the Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime achievement at a gala ceremony at the University of Southern California last month. John Rechy, like Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams and Gore Vidal shares ... Read More »

She’s the largest luxury cruise liner ever built in the United States using all American products and by American workers: Meet “America’s Flagship,” the S.S. United States. Cruise industry executive and philanthropist Jim Pollin, owner of the Pollin Group and winner of the SS United States Conservancy’s National Flagship Champion ... Read More »

Monday, May 7th marks the 101st anniversary of the sinking of the R.M.S. Lusitania. The Liverpool-built passenger ship whose destruction sparked the United States’ decision to enter World War I in 1917. “Enlist” (mother and child drowning), by Fred Spear, June 1915. WWI recruitment poster published by the Boston Committee ... Read More »

The Southern Pacific Railroad was a major element in the development of Palm Springs. At one time the SP offered passenger service on over eight daily trains. The SP, Union Pacific, and Santa Fe Railroads brought thousands of visitors to Palm Springs. Palm Springs was a retreat for movie stars ... Read More »

70 Years ago this week, Matson Line’s refurbished SS LURLINE  had sailed from San Francisco and Los Angeles on her maiden post-WW 2 voyage to Hawaii. The flagship of Matson’s passenger fleet had just emerged from a stunning $18-million makeover, following six years as a troop carrier with her white ... Read More »