10 Favorite Liners

Thanks, Jim, for that gorgeous interior shot of the forward bar and the equally gorgeous image of me bringing honor and glory to all of us from West Texas

To answer your question, the picture of me in the "Black Bar" (which actually you have named, have you not? I thought it was the Monte Carlo bar or some such) was taken at the table just beyond the one in the foreground, closer to the bar. My table was composed of a stockbroker from Luxembourg, an artist from Missouri on her annual trek to a six-months' stay in Venice, a watercolorist from New York on his way to his second home in St. Paul de Vence, an Italian-American woman from San Francisco and another, a female medical student from Philadelphia going over to see relatives in Iscia. And in this midst was the bad blue suit from Texas. I was a junior in college then. So YOU were that eight-year-old we all wanted to throw overboard at Algeciras!

I occupied one of those windowless cabins on A Deck, glad to help preserve the clean exterior lines of the ship as seen from afar. Not. This was a March crossing, you see, and I don't care if it was billed by the Italian Line as the "sunny Southern route", it was very stormy and rough. That, then, was the first and last inside cabin I've ever occupied.

Otherwise, I have very special memories of the "Michelangelo" and that nine-day crossing. BTW, the ship's newspaper announced, on that voyage, that both sisters would be withdrawn from service in the next few months. To their great credit, the stewards and staff, though clearly saddened, maintained serice standards throughout the voyage.

Thanks for kindling memories.

Regards to all,
Doug
 
Doug: It was actually "Grand Bar Mediterraneo. I cannot accept credit for "Black Bar" which is just an informal nickname which stuck and turns up occasionally in reminisces.

I've spent 9 days in an inside cabin, and that is an experience I wish everyone who pines for the days of classic liners "not like these floating hotels they have now" could share. It was somewhat akin to imprisonment, and the fact that it was a 90 square foot former First Class room was no consolation at all.

Yes, I was that 8 year old. But, I went through a rough time after losing the part in the Poseidon Adventure to Eric Shea and was "not myself." And, I will go to my grave disbelieving that what happened to me at the Pinata Party was "just an accident." Most of those people were not wearing masks.....
 
Okay, I don't know if this has been posted before, but, What is your favorite ship?

If you have more than one, that's okay-personally mine are Titanic and QM2...I also quite partial to the SS United States.
 
Titanic is my no.1 favourite ship, of course.
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Apart from her though, my other favourites are Queen Mary, Queen Mary 2, & QE2.
 
Hrm, I would've sworn I'd put in a vote at some point for some of my beloved little Red Star Line workhorses. Clearly my memory is as reliable as... Marc Shapiro's Total Titanic. (Or maybe that's being too harsh.)

I've more Red Star postcards and memorabilia than for White Star, and Lapland is the jewel in that particular crown. It's more to do with the art work than the ships themselves, perhaps.
 
Now that someone revived the topic, I can post a revised list. This is close to order as I can think of. I know the first two are definitely in order.

1. Normandie
2. L'Atlantique
3. Paris (Still post '29 fire)
4. Champlain
5. Lafayette
6. Ile de France (Pre-WWII)
7. United States (Exterior only)
8. L'Aquitaine aka Burdigala
9. Iroquois
10. Mauretania ala 1907

I've dropped Europa and France off of my lists. Europa and France, because of her ugly interiors.

For the sake of argument I'll throw this into my mix of "interesting liners"

President Doumer

Some may remember an ugly ship topic in which a certain staircase was posted... no?
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Oh I could dive right into this...

1 - Titanic (White Star Line, 1911)
2 - Mauretania (Cunard Line, 1939)
3 - Independence (American Export Lines, 1951)
4 - Queen Mary (Cunard, 1936)
5 - Ile De France (French Line, 1927)
6 - France (French Line, 1912)
7 - Matsonia (Matson Navigation Company, 1927)
8 - Berengaria (Cunard, 1913)
9 - Paris (French Line, 1921)
10 - Majestic (White Star Line, 1922)
 
Here are my top eight:

1. France (1962)
2. Andrea Doria
3. Normandie
4. Raffaello
5. Kungsholm (SAL, 1966)
6. L'Atlantique (interior only!)
7. Michelangelo
8. Rotterdam V
 
I have to say, hands down, the Normandie. I could never understand why the Queen Mary was so much more popular. I have noticed that people either LOVE or HATE the Normandie. There doesn't seem to be any middle ground there. From the forward deck to the shape of the funnels to the terraced after-decks (later messed up in the name of MORE TONNAGE) I haved always loved the clean lines of the ship
 
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