CHRISTMAS 2020

Union-Castle Line Dolly 

wishes you a very Happy Christmas 2020

and a safe and healthy New Year.

Dolly is sitting on a piece of fabric that I bought many years ago in Stockholm, in Sweden.  It shows shipping line names, flags and funnel colours  (including Union-Castle Line) that will probably be familiar to many.  

ORIANA 28th June 2019 Part 6 Santander, Spain

Monday 1st July 2019
Today here on board ORIANA we are due in Santander, Spain. This brought back memories for me of visiting there in the early 1970s with my late husband, when we stayed in one of Spain's Paradors, in the castle on the mountain top, looking way down to the flat coastal beaches. It was a wonderful place to stay overnight, one of the many similar on a route following the west coasts of France, Spain and Portugal. We could look out at the oceans where we once travelled in Union-Castle Mailships, all those years ago, but from the land side this time and visiting lighthouses, promontories etc. on the way.


Before going ashore I took some photos on board.

Santander on the map

Santander

Juan de la Cosa in port

The terminal tent beside our berth

Stern view

"Hello Sailor"

Tiers without tears

Deck and funnel

Deck

Wonderful glass in Tiffanys

Entrance to Sindhu Restaurant

Part of the interior

Inside outside

"The Story so Far"

"Eight stunning ships"

Chaplins Cinema entrance



With the photos taken, reality for me today was taking the shuttle bus to town from ORIANA's ship side, knowing the Plymouth/Santander ferry was due to arrive later today.

Welcome to Santander

I loved seeing this in the ferry terminal


Our first visit was to the Cathedral, walking around the cloisters and admiring the various sculptures to be seen. . I liked seeing the carved dogs at the feet of their owners, which immediately shows the status of the dead. We see similar sights of course at home in local churches and cathedrals.

View of the Cathedral

In the cloisters

Old crane on the waterside

Oriana in the distance


Walking along the promenade brought us to a coffee bar, away from the big crowds visiting the port like us. An old dockside crane was still in place alongside the water, as we admired the views on our walk. In the terminal building before going back to the ship we enjoyed seeing the model of a Brittany Ferries vessel with many little vehicles beside it.

Back at the ship we could enjoy lunch on board, and I located and admired again the beautiful glass ceiling in the Tiffany bar at the top of the atrium.

Later we could watch the Brittany Ferries vessel PONT AVEN arrive from Plymouth in the UK, turn and come astern to allow her vehicles and passengers to disembark here in Santander.

Pont Aven arrived

She turned ready to berth


Ships seen: Oriana, Juan de la Cosa (Instituto Social de la Marina, registered in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria), Pont Aven

To be continued...

ORIANA 28th June 2019 (Part 2)

Friday 28th June 2019
My Danish friend was staying at the same hotel as me, and over breakfast I suggested he might like to take a little ferry to Hythe from Town Quay, as he could add it to his Ship List for the year. He was immediately happy with that idea, so we checked out and left luggage at the hotel, and walked down to the water. We saw huge container ships further along Southampton Water, and I warned him that the Hythe ferry was much smaller. We saw the Red Funnel passenger ships heading to and from the Isle of Wight, and I said the Hythe ferry was smaller than these. We saw the fast catamarans heading to and from the Isle of Wight, and again I said the Hythe ferry was smaller than them.

By the time we had passed the Town Quay location of our Union-Castle Line offices, way back in 1998 when the re-launched Union-Castle Line was preparing for the Centenary Voyage, my Danish friend was starting to wonder just what he was to sail on. He soon found out when we bought tickets for the little Hythe ferry called JENNY BLUE. She is of small and unknown tonnage but is 13 metres long and is standing in on the route at present due to 'safety issues' with one of the other Hythe ferries. It was a warm and sunny day and a pleasant way to spend 20 minutes on the sparkling water as we sailed over to the little village of Hythe, on the west side of Southampton Water.

At Hythe the ferry berths at the end of the 700 yards long Pier, which carries a railway along the track to the centre of town. The original railway was built in 1909 but the current electrified rails were laid in 1922 with a 2 feet wide narrow gauge. There is a wide board walk beside the line which is a pleasant alternative to the ancient but equally pleasant wooden railway carriages. I always enjoy this little trip to Hythe and would recommend it to anyone wishing to photograph any cruise ships in Southampton port or sailing in and out.
(more information can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hythe_Pier,_Railway_and_Ferry)

There was time for coffee and a walk around in the sunshine, before walking back to the end of the Pier and catching the JENNY BLUE back to Town Quay in Southampton. That was a delightful way to spend a morning before heading back to the hotel to collect luggage and then get a taxi to Mayflower Cruise terminal to join the good ship ORIANA for her 7 day Iberian Cruise.

Ships seen in the morning: Red Funnel ships going to and from the Isle of Wight, Jenny Blue going to and from Hythe Pier

We took a taxi through Dock Gate 6 and into the docks to the terminal for ORIANA. Check in was fairly easy and I was soon on board my second vessel of the day: the good ship ORIANA. I am booked into cabin F117, an inside twin for single use.

Part of my cabin


Lunch was the next priority as we all started to learn our way around this lovely ship. It was interesting to note that my cruise card had a tiny silhouette of ORIANA on the top right corner in gold, with the word FAREWELL underneath it. The card could be put in a little deck plan case with 'Welcome to Oriana' on the front.

The afternoon was spent catching up with friends, unpacking, and then preparing to meet more of the Ocean Liner Society group for drinks and dinner this evening. We sailed at 5 p.m. from Southampton and I enjoyed seeing the lovely SHIELDHALL as I stood beside a teak deck rail.

Ship's name above me

Shieldhall in Southampton

Sunshine on the funnel above me


Tomorrow we have a day at sea, heading south towards La Rochelle in France. My notes for the rest of today simply say 'drinks, dinner, and Show', so I must have enjoyed myself. I note that I mentally awarded the Show's Magician nine marks out of 10 for his skilled performance, so a good ending to a good day.


Ships seen: Oriana, Shieldhall, local ferries to Hythe or the Isle of Wight


To be continued...

ORIANA, a Farewell Cruise, 28th June 2019

ORIANA, 28th June 2019

I am a member of the international Ocean Liner Society and was one of the people who booked to join other members on the planned annual cruise on board P&O's ORIANA for a farewell cruise, lasting a week. She is due to leave the fleet in a few weeks time and many of us were interested in sailing on her for the last time. I planned to travel to Southampton on the day before sailing, and checked on marinetraffic.com that morning, to see that the ship was approaching the Channel Island of Guernsey. That seemed fine and I looked forward to seeing her on Friday.

Thursday 27th June 2019
I travelled to Southampton and soon checked into my hotel and left my little suitcase. It felt odd not to have a rucksack on my back, with minimum weight, but I could indulge myself and take several different outfits for my week on board ORIANA - what a novelty.

I had been invited to meet a couple for dinner at a local hostelry and they sent me a message to say that the sea around Guernsey was too rough to launch the ORIANA tenders so the call there had been abandoned. The subsequent message was to tell me that the ship then had a medical emergency and would be returning to Southampton that very evening and was due in just after 9.00 p.m.

P&O's ship Oriana sailing towards the Mayflower Terminal



We sat at a dinner table on the first floor of the Dancing Man Brewery looking out of a big window when we suddenly noticed ORIANA sailing past and heading slowly for her berth at Mayflower Terminal. It was nearly 9 p.m. but the light was enough for a photograph and then to spot another friend walking along the pavement below. I had already been surprised to find out that this hostelry was originally what I knew as the old Maritime Museum, with its wonderful ship models and displays. I think back then the main thing I coveted was a very large model of the CAPETOWN CASTLE, which was so detailed I think I could have pointed out my cabin when I worked on her as a Union-Castle Line Purserette - oh my, memories, memories. Back to here and now, as we managed to contact our Danish friend down on the pavement and persuade him to come and join us for a meal.

That was a pleasant evening which ended with a short tourist trail around several of the city wall remains and a visit to the 14th century Red Lion, in Below Bar; I remember it as a favourite establishment in the 1960s where sea-going Union-Castle staff would sometimes meet on the night before sailing, on a Friday at 1.00 p.m.

Ships seen: Oriana, Red Funnel vessels heading to and from the Isle of Wight, various cargo vessels entering or leaving the port with tug assistance


Friday 28th June 2019
My Danish friend was staying at the same hotel as me, and over breakfast I suggested he might like to take a little ferry to Hythe from Town Quay, as he could add it to his Ship List for the year. He was immediately happy with that idea, so we checked out and left luggage at the hotel, and walked down to the water. We saw huge container ships further along Southampton Water, and I warned him that the Hythe ferry was much smaller. We saw the Red Funnel passenger ships heading to and from the Isle of Wight, and I said the Hythe ferry was smaller than these. We saw the fast catamarans heading to and from the Isle of Wight, and again I said the Hythe ferry was smaller than them.

By the time we had passed the Town Quay location of our Union-Castle Line offices way back in 1998 when the re-launched Union-Castle Line was preparing for the Centenary Voyage, my Danish friend was starting to wonder just what he was to sail on. He soon found out when we bought tickets for the little Hythe ferry called JENNY BLUE. She is of small and unknown tonnage but is 13 metres long and is standing in on the route at present due to 'safety issues' with one of the other Hythe ferries. It was a warm and sunny day and a pleasant way to spend 20 minutes on the sparkling water as we sailed over to the little village of Hythe, on the west side of Southampton Water.

At Hythe the ferry berths at the end of the 700 yards long Pier, which carries a railway along the track to the centre of town. The original railway was built in 1909 but the current electrified rails were laid in 1922 with a 2 feet wide narrow gauge. There is a wide board walk beside the line which is a pleasant alternative to the ancient but equally pleasant wooden railway carriages. I always enjoy this little trip to Hythe and would recommend it to anyone wishing to photograph any cruise ships in Southampton port or sailing in and out.
(more information can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hythe_Pier,_Railway_and_Ferry)

There was time for coffee and a walk around in the sunshine, before walking back to the end of the Pier and catching the JENNY BLUE back to Town Quay in Southampton. That was a delightful way to spend a morning before heading back to the hotel to collect luggage and then get a taxi to Mayflower Cruise terminal to join the good ship ORIANA for her 7 day Iberian Cruise.

Ships seen: Red Funnel ships going to and from the Isle of Wight, Jenny Blue going to and from Hythe Pier


To be continued...

Union-Castle Line Purserette "DAPHNE"

I belong to a local History Society which covers a couple of local villages and the surrounding area. We meet monthly, with about 90 members on the books, although not everyone attends every meeting.

Earlier this year 2019 our Christmas Dinner was held in January, to avoid many other local December social occasions. About 40 of us went to a nearby country hotel on the outskirts of the villages and sat down one evening to enjoy a lovely meal served to us at circular tables. I knew several of my table companions only by sight but enjoyed the chance to get to talk to them. Conversation turned to cruising holidays, and then New Zealand, and the friend I was sitting next to started to tell the lady on my other side (I think in her mid-80s) that she had gone there many years ago to live and work. The lady on this other side had done the same but probably ten years before that. They discussed their memories of time there, although my friend had had to return home to the UK after a few months as her father had been taken seriously ill and her mother needed her.

I knew my friend (Ann) had flown out there in the 1960s but I asked the lady next to me (Maureen) whether she had flown or perhaps gone by ship. I said I was interested in ships, having been at sea as a Purserette with a major shipping line called Union-Castle Line back in the 1960s. Maureen said she had gone by ship, she thought Orient Line, in the 1950s and tried to remember what vessels. She sailed from the UK to Australia first of all, before sailing later on another ship to get to New Zealand. Having worked in both Australia and New Zealand during the years, she then sailed back to Australia and finally back to the UK. She couldn't remember the names of the ships but said she would have a look at home and let me know some time.

After an enjoyable evening we all said our good-nights and parted company.

Some weeks later I was at a History Society meeting and during the tea/coffee interval I managed to see Maureen and have a quick chat with her. She produced a little list of the ships she thought she had travelled on, back in the 1950s. She sailed from the UK to Sydney, Australia, possibly on ARCADIA, then later from Melbourne to Auckland in New Zealand on something else, possibly ORCADES. From Wellington she eventually sailed back to Sydney on ORANJE and finally back to the UK from Melbourne on FAIRSEA.

I thanked her for this information as it was interesting to hear about ships that I knew of but had never seen. Maureen then mentioned that I had told her I worked for Union-Castle Line at sea as a Purserette back in the 1960s. I said that was right. She then said that she had a friend she first met a long time ago, who also worked for Union-Castle as a Purserette, and that the friend's name was Daphne. I must have looked a bit surprised at this, and half-jokingly asked "Does she live in Dorset?". The answer was yes, which I found quite extraordinary, made me laugh, and quickly told Maureen why.

Back in the 1990s I had been involved in the Union-Castle Line Centenary Voyage planning with my late husband, who died in 1997, and several other people. In 1998 I had been to a Union-Castle Pursers Reunion, which are still held every 3 years, and met many others there that I knew. One lady offered me her uniform which she still had and was then kind enough to post to me, to my then home in another English county. I bought a dressmaker's body/dummy and the uniform had been on it since 1999, with my hat on top. The lady who gave it to me was called Daphne, and she lived in Lyme Regis in Dorset.

By the most extraordinary of life's coincidences this is the Daphne who is the friend of Maureen.

Maureen and I were both astounded at this coincidence and she said she would let Daphne know, as she had now moved from Lyme Regis to another nearby small town.

There must have been many many Purserettes employed by Union-Castle over the years and I find it amazing that I should make a new friend here - a lady with a friend called Daphne, whose uniform still lives on a dressmaker's model in the dining room of my home.

Daphne in a corner of my dining room, under a Port side light

Daphne standing near Union-Castle Dolly on the sideboard,
under a Union-Castle Centenary Voyage poster


February 2019

Norwegian Jade 2nd June 2017, Part 3 the final one

Sunday 4th June 2017
We arrived in the port city of Hamburg in pouring rain, which was forecast for the day but was still disappointing. There was time for an enjoyable breakfast in the Garden Cafe but most of us were upset by the news of the knife attack in London, although it had been speedily dealt with by our admirable Police Service.

We were able to disembark mid-morning at this Altona cruise terminal and wait in the dry there until the river ferry we wanted arrived at the nearby platform. We wanted to head down river first, before heading up river again to view the new Elbphilarmonie building, apparently planned to resemble a crystal palace on a mountain (in fact a red-brick warehouse). It is a concert hall in the HafenCity quarter of Hamburg, set above an hotel, apartments and car park. Its other attraction is the Plaza, a viewing platform 37 metres above ground level, above the red brick part of the building, giving views for miles around Hamburg. Work started on the building in 2007 and it has finally opened in January 2017 after years of delays and huge cost increases, and become hugely popular with audiences.

We bought a day ticket for ferries and trains, at the machine beside the ferry stop, and were soon on our first ferry of the day.

Ferry Altenwerder

On board the ferry


We sailed down river and disembarked on the other side; we waited a short while before taking the next ferry up river and seeing different views.

Harmonie


As usual there was a man walking a dog on one of the beaches alongside the riverside, and we were glad to see that the rain had almost stopped and the sky was clearing.

Reeperbahn

On the way we passed the Norwegian Jade so I had a good look at the windows of the stern Dining Room

The jade-coloured artwork on the ship

Alongside the Altona terminal

Bow view

Cap San Diego

Elbphilarmonie above the red brick

Plaza balcony with no access from the hotel


Our next ferry took us to the Elbphilarmonie stop in HafenCity and we headed for the Hotel Westin restaurant inside the top of the red brick part of the building. The restaurant was on the Plaza floor, with huge glass windows which looked out on to the viewing gallery and the city beyond. In theory that should have been fine, but there were so many people walking around on the viewing gallery that we were unable to see very much at all. The restaurant menu was limited but well presented, and by the time the food arrived we had seen more citizens than views. The dining tables were at the same floor height as the Plaza gallery flooring so when we were seated the view was even more restricted - what a shame and a disappointment. We asked to be able to go to the viewing Plaza but that was not allowed, so we left the hotel and went back down in the lift into the sunshine out on the riverside.

Another ferry collected us and took us to the Landungsbruecken, known as Hamburg's water railway station, and to a shop nearby I like visiting. There I was able to spend a happy time buying five small toy model ships to add to my collection. I believe we should all make sure the next generations know about ships and the sea, and so after this visit I could go home and know that two small boys will enjoy playing with the new toys and being shown their routes on the map on the floor. We don't play with my beautifully-made Union-Castle Line ship models, I hasten to add, but the boys can see them on display.

Mare Frisium sailed past

Kirchdorf sailed along


It was soon time to walk to a nearby train station and travel to the airport, ready for flights home. I had time to have coffee and enjoy looking at my new toy ships, before flying home; that flight was enlivened by sitting next to a travel agent who had also been on NORWEGIAN JADE with a big party of agents, and I felt it worth mentioning that I had paid for my fare, even though it was a really low one - laughter all round.

Ships seen: Aida Sol, Fantasia, Norwegian Jade, the red-hulled Elbe 3 museum ship, Cap San Diego, Mississippi Queen, Atlantic Sail still in dry dock, Mare Frisium, and ferries Harmonie, Reeerbahn, Elbemeile, Kirchdorf, Altenwerder


I had really enjoyed my two nights on NORWEGIAN JADE from Southampton, with the pleasure of a sea day before arrival in Hamburg. The ship is comfortable, well designed with good passenger flow routes, and the staff are professional, helpful and pleasant.

Norwegian Jade, 2nd June 2017

NORWEGIAN JADE 2nd June 2017

Goodness, here I am again off to sea for two nights. I took a train along the South Coast of England to Southampton Central station and then shared a taxi to the latest Ocean Terminal building. I remember using the 1950-built old Ocean Terminal, when I was at sea with Union-Castle Line, with its wonderful Art Deco styling and the Boat Trains from London arriving alongside. Passengers sailing to the United States would use the terminal to embark on their liners to the USA. I know that I arrived at the same quayside on the CAPETOWN CASTLE, when she was unexpectedly pressed into service again in 1966 for voyages to Cape Town in South Africa (see "Union-Castle Line Purserette"). The terminal was closed in 1980, due to travellers using jet aircraft to get quickly to the States and cruise ships starting to become so much bigger. After that moment of nostalgia, I met my travelling companion and we checked in for our weekend re-positioning voyage from here in Southampton to Hamburg in Germany. We were soon on board and I headed for my inside port side forward cabin 8519, on deck 8.

Norwegian Jade

My cabin 8519


This Norwegian Cruise Line ship is fresh out of dry dock and this is a great opportunity to sail on her and sample her Freestyle Cruising. She was built in 2006 by Meyer Werft in Pappenburg as the PRIDE OF HAWAII for NCL's America division, and is 93,558 gross tons. Needs changed and she became JADE, then NORWEGIAN JADE with appropriately-coloured hull art. The ship can carry 2,402 guests in double occupancy, with a crew of 1037. There are 16 dining options and 15 bars and lounges plus many other facilities to be enjoyed on board, so I'm looking forward to more fun time at sea.

We decided to go for lunch in the Grand Pacific main dining room and were delighted to be placed at a window table. The artwork and furnishings really appealed to me and I'm told they are reminiscent of the Matson Line's luxury liners MARIPOSA, MONTEREY, and LURLINE built between 1930 and 1932. I enjoy knowing that during the early 1970s Union-Castle Travel in the UK held the General Sales Agency with Pacific Far East Line Inc., United States Line and Matson Lines. Just to add to life's coincidences, at present I'm reading about the last cruise on board Matson's MARIPOSA ("Nothing can go Wrong" by John D. MacDonald & Captain John H. Kilpack) in 1977 and it is fascinating to be able to imagine events happening in locations similar to this Grand Pacific Main Dining Room here on NORWEGIAN JADE. Many events mentioned in the book will probably not feature on our two-night trip to Hamburg!

Grand Pacific Dining Room before lunch

Grand Pacific Dining room before lunch

Grand Pacific Dining Room entrance


We later found a glass builder's plate on display showing her PRIDE OF HAWAII details from 2006.

Builder's Plate

Ship Plan

Decks

Fish forward

The vast Spinnaker Bar

The Spinnaker Lounge


We could see several other cruise ships at the other Southampton passenger terminals including NAVIGATOR OF THE SEAS, SILVER WHISPER, SILVER EXPLORER, AURORA, and MARINA, and also the newly-painted Hythe Ferry HYTHE SCENE, previously GREAT EXPECTATIONS, with her blue hull, plus tugs, ferries and fast craft to the Isle of Wight, and the venerable tug CALSHOT berthed nearby. Those of us who have taken the little ferry to Hythe, just across the water, will have happy memories of disembarking from her and then taking the ancient train which still runs safely along the pier into the village. The afternoon spent in the spacious Spinnaker Bar was a very enjoyable time.

Marina

Calshot

Ships in port: in the distance L-R Aurora, Silver Explorer, Silver Whisper, Navigator of the Seas and something unknown with a blue hull in the middle of them

Hythe Scene


We attended the mandatory Lifeboat Drill held in the theatre, then went for afternoon tea in the Great Outdoors Bar, enjoying the sunshine and watching ship movements out on the water.

NCL logo on the funnel

Part of the United States Library

The beautiful model of the United States

Norwegian Jade life ring


Late afternoon meant it was time to change for dinner and the evening's entertainment; we went for the first half of the Show because we wanted to be on deck for the 8 o'clock departure from Southampton. A glass of something deliciously sparkling appeared as if by magic in front of me, and then it was time to head to the Grand Pacific Dining Room for dinner. The surroundings really were lovely, but there were so many venues all over the ship to choose for dinner. This evening we were placed at the small window table again and as well as a delicious meal, I do remember that I enjoyed Cherries Jubilee for dessert.

Then it was time to head back to the Spinnaker Bar and enjoy the music and dancing as we sailed out into the English Channel. This evening the clocks will go forward, and then tomorrow we have a sea day, before we arrive in Hamburg on Sunday morning. There are lots more lovely things to see and do here on NORWEGIAN JADE.

Ships seen: Norwegian Jade, Navigator of the Seas, Silver Whisper, Silver Explorer, Aurora, Ocean Scene, Hythe Scene (the Hythe ferry), Marina, Red Jet 4, tugs ZP Boxer and Smit Tiger, Red Jet 3, Red Jet 5, Red Osprey, Red Falcon, Red Eagle Calshot, Orion Highway, Wightlink ferries St. Clare and Wight Sun or Sky

To be continued...