Floating Paradise Lost: SS BRITANIS, Part Three: BRITANIS Decked! (a top-to-bottom tour)
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 14 мар 2021
- Using footage shot on board on 24 February 1994 on a rainy day in Miami, I take the viewer from the Monkey Island down to the Cinema on Dorado Deck, covering all of the BRITANIS' public areas. Shots of the spaces when the ship was MONTEREY, MATSONIA and LURLINE are included for comparison. This Decked! video is similar to my Decked! blog series at now defunct MaritimeMatters, although it uses actual video footage versus still images. This will conclude my coverage of the BRITANIS for now, although more will be eventually featured during the ship's layup and slow decay in the late 1990s at Tampa. Remember to please hit "like" and subscribe to the MidShipCentury RUclips channel by clicking on the little MidShipCentury widget in the lower right hand corner of the screen. It doesn't cost you anything but it will help me carry on with making more ship videos. Thank you. #ssbritanis #ssmatsonia #sslurline #ssmonterey #classiccruiseships #classicoceanliners #matsonlines #chandrislines #fantasycruises
![Sean Rii, Karyon, Sharzkii - Taungule [My Love] (Official Music Video)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/eJoMuypbSzQ/mqdefault.jpg)
I had the pleasure of cruising on the Britanis in the mid 80s. Wonderful time and wonderful ship.
She had a soul. I so miss her and ships of her breed. :)
1974 may left for a new life in Australia from Southampton, remember that trip, a highlight of my life
Very cool! She was built for those long voyages.
Peter, this brought tears to my eyes. I sailed from Australia in 1974 on this wonderful and beautiful ship. It was so smooth and stable, that the trip was a real pleasure. As an interesting piece of history, on that trip in 1974, we landed in Lisbon on the day of the Portugese revolution. Thank you so much.
Those videos are really cool, those old ships are so much better looking than todays cruise ships, and they bring a feeling of the good old times with them.
Fond memories of this lady. I loved working for Chandris and sailing the Britanis for a quick weekend getaway. Wow😊
Oh, how cool. Miss companies like Chandris. :)
Thank you for creating this great 3 part series covering this Grand lady of the seas. As a teenager, I knew I was lucky to spend four weeks on her from the UK to Australia on her maiden voyage as RHMS Britanis in February 1971. Magic memories, from the smell of new paint, still being completed in some below deck areas, to Greek dance lessons, This was a very special ship to me and I am pleased she did not complete her final trip just to be broken up, instead she decided to rest at sea. Thank you again for the video and yes, I have liked all 3 parts on Britanis and subscribed to your GREAT channel.
Thanks so much, Mike for taking the time to post here. That is fascinating that you were on her maiden voyage as BRITANIS. Just fantastic! And who knew she would be around for another 30 years at that time. Appreciate very much your liking and subscribing. Every bit helps! Thanks again.
I was also on that voyage, departed 21 Feb. So many memories, we were on A deck, I remember being in the cinema most afternoons as well
My first cruise was on this ship in 1991. I will never forget the awesome memories.
Except for a high school senior jaunt on the old original Sunward, the Britanis was my first vintage liner experience and opened the door for those to follow on ships including the Norway,
QEII, Rotterdam, Meridian, and others of the twilight era. Your work is exceedingly professional and brings a tear or two in honor of this grand lady of the seas!
Thank you so much for your very kind words! My subscriber numbers aren't stellar but the support I get from those who watch my videos goes a long way. Thank you -- I never got to get aboard the ex SUNWARD, although I did see her sailing by at Port Canaveral. Thanks again. :)
I remember seeing BRITANIS and ELLINIS at Southampton Docks in 1974/75 when Dad took us on a holiday with Union Castle. When I took photos with my little camera, Mum would say "Don't use up all your film taking pictures of ships!" but I think she knew then that the seeds were planted and it came as no surprise to my parents when I later studied to become a naval architect! My photos are now treasured items of a bygone age and, quite honestly, a better, happier and more contented age. Thank you for your fantastic video and for evoking such great memories!
Thank you for such a kind message and also for taking those photos! At that time, growing up in California, I dreamt about being in Southampton to witness the Union-Castle, P&O, Shaw Savill and Chandris ships in person.
@@midshipcinema Thank you for your very kind reply... in 1975 when we departed on EDINBURGH CASTLE, the original ORIANA took our berth and we had ELLINIS aft and NORTHERN STAR ahead of us, with GOOD HOPE CASTLE also in the docks. Remember it like yesterday!!
@@Neash2 Incredible -- that would be a dream come true for me. Fortunately, we did at least get ORIANA over here a couple times a year.
Thank you for posting! S.S. Britainis was my first cruise, circa 1982. Puerto Rico, Haití, Sea Day, Port Canaveral, Nassau, Sea Day, and back to Puerto Rico. I must have been 8 ir 9 at the time. Great memories cruising with my grandparents and my mother. I appreciate the video.
Thanks so much. How great that you got to experience such an historic ship in your youth. Appreciate your posting here. :)
Amazing! I grew Up onboard those Chandris Ships, (Britanis, Australis, Amerikanis, Victoria, Fiorita during the 70's and early 80's. My father served as the Ship's Chief Medical Officer. I did the UK-Australia 3 times and then the Cruises, Caribbean, Scandinavia the Baltics. Indonesia and Mediterranean. Thank you for making these videos, all I have to go with from that era are Photos :)
What an incredible experience that must have been. Thanks so much for sharing here. Comments like yours help bring these ships back to life. :)
I sailed on her twice, as the Matsonia in 1958 (when I was 10 years old), and again when she was the Lurline, after Matson sold the original one. My parents, who had sailed on Lurline/Matsonia at least 6 times, later took a cruise on the Britanis, and came back saying they hadn't changed much. This video confirms that. Even 60+ years later, it looks much the same (and, I remember from the cabin shot, the convertible sofa-to-bed was still the same color! Thanks for a very bittersweet and nostaligic video.
Thank you. Very cool memories and much appreciated! :)
Awesome video! I was lucky enough to be one of SS BRINTANIS Ship's Photographers, I lived & worked aboard Her for two years. During the summer months of the late 1980's We did 3 & 4 Day cruises from Miami to Cozumel Baja Mexico, But the best part was the end of the season, usually around September when We'd do our annual 50 Day Cruise around South America, I did 2 of these 50 Day cruises & it was so awesome, We entered through the Panama Canal during night time hours and exited the canal during the daytime hours, so great to experience both, We called at many ports along the way and as We sailed around Cape Horn Tierra del Fuego the ocean swells were so enormous that at some points it seemed as though The SS BRITANIS was surfing down the face of these heavy sea swells that came at us from behind! Kinda scary but I felt confident because BRITANIS was a proper ocean Linner, She had a 30 foot Draft below the waterline to keep us safe in high seas, However, the 30' Draft would later on work against us in the shallow waters of the approach to Rio de Janerio harbor when we almost collided with a Bulk Carrier ship that was traversing alongside us upriver, The waters being so shallow BRITANIS had dug her keel into the soft sandy river bottom as she was traveling at cruising speed, When the Captain ordered BRITANIS to turn to Starboard BRITANIS wouldn't budge from going forward and straight, Such was the enormous centrifugal force of BRITANIS scraping through the river bed at speed. You can just imagine the horror we all felt aboard as the Bulk Carrier traveling alongside us started to make the turn in the river and was now heading straight towards us on a collision course, So this time the Captain ordered the helm Hard to Starboard & Full Astern to the starboard Engine & Full Ahead to Port Engine, This maneuver would free BRITANIS'S Keel out of the centrifugal track it had created for itself, however, Now the ship leaned so hard over to the Portside that we almost Capsized! All the slot machines in the casino toppled over in a mighty crash, The gift shop got the same treatment, Not one piece of Lladro escaped breakage, I was working in the Photo Gallery at the time & as You well remember Peter.. the Photo Gallery had two window doors on either side of the deck and as I looked out the port side window from the cash register in the Gallery.. all I could see through the window was the surface of the water - No sky ! and when I turned my head to look through the Starboard side window, it was all sky! I really thought we were going to capsize, but we didn't and the Captain straightened the ship out to the correct course and we made it safely into Rio de Janeiro harbor, However, the ship had a distinct lean to the Portside caused by the heavy Bunker Fuel in the tanks shifting, This would correct itself it the following days as BRITANIS took on more Bunker Fuel for the remainder of the cruise. Such a great ship, She was and still is my favorite ship in the world, I cried so hard when I saw the RUclips video of her sinking of the coast of South Africa on her way to the scrapyard, I guess she must've thought to herself.. Ain't nobody turning me into scrap metal. Such a Lady!
Fantastic memories! Thank you for posting them here. That grounding my have cost BRITANIS in the long run and certainly made her two more of a challenge with her damaged stern gland. How lucky we all were to have experienced such a ship.
Thank you again Peter for sharing this with all of us. Britanis/Matsonia was absolutely beautiful and she didn't deserve to be disposed of the way that she was. Then again, neither did Norway, but that's how it goes when people think of ships as simply being a moving piece of steel.
Thank you, Robert. Appreciate your watching and commenting. Sadly, ships are fragile entities -- even the greatest ones have finite life spans.
Sailed on Britanis several times out of Miami during the mid-1980's and early 90's on Bahama cruises. Was a nice little ship. Remember the artwork in the ship's bar, the casino and the original ship's dedication plaque in the library. Once was assigned a cabin in the stern section all the way at the bottom. The vibration was terrible! Slept on the promenade deck loungers for 3 nights! Shows were held in the lounge at the rear of the superstructure. Saw the ship laid up at Port Tampa during one of my annual visits to TPA to spot planes.
I have spent considerable time trying to recall the ship’s name. So glad I finally got the spelling right and found it..
My very first cruise was on this ship in May, 1988. Sailed from Miami to the Bahamas and back for our Senior Trip.
I remember the Xs on the two funnels. I have vague memories of the nightclub and restaurant and casino. Our cabin was below deck and at the end of a maze of interior hallways.
Thank you for posting this. I’ll share this with some of the other trip participants 👍🏾
Aww, thanks! So glad you found it. :)
Peter, I loved this as much as the earlier two videos. I wish that I'd sailed on her and also wish that my visit to her once, long ago, had not been so brief (she was getting ready to sail) so I just did not get to take in so much of these wonderful details. We are fortunate to have sailed on such ships, at least we got to experience them, as there is nothing like this now.
Thank you, Clive! I truly am happy that you enjoyed it!
Amazing to see the old girl again. Funnily enough, I was on the ship when it went to dry dock in Newport in Dec 92. Joined as crew in Miami, went to dry dock and then when we got back to Miami after dry dock I was transferred to another ship, so a nice weeks vacation onboard. All except the hurricane we sailed through on the way to dry dock. But we had some fun.
Great Video. Besides sailing on her as "Matsonia" in '62 and as the final "Lurline" in 1966, I had to take a memory lane sailing in 1980 as "Britanis". I was in Promenade deck #20. So with my traveling companion, and always preferring late siting, I of course wanted a table for 2 and took good care of the Maitre'd....but found it strange that he kept trying to talk me out of a table for 2 along the side of the ship, instead trying to place us at the purser's table. I insisted and of course got my requested table. First night out, (a 7 night cruise from San Juan), I found out why......along the sides where the tables for 2 were, there were planters.....and so, as soon as the bread was delivered....up from the planters came several ""additional guests".....yep, cockroaches! We just laughed it off and by the end of the cruise they were old friends! (one also had to learn to keep the drains in the cabin sink closed as well to keep out more "guests"). Despite that, it was a great cruise.
Oh my! Now that is some serious dedication to the old BRIT. We wanted a table for two but enjoyed half of the guests at ours and considering the amount of money we paid, we were almost surprised to be getting any food on her during that 1981 7 nighter.
Ah, I could cry on how many of these ships that were still alive in the mid 90’s that I could have gone on but didn’t, still I was on the Norway, and about 10 other older ladies from the era, I just could have done so many more, but I was also in my 20’s. Wish I’d known then how little time they still had and how much I would have loved it
I was going crazy trying to sail in every classic ship and still missed a few like the STELLA SOLARIS and even the QE2, although I visited and documented both many times. Can't undo the past but hopefully if there are any classics left after Covid, there will be a chance to sail in them. Keeping fingers and toes crossed the little ASTORIA gets to operate again. Thanks for all the nice posts today. I really appreciate them. :)
Cruised on a 2 night cruise on the Britanis around 1975 between Melbourne, Australia and Sydney, Australia. I think the ship was continuing on you Britain on a liner voyage after that. I was around 10 years old. Also visited the Australis (sp) which was the former SS America when it came to Melbourne.
I enjoyed this very much. I was intrigued about you telling of passengers on the Rotterdam looking down on Britanis. To me they would have been complimentary experiences. Both being classic liners. My first real cruise (longer than 3 days) was the Rotterdam in 1992. All that cool artwork and brass windows on Prom deck looked amazing.
Just delightful, thank you Peter.
This was OUTSTANDING Peter, thank you very much. I enjoyed this video, hope you have more of such ships as the AMERIKANIS, DOLPHIN IV & other classics.
Thanks, Deborah! Indeed, I have them all. Just have to figure out which ones to do first. :)
@@midshipcinema I have patience, it will always be worth the wait. 🏝🏝🚢🚢
This was wonderful. Thank you.
Wow , the black and white photos of her early interiors and furnishings were superb and would be considered avant gard today , the spaces were sleek , uncluttered and very elegant , the later changes looked cheap , busy and tatty but a magnificent ship , no matter what , excellent video from a true ship lover .
Thanks so much, Bernard. Her Hawaiian interiors were indeed wonderful but they started to fade and wear, which is why they made the changes. Fantasy was a budget line so they didn't have a lot to spend on upgrading her and it showed. Still, she was quite a legend. Thanks for watching and posting.
Very nice video, love how you use the deck plans to explain the location of your footage.
As passenger ships go, 'Britanis' was definitely what one would refer to as a lady.
I remember seeing her as Matsonia and later as Britannis when I was a young seaman
Loved it! Peter, I never imagined seeing so much of one my favorite ocean liners and getting so much information both in words and images. Thank you for being so precise in letting viewers know where different areas of the Britanis were located: what deck; which side, facing which direction; having the name and location in words on the screen.That's great how so many decorative items were kept aboard the ship or brought over from other ships and even more practical items such as furniture. Chandris seems to have been a company that was good at being frugal and in being that way preserved important works of art. I've read how the Chandris Line would moor liners offshore when the liners were being renovated (avoiding some kind of fee or tax) and that the would use rented equipment. I don't recall if the workers stayed aboard the ships during renovation but it would be yet another way to save money.
At 1:40 and 2:10 we see a couple of pieces of equipment that are both covered. Do you know what they are? Maybe compasses or something else that needs special protection? In the You Tube video "Sinking of the Ile de France" which is a mini version of "The Last Voyage" we something similar in a scene be the fallen forward smokestack: a piece of equipment outdoors that has a covering over it. Was this common on ocean liners? I noticed the covered item in the 1960 movie but am now wondering if this was a common practice I hadn't been aware of.
Thank you for all the time, effort and attention to detail that went into this and your other videos. It is much appreciated!
Thank you so much, Andrew for your incredibly kind comments and detailed message. Glad you appreciate all the info and various angles. It was my goal to document every passenger ship in the same way, although this footage was rather early in my learning process. I believe there is a covered compass at 1:40 and a searchlight at 2:10. I was able to get the information on the various furnishings and artwork from a friend who was once the captain and who was on board during the conversions of both BRITANIS and ATLANTIS which were being worked on at the same time in Greece. The info on the artists and Matson artwork was from my archive, which has numerous items from my own personal collection and the collection of an enthusiast named Barrie Roger Davis who passed away in the early 1990s.
I cruised on that ship it was both classy and fun very inexpensive but so very nice
Nice! She was such an historic, interesting ship. Very much missed. Thanks for posting. :)
This is not me
When I first moved to Brandon, Florida back in 1994 my parents and I had gone to the Seabreeze Restaurant near Tampa to get dinner. The entire time that I was there I was fixated on a beautiful white ship with two blue funnels and the familiar white X on each of them. I was 11 years old back then and I was already DEEPLY involved in researching the Olympic Class ocean liners Olympic, Titanic, and Britannic of 1911-1914. Regardless, I spent the next 6 years fishing on the docks behind Seabreeze as there was a local bait shop right behind the restaurant and I even got to fish in between the Britanis and the Canadian ferry Bluenose who was moored next to her catching many spadefish and sheepshead. I wanted to board Britanis and take a look around so badly, but it was strictly forbidden and I did not want to risk running afoul the local police. I didn't want to take anything with me other than memories as digital cameras and cell phones weren't widely available back then. Anyway, I got used to seeing this beautiful Matson liner in port. Swaying majestically. One day back in 1999 the Britanis name at the stern was painted over and the name Belofin-1 was crudely painted on her nameplate. I knew then that she was destined for Alang, India (the deathplace of MANY retired ocean and cruise liners). I have to admit that while it was sad to see that she sank in a storm off of the horn of Africa under tow, it was better than seeing her dismantled by people who could care less about the ship's soul and the many memories that were made onboard her.
Great memories, Robert! Thank you so much for sharing them here. I did go back to see her in Tampa three times and re documented her each time, sadly more weathered and tired looking. I recall that restaurant, too. I went there in the morning to get shots of BRIT across the way as the light was good at that time.
Great job............
the best video for britanis bravo
Thank you, Markos! :)
We (our family of 3 plus 2 other couples) took a 7-day cruise on Britannis in December, 1993; we had been on cruise-ships in the past (i.e., the S.S. Norway, 3 times), but on this particular trip in 1993 (and with apparently no "stabilizers" on this ship), this trip in 1993 was the only cruise-trip where several in our party (including my one-year-old son) got sea-sick and couldn't eat dinner (or keep it "down") during the first night of the cruise while we traveled through the Straits until reaching Puerto Rico (which I believe was our first stop??). Otherwise my late husband really liked the Britannis when we cruised with her in 1993 since he enjoyed the history of this S.S. ship ! We booked a room with one port-hole (not an expensive room) but the furnishings were rather spartan and mostly metal.
My grandmother worked on this cruise ship in the late 1980s. She’s been loving these videos. Do you happen to know anyone that worked there during that time ?
Thank you and please give my best to your grandmother. The only people I still know who worked on board are one of her former captains, Captain Varsamis and his wife Lynne
I worked as a musician in the Latin group 1990-92 ... great memories
Another home run!
She was still so alive even then. Sometimes you’d look at a ship that yea technically maybe still ran, but you’d walk around and you could see that she was left alone too long. No one living in her, too long unused, like people if you don’t use your body, or gets sick & dies. I’d sometimes see a ship & know, no matter how much money you decide to put in her, no matter how many parts you replace , you’ll never get the dust out of the heart of it, it may technically be alive, but it’s on life support & only has eyes for the breakers, then you see a ship like this, old, but vital. Alive, lived in and run.if you just keep oiling her decks & engines she’ll go forever.
With the BRIT, I think it came down to extraordinarily good construction and that 1950s rebuild by Gibbs and Cox, which spared no expense. She could probably still be sailing today with some TLC and a few spares from the ELLINIS safely stowed away. She really had a spirit about her.
You should share this on our fb group!!!!
I thought I did? :)
@@midshipcinema it's called Fox Star Line Ocean Liners Unlimited
@@foxstarline4997 It's there but not at the very top. A few posts down. Thanks again. :)
I was 5 years old when I sailed on her. From Rotterdam to Sydney and back.
i think the britanis got offended by the fact she would be scrapped and decided to sink herself in retailion for a much more graceful and sad end to her carrear i wonder if she has ever been found and what shape shes in bet the old girl has held up fine and is resting in peice
Miami- Nassau 1990s
They totally destroyed that lounge when they put the casino in the casino in there that décor in the casino is absolutely disgusting
Peter, What song is that in the video?
16:30-18:40
It was a download from Artlist.com but unfortunately, I don't know the title offhand.
6:49, Former reading room transformed into a shopping gallery, and 7:05. "Glitzy casino" birthed from "the stately lounge" ...Sad, agreed, and a commentary on the navel gazing, self-absorbtion of those trying to satisfy wants that mere introspection by reading and socializing in a lounge, became less practiced than the pursuit of happiness through spending. Is there a lesson here?
But cruising does keep its appeal.... overall
I guess the ship was scrapped?
No, although that was the goal. She rolled over and sank off Capetown en route to the breakers.
I enjoyed this very much. I was intrigued about you telling of passengers on the Rotterdam looking down on Britanis. To me they would have been complimentary experiences. Both being classic liners. My first real cruise (longer than 3 days) was the Rotterdam in 1992. All that cool artwork and brass windows on Prom deck looked amazing.
On the Xmas Cruises, the passengers were very much of the old guard. In a way, I don't blame them for their love of the ROTTERDAM. She truly was perfection but I'm sure many who thought the budget BRIT was inferior had no idea they probably sailed to Hawaii in her a couple decades earlier.
@@midshipcinema Rotterdam was perfection. A floating time capsule almost, And with good food and service.