I have great memories of sailed as a passenger on the SS _Britannis_ from New Zealand to England and back again in 1972.
@debzmazza1452 жыл бұрын
Hi Peter; I was 10 almost 11 years old on 19th May 1974 when we Mallabone family; mum dad and my 2 sisters embarked on the Britanis at Southhampton England as immigrants to Australia where we would settle in Adelaide South Australia. We arrived in Adelaide on 15th June 1974. We were fondly known as 10 pound poms; the cost for each person 12 and over was 10 pounds. I recognise some of the rooms for dining, the promenade deck and the cabin with the bunk bed which was the type of cabin on B deck cabin 263 where we slept; we spent all of our time out of the cabin enjoying the sun by the pool and enjoying the many activities; it was wonderful. Thank you for rekindling special memories for me.
@midshipcinema Жыл бұрын
Wow, thank you so much for sharing your memories of this special ship! :)
@Alanhock752 ай бұрын
I was also on the Britanis on may 19 1974 sailing for a new life in Australia, I was 21. I came back after a year but in 2002 went to lived in Townsville for 18 years before coming back to the UK.
@teresastephenson620010 ай бұрын
My family sailed on this ship in 1971 from the UK to Sydney. We were 10 pound poms. I have been looking for years for information about this ship, only just found it. Thank you for sharing.
@midshipcinema9 ай бұрын
That's fantastic that you found this video. I will do more on her final years at some point down the road. She was such an historic treasure. How great you have that memory of her line voyage service. Thanks for posting.
@ronesplin67682 жыл бұрын
We sailed on the SS Australis in October 1969 from Auckland NZ to Melbourne, Fiji, Los Angeles, Acapulco and London, staying and working in the UK and touring Europe before returning on the Britanis via the Canary Islands, Capetown, Perth, Melbourne, Sydney and finally Wellington before returning to Dunedin, flat broke, but delighted with our travels. Thanks for the memories. Ron Esplin.
@midshipcinema Жыл бұрын
OMG, you were on one of her rare calls at Los Angeles. Do you have any specific memories of that day? I wish I had been a ship enthusiast then but got bitten by the bug a few years later. AUSTRALIS has always been one of my very favorites.
@jeans.plescha14802 жыл бұрын
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.
@swissarmytenor2 жыл бұрын
In April 1981 my college choir did a tour (as many school choirs do), but ours was a Caribbean cruise on the Britanis! It was a fantastic time. Still remember the steel drum band playing as we left dock in San Juan, our waiter Theo, the casino, the passenger talent show... Thanks for the memories!
@midshipcinema2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for posting here! Missed you by a few months on my first BRITANIS cruise.
@ChrisFrameOfficial3 жыл бұрын
This was brilliant. Looking forward to part 2!
@midshipcinema3 жыл бұрын
Thank you, Chris! :)
@robertbarnier453 жыл бұрын
Thanks. Love the older ships. So much more personality than the floating behemoths of today.
@Alanhock759 ай бұрын
Went to Australia on this ship 1974- happy days
@midshipcinema9 ай бұрын
Wonderful! She was a hard working ship.
@andrewbrendan15793 жыл бұрын
Peter, this is great! I'm already on the lookout for Part 2! I rermember when I first discovered the wonderful Britanis and it was love at first sight. It would have been late '75 or every early '76 when I was in the 9th grade and went to a travel agency to get cruise brochures for a class project and one of the agents gave me a stack of brochures that were out of date but were a treasure chest ocean liner pictures. Among the brochures handed to me and that I was allowed to take from the racks was one about the Britanis and I still have it to this day. That two-funnel liner I'd never heard of before was the stand-out ship for me. Back in 2000 I was sitting on a bench at the local mall and got into a conversation with an older gentleman and somehow he was telling me about having been on the Monterey. I was thinking of the one-funnel Monterey but then the man mentioned having been a soldier aboard the ship and how his bunk was in the swimming pool. Oh, THAT Monterey! I gave him an update on what had happened to the ship since World War II. I didn't know then that the former Monterey had recently sunk on the way to the scrapyard and maybe it was better that the veteran I was speaking with didn't know about that. What an interesting situation that your mother already had a connection with the ship that you would later sail on as a passenger. I had the experience of getting a job located in what had once been my father's fraternity house! That was a surprise to learn that the Britanis might have supplied parts for the Ellinis but that the situation was reversed. It would be interesting to know why the decision was made, similar to why the newer Majestic was scrapped in the 1930's and the older Berengaria kept in service. Thank you for all the time and work that went into this video! It's much appreciated.
@midshipcinema3 жыл бұрын
Andrew, thank you so much for your kind words! Thrilled you enjoyed the video and I hope you enjoy the next part, which I am hoping to get posted soon. Great story that you have about discovering BRITANIS via a travel agency. Indeed, that is how I first discovered the old NIEUW AMSTERDAM and so many other soon-to-be-doomed classics! And yes, got very luck with that shot of my mom in 1957! Thanks again!
@TheGmbz3 жыл бұрын
Just delightful.
@chuck88353 жыл бұрын
Fine presentation. I enjoyed the music background. I owned a travel agency 1975-1985. We sold these ships with confidence. I only wish that I had sailed on this ship. For comparison, I have been on 55 cruises of all descriptions. First was on a similar sized HAL in 1980.
@Edgetravelguy3 жыл бұрын
Great job- looking forward to Part 2
@midshipcinema3 жыл бұрын
Thank you, Tom. In the works. :)
@gregmerritt4278 Жыл бұрын
Great video peter. While I never got to sail on these beauties when I sailed on the mv horizon from Philadelphia to Bermuda I brought along with me william miller's chandris lines book and I git the captain and staff captain and cruise director to autographed it for me. Wish I could have sailed on some of these beautiful ships
@midshipcinema Жыл бұрын
Thanks so much, Greg. A pity you didn't get to walk the decks of BRITANIS or AMERIKANIS but at least you got to do Celebrity in its heyday. Totally different company now.
@OCEANCRAFTSMotionGallery3 жыл бұрын
Fantastic video. Enjoyed watching very much. Great work my friend.
@midshipcinema3 жыл бұрын
Thank you! :)
@richardfryer12793 жыл бұрын
Thank you
@mrslinarcos3 жыл бұрын
Such a great video, thank you very much Peter. Can't wait for Part 2 🙂🚢
@midshipcinema3 жыл бұрын
Thanks so much, Deorah! Part Two coming right up! :)
@thesketchydude13153 жыл бұрын
Love these History videos, hopefully one day you may do one on my personal favorite, another classic two stacker...the Achille Laruo/Willem Ruys :)
@midshipcinema3 жыл бұрын
She's way up on my list, so stay tuned! Thank you! :)
@thesketchydude13153 жыл бұрын
@@midshipcinema Thats great to hear! (also I never realized that on Britanis the bridge wasn't extended out to the wings after it was enclosed...strange, I thought maybe they did the "Japanese" style which was common on ferries where they fully enclosed the bridge like that and had all the wrap-around windows)
@andrewbrendan15793 жыл бұрын
I second the motion! I would love to see a Peter Knego documentary about the Willem Ruys/Achille Lauro. Something about which I've been curious is what happened to the mermaid statues at the bottom of one of the Willem Ruys staircases. I suspect they were lost in the fire when the liner was being converted to the Achille Lauro.
@midshipcinema3 жыл бұрын
@@thesketchydude1315 It was a strange, partially enclosed configuration. :)
@midshipcinema3 жыл бұрын
@@andrewbrendan1579 I love that ship with a passion, so I promise she will be featured at some point, hopefully soon! I don't recall the mermaid being on board but there were a few corners here and there that still looked as though they were original WILLEM RUYS. She was a magical ship and one of my favorite cruises, just a few weeks before her fiery end.
@thomasnicolai-vargas53863 жыл бұрын
That was fun! One of the tikis looks very familiar ! Thanks for sharing your adventures!
@midshipcinema3 жыл бұрын
Thanks, Tom! 4th Tiki from the left says hi!
@TheClive19493 жыл бұрын
Splendid Peter, I'm looking forward to Part 2 - of course.
@midshipcinema3 жыл бұрын
Thank you so much, Clive! I'm working on getting it posted soon! :)
@BigOldBoats3 жыл бұрын
Absolutely love these videos, thank you for sharing these great histories!
@midshipcinema3 жыл бұрын
Thank you! I'm so happy to know that. :)
@LauderdaleKeith2 жыл бұрын
I sailed on this ship as the Chandris Britanis in 1979 from Amsterdam to Genoa. I picked this itinerary out of several offered because it was over 4000 miles - 9 ports in 14 days. I think I booked a cheap share which has sink but you had to go down the hall to shower. As I recall it cost me about $650. I flew from MCO via NYC instead of going out of Miami because I wanted to fly on my first 747. So -KLM NYC-AMS and home ROME-NYC on Alitalia 747then domestic back to MCO.
@midshipcinema2 жыл бұрын
Thanks so much. Yes, when they expanded BRITANIS capacity by making large cabins into two or three smaller ones, many had no facilities. Appreciate your watching and posting. :)
@heidimainacct95993 жыл бұрын
Love this!! Enjoyed it while having my lunch!
@midshipcinema3 жыл бұрын
Awww. Thank you, Heidi!
@blembree13 жыл бұрын
Peter, I’m so happy to see you posting these “history of…” videos here. Your videos are by far the most accurate, detailed and well produced ship history videos I’ve found here on KZfaq! Thank you for documenting these long lost beautiful liners!
@midshipcinema3 жыл бұрын
That is extremely kind of you and much appreciated, Benjamin! Thank you very, very much! I hope to add many more as time permits. :)
@shipspiros37662 жыл бұрын
@@midshipcinema I Was Worked At The SS "Britanis" In 1974 Arrived Greece And Australia!!!
@midshipcinema2 жыл бұрын
@@shipspiros3766 Excellent! Sounds like you have had a great career with passenger ships.
@jeffreyhayes87733 жыл бұрын
A great video thank you
@midshipcinema3 жыл бұрын
Thank you for posting, Jeffrey!
@xr6lad3 жыл бұрын
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.
@BobNWFA3 жыл бұрын
Peter, I love this video and only wish I appreciated Britanis more during the one and only time I sailed on her. A gentle reminder that "Lurline" is pronounced "Lur-leen."
@midshipcinema3 жыл бұрын
Thank you, Bob! Funny, I actually pronounced it both ways in this particular video, rather unknowingly. Thank you for clarifying -- I'll stick with Lur-Leen from now on. :)
@Dancer8103 жыл бұрын
How interesting that the parent company of Britanis (Chandris Cruises) actually started Celebrity Cruises as a subsidiary line, hence the huge X's emblazoned on the smokestacks of all Chandris and Celebrity ships. My very first cruise was on the S/S Britanis on July 4, 1993, for five nights. This Thanksgiving I will be on Celebrity's Millennium for four nights, which will be my first Celebrity cruise. Very much looking forward to that! Celebrity is considered a top cruise line in the industry. :-)
@quattrohead3 жыл бұрын
People that I worked with on the Caribe1 said Britanis was haunted and still had bullet holes in it, true ?
@midshipcinema3 жыл бұрын
Can't verify either but she really did seem like a living entity, especially when I visited her during her long and sad layup in Tampa, which will be part three of this series.
@andrewbrendan15793 жыл бұрын
A long time ago I read an article about the Britanis in Cruise Travel magazine. I recall there was mention of how a particular area on the ship was said to be haunted. My recollection is that there was a picture of one of the open promenade areas.
@darploin50712 жыл бұрын
Same design firm my father worked for for about 20 years and the same design firm who did the SS United States and the America
@midshipcinema2 жыл бұрын
Very cool! Gibbs and Cox were at the top of their game with those two ships.
@darploin50712 жыл бұрын
Is Chandra's line eventually became the celebrity line which is now owned by the Royal Caribbean conglomerate
@midshipcinema2 жыл бұрын
Celebrity was a division of Chandris until it was bought by RCCL.
@darploin50712 жыл бұрын
So she was built right at the beginning of the great depression that must have affected ticket sales
@icezone5555 Жыл бұрын
Something I’ve always wondered is has anyone tried to find the Britanis wreck? I’m curious
@midshipcinema Жыл бұрын
I have no idea but that seems extremely costly and risky without much reward.