Welcome back to the Atlantic Ocean, Readers. It has been a few years since the last post in this series so I felt it was high time to get back on the boat! And as the title suggests, today is the 57th anniversary of the departure from Liverpool way back on June 2, 1964!
So this post will focus on the many varied activities to do during the 7 day voyage. Of course this is not a luxury liner with the amenities of today. It was back to basics, take it easy and relax. Eating and dining was on a schedule, as were many of the activities.
On the Empress there were 8 decks that was accessible for the tourist class. (First Class had their exclusive areas which were off limits, mostly in dining and a few activities). The best way to illustrate this is with the following cut-away image found on the internet. (It was posted on several sites with no indications of copyright. Please don't sue me; it is only for reference and I do not make any money on this blog...)
I have augmented some areas as well as indicated the areas of dining and leisure. The coloured ellipses will make more sense when you refer to the Entertainment Cards which were made available to all passengers. There was a specific card for each day. The cards measured 5"x7" on a heavy stock with a colour illustration.
This is the first card of the trip from June 2, 1964. It opens up to 10" x 7" to reveal the text inside.
Now this being the day of departure it is of course not a full day schedule. The ship is set to leave Liverpool docks at 1630 hours; I have no idea what time we boarded but I am sure it was early. Giving people time to find their berth, unpack and get settled was the priority, but there is always time for Tea, being served at 4:00pm in the Carleton Restaurant.
Now as you can see from the cutaway, this is located in the lower deck of the ship, actually the Restaurant deck, which is Deck 7. (light green ellipse) At least it is two decks high, but except for a few portholes, no exterior views. This is where Tourist Class will eat all meals for the next 7 days.
Now with the ship underway, there is an event in the Windsor Lounge. This room is located on the Empress Deck. (middle red ellipse) A casual room with seats, sofas, tables and a piano. I believe people came here to socialize, read and play board games, which were available upon request. At 6:00pm there is a radio News Broadcast. I think it was possibly the BBC.
And now it is dinner time. Since the Carleton had to accommodate all the Tourist Class, there were two sittings. One at 6:30 and the second at 7:45. You only get an hour and a quarter for dinner so more than likely no seconds! Besides, who wants to spend time in the "basement"? (If you would like to know more about what the food choices were, please refer to the previous post in this series from September 26, 2018 - "There's no spam!?")
Back to the Windsor Lounge now for some bingo at 8:00pm. If that is too much excitement for you, you can take in a movie! The cinema is located on the Main Deck. (green ellipse). It is two decks high and seats 212 from what I can gather. Tonight's film is "The Great Escape". Is that a metaphor? Nice that it's a fairly recent film, only one year old. Surprisingly there is no smoking in the theatre. I find that very unusual for the time.
The film is over at 12:00am as it is a 3 hour movie; I believe the ship shuts down by then. No all night parties or carrying on past midnight. Silent running...? The last bit on the June 2 card is a land lubber's guide to ship terminology. So ends day one at sea. I am sure most were exhausted to attend many events, but the big surprise was yet to come!
That was the cover for Wednesday, June 3, 1963. This is going to be our first full day at sea. For many of us, it will be hell for the next 24 to 48 hours. Before I go into more detail on that statement, I would like to describe other activities which I was not able to indicate on the cutaway.
Starting from the topmost deck, the Sun Deck, you could play deck games such as shuffleboard and tennis. You just had to ask the sailors on duty for the game pieces. Here is a previously posted pic of Mum on the Sun Deck where you can clearly see the playing areas.
There were also some areas on the next deck down, the Sports Deck. Deck 3 was the Promenade Deck, and only walking was allowed for Tourist Class. Amenities on this level was First Class only, the cheek, but there was this little niche called The Den...
The Empress Deck was the main gathering place of the Tourist Class. Besides the afore mentioned Windsor Lounge, there was the Banff Club (a casual gathering place and bar), and the Canada Room. This was a large expansive area; the main Ballroom. There was a large dance floor and small stage for an orchestra and grand piano. Also on this level was a Beauty Salon, Barber Shop, and Gift Shop.
The Upper Deck was mostly cabins, but there was a Library and Writing Room. The upper void level for the Cinema was also on this deck.
The Main Deck was again all cabins (including our berth), and the Cinema. The Restaurant Deck is self explanatory with the good ole Carleton Restaurant. There was another smaller restaurant on this deck known as the Salle Frontenac, which was used for other events.
And lastly, deep in the bowels of the Lower Deck, was the Coral Pool. Not your usual outdoor luxury pool with sunbathing spaces and waterslides. This was more institutional with no windows for natural light. This deck was right on the waterline so, please, don't pull the plug!
So back to the Wednesday, June 3,1964 itinerary. Pools open early for an early morning swim, two times for breakfast, the film from last night is playing again. The Orchestra is playing in the Windsor Lounge and we can get a nice hot cup of Bovril if we want one. Over luncheon we are making a short stopover in Greenock, Scotland, departing 90 minutes later for a view of the Firth of Clyde on the starboard side.
The big event today is at 3:30. The Boat Muster. Actually life boat drills; this little event I remember. Horns and whistles and everyone running about with bright orange life vests on. No first class distinction here!
A few more afternoon events, dinner, the same movie (three showings today), and then the first dance in the Canada Room. A few other activities as you can see but then it all shuts down at midnight.
Its Thursday, June 4, and this is when it got interesting. Now we are officially in the Atlantic Ocean and based on the tales my parents told me, most of the boat was down with sea sickness. Our lot was incapacitated except for youngest sister "M". Getting a table at the Carleton would have been no problem; I am sure it was pretty empty most of the time that day.
New film today, "Charade" with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. A nice little romantic mystery from (again) 1963. The cinema runs the film four times a day from now on. Dance classes are available, if you can stand, more music venues, bingo and later more dancing. This Record Rendezvous in The Den is a mystery. Just listening to vinyl records before bed?
Now it's Friday, June 5 and it appears most of us are finally getting our sea legs and keeping food down. Maybe we can all do something today...?
Hey! Cartoons in the cinema! Can I go, Mum? New film "Zulu" today, and only 5 months old. but this ain't you family film, it's a war epic. Playing four times today too!
I saw them advertising for something called the Atlantic Derby. I cannot find any info on what this event was. I think it was basically a race for woman? I doubt that would not go over too well these days. The usual routine with meals, bingo, dancing and music.
It's Saturday and everyone by now has adjusted to life aboard ship. No more evidence of sea sickness in the family; all is well. Even though we were all sick, the weather up to this point has been great. Mostly sunny; the rain stopped once we were clear of the British Isles. No more land in sight and if you look very carefully you can see the curvature of the Earth. Freaky! Another memory.
This was the only schedule that was marked up. Looks we we went for an early swim and a later breakfast. Cartoons too but looks like no deck games today. New film for the weekend. "Running Man" (no not that one...) from 1963 about a man who fakes his own death. Doesn't look like a family movie either. Thank goodness for the cartoons!
Dinner tonight is the Gala Event. Guess we got dressed up for this, but I fear we had dinner and then the kiddies were banished to the cabin.
Sunday, June 7, 1964. Since these days are still treated with some respect and tradition, it will no doubt be a quieter day. As you can see from the itinerary, there are less scheduled activities.
You may have noticed I am not describing every event on the cards; I will let you use your imagination as to what was going on. At last a family film, and it's animated! Disney movie from 1963 so the kids could get dumped at the cinema while Mum and Dad have a break. Church service in the Canada Room, and no dancing tonight. Looks like we will be turning in early...
The card illustration for Monday, June 8, 1964 is the same as Thursday's; must have been a limited pool of art. This is our official last day at sea. Newfoundland is looming in the distance, and we have been passing by many icebergs (unfortunately the photos taken of that subject have been forever lost).
Same routine as before. Swimming, eating, listening to music and dancing. Final film for the cinema for this trip is "The Thrill of it All". It's a Rom-Com from 1963; think I will give that one a miss. No cartoons today either. Maybe this is the captain's way of weaning us off the ship and back to dry land? And it doesn't appear to be another late night. Oh well, tomorrow we arrive!
If there was a card for Tuesday, June 9, 1964, Mum either never got one or did not save it. Breakfast would have been served surely. As we are expected to dock in Montreal around 12:30pm, most I'm sure are packing, buying souvenirs, having a last walk around decks and watching the fast approaching Canadian cityscape as we cruise down the St. Lawrence Seaway.
I'll document the events of June 9, 1964 in the next post. Still more schedules and ships rules to post, the Captain's final message to the ship, and the last pictures of the arrival in Montreal.
On a sad note I would like to dedicate this post to my elder sister Angela, who was taken from us far too soon last August 2020 after a thirteen year battle with cancer. She was 9 years old when we took the voyage. She still had so much more to give. Good-bye Angie, you are so missed....
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