Remembering a Grand Old Ship - The Italia
by Published on 22nd March 2016 10:50 PM
Italia.jpg
Our good friend Dieter Killinger was prompted by the recent posting of the Home Lines' Italia. A longtime member of the steamship line community in Manhattan, Dieter has written, by the way, the Foreword to our upcoming book Great Mediterranean Passenger Liners, which is now at the printers over in the UK. Seeing the 21,000-ton Italia sparked some memories and he wrote:
My aunt (an American citizen) was stuck in England during the war, but in 1946 she obtained passage to New York, along with many war brides, on the John Ericsson (ex-Kungsholm and later to become Italia).
When I was with North German Lloyd [in the early '60s], I took my first cruise on the Italia to Nassau in 1963 for all of a minimum guarantee of $185. I had a friend who worked for Home Lines and got a terrific upgrade. That trip was one of my most memorable experiences. What a grand old ship she was.
PS: In the attached photo, the 1,450-passenger Italia is seen in the 1950s
Brian Probetts (site admin)
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