My first cruise was April We decided on a 4 day cruise to see if we liked it or not, trouble was, the ship was the Queen Mary 2. We did a short hop to Cherbourg, a wonderful reception was given on her arrival back in France where she was built, the whole town was out in celebration with many many coaches arriving with sightseers, yes, they were coming from all over France just to see us.
The town had laid on a market with lots and lots of jazz bands. We left Cherbourg at night, and at a guess there were over , people on shore all with glow lights, the liquid filled tubes you break and they glow. Passengers on the ship had them as well, the sight was superb. Our next port of call was Guernsy in the Channel Islands, tender ashore, then the third day was cruising at sea and back into Southampton the following day. We were hooked on cruising.
I still remember one of the entertainers, Michael Burger Comedian. How down the hallway was a bronze dedication plaque. The "Disco" at the bottom of the ship. The movie theater midship, was where I played "spin the bottle" for the first time with other kids on the ship.
How my parents danced on the wooden dace floor in the main albeit small auditorium area. I remember the roof of that auditorium being black with pinholes, and light shining through the pinholes. So many good memories on that glorious ship Its a tragedy she ended up scrapped FYI, she was renamed the Ocean Breeze. In , Italy-based Sitmar Cruises had started an ambitious new-build program for the North American cruise market.
Sitmar were planning to order additional vessels however, and the Italian government, who owned Fincantieri, was eager to have these ships built by an Italian shipyard. Following more successful negotiations between Sitmar and Fincantieri, an order was placed for two 70, grt. Although the ships maintained the same basic layout as Sitmar Fairmajesty, their exteriors were redesigned by Italian architect Renzo Piano.
