QUEEN OF BERMUDA

Ah! Nice one. Here I can tell you the location etc. C. 1935 as you have. Location? Murray's Anchorage, Bermuda. Two Shell Doors are open at A Deck. (If it was New York the doors would be higher on the Prom Deck.) Derricks are topped. No passengers to be seen. This indicates that the photo would have been taken from the tender CASTLE HARBOUR. Passengers were taken off the ship and then taken around to Castle Harbour to the Furness hotel. In those days passengers did not live on board, they went to the hotel. The ship would then shift to Hamilton and might stay two days, working cargo etc. On sailing day the ship would anchor at Murray's and passengers come back to the ship. They may have just stayed at the Island for two days or they may stay longer and return to New York on the next ship, Monarch of Bermuda or the Queen.

Stephen

Thanks for the location, Stephen.

Very interesting, Stephen. I never knew that the passengers didn't stay aboard ship while at Bermuda. (Must have been a nice break for the crew!) Is the hotel that Furness used still in existence?

Furness had two hotels, The St George Hotel and the Castle Harbour, in addition to the Mid Ocean Golf Course.

Passenger ships before ww2 were not allowed to remain in port overnight, unless the passengers went ashore into hotels. After the war it became 'live aboard cruises' and ship would stay on board when alongside.

Break for the crew? Two nights in Bermuda. No passengers on board. Overnight in New York. No passengers. The stewards are sailed to be highest paid stewards in the world and would spend the NY night ashore in best hotels. For deck crew, well, there was cargo to work at NY and Bermuda.

The Furness hotels were demolished years ago. Mid Ocean Golf Course is a private club.

Stephen

Fascinating, Stephen. Thank you very much for that. It really was another world.

As for the highly-paid stewards, I remember reading once about the chief purser on one of the Atlantic liners who would have a car and driver waiting for him when the ship reached the homeport of Liverpool, whereas the ship's captain traveled home on a streetcar...