What Was It Like Aboard The First Luxury Ocean Liners? | Great Liners | Absolute History

Discover the Queen Elizabeth II, the flagship of the historic Cunard line, boasting cutting-edge technology and a record-breaking speed of 34 knots. In the golden era of ocean liners, names like Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth symbolized a life of opulence and leisure. We will uncover the surprising origins of ocean liners in steam engine technology and how visionaries like Isambard Kingdom Brunel revolutionized maritime travel. We will learn about the challenges and risks faced by pioneers in the 1830s, leading to the creation of the first purpose-built ocean liner, the Great Western. Follow the evolution of transatlantic passenger services, from the impact of World War I to the development of steam turbo-electric propulsion, transforming ocean liners into cruise ships and military transports.

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[PplEtr]

Is it just me, or does anyone else prefer this old-fashioned documentary style over the new, over-produced, high on glitz, low on information style?

[davidbennett]

As a boy, many years ago, I worked for a lady who survived the sinking of the White Star liner Arabic, torpedoed off Ireland in April 1915. It was a precursor to the sinking of the Lusitania. The Arabic sank in just nine minutes and Mrs. Short spent a full day in a lifeboat wearing her nightgown and a sealskin coat. She eventually received a reparation payment from Germany for the loss of her jewellery and stage costumes.

[mrbutch]

I lived and worked on the QE2 from 1994 through 1998. Lots of errors are mentioned here, but I will refute just one: The QE2 is mentioned as the fastest ocean liner in the world early in this video. In fact that distinction goes to the USS United States, which to this very day holds the Blue Riband for shortest crossing of the Atlantic even after 60 years. The USS United States can be seen docked in Philadelphia.

[LeifDjurfeldt]

I miss good documentaries like this older one... With a proper narrator (Patrick Allen, such a voice!), and narrative!!! Non-judgemental, just a good documentary!!

[cybucqn]

My great grandfather was the linen buyer for Dayton’s department store in Minneapolis. He would sail to Europe on his buying trips, it would have been in the ‘20’s and ‘30’s. I know he sailed on the Queen Mary. I wish I had asked him for the details when I had the chance.

[acmelka]

My dear friend was the ship's doctor on the QE2 in the late 1960s. He was just out of medical school and he said it really was all that.

[Llama_Whisperer]

This is nice. Flying has become an absolute nightmare 😬

[raymondalverez]

I was blessed to have worked on the Queen Mary while it was permanently docked at Long -1983).
I was the swing shift security supervisor on board.
At five o'clock pm, I was charged with the duty to blow its massive air horn, audible to the Long Beach ⛱️ shoreline. My first experience with the horn blowing duty, shook my britches to the core, WOW it is/was loud.
Great memories while on board.
I was a security officer also to the companion Howard Hughes H-4 project Flying boat "Spruce Goose ".
Great memories 🎉.

[padenable]

Neither set of my grandparents were comfortable with the idea of ocean travel, but then again, the Titanic disaster was still extremely fresh when they were very young.

[Lindsey]

As much as I would love to experience this, I watched Titanic as a small child and it traumatized me to get on any water vehicle that big. Turned to my mom in the scene where the mom is putting her kids to bed and the old couple holding each other and said, "If we were on the Titanic would we have died?? 😭" And she said "Honey we probably would have been 2nd or 3rd class, so probably" and that sent me even further into hysterics.

[TheDJMeyer]

I miss when documentaries only had the budget for one overture to use randomly throughout the episode

[markshrimpton]

Brunel, to whom I’m distantly related, was many things, but one thing he wasn’t was Scottish.

[CPK]

I love these new documentaries. I want to travel on the QE2 one day

[susanwaldron]

I am no wiser now as to what it was like aboard the luxury liners. A shame because the thumbnail drew me in and I was looking forward to seeing menus and cabins etc.

[rrice]

Not a bad old-school documentary all things considered. Would have been wonderful to experience the old liners in their heyday.

[sonaterese]

This was a wonderful video - thank you. The things sailing the seas in modern times are just monstrosities

[julianyc]

My Parents rode on the QE2 when her companion ship, rode with her on it's last trip. The QE2 went through the Panama Canal during that Trip and was met with fanfare when it arrived in San Franscisco. Incredible Ship, Meals and Dance. Nothing like today's plastic MALL ships.

[nowandaround]

I'm 20 minutes into the video and they still haven't started talking about what it was like aboard the first luxury ocean liners. This is a documentary about the timeline of when different ships were built and competition between companies

[Surpriseattackninja]

I took the qe2 from new york to southampton when i was 8 back in 1986. To this day id still rather do that than fly.

That being said we hit a north atlantic storm that rocked even that ship to the point where for a day most people stayed in their cabins. It was eild watching the water slosh out of the indoor pool.

[susanfarley]

My great aunt traveled when she was young in the Pacific. Before cruise ships some cargo ships had room for a few passengers. One trip she took she had a famous fellow passenger --Edgar Rice Burtoughs. She felt sorry for him because he would have horrible nightmares at night and she could hear him screaming.