Cunard’s Last Great Gambit: RMS Caronia - The Green Goddess

RMS Caronia, launched by Princess Elizabeth on October 30th, 1947, was a surprisingly innovative ship for the infamously conservative Cunard Line. Built to serve transatlantic crossings and cruises worldwide, the Caronia was one of the first purpose-built cruise ships. Well ahead of her time, she was beloved by both passengers and crew and remained profitable well into Cunard's decline in the 1960s.
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Sources:
RMS Caronia: Cunard's Green Goddess by William H. Miller and Brian Hawley
Atlantic Liners of the Cunard Line by Neil McCart
Music sourced from Epidemic Sound: www.epidemicsound.com/referra...
Chapters:
0:00 Sir Percy Bates
4:00 Cunard Wins the War
8:04 The Best of Cunard
12:23 Cruising the World
Disclaimer: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you. Thank you for supporting my channel so I can continue providing free high-quality historical content.

[@BigOldBoats]

I think I have a soft spot for white/green ocean liners

[@tobytheoceanlinerbuilder1078]

Definitely, me too

[@evolveausevolveaus]

same

[@nickjames9764]

Me to

[@ayindestevens6152]

Same sis

[@auntbarbara5576]

Me as well, favourite colours ☺

[@TheVaughan5]

From the days when ships were ships with beautiful public rooms, not some oversized kitschy shopping mall/food hall that most are today.

[@Datadog-1]

From the days when people had self respect

[@tjfSIM]

Cruise ships serve a different purpose. They are floating holiday resorts, not a means of transport. If you look at QM2, the only surviving true ocean liner, her interiors are comparable to the grand old liners of the 1920s and 30s.

[@LegioXIII-SPQR]

This is the thing that most people don't realize because they are only seeing things from a modern context. Prior to mass air travel being popular, the only way for people to move across oceans was to take ocean liners. Their primary purpose was to move a large number of people from one side of the ocean to the other rather than steam around in a giant circle while people engage in hedonism and bacchanalia with the onboard ship amenities, which is the primary purpose of modern cruise ships. The way the ships are referred to reinforces this - ocean liners were the equivalent of today's airliners, so it would be more appropriate to compare ocean liners of the past to the luxury jumbo jets from modern airlines. That being said, I have to agree with the original commenter that today's cruise ships are basically designed to appeal to the lowest common denominator. The sad reality of today's society of excessive consumerism is that most people will choose swag over class.

[@apexxxx10]

*Shopping Malls, Amusement Park with Swimming Pools! The Naval Architecture our Modern Times ! of Greetings from sunny tropical Thailand, where we don’t see may cruise ships visiting Bangkok or Pattaya (Laem Chabang) ports. Johnny BikeSanooK!*

[@user-dd4ig8wx6r]

Cruise ships are just overrated. They look ugly and have hallows kill ocean liners

[@Stationjoke]

“In 1952, she ran aground in the Suez Canal (but like, who hasn’t?). Atomic roast and it got a laugh out of me. Good work

[@HeartofGold16]

I did a transatlantic crossing on QM2 last April and there is a staircase decorated with paintings of all the previous Cunard ships. Caronia was my favorite one. She was by far the prettiest.

[@dougn2350]

You can still trans Atlantic ocean crossings?

[@ruddytatis9104]

​@@dougn2350Yes! Cunard still has an ocean liner in operation today that does the traditional New York - Southampton transatlantic crossings. The ship's name is Queen Mary 2.

[@geodot595]

5 star presentation!

[@hughwalker5628]

When my family moved to Canada in 1963, we travelled on the Cunarder Franconia, recently renamed from Ivernia. The trip was from Southampton to Montreal, up the St Lawrence. I remember it as being quite huge but, looking up its stats, the Franconia was actually quite small as liners go. Smaller than the Caronia. It was one of a quartet, another ship intended primarily for cruising and that was revealed by the quality of service throughout the voyage. We had a dedicated waiter, Keith, a very funny Scot who looked after us brilliantly. I was 5 at the time. Perhaps my memories aren't that accurate but I like them as they are. Unfortunately, one of those memories is the horrendous sea sickness which still plagues me to this day. And I actually live on a boat!

[@slavkovalsky1671]

I looked her up - and it turns out I also saw her when _I_ was five, under a new name (Fedor Shalyapin) and flag... She seemed huge to me at the time (that was before the Princesses that would dwarf the cities they'd call at). Never went aboard though, just gawked a bit from the quayside.

[@jasonpierce-newmodelbarmy3394]

My late father was a radio officer on the Ivernia. She was a great looking ship.

[@hughwalker5628]

@@jasonpierce-newmodelbarmy3394 green when I went on her. Stunning, I thought. I still have the enamel badge I was bought on board.

[@jasonpierce-newmodelbarmy3394]

@@hughwalker5628 I managed to get hold of a pair of original enamel Ivernia cuff links! I hope to wear them one day on a Cunard ship in memory of my Dad😌

[@edwinsalau150]

When I was in the Marine Corps had a lieutenant while on an LST who could not shake his seasickness! my tank platoon had the most peaceful float with our accompanying infantry battalion ever!!!! The Lieutenant never left his quarters!

[@pxn748]

Caronia is one of a handful of ships that I wish I could go back in time and sail on!

[@roystrickland3363]

There's still a great model of her above the bar in The Saloon at Grand Central Terminal's Oyster Bar.

[@NonsensicalNauticalRambings]

Fantastic little ship with dedicated passengers and crew. Cunard knew what they were doing when they made her, it’s just that she came too late for a proper service time. I feel that she’s one of the few ships that could still work in the modern day with her original fittings. Thank you for making a video on ‘The Green Goddess’.

[@toolsteel8482]

A cruise ship with only 600 passengers. I’ll would never set foot on these mega-monstrosities of today. Thanks , I enjoy these very much.

[@trj1442]

Only 23 secs into a rare Big Old Boats post and I paused it to like and write this comment. Such a great way to finish off a night downunder.

[@lyntwo]

The elegance of travel.

[@stevenmacdonald9619]

I can't recall the story of any major ship being anything less than fascinating. They somehow take on all the aspects of any life. The highs, lows and often tragedies that can befall most people. Their time is filled with some of the strangest and interesting stories, and that is why I can never resist learning those new stories. I had never even heard of RMS Caronia before today.

[@ericvantassell6809]

a bit of rhetorical excess since they aren't actually alive

[@stevenmacdonald9619]

@@ericvantassell6809 More like ignorance on your part, since there have been many human beings through the ages that believe that all machines have a soul. Why else would a ship be referred to as her, or she? The Japanese make sure every car they have ever built reflects a smiling, happy face, and no aggression. North American indigenous people believe all energy and spirit exists around us, and that is the same of the Australian indigenous. Amazing given the sheer distance between these two cultures. Open your mind, you'll learn something, rather than wasting your time putting negative comments on the words of others, only to get your ass so politely handed to you.

[@ralphnoyes4366]

@@ericvantassell6809 They are alive for those who have travelled on them.

[@DanCath]

Same here, totally agree with Steven

[@HenryAshtonMedia]

I agree Steven :)

[@deeestuary]

When I was 12, in the early 1960s, I visited my uncle who was working for the RAF in Gibraltar. I loved walking even at that age, and one day I climbed the steps which took you to the top of the mountain where there are wonderful views across to Africa. But the first thing I saw was this lovely green cruise liner - the Coronia. I knew exactly what ship she was as I had a small metal model of her back home!

[@victorcolon1454]

Good to see the late Princess/Queen in such a video.

[@annesoper911]

I came to Canada in 1960 with my family. We crossed the Atlantic on the Ivernia from Tilbury docks to Halifax Nova Scotia. The day we left England Prince Andrew was born, I remember hearing on the car radio the report that the Queen was "in confinement ". Ivernia was beautiful, we were fortunate to travel first class. Arriving in Halifax in February was a very cold and icy ordeal for us as we had been living in Australia for several years and we had never experienced such weather conditions. At 76 years old and having lived in Canada all these years I still don't embrace the cold weather but I love where I live in Nova Scotia.

[@A2Wx8]

Such a nice ship that was truly a break from tradition and ahead of her time. She's like the second Mauretania of 1938, lovely little ships that kind of live in the perpetual shadow of the very famous Queens.

[@ralphnoyes4366]

Cunard was the standard of the world, at least in the 50s and early 60s.

[@CarolAnn-gh9fl]

A transatlantic voyage on a Cunard ship should be on any ship lover’s bucket list. The QM2 is a joy. I was hoping the new liner would be named after one of their older ships.

[@saibattu7745]

True, but given how ugly the new ship is, I'm kind of glad they didn't sully the name of a older ocean liner.

[@ralphnoyes4366]

Marvelous video. My parents crossed the Atlantic to Southampton on the Caronia in 1950. I was on my way, but not born yet, My Mother never stopped talking about this ship. It wasn't her first ocean voyage -- freighters from New York to Mumbai via Suez in 1946, then freighter back across the Pacific to San Francisco in 1949 -- but the Caronia was her first real ocean liner. She was 32, Dad 36. They were kids. My son is older now than they were then. We also crossed the Atlantic on the Kungsholm (3x), Stockholm, Liberte, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, Rotterdam, and finally a little American Export Lines ship called the Atlantic -- cruise from Nice to New York. And to South Africa and back on the Stirling Castle and Edinburgh Castle. All on Firestone's tab. Dad flew, Mom and kids refused. Haven't been on anything bigger than a ferry since 1964 but would like to take one more trip on an ocean liner, not a cruise barge. Memories run deep. Exquisite wood paneling, palatial stairways, grand pianos and chairs chained to the deck. Movies. "A Night to Remember". Standing for "God Save the Queen" before the movies. Caviar, smoked salmon, baked alaska. Horseradish (yow!)

[@densalbeach1]

My dad served on the Caronia as an engineer and sailed on her maiden voyage to New York. He has sailed on several of the big ships including the QE 1 and Mauritania, but the Green Goddess was always his favourite. A great video, really enjoyed seeing something of my fathers history.

[@lasuvidaboy]

My grandparents sailed on Caronia once in the early 60s when they were transferred from SS United States. They were sailing on the United States from New York to Southampton and there was a last-minute strike called and they were offered 1st class accommodations on Caronia or to fly to the UK. They chose Caronia and had a nice crossing.

[@chriscothran8744]

Hey cool! Our friend Mike Brady from Ocean Liner Designs is a Patreon supporter!

[@Heggie42]

I first heard of this ship when my mum found a huge b&w print of it on board while dumpster diving and gave it to me expecting I'd paint over it... instead, I loved the tatty old thing and put it on my bedroom wall! I've always wanted to learn more - especially about the interior. Thank you so much for this.

[@nickjames9764]

Rms caronia is one of my favorite ship

[@missfish4160]

What a gorgeous ship! I love that card you showed with the painting of her- the seafoam green is absolutely beautiful.

[@DieUnstillbareGier]

Caronia is one of my favorite ocean liners and a beautiful one on that. Just a shame her life ended so.....brutal as it did.

[@SeaTravelr123]

Another winner my friend. Great Subject. There was a restaurant in NYC, called 1/5th that rescued a great deal of stuff from her. I never got to see a lot if it, and much was auctioned off when the restaurant closed. 🙁

[@SatanSpawn801]

I’ve never been into old boats until I came across your videos. Now I’m fascinated by them!

[@lisadolan689]

I actually dislike podcast style productions… however, I find this narrators voice to be almost hypnotic. He has beautiful natural inflection and rhythm. My OCD is satisfied with this all round excellent production. 🙏😊

[@flapjackfae]

Growing up in the '60s and '70s, I heard about the two Queens (and the QEII), but never the Caronia, until today. Thanks for more new (to me) fascinating history.

[@willbreckinridge8010]

I've always heard about the Caronia, but never looked into it, just thinking it to be some other unimportant intermediate liner. Thanks for proving me wrong :) . I'd love to see a video on the Mauretania of 1938 in future as well.

[@westcoastseattleboy784]

The saddest part is imagining what might have happened with a little more vision. Imagine a wild where Cunard set the trends in the cruise market instead of Carnival

[@nmccw3245]

Thanks Bradley.

[@winstonchurchill5791]

Great video and a beautiful liner! Thanks, Big Old Boats, and congratulations on 50 000 subscribers!

[@Gabriel_Rojas_Arena]

The Green Goddess of Cunard

[@boyo2012]

Yet another banger of a video from Big Old Boats! Absolutely love your narrative, video production, and clear understanding of the history involved with the Caronia. 👏🏻👏🏻

[@Janjinjinr]

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE YOUR VIDEOS

[@gilbydog7350]

The Caronia really was a wonderful ship in its time. I never knew what happened to the Caronia, so thank you for covering it in this excellent and informative video.

[@user-vy3op5nx8z]

My family emigrated to Canada, in October of 1966, aboard the RMS Franconia, I was almost eight., Still remember a lot of it.

[@edwinsalau150]

Remember when my mother worked on the SS United States. Myself;; pushing 81. Hoboken New Jersey had working docks! River Street and Hudson Street. The Holland American line used to put in. Long time ago!

[@michaelsteele8515]

Great video! So may photos of her I hadn’t seen before.

[@tobytheoceanlinerbuilder1078]

Love this ship !

[@chrysalisamidst]

I found some vintage youtube footage of the Caronia on a world cruise while i was braiding my hair; it reminded me of seeing old cruise memorabilia and photos in my grandmother's house. Great video!

[@Unownshipper]

Another amazing video. I'd never even heard of Caronia before, but what a beauty. It's impressive that someone at Cunard had the foresight to see which direction the wind was turning.

[@rogerrendzak8055]

Absorbing documentary, Big Old Boats!!! And quality-full, as usual👍!! This ship was a beautiful, one of a kind, reflection of art that could of been shared, with future generations☺️. What a shame when beauty, prestige (not the, wealthy description), history and usage, has to come to a halt, all because of money😔. Mankind's, forever curse💵👹!!! It's 'cause of corporate institutions, with a few greedy men, that ruin's our world (just observe, the US today😒). Example; this type of man that honor's, monetary choice first, can be seen@18:30. C'mon now, really?? That's, really bombastic🙄.

[@jacquelenew8440]

I still remember coming to Australia from New Zealand on the Angelina Lora. For a small child it was so much fun. 😊

[@toddbonin6926]

Wonderful video of what was, IMHO, Cunard’s most beautiful ship.

[@auntbarbara5576]

Thank you!!

[@Chr.U.Cas1622]

Dear Big Old Boats guy. 👍👌👏 Simply fantastic! Thanks a lot for making explaining recording editing uploading and sharing. Best regards luck and health in particular.

[@briannelson3686]

Brad, very nicely done. This was a very unique ship and you told the story very well. I think though that Sir Percy Bates approached the British Parlaiment to obtain funding to complete the Queen Mary, and after some discussion they offered Cunard, I think 9M pounds to complete the Queen Mary along with some working capital only if they agreed to merge with White Star. But you are absolutely right, Sir Percy Bates was a man with great vision, and Cunard coasted on that throughout the 50's. Although I love the QE2, and QM2 (traveled on both several times) I don't think Cunard ever really recovered from the debacle of the 1960's. Thanks again for this video, keep them coming, I really enjoy them!

[@richatom71]

Wonderful .Thank you for creating and posting this .

[@Commander-McBragg]

Awesome job as always!

[@motaz1975]

i wish i was old enough to have sailed these great ships of the 1940s to 1960s. todays ships are like floating six flags/vegas with classless lumbering buffet fiends everywhere.

[@randomlyentertaining8287]

Can't sail on these lost vessels but Cunard still offers transatlantic trips from NYC to Southampton on the Queen Mary 2. A few thousand dollars but probably relative to what it cost then.

[@GloriousSEAGRUB]

Awesome video!

[@bateau_en_papier]

Absolutely beautiful video and liner. Thank you very much

[@seeingeyegod]

I imagine the people talking to each other in the observation lounges like "oh I'm a rich old person too! I relate!"

[@BillyAlabama]

Graceful, elegant.

[@srcraigo]

Absolutely love this episode, and your channel! Cheers, mate! 🥂

[@denniscostabile4264]

As always, your videos are amazing. Great job!

[@dennistay9980]

I almost cried at the end of the video. Great video 👍🏼

[@CJODell12]

Caronia has become one of my Top 20 favorite ships of all time. John Brown sure knew how to build them that’s for sure, and her green livery helps her case a lot.

[@alexvolynchuk3370]

Great story! Great liner with rich and mostly forgotten story. Thank you!

[@afm62]

What a lovely ship! I have such as soft spot for Cunard ships. I met my husband 47 years ago on the QE2! I know Cunard is not the same as it was but that doesn’t stop me from wanting to travel on a Cunard ship again. Maybe next year…

[@gerardmackay8909]

Love the narration, informative relaxed calm style 👍and the ship looked gorgeous. How privileged were those incredibly rich people (you had to be) who saw all the World’s amazing sights free from the hordes of modern mass tourism way back in the early 1950s. It must have been an unparalleled experience.

[@jpk112]

Another great video, thank you.

[@tj2745]

You have a real knack for beautifully presenting history in context.

[@dustyr112]

Another fantastic video from one of my favorite creators! Thank you for your work!! ❤

[@scofab]

Well done once again, thank you.

[@southernforestgypsy]

Love this channel! I'm in love with the voice over guy 😊 Really sad end for a magnificent ship. These stories always remind me of my grandmother, she hated flying and travelled the world on ships like this.

[@pablobulldog]

Great writing as well as syncing with pertinent visuals. Really enjoyed this episode.

[@Mr.StayPuft]

This video is the absolute peak of content creation on this site, keep up the stellar quality

[@jenniferlevine5406]

Beautiful ship! Thanks for telling us her story. What a very sad ending.

[@NickTinBeirut]

thanks a lot| Just discovered your channel. Really well put together video. Im sorry I missed on a chance to sail on these beauties, But am really thankful to be able to do it vicariously!

[@billpetrie4229]

Excellent video!

[@bradfry5403]

Many thanks, I had heard of her but didn't know a great deal about her, but she was obviously a important part of the Cunard story.

[@jeffcampbell1555]

Lovely, lovely, lovely. I admit Caronia's gi-normous funnel still looks a little...overstated? And green livery is surely an acquired taste. But oh that raked bow added to the Queen Mary architecture is what world cruise daydreams look like (in my brain, anyway.)

[@wildsmiley]

There have been so many liners featured in videos by you and others, and they're all great or at very least interesting. But sometimes you come across a ship in one of these videos that you just fall in love with and she immediately becomes one of your favorite liners. That's absolutely what happened to me with the RMS Caronia. My goodness, but she was a beauty. I wish I had been alive during the age of ocean liners, I would've been overjoyed to cross the Atlantic aboard one of my favorites, like the RMS Queen Mary, SS Normandie, SS France, SS United States, RMS Queen Elizabeth or the Green Goddess herself. I cherish these liners and soak up every scrap of information I can get about them. Thank you, Big Old Boats, for your informative and fascinating videos about these lovely ladies of the ocean.

[@annohalloran6020]

Great footage

[@htos1av]

I know of a family that followed in that tradition. The husband was very successful in business and sports. As such his wife and THREE daughters wanted to do something with the family as he had traveled nine months out of the year for decades. They took a three YEAR world cruise, on a personal yacht, the old school way. That would be awesome!

[@ronjones1077]

She was a beauty!

[@nedmarc]

Well done!

[@christophernowell5902]

Wow, just discovered this channel. Well done.

[@forzared101]

Love your channel! If I may suggest a ship to investigate, I would suggest the Polish liner, MS Batory. Originally meant to trasnport Polish immigrants to the U.S., she had a distinguished war service, taking part in the Dunkirk evacuation, and secretly transporting much of the UK's gold reserves to Canada, earned the nickname the Singing Ship for transporting hundreds of British children to Australia, among other things.

[@JamesDavidWalley]

One of my aunts sailed on Caronia, probably in the late '50s. She was a world traveler at the time, and sailed on lots of classic liners, including the Queens, but recalled the Caronia as one of her favorites.

[@howardhdavidson]

These great days of cruising have long gone..I was extremely lucky to experience it . The romance and charisma of cruising has almost disappeared ..

[@tessaducek5601]

I view cruise ships as a wonderful relaxing escape. Planes are just to get from point A to point B in record time. No comparison. The older ships in my opinion are what ships should look like. Not the over fru fru wedding cake tiers they have become. Older ships have style and class. I am in awe of their size and majestic grace. Built by men. The whole concept is impressive. Each ship has her own aura and personality. Its heartbreaking to hear they sink or are dismantled.

[@mike.4277]

Very nice video 👍!!!

[@ropeburnsrussell]

Good history on this channel.

[@brentsmith5647]

Brilliant video thank u 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@jeremyfdavies]

Sailed in Caronia on a westbound transatlantic crossing 27 August 1954 as a toddler with my parents on our way back to Venezuela from home leave in the UK; my fathers worked for Shell at the time, and travel to and from postings was first class by sea.

[@bengarst4937]

My great grandmother sailed on the Caronia for the spring '62 med cruise.

[@patrickdawson3960]

I love this ship! Thanks so much for doing a full video on her!

[@Electriceye1984bySam]

Great vid! 👍🏻

[@augaming2387]

yeah who hasnt run aground in the suez canal

[@yoptastic8463]

Well I have to say yet another fantastic vid again B. O. B., I always look forward to every vid as they are always first class! (pun intended).) I have to be honest and say that you share the 1st place podium with Mike Bradley of Ocean liner Designs, (who I'm sure you will have heard of) as you are both top of the ship/liner channels in my book. I also love listening to your voice, it calms me when I have one of my bad poorly days and your content is always most excellent, ever thought about being the voice of any ship related audio books or doing voice over? I think you've got the perfect voice for such. Thank you for always doing a great job and like Mike bringing the story of these ships/liners/disasters to life. 😊👍❤️🛳️⛴️🚢⚓

[@briansomerville7054]

As a crew member I sailed around the world my first in fact I did two world cruise’s,she remains a great favourite 1966 and 1967.

[@ChrisFrameOfficial]

Interestingly right now, Queen Mary 2 is on a Coronation Cruise of her own for Charles III.

[@AlVlogs1603]

I sailed on The Carmania when I was 8 on my first cruise sister ship of the Caronia

[@bertramgunn]

Love the history ❤️

[@sheikhyaboooty]

I crossed the Atlantic on one of her sister ships The Carinthia when I was a kid in 1967. This was coming back to Southampton from New York. Two years previously I crossed to the States on The Queen Elizabeth. Other than having more places to explore I preferred the smaller ship.