At her trials in 1903 the Cunard liner Carpathia was described as a saloon and third class passenger and cargo steamer. Contemporary press reports describe her as a vessel of moderate speed that nevertheless offered a high standard of comfort, particularly for third class passengers. The following extract is fairly typical:
"The really striking feature about the vessel is the excellence of the accommodation, especially for the third-class passengers, at about £5 1Os for the passage, including food. For the saloon passengers there are airy and well-fitted cabins, a spacious dining saloon capable of accommodating them all at once, which is none the worse for being free from gaudy decoration, a good smoking-room, and a small library and writing-room combined. Also their bathrooms and sanitary accommodation generally are good. But the real features of the ship are the four, three, and two berth cabins for third-class passengers, their large dining and smoking rooms, their covered promenade, and their ladies’ room. These, which are plainly and sensibly fitted in polished wood, are on a scale of comfort to which third-class passengers are strangers, and it is by no means surprising to learn that the applications for space for the Carpathia’s first voyage, which will begin early in May, are already in excess of the accommodation".
