Where did the Olympic sail around the world to during her 24 yr life

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Just a little thought from a little brain :-) Was wondering which countries/ports the Olympic visited during her 24 years ! I know she went to a few Mediterranean ports in WW1, but did she make it anywhere else maybe a little more grand/further away ? I doubt it but you never know !

Don't think she ever became a cruise ship like Aquitania and Mauretania did at very periods of her career..... In-fact I wonder where those 2 went ? Did they ever get as far away and exotic as lets say Colombo !! I understand Olympic would not have - but wonder about the others. I know it was not there usaul route :-)
 
As far as I know, except for her wartime service, Olympic's career was strictly on the Sothampton-Cherbourg-queenstown-New York and back Transatlantic run. I'm aware that she visited Liverpool at least once befor beginning her passenger service. There were proposals to use her for cruising and Mauratania ended her days this way, but the proposals for Olympic never went anywhere.
 
Ummm...not sure that's right, MS. I have several 1935 articles from The New York Times to the effect that before it was decided to withdraw her from service she was scheduled to cruise from New York to Canada and the Caribbean that summer. And, although I can't put my hands on anything definitive at the moment, I'm pretty sure that she had in fact done some cruises from New York to Halifax in the late '20s and/or early '30s. I don't know whether she ever actually cruised south from New York, but I'm almost certain that she did in fact go north.
 
Mark/Mike,

I think I have seen some brochures, not sure if they're from the late 20's or early 30's, but I remember seeing brochures/leaflet for Olympic advertising her Halifax tours.

Also, I have an ad printed in March 1935 which gives Olympic's cruise schedule up to Sep 1935. Who knew that a month after printing this ad, Olympic would never sail as a passenger liner again!

Daniel.
 
It would be interesting to see the cruise schedule through September 1935.
Olympic made several cruises to Halifax and cruises to nowhere. I seem to remember hearing that she made a cruise to Bermuda, but that may not be accurate. (That may have been planned only)
Olympic's retirement in 1935 was not planned out very far ahead of time. Her insurance was renewed for another year in March 1935 by Cunard and she was originally scheduled to return to service in July for cruises.
One interesting thing to theorize about is what would have happened had she been in service just a little but longer. Perhaps she would have been sold to the Admiralty instead of Majestic in 1936 and became the Caledonia!

Brent
 
OK, let's start with 1931 (since that's the only year I've had a chance to look into so far).

On 16 June White Star announced that Olympic and Majestic would make a total of five weekend cruises from New York to Halifax in July and August. The original schedule called for Olympic to leave New York on 16 July, 6 August and 27 August, and Majestic, 23 July and 20 August.

The 16 July cruise apparently never happened, and I have found no explanation why. But on 8 August, two days after leaving New York, Olympic visited Halifax for the first time since her troop-carrying days. She arrived back in New York at 7:30 a.m. on 10 August, and sailed for Southampton at midnight. Three weeks later, she made the same trip, leaving New York on 27 August, arriving and departing from Halifax on 29 August, returning to New York early on 31 August, and sailing for Southampton that midnight.

In both instances, Mauretania was also cruising to Halifax, one day behind Olympic; according to to The New York Times, Cunard and United States Lines had announced plans to cruise to Halifax from New York earlier than White Star.

Source: The New York Times, various dates in June, July and August 1931.

Tomorrow (if time permits), I'll look into 1932.
 
Thanks Mark...I'll be looking forward to what you uncover next. I wonder if that 16 June cruise got canned for lack of berths being sold. With the Depression well and truly underway, I think this might have been a persisitant problem.
 
Mark/Michael,

Sorry to be so vague about my mentions, I hope Mark Chirnside can chime in. I have two brochures, one from late 1934 after the Cunard/White Star merger which lists Olympic's prices into the summer season of 1935 (no schedule), and the other is a Georgic March 1935 cruise booklet. At the back are promo's for more cruises, and to my astonishment a schedule for Olympic's cruises up to September 1935!

I passed this info onto Mark Chirnside as new info for use in his book (not sure which book it made it into). It's at Mark's discretion whether he wants to keep it for the book exclusively, or whether it is ok to share the schedule. I still have the ad scanned somewhere, so I can post it if Mark agrees to it.

Daniel.
 
>>I seem to remember hearing that she made a cruise to Bermuda<<

That’s quite exotic! Makes me think how a ship built mainly for a colder north Atlantic climate coped when they went on these hotter destinations. Can’t have been so nice in the boiler room … But then having said that you can get a hot summer in the UK - not that it's a very good one this year :-(
 
Cunard White Star ran three ads in The New York Times in March 1935, in which Olympic's summer cruise schedule was somewhat inconspicuously located below a more extensive description of Carinthia's and Georgic's spring cruises. The descriptions of these trips, called "Summer Sea-Breeze Vacation Cruises" varied from ad to ad, as follows.

10 March: "OLYMPIC July 6, July 20, Aug. 3, Aug. 17 to Bermuda, Saguenay, Quebec, Murray Bay, Forteau Bay (Labrador) and Halifax. Sept. 7 to Curacao, La Guaira, Panama, Nassau. ALL 13 DAY CRUISES..$135 up."

17 March: "OLYMPIC JULY 6..JULY 20..AUG. 3..AUG. 17 to Bermuda, St, Lawrence River, Saguenay, Capes Eternity and Trinity, Quebec, Murray Bay and Halifax. Sept. 7 to Curacao, La Guaira, Panama, Nassau. 13 day cruises...$135 up."

31 March: "OLYMPIC JULY 6...JULY 20...AUG. 3...AUG. 17 to Quebec, Saguenay, Murray Bay, Gaspé, Nova Scotia and Bermuda.... Sept. 7 to Curacao, La Guaira, Panama, Nassau....13 day cruises................$140 up."

Although there appear to have been no other ads for these cruises, there were three follow-up news articles. First, on 31 March there was an aricle to the effect that after her upcoming return to Southampton, Olympic would be out of service three months, and then undertake her cruise schedule. Next, on 2 April, there was a report that Olympic's cruises would be commanded by Capt. Reginald Peel, who had taken Mauretania on her cruise schedule the past two years. Finally, on 7 April, it was reported that Gaspé had been added as a call.

All of this, of course, went for naught as things turned out, but that's what was planned before Olympic's fate was decided that summer.
 
Mark,

Thats very similar to what the ad I've got says. There was another short cruise mentioned pre-September 7th. It would be fascinating to know what other possible cruises may have been planned for Olympic post-September, but alas, even the ones planned were not to be.

Daniel.
 
>>Bermuda, Saguenay, Quebec, Murray Bay, Forteau Bay (Labrador) and Halifax. Sept. 7 to Curacao, La Guaira, Panama, Nassau<<

I'm going to have to get a map out. I have little idea where a lot of these places are. I imagine they are quite close to each other, and close to Halifax ?

I have gone all over the world but things like Murray Bay do not ring a bell ...
 

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