Have a look at a typical year spanning from September 1963 to August 1964. See the 28 ocean liners and cruise ships and study their varied itineraries, learn some interesting facts and experience the allure of the cruises and line voyages of that era.
By the early 1960's, jet aircraft spanned every continent and ocean. The steamship lines were all affected by this fundamental change, particularly so the North Atlantic liners whose passengers had to endure hostile seas and storms much of the year.
Passengers were slower to abandon the ocean liners that traveled through more agreeable climates. Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood, Florida became an increasily popular winter home for the prestigious ocean liners which had lost their loyal passengers, especially in the off-season. However, the traveling public was not about to abandon passenger ships, only to transform the industry from transporting to cruising, dictating the history of Port Everglades.
Around-The-World:
Regular around-the-world & worldwide voyages were operated by P&O-Orient Line's
Canberra,
Orcades and
Oronsay, who added more ships and sailings as the decade went on (see
Around the World with P&O-Orient Line); Nederland Line's
Oranje and Royal Rotterdam Lloyd's
Willem Ruys operated continuous voyages around-the-world, with
Oranje sometimes reversing direction in Holland or Australia. American President Lines' passenger/cargoliners
President Monroe and
President Polk alternated calls every 100 days on a fixed westbound circuit. Even Cunard Line's big
Caronia called to pickup guests at the start of her annual World Cruise.
Transatlantic & Transpacific:
Other ships operated regular routes calling at Port Everglades as they linked faraway destinations to the east and west. The
Santa Maria linked Lisbon and Florida once every month with intermediate calls at European and Caribbean ports. The New Zealand Shipping Company's
Rangitane,
Rangitoto,
Ruahine and
Remuera connected New Zealand ports with England via the Panama Canal, calling at Port Everglades on every eastbound sailing. Shaw Savill Line's
Southern Cross included Florida once a year enroute from Australia to England.
Caribbean & South America:
Grace Line's luxury liners
Santa Rosa and
Santa Paula called at Port Everglades every Tuesday as part of their continuous 2-week circuits from New York to Venezuela and Caribbean ports. They could be booked to and from intermediate ports, but most passengers savored the full cruise. Moore McCormack's
Argentina and
Brasil occasionally included Port Everglades on the regular service between New York and the east coast of South America.
Winter Cruises:
There were 5 cruise ships based at Port Everglades for the full 1963/64 winter season, including
Carmania,
Franca C,
Hanseatic,
Queen of Bermuda and
Riviera.
Many of the ports of call were as popular then as now .. Nassau, St. Thomas, Barbados, Martinique, Montego Bay, Curacao .. although two that were prominent have lost popularity (Santo Domingo and Port-au-Prince). Notably Grand Cayman and Cozumel were not found in any itinerary until the 1970s and 80s. The appeal of a cruise was the same then as now .. food, service, relaxation, charming ports, entertainment and fun.
Addendum:
In 1965, Chandris Lines placed the famous 33,961-ton
America into eastbound Around-the-World service, renamed as
Australis. She made her first call on Oct. 3, 1965 and returned approximately every three months until 1977. In June 1966, Costa Line entered their 20,416-ton, 1958-built
Federico C into monthly Transatlantic service between Naples, Italy and Port Everglades via Genoa, Cannes, Barcelona, Lisbon, La Guaira and San Juan. This grand route lasted until 1972.
In 1964, Port Everglades had two combination passenger/cargo terminals and served 75,000 passengers. Two ships could be berthed at
Pier 4, which is at the site of present-day Terminal 2.
Pier 3, which is now cargo terminal 16, could also accommodate two ships. By comparison, in 2013 the port had 12 dedicated passenger terminals handling over 4,000,000 passengers annually.
