Across the seas on RMS Queen Elizabeth

As a child, the author was fortunate to sail on one of the greatest passenger ships of her time, RMS Queen Elizabeth. For her, it was a wonderful journey of exposure to new things, new environments, new people, new friends, new cuisines. This post is the second part of the series called “Across the seas on three passenger ships”. For the first part please click here.

The twentieth century was the golden age for ocean liners or passenger ships. Unlike cruise ships, they had to transport people across the continents. They had to stick to a regular schedule. Safety and speed were their watchwords. It was between Europe and N. America that the largest and most advanced ocean liners travelled.

R.M.S Queen Elizabeth, a British liner operated by Cunard – White Starline shipping company, was one of them.

She was launched in 1938 (the first ship in her series- before Queen Elizabeth II and III) as a sister ship to R.M.S. Queen Mary. In 1940, during World War II, she first entered service as a military troop carrier. It was only in 1946 that she entered the regular trans-Atlantic service – her intended role.

Together with R.M.S. Queen Mary, she provided weekly luxury liner service between Southampton (U.K.) and New York (U.S.A.) via Cherbourg (France).

She was named in honour of Queen Elizabeth (Queen of King George VI and the mother of the present Queen). She was the largest passenger ship ever built at that time.

After dominating the seas for twenty odd years she was retired in 1968. She was sold to a succession of buyers and finally to a Hong Kong businessman. He wanted to convert it to a sea-wise floating university.

However in 1972, during refurbishment, she caught fire at Hong Kong harbour and sank.

My father read about this incident in the newspaper and informed us. We felt as if we had lost a friend from the past. It was a sad demise indeed for an ocean liner that had been the pride of the Cunard Line!

R.M.S. Queen Elizabeth was strongly built for the rough seas and adverse conditions. She was constructed by John Brown and Company in Scotland. She was 1031 ft. long, 233 ft. high and had a weight of 863,673 gross tonnes.

She could carry 2,283 passengers and a crew of 1000 +. She had a speed of 28.5 knots. She could accommodate 26 life-boats too. Queen Elizabeth had large capacities for storage of food, water and fuel.

My experience on R.M.S Queen Elizabeth

When I first saw her at New York harbour, I was awed by her size. She was huge, majestic and elegant! A graceful super structure. Standing beside her I felt like a Lilliput. Caledonia had been much smaller.

Today I am filled with disbelief and pride when I think that I had travelled on such a famous ship, owned by a distinguished shipping company and favoured by famous personalities.   

The terminal was crowded.  We crossed the gangway and got into the giant ship which was to be our home for 4-5 days. Very soon her engines stirred to power and we were moving down the Hudson River into the ocean. Her swiftness thrilled us and the luxury within surprised us.                

A day after we boarded the ship, the passengers were called to the various decks, perhaps in batches. There were safety instructions and demonstrations like we have in the planes just before takeoff. The crew instructed everyone about life jackets and life boats. In case of a mishap the ship would carry out an emergency evacuation.

Each passenger would have to wear a sleeveless life jacket before plunging into the sea. It was made of buoyant or inflatable material to keep the human body afloat for long.  Life boats stowed away aboard the ship had to be used to row away to safety.

After that day, whenever I saw a life boat hanging from a davit on some deck I would imagine rescue scenes and frantic people rowing away! In addition, we were told there were emergency signals and alarms installed all over the ship to notify the crew about dangers.

The Cunard line company slogan was, “Getting there is half the fun”. 

I agree that the time spent on a ship combined with its spaciousness and wonderful service makes travelling a memorable experience. We children (my sister, myself and our friends on the ship) had fun exploring every nook and corner of the ship.

We discovered that there were some forbidden areas on the ship and some exclusively meant for the wealthy passengers. We were not allowed in the areas around the crew cabins and rooms, in which tools and machines etc. were stored or even to the sick-bay.

We were travelling as tourists. All the amenities the first class and cabin class passengers enjoyed were not available for us. The ship had fourteen decks and 3 acres of deck space.

Each class had access to a few decks only. All decks were enticing. They were our windows to the natural world outside. When out on the deck we could feel the sun as well as the salty sea air.

Many adults also found decks to be ideal places for passing their time. They played shuffle-board or deck tennis. A few just sat on comfortable deck chairs and just stared at the sea and dreamed.

Once a helium balloon came sailing onto the deck. Its unexpected arrival made both the young and old shriek with surprise. One of the men caught it and gave it to us. Did it come from another passenger ship or from the shores far away? We had no idea.

The amenities on the ship were numerous. There were plush lounges, elaborate dining halls, reading rooms, smoking rooms, sports halls libraries, writing rooms, well-stocked libraries, shops, bars, restaurants, saunas and so on. When the weather was not pleasant the people withdrew from the decks to these places. She was like a floating hotel – a real comfort at sea.

There was uniformed staff everywhere. The stewards were all the time washing, scrubbing, waiting at tables, answering calls from cabins and generally making themselves useful. In spite of the work they gave us a cheery smile always.

Recreation and friends

There was a nursery and a play area for children. My sister went to attend some activity classes for 7-8 year olds. She returned with a lovely picture she herself had mounted on hardboard, covered with transparent plastic and framed with thick coloured tape. A ring fixed to the back made it possible for it to be hung. She as well as I were thrilled with the product. She had more pictures to mount and frame.

Among the many acquaintances we made on the ship was a Danish couple with a lovely baby. Her name was Simonetta and we loved engaging with her. She smiled adorably and was always thrilled to see us. We kept a photograph of her for many years but eventually lost it.

About horns, tug-boats and Wheel House

The ship had two funnels or chimneys to expel steam and smoke from the boilers. They were reddish in colour and occupied prime places atop the ship.

One day while in the Atlantic Ocean the ship kept sounding its horn after brief intervals. I wondered why. My mother told me that visibility was low that day and the horns served to communicate with other ships and warn them of collision.

Yes, that day was a foggy day. I remembered that the ship had sounded her horn before leaving New York port also – probably to warn other ships and water vehicles to move out of her way.

It was only recently that I learnt how the number and duration of the blast of horns were used for effective communication. For example, five short blasts of the horn indicated danger while three short blasts indicated departure from a dock in reverse. 

In many of her old photographs in the internet the Queen Elizabeth has smaller vessels by her side in the docks. I too vaguely remember her docking into a certain port with the help of a vessel or two. I looked up and found information to satisfy my curiosity.

These vessels were called tug boats. They eased the manoeuvring of ships by tugging them towards ports through narrow channels. Sometimes when there were strong winds they pushed and escorted ships towards ports. 

The day we wandered through the ship and strayed into the Wheel House of the ship is still etched in my memory. Many of us were ready to turn back when we saw the captain and a few crew members. However, the boys boldly strode up to him. They were excited and wanted to touch and observe everything around.

Luckily, the captain was very gracious and allowed us a peek into the telescope. We touched the wheel also. The Wheel House is a place which houses the steering wheel of the ship. It usually has a glass enclosure and the captain and his crew navigate the ship from there. 

Very often I would stand by the rails of the deck and stare at the deep waters. They would always beat against the ship with a ‘whoosh’ as if saying something. Everything around was blue. I longed to see some green trees.

After a day or two of sailing in the Atlantic Ocean I did see some fish leaping in the waters. Many people saw them too and were delighted. In the distance there seemed to be a line separating the sea from the sky. The ship seemed to be moving towards it but it never reached there. The line always receded into the distance. It was like magic. Today I know that the line is called horizon and it is only an illusion.

I would sometimes stand at the rails and push the bars half-believing, rather foolishly, that it would help the ship move faster. At times, I suppose, I was impatient to reach land.

Finally, we reached Southampton. The voyage was over. The day before, there had been a grand party for children. We thoroughly enjoyed it. Parting from our friends and the ship that had been our home for days made us really sad.

I still treasure a picture post-card of the ship Queen Elizabeth and I have put it on display here.  

To have a look at some more wonderful pictures of R.M.S Queen Elizabeth’s complete layout and beautiful interiors do visit the website SS Maritime by clicking here

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Hi! My name is Rubitah. I’m a Content Writer certified Life Coach, Counselor, Social Work professional and the Founder of Being Rubitah. Over the years through my professional and personal life, I have realized that prayers and love can do wonders to family life once you come to terms with yourself and surrender to God. Do you relate to me? Then you may like what I post here! Read more about me

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