The year is 1961: the Peninsular Oriental & Steam Navigation Company has just completed its purchase of the remaining assets of the Orient Line, paving the way for P&O Cruises as we know it today.
The line also found themselves saddled with an abundance of promotional footage shot aboard Orient Liners like Orcades that they were then able to use to promote themselves to prospective cruisers.
The result? The twenty-minute long I Am a Passenger, viewable in its entirety on the British Pathé newsreel site. The film offers an incredible look at what are now viewed as precursors to the modern cruise ship. From shipboard activities to exterior shots racing along the ocean, to behind the scenes views of the bridge and engine room, the resulting video is a veritable time capsule of maritime and cruising history. A good friend of mine sent this through to me, and I'm glad he did.
Do yourself a favor today: sit down with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, and spend twenty minutes watching this fascinating movie. It will make you wistful for an era of cruising that has since departed, but also appreciate the technological wonder that is the modern cruise ship.
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