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"Long Live the Queen." - The Royal Caribbean Fan.

The year after I visited the Fairsea at the Port of Las Angeles I had the chance to visit the legendary Queen Mary at her home in Long Beach. The ship was ordered in 1929, served as a troop ship during World War II and eventually was retired and became a hotel in 1967. My trip was part of a YMCA field trip to see her and the Spruce Goose, the mammoth plane built and flown once by Howard Hughes. The Goose was housed in a large dome next to the Queen Mary and after touring it the group walked over to the massive ship looming in the air at the pier. I had seen the Queen Mary used as a set for numerous movies and TV shows. Usually my mother or father would point out that it was the Queen Mary being used again. After awhile it was easy to pick out that it was her, be it the dining room, the bridge or promenade decks.

Actually boarding her lead to a tour of the onboard museum and a space which was actually a pool which looked over one of the ships propellers. Seeing a huge propeller, green and dark under water, while actually on ship was a unique experience. Walking around the top promenade lead to the chance to climb into a WWII quad 44 mm anti-aircraft gun. The same sort as armed ships all through WWII, including some ships my grandfather had served on. However the highlight was spending time on the bridge, with the classic brass ships telegraphs, ships wheel and the wooden deck and décor. It was legitimately awe inspiring looking back. The visit became a favorite story of mine. For years afterward I would collect old editions of Sea Classics and read about the time the ship rammed a British cruiser, sinking it and the famous people who had traveled on her. The ghost stories would be highlighted on TV. The ship would come up when people spoke about cruising. Every time I was able to proudly say I had been there and knew the ship.

Heaped on top of the still fresh memories from the Fairsea I almost felt as if I had been on a cruise or a trip across the ocean. From that point forward I always felt like I was simply burning time until my “next” cruise, even though it would be over ten years as an adult before it finally happened.

"Saxonia, Long Beach and the Love Boat" - The Royal Caribbean Fan.

"Love Boat soon will be making another run
The Love Boat promises something for everyone
Set a course for adventure!"
~Charlie Fox / Paul Williams

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One of my favorite TV shows to watch when I was having sleep-overs at my grandparents or great aunts house was the Love Boat. Another Aaron Spelling gem with corning plots and ensemble casts of guest stars I recognized from watching entirely too many old movies and "re-runs." The implied maturity of some things was utterly lost on my young mind. I was more interested in the ship, captains table dinners, etc.

In 1983 friends of my parents took us to the cruise terminal at the Port of Los Angeles. They had taken a honeymoon cruise aboad the Sitmar Line "Fairsea." The Fairsea was a Saxonia class ocean liner built by Cunard in the 1950s. She was intended for passenger trade between the UK and Canada. Like most ocean liners she was sold and rebuilt as a tropical cruise ship.

Fairsea was moor at the east terminal. Back in those days you could actually walk right onto a cruise ship without passing through any security, which is exactly what we did. For the next four hours we walked all around the ship, even visiting the stateroom my parents friends had staid in. Years later when I learned what "turn around day" was like for the crew I understood the curiously unhappy look the steward gave as six people showed-up while he was stripping bed sheets off the bed.

Over the four hours we were on the ship I saw every public space, bar and even the small arcade for the kids.

It was standing outside leaning on a wide teak wood railing along the lowest pool deck that hooked me on cruising. The railing was warm though not hot from the sun. There was a cool breeze. And looking out over the water around the port I decided I wanted to take a cruise. Everything around me just resonated.

The day ended with walking around the late "Ports-o-Call" shops south of of the terminal. There, we ate dinner at a restaurant seated at a table along the waters edge. Around five p.m. the Fairsea, brightly lit, sailed by. Half an hour later, none other than the Pacific Princess passed by, her white paint seeming to glow. Hanging along the side all the way to the waterline was a mass of streamers from the traditional send-off celebration. It was like seeing a childhood myth emerge from a TV screen. It was a real ship, there really was a Pacific Princess. That I knew the show was mostly filmed on sound stages was beside the point.

My first cruise would not come until August of 1999, but that day was the time and place which hooked me on cruising.

From the Blogs

Driving Into Port Everglades - Video

These days there is precious little to like about flying anyplace. Airlines are an often unwelcome creature that sits on the front and back ends of a cruise. For my part it has been nearly ten years since I actually flew to a port of departure. Driving into a port however can be a daunting task unto itself however. Most cruise ports are wrapped around the edges of working cargo ports. Finding the way through the maze of fenced in zones and to the right parking garage can be difficult. To give you an idea of what is like to drive into such a situation I share this dashcam video of entering Port Everglades.

Cruise Wisdom - By Cruisefucius

Take this kiss upon the bow!

And, in partying with you now,

So much to do wow

You are not wrong, who deem

That this is like living a dream;

Yet if the week has flown away

In 6 nights, or in 7 day,

In a suite, or in an outside,

Is it therefore the less gone?

All that we see or eat

Is but a dream within a dream.

~Cruisefucius with apologizes to Edgar Allen Poe.

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