Robin Hood at sea? Well almost. Above is a timetable from the RMS Caronia dated July 1 1952 during her North Cape Cruise. The list of events shows that at 4.30 pm and at 9.30 pm on that day, Walt Disney’s Story of Robin Hood was to be shown in the ship’s theatre on the prom deck.
The RMS Caronia was the post war pride of the British Merchant Navy and the first all first-class ship launched by Cunard after WW2. She was also the first vessel owned by Cunard White Star to have an outside swimming pool and air conditioning in every public room. These cruises for the rich soon earned her the nickname ‘The Millionaires Yacht’.
Launched on the 30th October 1947 in the presence of Princess Elizabeth, shortly before her marriage to Prince Philip, Caronia's first maiden voyage from Southampton to New York took place in January 1949.
During her annual refitting at Liverpool Docks in December 1952, the Caronia caught fire. The local fire brigade soon managed to quickly get things under control and she was repaired and ready in 1953 to bring American visitors across the Atlantic to see the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey in London.
Purpose built for transatlantic crossings, with her art deco interiors, open air lido and her attention to luxurious detail, the ‘green goddess’, as Caronia became known, due to her four shades of green, is remembered today with great affection.
Hmm! Green? Wasn't that Robin Hood’s favourite colour?
© Clement of the Glen 2006-2007
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