Mushroom
Gold Member
Ships like that were highly profitable. And the British ships of the era even more so, as they were built with dual purposes in mind. First to cater to the immigration market, which was huge. People spending to allow them to move to the Americas, that made up the bulk of the Steerage berthing, and made them a mint. Not unlike the "Business Class" of modern airliners, putting butts in those seats is what makes them the real money, not the "First Class" tickets.
When the ship sank, there were 324 first class passengers, 284 second class passengers, and 709 third class passengers (steerage). And while first class had extensive service and second class had essentially a buffet. And third class, well that was really just stew and bread. Breakfast for first class was like eating at a fine restaurant in London or New York. For second class, breakfast at a diner in most towns. Third class, oatmeal and an orange. In essence, First class paid for their lavish accommodations, second class paid for much of the staff and upkeep, third class was where the profit was.
And it became even more so if the nation ever pressed them into service. Even though the ship was taken over by the government, the White Star Line was still paid for transporting people. And they moved over 1.5 million people during WWII. Almost a million US servicemen to England, and almost as many civilians from England to the US and Canada. The mother of my cousins came over to the US during the war with her mother as one of them, her home was destroyed in the blitz and her father killed in Africa. So with no reason to stay, they took advantage of an offer from the UK government to move them to safety. She is still a spry old lady of 85, and she told me their plan was to settle in Canada once they arrived. But there were recruiters on the docks offering to pay their way to Seattle if her mom would take a job at the shipyards there so that is how they ended up staying in the US instead.
I think most people today have no idea what ships were like in the era before aircraft. There were dozens of them a day leaving and arriving at ports like New York. Not pleasure cruises like today, that was how you traveled to and from most of the world. In her life the RMS Queen Mary made over 1,000 such trips, logging over 4 million miles. But once jets took over the bulk travel industry, those kinds of liners became relics. And the survivors today are not used anything like that. They are now floating resorts, not really taking people anywhere. With almost all of the passengers departing and returning from the same port.
Now this was "Luxury Liner Row" at the tail end of the liner era in 1965. And yes, the longest ship in the image that is about in the center and is the double stacker is indeed the SS United States. But the new Boeings were already making those vessels obsolete, and four years later the SS US would make her final crossing. And that is also why the multiple attempts to rebuild a "Modern Titanic" have all failed. I have seen many attempts since 1997, and each and every one of them came to nothing. Because while they would get an initial surge for the uniqueness of a modern Titanic, the travel from port to port would simply not be profitable in the long term.
