THE NORMANDIE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22610, 29 June 1935, Page 16

THE NORMANDIE

FIRST ATLANTIC CROSSING WORKMEN STILL ON BOARD A FLOATING CITY. (From Oob Own Correspondent.) (By Air Mail) LONDON, June 1. A large number of passengers boardffl the new French luxury liner, NormandiJ at Havre for the Channel crossing only. The vessel anchored off Ryde, and the Atlantic passengers went on board from Southampton. Those who crossed from Havre had some strange experiences. They say that when the vessel is going at high speed the vibration in some parts, particularly aft, becomes violent. Dinere appear to be suffering from ague. Plates, knives, and forks rattled, and the great golden statue in the saloon trembled.

It was stated that the ship possessed enough electrical power to light the whole of Paris. But the lights .failed, and passengers and porters groped in the darkness of the corridors. Lunch in the vast, grey, gold, and crystal dining saloon was delayed until the lights came on again, while passengers and guests sat on and on in semi-darkness. The bars were unopened because they were unready, and, although there is a shopping centre on one deck, like a miniature Piccadilly Circus, it wag impossible to buy tobacco, cigarettes, or anything else. The Normandie is carrying over 2000 passengers—almost a complement— together with 1000 crew and staff, and probably as many as 500 workmen, who are still busily completing work on the interior. Whole decks have the appearance of workshops, and the roar of electric drills can be heard. It is confidently assumed that, if all goes smoothly on the Atlantic crossing, the Normandie will at once secure the speed record. Her speed capacity was not revealed, but it was officially stated that her trials produced 32 knots, so that the Queen Mary, which is Great Britain's hope of regaining the position so long occupied by the Mauretania, will have a hard task. M. Olivier, head of the French Lines, said he hoped there would not be any cut-throat competition between the Normandie and the Queen Mary. He felt sure that arrangements would be made between the two companies to eliminate rivalry of that nature, and he wished both ships a prosperous career. A PALACE. Nowhere in the main saloom is there any indication that the occupants are aboard a ship (writes one of the newspaper correspondents who travelled in her). The impression is not simply that of a luxurious hotel, but of the most luxurious hotel yet conceived. The dining room, 300 feet long and 43 feet wide, with its massive gilt ceiling, its glass walls and lights, and its four great bas-reliefs of gilded plaster, seems almost too solid for an ocean-going liner. As one passes from the dining room through bronze doors almost as large as those of the Bank of England this impression is confirmed by the main hall. Its pillars would be better suited to a palace than to a ship. Some of the smaller saloons, notably the library, are delightfully furnished. From the semi-circular grillroom and winter deck, which are situated respectively aft and forward of the sun deck, an uninterrupted view of the sea on three sides is obtained. These places, indeed, are refuges from the feeling of massive solidity which elsewhere tends to become oppressive.