OCEAN LUXURY.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10957, 27 April 1907, Page 5 (Supplement)

OCEAN LUXURY.

THE EVOLUTION OF THE ATLASTIC LINER.

To those who are inexperienced inlhe luxuries of ocean travel the news may cause surprise that the new steamer, for the construction of which the HamburgAmerika line is now m negotiation with Messrs Harland and Wolft, the great shipbuilders of Belfast, is to be fitted with a spacious swimming bath. But the experienced globe-trotter, who knows the big ships of the Atlantic lines and has grown accustomed to their wonder., will not greatly marvel. The increase m luxury upon the ocean m recent years can only be fully apppreciated by a glance backward to the small beginnings of transatlantic passenger traffic. It is not necessary to go back to the time of Columbus and. his gallait little vessels, the Santa Maria, Nina, and Pinta, which could be dropped into the coal bunkers df the steamers to-day. It is not even necessary to go back to 1578, when one William Bourne wrote a classic prophecy of the coming of the steamship: "xou may," said William Bourne, "make a boate to goe without oare or sayle by placing a certain number of wheeles on the outside of tbe boate, m that sort that the amies of the wheeles may goe into the water, and so turning the wheeles shall make the boate goe." It was centuries, however, before that "provision which shall make the boate goe" was effectually provided. When eventually the power of steam was discovered and a bold spirit bethought him- to harness it to the ocean-going vessel, there x was strenuous opposition from men whose names were great iv the world of science, arid simpler folk urge . that Divine Providence never intended vessels to be forced against wind and tide.. This, as we know, was all less than one hundred years ago. The simpler, superstition is very hard of dying, and there are even to-day not a few sailors,;. who wodhf not risk their souls by serving m a steam vessel. It is not strange, therefore, that when the fiist ship crossed the Atlautic fitted with a steam engine and paddle wheels she sailed empty, m spite 'of her inviting cabins. But tho Savannah : found it necessary so often to take her' wheels, on deck arid fail back with sincere thankfulness Upon her sails alone that it is scarcely fair to count her as a steamship. THE3IRIUS AND GREAT; WESTERN. The Savannah was a pioneer, but it was not until twenty years, later, m 1838, that the Sirius and the Great Western placed the ocean-going steamer within the range of practical things;' In 1847 ; came the Washington, the namesake of the new giant to be built by Messrs Harland and Wolff, which will be christened the' George Washington. The Washington was the first steamship to establish regular communication between the continent of Europe and the United States of America. -■.'-' The new order of things-Hhat is, the bid for some degree of; cbhi fort as well as of efficieu-y on the.qcean— really bega-.i m 1854, when the Borussia yt&s' built oy the Hamburg- Arnerika Line. Her f .ill passenger capacity was 54 first-class, 166 second-class, and 310 steerage. The furnishing of the Borusßia was the sensation of the day;" and we read bf velvet upholstery, mirrors, gilded frames, and beautiful lanscape paintings hung m the saloons. It reduced the time for thi; voyage from the v Continent to New York to sixteen days. Four years later the Lloyd started its career with the Bremen, which left on her maiden voyage to New York carrying or.c hundred tons of- freight, one cabin 'and ninety-three steerage passengers. One cl the Bremen's greatest claims to fame was that she possessed two bathrooms. The Borussia was 2026 tons, she was 320 ft long, with a-registered horse-power of; 375. The Bremen was 334 ft longv with 700 indicated horse-power. ■ : ''-. Fifty years have passed, and we have now the giants of the Cunard arid many other lines, and the floating towns .'of the'Hamburg-Amerika and the Norddeutscher. Lloyd.- The Kaiser Wilhelm 11., the clipper of the Norddeutscher Lloyd, was sixteen' months iin .construction, and during this time material. was built into [ her at the rate of 513 tons a. day. She is 706J^f t long, her engines aggregate AO,OOO iridicated horse-power, and sue haS!*-sp!Bed of :23_ knots per h<mr. t: «l/hL* Kaiserin Au&uqte Victoria,' of tge Ham-burg-Amerika line, m many vw.ays she greatest, ship m the worjd, but one which is soon- to be outcjasssed, is 7Qoft long, and has a v displaceme'rit, "fully loaded, of 45;000 ' t_nß. ? iPlaced m the Jieighborhoqd of Trafalgar square she would .stretch, f rorri the . Haymarket to the Strand j and her funnels would tower high above the Nelson monument. She h*s nine decks, and with passengers and cm\ she carries 4000 persons, a larger popula tiou than that of scores of^ British tow-,s, In luxury she puts even the luxurious Bremen to shame,, for she has between sixty and seventy bathrooms and showers. COMPARED WITH THE CARLTON. To-day those who can afford to pay for luxury can .have as much of it m the middle of the ocean as -they can ashore. The only difference between, staying at the Carlton or the Ritz Hotel and a voyage, off a first-class Atlantic liner is that m ihe latter one has the exhilarating lea air iv which to take one's morning stroll. All other things are practically equal; The' narorw, stuffy cabins, shared by several passengers, who slept m bunks arranged like bookshelves, have vanished for ever. The rich passenger does not now book a cabin or a state cabin, but he engage? what is known as the "Imperial Suite,' which is m reality a commodious flat, without .the kitchen. * It consists of four luxuriously-appointed rooms—drawingroom, breakfast-room, bed-voom, and private bath-room. They are furnished m the most costly styles by the best houses m London, Berlin, Paris, and Mayeme Every suite has a different scheme, and there is nothing to suggest that the rooms are cabins. The walls- are decorated with carvings and pictures; the costly, inlai-1 furniture is upholstered with "silk tapustries, and the windows are real windows, with lace aud plush curtains. One looks m vain for the porthole of the past. Wardrobes, beds, washing stands, and other furniture are the same as at the best hotels. Hot and cold water, salt or fresh, can be drawn at any time. It is stored m a central tank and pumped all over the ship, like a town water supply. The marble fireplaces are heated by electricity, and the private bath is entirely of marble. Even the blessing of the telephone is not denied. It hangs over the bed, and passengers can ring up the various official departments of the ship, or speak to friends m other cabins, "streets away." The passenger rises m the morning, and breakfasts either m his own apartments or m the general room. He then goes either to the broad carved staircase, or the lift. A touch of the electric bell and the exact counterpart of the uniformed hotel lift boy appears, and the passenger glides up to the deck required. The nine decks have their names, like streets, and passengers who wish to meet on the Board way, the Kaiser, or the Victoria .deck, otherwise they could easily stroll about all day without meeting. The morning walk is taken on decks almost as broad as a street, and it takes but a very few laps to make up the mile. The band plays, and the morning news: paper, containing the latest items of important home news, obtained by wireless telegraphy, is on sale. There is an editor, an editorial department, compositors, and a full printing plant on board. A round of the shops follows, visits to the hair-dresser's establishment, nnd the florist's shop. The latter is a beautiful glass pavilion, where cut flowers, ferns, etc., can be bought m any quantity throughout the voyage. The bookstall is close at hand, where the latest periodicals, magazines, and novels can be bought, and adjoining is the inquiry office, where information respecting laud and sea travel can be obtained, and railway and steamer tickets bought. "" If the passenger is not interested m the various games that are m progress on the decks, "but misses his customary horse ride, he has no need to go without. In the large gymnasium, m addition to clubs, dumb-bells, and massage contrivances, there are automatic saddles which imitate the action of a horse and a camel Ther are also mechanical bicycles, Afterwards there, are the cold showers or the thoroughly appointed Turkish baths. For those who are undergoing a cure, the electric light bath is available. After lunch m the great diniug-saloon, with its galleries, its many mirrors, ami its paintings on walls and ceilings by "famous artists, one may have a cigarette and a siesta in -the winter gardens. The latter is a wonderful conservaory, full of tall palms and flowers, electric-lighted grottoes, little lakes apd fountains, with easy chairs and. settees scattered about, sufficient for a hundred people. In the evening, if one does not desire the table d'hote of the great diningrooms, there is the Ritz-Carlton Restaur-

ant, the latest triumph of ocean travel, where at all hours of the day meals aie served a la carte. Forty men of the ship's crew belong to tne management of this restaurant, the waiters having been trained at the Carlton hotel. The most costly luxuries are here, and one may listen to the soft strains of a perfect orchestra. The Kaiserin Auguste Victoria carries 4000 persons,> 600 of whom are the crew. The latter includes 141 men m the engine rooms and 360 cooks and waiters. II includes also steam cooks, confectioners, bakers, butchers, bath room steward-, gymnasium instructors, three doctors, and fifteen trained nurses. For one voyage out the following quantities of provisions are used : 32,0001 b meat, 75001 b game, 35001 b fish, 75001 b fruit, 80 chests oranges, 36,000 egg) 12,0001 b bread, 50,0001 b flour, and many tons miscellaneous provisions. The George Washington is to have a swimming bath. The two boats buildi lg for the Cunard will be 775 ft m length, and shipbuilders do not scoff now when a 1000 ft boat is mentioned. The Cunarders will be turbine-driven, a point which may revolutionise the construction «.f liners. Great steamship companies ai-e' too wise to ridicule the idea of a floating theatre and a travelling company, and when the 1000 ft boat, comes why not the electric 'tramway service? The Kaiser Wilhelm II hAs already a railroad track of 200 yards for bringing coal from the bunkers to the furnaces.