29 Jun: Let’s Go Cruising
The first purpose-built cruise ship in history, the Prinzessin Victoria Luise, was launched by Albert Ballin’s Hamburg-America Line on 29th June, 1900.
Luxuriously appointed, she was kitted out with entirely first-class cabins, a hotel-quality kitchen, and an innovative dark room – at the behest of the Kaiser himself.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly peruse the Menu passengers enjoyed; explain how an incident in Jamaica ended life for this historic ship; and recall how, despite Ballin’s innovations, it took many decades for his cruising concept to truly take root…
CONTENT WARNING: suicide
Further Reading:
• ‘The History of the World’s First Cruise Ship Built Solely for Luxurious Travel’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2021): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/history-worlds-first-cruise-ship-built-solely-luxurious-travel-180978254/
• ‘History of Cruise Ships’ (HowStuffWorks): https://adventure.howstuffworks.com/cruise-ship1.htm
• ‘The Evolution of Cruise Ships (1904 – 2021)’ (The Insighters, 2021):