Cruising 50s Style

Stephen Wade looks back at the postwar holiday experience on the ocean waves

- Stephen Wade

Recent advertising features in the press have profiled the Queen Anne, a new arrival which honours Cunard's heritage, with an eye on the future of world cruising. It offers what we would expect: "A voyage on this new ship from Cunard reveals a vessel that is simultaneously a sumptuous resort hotel, a chic dining and nightlife space and a thrilling event venue." In the 1950s, the enticement to travel was very much the same, except there were functional limits to the entertainment.

Nonetheless, that decade was one of the great ages of leisure travel, following on from the boom in every variety of world trekking, from train journeys to the far east, to airline excursions to almost anywhere. A desperate war had been fought, and there was a hunger for real leisure - something at the very heart of a peaceful world.

As far as Cunard was concerned, its offerings began in 1839, with Sir Samuel Cunard's mail service across the North Atlantic. After World War Two, the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth appeared; these were massive, being the largest ships anywhere for a few years until competitors arrived. Until those fast jets came on the scene, though, there were around 20 years of the kinds of sea journeys that provided exactly what war-exhausted Brits longed for: feet-up relaxation, with ocean views, plenty of food and drink, and activities which could rival what Butlin's had to offer, from film shows to concerts, and from dances to horse racing and gambling.