Are there any golden age ocean liners left?
Yes. On the North Atlantic run, the RMS Queen Mary and SS United States have survived; however, both are in need of millions of dollars of repair. The Queen Mary has been serving as a hotel ship at Long Beach, California since she retired in 1967; the United States is tied up in Philadelphia with her interiors completely removed. Both vessels are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. On the Pacific run, the Japanese built Hikawa Maru is a museum ship in Yokohama, and MV Doulos Phos is a hotel ship on the island of Bintan in Indonesia. She has the distinction of being the longest-serving passenger liner, with a service history at sea from 1914 to 2009.

What did it cost to book first class passage in the time of the Queen Victoria?
In today’s money, first-class passage on the RMS Titanic in 1912 was about $3,500, and that just got you a berth in a cabin. Second-class was over $1,300 and even third-class pinched you at up to $900. By the time of the fictional RMS Queen Victoria, prices had climbed. A dollar in 1929 – 1930 was worth about sixteen of our dollars today. First-class fare on the RMS Queen Mary in the mid-1930’s would have set you back about $5,900 in today’s dollars. This was at a time when a very enviable yearly personal income would have been a little over $2,000.

Why did the ocean liners carry such a large crew?
An ocean liner is among the largest moving man-made objects, some stretching out to a bit over 1000 feet. That’s the equivalent of over three football fields in length. The RMS Queen Mary is 181 feet tall with 12 decks and could carry over 2,000 passengers. It would be at sea for at least four days on each one-way passage to and from the United States and UK. Her crew complement was right at 1,100, including but not limited to officers, able bodied seamen, cooks, chefs, waiters, dishwashers, medical staff, stewards, pursers, engineering staff, bartenders, housekeeping – in short, everything a large hotel would need.

Did all the ocean liners carry a medical department?
Yes. An ocean liner was essentially cut off from any outside aid while in transit across the Atlantic (or Pacific). The massive twin-rotor search and rescue helicopters we’re familiar with today didn’t exist then, so you were basically on your own. The liners dealt with broken bones, emergency appendectomies, dental work, physical therapy, pharmaceutical dispensaries, vaccines if needed, and were also charged with making sure no communicable diseases walked off the ship at the port of destination. Then as now, the larger ships would also answer distress calls from smaller vessels that may have had a medical emergency; if the distressed vessel couldn’t be reached in time, the liner’s doctor would walk a (brave) member of the crew through the procedure via radio.