1st Class accommodations amidships - Aft of the two Parlour Suites were 34 staterooms, of which 24 - twelve on each side - were larger “special staterooms”. These large staterooms were all located against the side of the ship and hence each had two Utley’s sliding windows for light and air. Interconnecting doors were provided between each large stateroom and the ones on either side, thus allowing two or more rooms to be booked in an en suite arrangement. The rooms could be let separately or in any combination of up to ten rooms if occasion arose for doing so. (En suite refers to not only the sharing of common yet private bath and water closet facilities, but also reflects the letting of two or more rooms as a suite.) Each of these staterooms had its own private wardrobe room and access to a private bath room and a private water closet, both of which were shared between two rooms. However, despite being advertised as having “private baths,” passengers booking these larger staterooms were required to pay extra to actually use the bath - otherwise they had to use the public facilities, where the use of one could be booked through a Bath Steward for a designated half-hour time slot . . . (continued)

   Restaurant - Located between the turbine engine casing and the forward 2nd Class companionway was the 1st Class à la carte Restaurant. This was a feature of the Olympic-class ships that proved highly popular, as it gave passengers the freedom to dine at hours of their choice and without being restricted to set courses or fixed menu choices.

   Meals could be obtained at any time between 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. at fixed charges, as was shown on the daily bill of fare. Passengers wishing to use the Restaurant were required to apply for the reservation of seats from the Restaurant Manager. If a passenger intended to make an entire trip without taking any meals in the Dining Saloon on D Deck, an allowance of £3 per adult was made on fares under £35, and £5 per adult on fares of £35 and upwards. This reduction in fare could only be granted when the passenger announced his intention to book without meals - that is, to make use of the Restaurant exclusively, instead of the Dining Saloon - at the time of purchasing his ticket . . . (continued)

   Docking Bridge - The most prominent feature of the Poop Deck was the Docking Bridge. This was an elevated platform over the Poop Deck, running athwartships between frames 142A and 146A and spanning the entire width of the deck. It was used for docking purposes as its name indicates. The outboard ends extended over the sides of the hull by several feet to permit a view forward along the sides of the ship near the stern, and also to allow those on the docking bridge to see the area beneath the counter in the vicinity of the propellers. Because the ship’s beam narrowed from aft of amidships to the stern, the area abaft the superstructure could not be seen from the Navigating Bridge. The need for a docking bridge had to do with the ship’s great length; this feature was frequently dispensed with in smaller liners.

   To communicate with the Navigating Bridge forward, the Docking Bridge was equipped with an engine-order telegraph and a docking/steering telegraph. There was also an emergency helm at this location, being connected directly to the steering engines on the deck below . . . (continued)

Site Front Page