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Merry Christmas Greetings Mr. Engle. I was watching this again, and can't thank you too much for what you have accomplished here, all in one video. This Ship changes my life. Even today,. I am starting a Marine Ministry with others from Ohio, based in Florida. Having been on the ship as a young child, and then just driving down the highway in Buffalo, seeing the Aquarama was surreal, just sitting there. At the time, I was working on a Mercy Ship the Caribbean Mercy that was in Buffalo, on a Great Lakes Tour stop. I would not have ever served with Mercy Ships, nor received my Masters License, were it not for my Mom taking mw on the Aquarama. They had to pull me off of th e ship crying LOL, so bad, I just did not want to leave : )

During summer break from college I worked on the Milwaukee Clipper (1967 &1968 - in the engine dept.) which was docked next to the Aquarama at the Mart dock in Muskegon Michigan. I remember looking at the stern of the Aquarama and thinking how Aquarama was much bigger than the Clipper, which it was (The Clipper was 360 feet in length) . There were stories going around at that time saying the Aquarama was going to replace the Clipper in the route from Muskegon to Milwaukee. It never happened and she was towed to Turkey and scrapped.

What wonderful machines we used to build.

Yeah we got the Milwaukee clipper but that'll never see the lake Michigan and that will never transport people back and forth it would be nice if they would it would be a beautiful thing

Can you imagine the people in 2023 they would love to take a cruise on a icon like that Muskegon water became historical go to Milwaukee go to the Chicago come back to Muskegon it would have been beautiful ❤️

They would have never had to change anything on the inside of that take a cruise on the queen back in time it would have been fun I would have been one of them

I still can't believe it that Muskegon let the queen of lake Michigan slip through their fingers now look what we have a lake Express the the queen lake Michigan would have been 100 times better

WOW - I remember seeing Aquarama docked facing inland in Windsor, Ontario, Canada in the early to mid ninety ninties, when my parents and I crossed the bridge to watch the Freedom Festival Fireworks. She was there for a few years...I knew the origins and history of the ship before, but forgot until I saw this very impressive video. The drivers and theisr cars entering the ship, wow - it looks like they all had a great time! I did read years ago Aquarama was scrapped, sadly..

I took the "Farewell Aquarama" tour before it was towed to Sarnia. I took Videos czcams.com/video/7U_Xn1GXbYE/video.html

When short sighted, unimaginative, spendthrift types drain off and take for themselves far too much and accept no responsibility for their ineptitude the loss is immense. 🎉

Great looking ship would have loved to taken a cruise. You could almost put 2 of her inside the freighter Paul J Tregurtha at 1013 ft. the largest ship now on the Great Lakes

I found a deck of cards from the Aquarama in the trunk of a car in a junk yard.

I remember as a 9 year old taking a voyage on the Aquarama with my parents going from Detroit to Cleveland. We had a 1959 Galaxie convertable that we brought back from Detroit as we had just purchased it. We had the opportunity to take a cruise on the ship and it was very exciting. I learned how to play shuffleboard on the ship with a number of other young people traveling with their parents. I was a wonderful trip and I always wanted to do it again, but sadly we never had the change to repeat the adventure. It was a trip I have never forgotten. I am so happy that this video was produced to remind us of the great times we had back then and how sad those days are long gone.

I thought I remembered that the Aquarama docked near the Bob-Lo Boats. The image at 3:59 proves that my memory is correct because you can clearly see one of the Bob-Lo boats at its Detroit dock in the image.

I took a day cruise on this ship that went from Detroit as a kid in the 1960s. My mom was with me, but not dad. I guess he was working that summer day. I don't think it was headed to Cleveland that day because we weren't planning on being on that ship for an overnight trip. The only thing I can clearly remember is that it got stuck on a sandbar in the Detroit River for quite some time. Tugboats had to free us and we went back to Detroit. I think we were on our way back to Detroit when the ship got stuck.

Why only 4 lifeboats on a ship that could carry 2,500 people? That was approximately the number of passengers the Titanic carried. She had 20 lifeboats if you count the 4 collapsible lifeboats and even THAT number wasn't even nearly enough. Obviously the regulation about lifeboat space for each passenger wasn't always strictly adhered to. There is no way the 4 lifeboats I see on this ship can possibly accommodate 2,500 people. The Titanic sailed in 1912 and the regulations were quickly changed right after that, so when the Aquarama sailed even as the WWII ship, those regulations were in place. How was this ship exempted?

Mr. Engle! Thank you so so much, as you have given me a beautiful 2023 New Years Day present with my having discovered your outstanding 2021 production in gathering so many of the historic photos and films of the Aquarama! I went on this ship many times as a young lad with my Mom and family members. I went on to have a love for the Sea and Ships and Maritime Industry because of this Ship. And even at one point I was working with a group trying to purchase the ship for a Christian Education Semester at Sea college for credit program. when it was in Buffalo, however I did not manage to get the support necessary, and admittedly, that was a realm I was not connected to. Seeing your videos and pictures, now finally I can share the story of the Aquarama and people will believe me! This Ship was real! Yu did a fantastic job in making the Aquarama unforgettable. Thank you so so much!

I used to go down to the dock all the time when it was here in Buffalo New York for 20 years and then one day went down and they took it away to be cut up in alang India

That ship sat for 20 years in Muskgon and was ignored but when plans were announced for it to be towed away suddenly a "save the Aquarama" movement started but didnt go anywhere. when it was announced that public tours were going to be held before the ship left my family and i went onboard and took a tour. all the decor was Kennedy era . They auctioned off a VW campervan that had been used to move luggage from the car ferry deck to the elevators and had only 60 total miles on the odometer

Well done!

Looks very civilized

Lovely days.... good times

I experienced a trip on the ship from Cleveland to Detroit, as a 9 year old in 1959. We took our car with us. As a kid, it was a trip I never will forget. Living in Cleveland, it would be nice to have a service like that again!

Thank you for this very good film. Our Parents took us on a trip from Cleveland to Detroit with their 1954 Ford on-board. We were headed for Greenfield Village in Dearborn. My Sister and I were very young but this was such a memorable trip, I will never forget it. I have always wondered what happened to this great ship. Now I know. Thank you. You did a fantastic job.

I must admit that those guys knew a thing or two about making ships look ugly. Most of the Great Lakes vessels I have seen have been real mirror-busters.

I apologize but the Queen of the Great Lakes is the M/V Paul R Tregurtha bulk shipping vessel being the largest and as such holds the appropriate title.

The one thing it was designed to conquer will become its undoing. -Water

Has a slight savannah ship feel to the front super structure.

The big problem with Aquarama was that we was converted from a WWII liberty ship with a single screw and no side thrusters. This severely limited her maneuverability in tight quarters and caused several dock collisions. Now, she's a rotting hulk in the Port of Toledo.

I remember seeing this unique and spectacular looking vessel from the deck of the Fjell-Oranje Lijn passenger-cargo liner, ss Prinses Irene aboard which my family made a voyage from Chicago to Montreal in the summer of 1961. The ship stopped at Sarnia ON, Detroit and Cleveland before transiting the Welland Canal to the St. Lawrence Seaway. Whiled docked in Cleveland, I watched the Aquarama cast off from the pier and set sail on her lake voyage.

in 1964, it was part of the Cleveland skyline when docked, overlooking lake erie and muni stadium

I did a day trip with my best friend and our mothers about 1958. We broke the escalator horsing around and ran off before getting caught. I guess the statute of limitations has passed by now!

I was there in 1987 when she left Muskegon. We thought she was going to be refurbished and brought back as a hotel or floating casino or something like that. So sad that she ended up scrapped.

Are there any similar cruising opportunities on the Great Lakes nowadays, 2022?

Sad ending. My parents went from Detroit to Cleveland and back on the Aquarama 60 years ago.

Interesting, but a bit more of its history would be nice.

I sailed on the AQUARAMA in 1961 or 1962 as a child. We went from Cleveland to Detroit and took our 1957 Ford Ranch Wagon with us on the ship. Visited relatives in MI then drove back home. I remember going to the play room that had a ship's wheel in the middle of the room. I still have the gold metal pin that I got that day that is the profile of the ship with SS AQUARAMA in red like the one at minute 10:00

That ship was an icon it was used during the war time too it deserved a little bit more than that

Leave at that Muskegon locked the aquarama slipped through their fingers that would have been a beautiful ship to sail through the Great lakes Muskegon water been on the map Muskegon would have made millions

My Mom told me stories about taking the boat trip to Detroit before I was born. I always hoped to see & learn more about it. This is fabulous history! Thank you!

I vaguely remember sailing on the Aquarama as a kid. I was probably around 5 or 6 years old. The story goes that I was running around playing up on deck and ran into another little girl, hitting our heads together. Apparently I was rather sick for the rest of the cruise. I'm sure it was only a day trip out of Cleveland. I still have a felt pennant souvenir and a letter opener. Thanks for this memory.

Always remember seeing this ship docked in Buffalo next to one of the massive grain elevators on the lakeshore for the longest time growing up, then one day gone. The area still looks weird without it there all these years later

Nice narration… 🤦🏻‍♂️

Why did they design the ship like that?

F Muskegon water refurbished the aquarama it would have been a nice ship for the Great lakes

Everyone was always smartly dressed in these days , and i do not mean just in the USA .

In about 1957 my friend's family took it between Detroit and Cleveland... it was a big deal... He showed me some pictures or a brochure. What struck me were the colors... In june, 1993 I saw a large aqua ship in rough condition... looked it over and saw the name.... It was berthed in Sarnia, Ontario. Unbelievable..

This was before completion of st. Lawrence seaway in 1956

I noticed only four life boats? I can’t imagine that they could hold 2600 passengers plus crew. I saw her in, I believe, Baltimore or Boston just before she was towed for scrap. She was beautiful. Sorry she and some of the other classics are gone.

Poor girl spent more time tied up in Windsor then she ever did under power