The Failure of SS Michelangelo and SS Raffaello
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- čas přidán 25. 06. 2024
- The Italian Line's SS Michelangelo (1965) and SS Raffaello (1965) entered service long after passengers began to abandon ocean liners for air travel. Their careers lasted less than a decade and were marked by engine room fires and rogue waves but they were a beautiful example of the final days of the ocean liner.
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Sources:
Masters of the Italian Line by Ian Sebire
www.michelangelo-raffaello.co...
Image Credits:
www.michelangelo-raffaello.co...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Ca...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Ca...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Ca...
Music and Select Stock Footage:
Epidemic Sound: www.epidemicsound.com/referra...
Artlist: artlist.io/
Chapters:
00:00 SS Michelangelo and SS Raffaello
1:11 Chapter 1: Misplaced Confidence
4:22 Chapter 2: Modern Relics
9:59 Chapter 3: Early Optimism
13:16 Chapter 4: The Rogue Wave
16:59 Chapter 5: A Slow End
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Thank you so much for watching! Which is your favorite? The Michelangelo or the Raffaello?
Thanks for all the content!
I love the Home Lines Oceanic was not expecting to see it here that’s so cool
Both.
Raffaello
What an excellent piece of work! Thank you!
I feel like the Andrea Doria, the Christoforo Columbo and later on the Leonardo Da Vinchi were the peak of the Italian Line
They were definite superstars. But the true pinnacle were the twins
@olrustysgameplaylounge9726 without a doubt. I think it’s nearly impossible to compare the two prewar lovelies to the ships from the 50s//60s
And the most beautiful liners ever built!
To my eye these ships are more beautiful than those behemoths being used for cruises today!
@@sandybruce9092 most definitely
I was a passenger on the Raffeaello in 1972 when the Italian Lines offered a special student rate of $150.00 for passage from New York to Genoa. There were so many of us backpackers that they suspended the requirement that men wear coat and tie in the dining room. Had great food and a wonderful time.
These two ships deserved so much more .
yeah, it was the dawn of an era, when ocean liners were luxury resorts at sea, and not mere transportation
They really did☺️
Great video, well done! My father was an accountant for the Italian Line from 1955 until the 70’s up to the final days. I spent many, many summers aboard the Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raffaello. Amazing ships and magical memories. I remember my father crying like a baby when the office in NY closed, not just because he lost his job, but because a magical era had come to an end. I have a ton of 8mm movies my dad filmed as well as memorabilia
Be sure to donate the films to some organization that wii both preserve them and make reproductions available to the public. Thanks.
You should contact the creator and see if you can collaborate on a video! 😊
@@oldsol2012 That would be cool.
I was on the SS Raffaello when I was 13 years old. She was docked in New York City. She was taking our friends to Italy. She was a Beautiful Ship ! Thank You for putting together this presentation.
I hate to see them gone. Thank you it brings back wonderful memories !
Thank you for this document, very beautiful!!
My father was a musician and worked with the Italian Line until the 1950s. Then he embarked many times on the Michelangelo, it was a beautiful ship in perfect 1960s style, full of works of art and Italian design. As a child I also made a short trip on the Michelangelo (between Genoa and Naples), while my father played in the orchestra.
I took the Raffaello on cruise out of New York to Virgin Islands- It was fantastic, Took my girlfriend and we had a terrific time with crew, on shore activities, and wonderful weather. 1974. We didn't know that the liner was on borrowed time. Your videos cleared up a lot of misinformation, including that Saudi Sheiks bought the liners for their private yachts. Actually that sounded better than the dismal Iranian story.
I’m really sorry about this Magnificent Duo not having the Brightest Careers. Many Italian Superliners did not have good outcomes. Rex Conta di Savoia Andrea Doria Cristiforo Colombo Leonardo da Vinci Michelangelo and Raffaello are all one of a kind and they definitely represent the best of Italian. For those in the Sixties and Seventies willing to spend money for a ticket onboard they were in a new world. The sisters were successful and offering the Best the Italian Line had to offer, and the represent the best of Ocean Liners, even if they missed there Chance. They all did something special for people and well deserve their place in History.
As an ocean liner nerd, I am always amazed at the detail and thoroughness of your posts. Please keep it up, because most people don't understand that an ocean liner was transportation and not a cruise. Don't get me wrong, I love to cruise on the the big ships today, but I would sell my first born child to sail on the Normandie in the 1930's😃
Ok, hold it. Selling your first born is a bit much, come on.
As a first born myself, that kind of hurts. 😭
@@Kaidhicksii Confuse?. Did this actually offend you? I have no children, and you need to stop with political correctness. I could care less about you being first born. Bugger off.
Ugg. So true. About 10 years ago, I had to email a 20-something woman who, in her article, referred to the voyage of Titanic as a cruise. She was kindly informed that liners were transportation before air travel, and that the people in steerage were hardly on a cruise, having often given up everything but a suitcase of possessions to start a new life in a new country.
A well done tribute to two extremely beautiful ships. Thank you.
SS Raffaello was always one of my favourite ships, it’s edgy interiors made it extremely interesting and beautiful in my opinion. And its radical funnel design and sleek and modern exterior gave the liner a largely futuristic appearance.
P.S. can we one day see a video on the famous (or infamous) MS Achille Lauro? It had a long and eventful career from its troubled construction in 1939, to its loss in 1994.
And we'd get to talk about the legend Moss Hills.
Considering the absolutely legendary job Bright Sun Films did on the story, I would love to see how the Big Old Boats treatment would be like.
When I first stepped onto the Raffaello, I was amazed that the designers had done everything in their power to make the ship's interiors look like the interiors of the Concord or some other airplane. I don't understand applying the word, 'edgy' to the boring interiors of the Raffaello. They weren't edgy. They were trying to capture the....word...of the airplanes that all of the passengers gave up specifically to be on a boat. That was really dumb. But in a real way, Ship architecture reached its zenith perhaps with the Bremen and the Europe (one of those boats became the Liberte which I sailed on). both had what I would call let down art dreco for their interiors. More boredom. I liked the way the Olympic, the Mauritania and the Lusitania were decorated. I like the idea of a gigantic Jacobean dining room on a gigantic boat. The various 'new' styles are as boring as the towers that are being built all over the place. Jaques Tati had it right in his movie: Playtime. Where all the cities are the same with grey skyscrapers.
@@tobiolopaintoWow! From the Olympic to the Liberte, you have seen some things!
Thank you for sharing a little of your sailing experience with us.
Maybe you misunderstood. I'm only 3./4s of a century old. I missed the physical Olympic, but I have all the books and etc. A beautiful ship. I'm no fan of art dreko, so I wasn't mad about the Queens, though the Mary looked great on the outside. @@j_taylor If I had to choose a revivalist style, I'd choose those on the Olympic-class liners. I have no problem with ocean going Jacobean rooms. When my mother saw the Flandre at the pier in NYC. she said (and I'm leaving out all the cursewords) "Only one smokestack? How can we sail on a boat with only one smokestack!" Not that she had ever been on a boat before. But she knew her smokestacks. Luckily the Flandre was overbooked in tourist class. The three of us stayed in first class cabins which were a little more comfortable.
My family sailed on the SS France from New York in Nov. 1966. The Italian Line pier was right next to the French Line and the Michelangelo was berthed right next to our ship. I remember how new and bright the Michelangelo looked compared to some of the other liners in port that day. It was an amazing time for ocean travel. A year later, we returned from the UK on the SS United States. Another fantastic liner. Great video. Learned alot about those two Italian ships. Thanks.
I like the Michelangelo and Raffaello, post-war Italian design is very rarely a bad thing, but always thought the Oceanic is one of the most beautiful ships ever built. I'd have loved to see the CRDA design, I think it'd have been stunning. Nicolo Costanzi was a true artist.
An excellent presentation of an often-overlooked chapter in ocean liner history. Thank you!
Thank you for this. My grandparents sailed on the Michelangelo in 1967 when my grandfather retired. I still have the luggage rag from one of their suitcases. They were in cabin C-42.
I was suprised when you mentioned the tonnage of these ships. They were quite large for their time. Thank you for this video. I'm always interested is how the Italians do things.
My grandpa was an officer on the Michelangelo, she was the most and the last beautiful ship created. I will always remember his eyes filled with emotion remembering travels and amorous adventures! unfortunately the planes have forever erased the magic of travel..
no sir, many cruise ships do Trans-Atlantic nowadays.
@@ericluk68 a cruise ship is not an ocean liner. ..
@@thatsmarco7413 ... with the exception of "Queen Mary 2, which still is used as a trans-Atlantic liner for part of each year. I also believe that the current "Oriana", a German-built cruise ship (1995), is built to some liner standards.
Thank you, Big Old Boats! This is the first time I've seen an in-depth study about the Michelangelo and Rafaello. Very informative and enjoyable video. I was told that another factor working against the two liners was not only being divided into three classes but that the floor plans were complicated and have been desribed as "rabbit warrens". By the time the "twin fliers" debuted their class division was already anachronisitc as other liners had much less class distinction and passenger of all classes could move about the ships more freely. On other liners class divisions might be only opening or closing a sliding panel. The Michelangelo and Rafaello could have been hugely successful, long-lived cruise ships.
Also I wanted to mention I've seen a drawing or painting from early on that showed the two sisters with black hulls and conventional funnels. It would be fascinating to see how the Mike and Ralph (as tugboat people called them) would have looked inside and out had they had more years of service. Some of those interiors soon came to look dated.
My dad immigrated to the U.S. aboard the Michelangelo and both ships have always had a special little place in my heart
I actually ‘cruised’ on the Raffaello, in February 1975. We were Architecture students traveling to Italy for a term of college. It was a spectacular ship but I do remember the constant rumble of the screws. We were traveling in the lowest cost ‘staterooms down in the bowels of the ship. We sailed from NY to Genoa via Casablanca, Palma de Mallorca,and Naples. I believe it was the Raffaello’s last trip as a huge amount of damage to furniture and furnishing when trying to enter Casablanca harbor. We entered parallel to the waves and rode up and over ridges and down into troughs. The roll was so intense things went flying, right as breakfast.
My family spent a year in the Netherlands with my fathers work. When it was time to return to the USA, my folks elected to come back via sea instead of air. In the summer of 1966, my folks along with 6 kids boarded the Michelangelo in Genoa. I remember what a grand time we had and how good the food was. I was only 10 y/o at the time, but I still remember. Playing shuffle board on the decks. Grand time.
I was fortunate enough to sail both of these from New York to Naples. The Michelangelo twice in 1971 and '75, and the Raffaello in '74. As I remember, I enjoyed the QE2 much more (sailed her NY - Southhampton twice in 1973 and '77) for the entertainment onboard, but can swear the food on the Italian line stole my tastebuds 🙂
1968, rode to Barcelona Spain from New York. We dressed formal for meals, I just graduated high school.
Traveled through Europe for a month. We sailed on the Michelangelo both ways. I can't pick a favorite place I visited. But when I look back Lucerne, Switzerland was where I would want to live.
Sir, your videos rock! And I find it fascinating that so many people still long for this sort of travel (myself included). It’s about the experience of being at sea, not about being in Disneyland or Six Flags.
My grandfather took me on a Caribbean cruise on the Michelangelo in 1971. While I recall being confused by the below decks layout, I think "rabbit warren" is only slightly exaggerated, she is still my favorite ship. (My grandfather said he preferred the Rex). I worked out that during one interisland passage she averaged 30 knots, yet motions were smooth and comfortable. The food was excellent. I tried cruising again in 2002 but was disappointed by comparison and haven't had a seagoing vacation since.
I can imagine. Even just as transportation, the old liners provided an elegant experience. When I saw that new boxy monster of a cruise ship they just launched all I thought of was a cattle car.
What a classy way to get to Italy. No airports, no hurry... but absurdly, no porthole!
Well, just the bottom 3 decks. Your cabin is just a place to keep your stuff and sleep, and inner cabins don't have them, either, so it's not that unusual. Anyway, you travel on a ship to walk the decks, socialize, hang at the bar. You can sit at home and watch TV.
@@wintersbattleofbands1144 yes but people love the light coming into a porthole, and lines can charge more for a porthole stateroom precisely because it’s nicer. Weird of a company not to maximize its number of porthole cabins, and make cabins that are inside staterooms that didn’t have to be.
Yes, odd. My hazy memory of travelling as a child way down low on S/S "Stratheden" was that there was a steel back-up for the opening glass port.
When I built the SS Michelangelo in Minecraft, I fell in love with her traditional yet modern designs and the three class interiors. It’s unfortunate how little they got to serve compared to past liners but Michelangelo and Raffaello will forever have a spot in my heart as the Italian beauties.
My Mother, my Father , my older Sister, my Aunt , my cousin and me travelled on the Michelangelo leaving Italy on Feb. 28th 1966 arriving in New York on March 6th1966, but I have no memories being only 22months old just like my cousin. This is a great video! Thanks Big Old Boats for sharing it.
The day it became less expensive to fly across the Atlantic than sail across, the death warrant of the ocean liners was signed. The only way the ships could hope to compete with the much faster planes was price.
Great video! I sailed on the Raffaello to the Caribbean in August of ‘72. She was a stunning ship and those unusual funnels added to her beauty. They are both missed.
Beautiful video.I remember these ships,they were often shown on tv in Italy,in the news or they appeared in some italian movies of that time. They were a symbol of design,art and technology for the country,with their sleek and elegant profiles, but they were a big mistake from the beginning,as you told in the video. The italian trade unions Force the government to build them,and to mantain them in service to provider work in the shipyards and aboard. But the most critical mistake was to build two traditional superliners not useful for cruises.In the end,when they were sold to Iran,they could have been refitted and transformed in profitable cruise liners as the France/Norway and the QE2,but certainly the italian goverment was not able to look formare at the increasing cruise market. It was a shame,for any italian,to see them languishing in Iran.
My family and I crossed from Genoa to New York in 1972 aboard the Rafaello. I was 13 at the time. What a trip that was! My dad was in the US diplomatic corps and we were allowed to travel home for leave in first class. I vividly remember how snooty the other kids were to my brother and me. It was already well known at the time that the Italian line was hemorrhaging money and only kept afloat (pun intended) by massive Italian government subsidies.
It was the following year that they announced 1975 would be the end
Sounds like my story, except the year was 1969. I was about 14 yrs old. As a kid, I was captivated by the awesome nature of this Italian beauty.
@@hanstdi Me too! Those liners have always been my standard for beauty in a ship, at least one not powered by sail... reminiscent of the clipper ships of the mid-19th century, like Flying Cloud, Lightning, or Cutty Sark.
I was just ten years old , when publicity for these ships hit the most important magazines ...
As a boy with all four Nonni ( Italian Grandfathers ) , I was astonished at the sheer beauty if these elegant ships.
I went on to become a Chilean Air Force Fighter Pilot , and later on flew both Jetliners that ended these ships.
The Boeing 707 Intercontinental and the Douglas DC 8.
I flew many times across the North Atlantic carrying 400 passengers in luxury as a Qatar Airways Commander ...but always watched that sea below , and wondered how it may have been to spend a full week in an Elegant , Romantic , Fast Ocean Liner.
Addio !
My family and I took the Michelangelo from New York to Genova, sailing on the 20th of September, 1966, under Captain Ramiro Magris. As a thirteen year old, I thought it was wonderful. I still have a couple of the menus, each showing part of a painting by Michelangelo on the front. I also remember that - as a young teen with the taste buds of someone raised on tuna fish and macaroni hot dishes - I found the food selection rather alarming. Veloutine Americaine? Brochette Cacciatora? What?
I like a country that names its ships, even its warships, after its most famous artists.
Forza Italia! Brava!
The edgier design of the Raffaelo would have appealed to me more, but above both of those the gorgeous Andrea Doria is Queen
I sailed on the Raffaello in what must have been one of her last voyages. I boarded in Genoa. The ship stopped in Naples and Gibraltar then we were out in the Atlantic in bright sunshine. The sunshine turned to dark clouds as we went through a hurricane. It was awesome seeing the power of the ship crashing through the waves. I was up above the bridge in a spot for observers. Luckily for me, a crewman came and got me. He was very concerned about my face which was covered with blood. The wind was blowing at 85 mph and the ship was doing 30knots. My hair, which was long at that time, was whipped against my forehead so hard that I bled from it. I felt nothing. But I was glad to be inside again. I had the whole dining room to myself and my table-mate, a machinist from Milwaukee. He had paid for his ticket and wasn't going to let anything interfere with what he was supposed to get. I had been in Italy for four months at school, and rather than take a plane back to NYC, I jumped at the chance to sail across the ocean. It was my third trip. When I was younger, I sailed on the Flandre and back to NY on the Liberte, so I was okay with various boats. This was 1975 in August. It cost 300 dollars 1 way. That was close enough to the price of the plane that it was doable. On board were a whole bunch of students who had paid for round trips on the boat as their summer vacation. After the band quit for the night, I'd play the piano for them to dance to. It was fun. After a few days of horrible weather, a group of Americans joined me and the German in the dining room. The waiter came by with squid salad. There was a big tentacle hanging over the side of the tub the appetizer was in. I grabbed it and bit into it hungrily. This caused the brave Americans at their table to vomit all at once. They departed. I kept to my squid. I was in an inside cabin, so no porthole for me. But it was clean and efficient. I'd do it again if there were a ship. And I know there is one last Cunarder plying the the Atlantic. Who knows? Maybe I'll get to sail on her.
@tobiolopainto WOW! 😃 I would definitely love to read more from your Atlantic crossings & especially about that hurricane one...!!! 🤞🏼
@@MultiMediaEmperor Hello. I sailed on the Raffaello only the once. And that was true of my other ships. Just once. My father sailed on the Britannic, the last ship of the White Star Line. She was a lovely ship with muted decoration. I was one of about 30-50 boys who rode their bicycles to see the ships leave the harbor. We'd stay uptown until all had pulled out into the Hudson. Then we'd ride like hell down to the Battery where we'd lean against the rails and watch 5 or 7 big liners leave NY. It was wonderful. I even learned that you could get on the ferryboat and have a mariner's sense of the beauty of the boats. There's virtually no shipping on the Hudson these days, only pleasure boat. In my mind, these don't count as boats. It's depressing to see so few ships in the Port of New York New Jersey. When I started to pay attention to ships, there was still break hold cargo that would be put into big nets and hauled off the boat by cranes. With the standardization of cargo, there's no need for longshoremen and individual cargo boats. Now it's all containers. They're nice in their way--big ships! Some of the biggest in the world. I don't live in the city anymore so I hardly see ships at all.
@@tobiolopainto Very interesting read! As a German I also can't help but wonder about the German in the dining room, was he the machinist from Milwaukee?
@@E1N101 Yes. We talked a little- - and only at meals. I was an outside person on that ship. He was an inside person. I only spoke to him to be polite. He wasn't too interested in talking about himself. And of course, I was stuffing my face with great Italian food the whole time. It was clear that I had noth9ing in common with him. He never spoke first. My good manners only go so far.
My family was booked on the Michelangelo to return to the US after living in Italy for several years. When it was hit and the bridge damaged we were rebooked on the Leonardo da Vinci, which was like being moved to a local train rather than an express, but the upside was that we stopped in many places to pick up and drop off travelers.
One of the sailors gave me a sweater from the line (lovely navy blue with "Italia" in red thread). I was 7 at the time but he estimated adult size well.
Wonderful documentary. I loved it. I remember in 1958 my grandparents sailed on the Giulio Cesare, another beautiful all white Italian liner from NYC to Naples and returned on her in October that year. But your pictures of the Oceanic brought back fond memories - we sailed on her from NYC to the Bahamas in about 1966 for a week cruise that I still remember to this day. Thanks for these memories.
I saw both in NY. Gorgeous ships for their time!
Thank you for this informative report about >Mike & Ralf
Never could fathom the decision to make three decks of passengers cabins without portholes. Mama mia!
That does seem like an own goal.
I understand if it was a safety thing, like open ports contributing to flooding in a sinking, but even sealed ports you'd think would have been installed. Humans like to be able to see out, plain and simple.
Should have been built with 2 classes and steam turbines with reheat. All of a sudden fuel oil consumption goes from 600 tons per day to 200; a shame this was never attempted when it would have made a difference.
I always consider them beautiful ladies who came too late to the party. The lack of foresight to consider making them multi-purpose like the Oceanic is stunning. And I’ll never understand the lack of portholes!!
2:00 The greatest irony is that the ship which sank the "Andrea Doria", the "Stockholm", turned out to be the longest-lived liner of them all. Please do a film on her! I think she still exists... if only barely, 76 years after being launched. The post-war Italian ships were truly beautiful.
Many years ago, I remember a snippet of information about these two beauties. The article briefly mentioned they were originally designed to be nuclear powered.
Maybe the article was in either Sea Breezes, or Ships Monthly?
I remember that the Leonardo DaVinci was also to have been powered by a reactor. Might have made them more profitable in the long run
The Michelangelo and Raffaelo were both modern and non-modern ships. They was very stunningly built with a quite futuristic style but Italian Lines hope that the airjets wouldn't take over was as we all known crushed. Raffaelo is my favorite out of the sisters despite her dramatic fate. Her interior was also quite futurisic, more distinctive but was more sterile than that of Michelangelo's. It was though sometime criticized for giving a too cold and metallic feeling compared to Michelangelo's more traditional interior. I myself really do love Raffaelo's futurisic and metallic interior, makes it more unique.
My uncle was The RNVR Commodore for The Home Squadron in Portsmouth. He used to get his barge to drive us around the harbours of Portsmouth and Southampton, and he told me about the ships in harbour. I remember seeing all these boats when I was but a munchkin.
"An abundance of caution" was not abundant enough. And the photos are awesome.
"Michelangelo," the stout, the beautiful. Took a licking and kept on ticking. Lesser ships have been lost without a trace in such a sea.
These two were a magnificent ending to the liner era. In hindsight the 3 class layout and the porthole eradication (a direct result from andrea doria) were serious failings. Its a shame because they were both beautiful and significant ships.
Thank you for a wonderful tribute to two great overlooked liners
Beautiful ships, as were most Italian liners. 45,000 tons, same weight as Olympic class but quite larger due to the superstructure being of aluminium instead of steel, as was the SS Canberra, also 45,000 tons.
Very good point.
These two ships were so beautiful especially compared to the ungainly monstrosities that are modern cruise ships, some of which look like giant floating combination hotel and amusement parks. So sleek and fast!
You mean giant ugly floating Walmarts ... Ughh 🤮
True, like being trapped in a shopping mall.
Very nice video. I always find the encounters with rogue waves super interesting, I would love to see a video on how older liners like Olympic and Adriatic would fare during harsh winter weather or hurricanes.
Thank you so much for this video. You covered and encapsulated these two ships beautifully. There is seemingly little documentation of these ships, and only one book that I know of covering them; "Masters of the Italian Line, by Ian Sebire" so thanks for doing this. Very well done and looking forward to more of your excellent work!
Also,”I transatlantici, la fine de in Epoca”. It’s in Italian, but a brilliant book
The ships of Michelangelo and Raffaello are a reminder of the golden and happy days of us Iranians. I will never forget when I was a child in the southern city of Iran, Bandar Abbas, in the navy town, when the Michelangelo ship docked at the dock of the Imperial Navy of Iran, we used to go to the ships every weekend. We spent happy moments on the ship decks, the cinema and the swimming pools on the ship were all royal, as someone who spent my childhood on the decks of these ships, I will always be grateful to the Italian people.
Thanks for this….I remember sailing from NY to marseille in 1965 and marseille to NY in 1967 on each of these vessels as a child.
Just want to say, I love your videos. Growing up, I was definitely the only kid on the playground who found ocean liners and their history so fascinating. This is a great channel, keep up the great work.
Thank you so much! Glad to hear I wasn't the only kid fascinated with ocean liners.
I grew up around the Great Lakes (Ontario and Erie specifically and later Huron). I took up scuba diving and researched everything I could get my hands on (and still do thanks to channels like yours). I'm glad to hear it too, seems most people were much older than us and theres been this large generation gap. @@BigOldBoats
I'd take a traditional ocean liner as these over flying today! Time and money permitting of course!
I think the lack of port holes in the hull's shell on the lower decks should make these sisters particularly suited originals for scale RC model ship builders.
I worked with a retired merchant seaman named Francis and he told me stories about his former life at Sea
His last ship was the SS Independence
He told me about waves crashing over the bridge when 30 year sailors would get scared
I was able to take a look at the Indy before she was secretly towed out of San Francisco for scrapping in the middle of a foggy night. Wish I'd have gotten on board. She was in good condition and had apparently had extensive work done right before being laid up. Sad.
Could you look into the MS Augustus, she’s another Italian line Vessel, she had a long career from what I can find relatively uneventful but I found a really cool video of a tour through her the day before she was sent to be scrapped. A beautiful vessel that doesn’t seem to be well known. Thank you so much I love your channel
My parents, sister and I travelled from Genova to New York on the Raffaelo, arriving October 14th 1965. It was a fast comfortable ship which I remember as being somewhat sterile and lacking in charm. We also got battered by a large storm, but it only broke some observation deck windows. Frankly, most people who had crossed the North Atlantic in winter by ship, would not choose to do it again once other options became available. I must say though, I’d gladly repeat my childhood ocean liner voyages from Buenos Aires to Genova, with their numerous landfalls and great parties when crossing the Equator.
Hello. Very interesting. Were the windows just cracked, or was the glass completely broken, with opened holes?
I saw the two of them moored together in Genoa in 1974, out of service. Adjacent to the main passenger pier where my ship was tied up.
Luckily, the SS Leonardo and SS Donatello were smashing successes.
Another superb video, bravo once again. It does you great credit that you can make a video about the Italian lines, a topic I am less enthusiastic about, and keep my attention through.
I remember and sorely miss this era! Proud to have seen both ships at least once!
The outstanding service of the old liners is also what has gone with the wind!
The US should purchase some of these old liners for the homeless. Vet the occupants well, have a small medical clinic in each, and then hire Navy veterans to keep the liners floating and operating at the dock.
Awesome editing as well as the video and the history.
I can't get enough of these great Ship Stories and usually sad endings. I worked on one and near the end of it's life , it had a Galley fire. The owners sold it to China as scrap, however it only made it half way across the Pacific where it sunk in a storm.
hey, was that the SS Constitution, or maybe RMS Caronia?
I love your content. Well researched, and you manage to add a personal touch without unsupported assumptions.
It's unbelievable how badly the design of these ships were bungled. The lack of portholes alone was the most bizarre design decision I've ever heard of. Had they been designed with a minimum of foresight they could have led long profitable lives just as France did in her second life as Norway.
My parents cruised on the Raffaelo in the early 70s and they loved it.
Oh god...finally!
as an Italian, i've been waiting this video since...ever!! Thank you!!!
Could you do a similar video on the Oceanic? As you mentioned, she had an amazing career. She is often overlooked, however, because she was too modern to be a liner and is not what is considered a modern interpretation of a cruise ship.
Seems like they were shooting for the dual-purpose in that era. Build an ocean liner, pull it for cruising in the off season. Tough for lines to see either one or the other as viable until cruising really exploded in the 1970s. I can understand old geezer board members not being able to fully comprehend the reality of air travel on their industry after 100 years.
Another excellent video! You always seem to dig up great footage of your subjects, it's so much fun watching while you tell their stories...
Keep up the fantastic work!
Thanks so much...
Though I was very young at the time I still vividly remember being woken up very early in the morning by brilliant lights outside our cabin on P&O’s liner Iberia and and seeing one of these Italia liners passing our ship, absolutely unforgettable sight.
Thank you for your work. Your voice is so soothing, it actually lowers my high blood pressure in a very good way. BOB saves lives! 😂
Only half way through. Great job. Your pronunciation is fabulous. 😍. Proud of you my friend. Great job.
Loved the vintage footage, my friend.
I enjoyed this very much. My parents and I took the Michaelangelo from New York to Naples then continued on docking in I think it was Genoa? I still have the menu from the dinning room somewhere I think.I remember it like it was yesterday, walking the deck and my mother saying "Look! That is the Rock of Gibraltar!" It was a very magical trip and I will never forget it. Thank you for this informative video!
Big Old Boats, this might the topic for another video: I read once that the 1972 disaster movie "The Poseidon Adventure" hurt the cruise business which was nowhere near as extensive as it is today. Too it would be interesting to know how much of today's popularity of cruising is because of the television series "The Love Boat".
Numbers soared due to "The Love Boat." You'll notice a LOT of retired liners were converted to cruise ships starting around 1976-1980. Dedicated cruise ships were generally smaller and suddenly they were able to fill a 900 footer. Princess kept the pacific Princess in service long after their other smaller ships were retired, to like 2002. It's a shame they let her go and a subsequent owner defaulted on bills and she was scrapped about a decade ago. She could have been a wildly popular tourist attraction on the west coast.
Never knew about these ladies. Love the interiors, but the caged funnels...just aren't my thing. Thank you so much for another fabulous video! Be well!
Thanks for your videos! Michelangelo and Raffaello didn´t seem to me as equally beautiful as the great Italian liners of previous years (REX, Conte di Savoia, Andrea Doria-Cristoforo Colombo, Leonardo Da Vinci, etc) but they were much more transgressors. I think not painting black, red and white made them lose some of their elegance. White is too reminiscent of cruise ships.
I travelled on both between NY to Genova and Genova to NY. I preferred the Raffaello. However, you ate like a king on both and entertainment on both were excellent! Midnight Buffet was unbelievable too!
To think that if the Italian Line went with the design of CRDA instead of Ansaldo, the Michelangelo and Rafaello could've still been around as recent as 11 years ago. Another fun alternate scenario I like to think about is if Kloster decided to purchase France, Michelangelo and Rafaello (and maybe also United States) in a big legacy liner bundle and revamp the whole lot of them. Either way, would've been cool. Beautiful ships, but their design wasn't quite thinking ahead for the future which was now present. Michelangelo's my slight favorite, though I honestly think Rafaello's interiors were better.
I'll take the SS United States and its battleship power plant, though these days it'd be running diesels :(
@@toomanyuserids Not only diesels, but also gas turbines as in Queen Mary 2, in a hybrid diesel-electric and turbo-electric configuration. Modern warships also often use gas turbines. Steam turbines, as in the Iowas and the United States, are finicky and prone to corrosion if any salt water gets into their boilers.
The Italians sure did make some pretty ships.
Thanks for your work and efforts uploading this, it's a comprehensive look at the late 20th century Italian liners and well done. 👍
Can't say i have ever had any positive to say about Ansaldo.
When Gothenburg decided to guy new trams for the city from Ansaldo who had a much lower bid than the rest they ended up with horrible built trams which made the old 50's/60's Trams look like space engineering.
Needless to say but the Ansaldo trams have turned out to be much more expensive than the other offers ever couldve been.
Well done! Great video! And since you asked, I'd love to have crossed the Atlantic aboard the Raffeallo.
Italian Line Superliners👍! They are two of my favorite Ships!
These old stories makes me want to go on the Queen Mary 2. Timeless styling
I saw both these ships docked in Genoa January 1967, whilst sailing on the Achille Lauro to the UK. Thanks for filling in their history. Lauro Line were serving the Australian subsidised migrant run, later converting to cruising. Achille Lauro was hijacked off Egypt, the later lost in a fire in the Indian ocean.
Often feel I was born in the wrong age, especially when seeing snapshots of life from back in the mid to late 1930s and all the way up and through the 1970s, but it could just be one of those grass is greener things...
I was born in '60, as a wee lad traveled on several super liners (not these 2 tho) ... believe me, the grass was MUCH greener 😢
I would LOVE to be able to travel to Europe on an gorgeous liner, instead of a cruise ship that’s relocating. And going by sea in a slow relaxed way would be so much nicer than a cramped, claustrophobic, exhausting flight.
Another excellent episode Sir, thank you!!!🙏👌🛳️❣️
Many thanks for another great video.look forward to seeing the next one.
Another fabulous video!
Brilliant. Thanks again for sharing.