Home Lines employees/memories?

[GIOVA]

Io mi chiamo giovanni focaccia,mi sono imbarcato sull'oceanic nell'84 con l'orchestra malvisi,suonavo la chitarra,ho fatto l'atlantic,poi sono andato in germania per l'homeric,ed abbiamo fatto il "maiden voyage?" ed ero sulla homeric a new york quando si sbarco dalla nave per l'ultima volta.

Ora vivo in new jersey,e' continuo a suonare la chitarra.

Ho incontrato qualche HOME LINES amico che abita da queste parti.

Se qualcuno si ricorda di me,sono su skype,facebook,myspace.

Salve a tutti

Edited November 22, 2010 by GIOVA

[CroozinFamily]

Did you check out S/S Oceanic The Love Boat on Facebook?

[Désirée777]

Hi Mark, my name is Christy. I worked mostly on Home Lines and sometimes Carnival. Home Lines went under because no one was watching the store so to speak. No one actually owned HL. My understanding was that it was a trust for a school in Europe - i think in Switzerland. Did you ever notice that the same carpet on the Oceanic was in a lot of stores in Nassau Bahamas?! There was a lot of things supplied to various islands thanks to some people on the Oceanic/Doric/Atlantic and finally Homeric. A few of the people ended up in jail in Bermuda but there was a lot more involved. As far as Singleworld - i'm not sure. Dick basically retired and Wendy his daughter took over. They were nice people. Maybe Wendy just did not want it anymore.

My husbank and i take our kids on Celebrity now. Royal Caribbean is ok but Celeb is a little more elegant - i like that. I'm working my way up to Crystal! Take care.

 

Hello does anybody know what happened to Bill Gable????

[Désirée777]

Who remembers Bill Gable and knows where he is now??

Would love to get in touch again he was a great Cruise director!!

Thanks

[bostoncnty]

The Oceanic was my first cruise, we took amtrak from Boston to NY what a great time we had. I remember the band the Rolando's I have one of the albums I bought on board. I remember a bartender named Marchelo what a blast we had with him. I went on three more cruises with this great ship. I still have a lot of pictures from that time. Ahhh Memories are great.

[TheRomaNCastles]

.....navigando,navigando in internet ho trovato questo sito su Home Lines che mi ha riportato in Bermuda io non ho lavorato sulle navi ma ci andavo ogni tanto a trovare Barbara la fotografa ( Che era la mia ragazza all'epoca ) e Pinuccia chissa che fine ha fatto Pinuccia sono stato anche suo ospite a casa sua in Liguria,Barbara ora abita a Long Island....mi ricordo che al Disco40 sembrava di essere in Italia che tempi ragazzi..un salutone a tutti voi...dimenticavo lavoro qui a Boston con un'ex dell Oceanic si chiama Gianfranco Verri magari qualcuno di voi lo conosce.

Ciao a tutti

Giovanni

[Marge106]

You can find Pinuccia on Facebook

[1stbirthday]

I think we were on our first cruise together! Lenore

[Missing HL]

I am a former employee of Home Lines. I worked in the office on the 39th floor of One World Trade Center. As employees we were entitled to one free cruise a year. My husband was also a Home Lines employee, working in the office and at the pier with the crew. We were treated like royalty by the crew when we cruised. So many great memories from those days. My husband stayed on with Home Lines doing paper work until well after the last cruise. We still miss it!!! The office staff was like family. Unfortunately, we lost touch with most of them. If anyone knows how to contact any office employee, please let me know. We are trying to get a reunion together. Thank you!

[Stevedan]

When in high school in 1982, I did a short internship with Home Lines. I worked with a VP, David Sutherland. I have a very nice time and enjoyed the people I met. What did you and your husband do?

[Missing HL]

I worked in reservations and my husband was a purchasing agent. We were married in 82, lol. It was definitely a fun place to work, hope you got to experience some of that. Thanks for your reply!

[Marge106]

OMG Lenore...I have tried to find you so many times on facebook. I'm still going by the same last name...please try to connect with me on facebook/

[Stevedan]

Peaceboat, which has operated the Oceanic for about the last 2 years, recently leased the former Carnival Tropicale. I hope this does not mean the end of service for the wonderful Oceanic.

[I'll see you there]

Hello does anybody know what happened to Bill Gable????

 

After 22 years of working with such memorable companies as Home Lines, Sitmar, Holland America (5 World Cruises), Royal Viking, Royal Cruise Line, Norweigen America Line and Ivaran...whew!! Gable retired and lives on the beach in Gulf Shores, Alabama. He owns Beach Bike Rentals in Orange Beach, Alabama, and can often be found around twilight sitting on the sand remembering those wonderful ships of yesterday, their crews, the passengers...and sometimes wishing he were still in the front lounge of the OCEANIC listening to those wonderful Italian Orchestras playing Italian love songs! Each show would end with his sincere wish to his travelmates...somewhere, sometime "I'll see you there".

[Bocagino]

Hi Bill:

 

There you go, enjoying the life after so many years at sea. Thank God I have a few of those on my own, shared with you.

 

Be good

 

Gino Gambotto

[I'll see you there]

Hello old friend! You, Richard, Luciana, Eddie Dawson, EEE, and so many great crew and entertainers who made Home Lines what it was are always there when I think of those ships and their New York sailings. Thanks for the memories. Hope all is well...Spring Break on the Gulf Coast, I sit at the beach and look at all the hard bodies...feel like a dog that chases cars but can't drive!! Some things never change. Gable

[I'll see you there]

I remember a Desiree from Bern that traveled the Oceanic and set many a heart a flutter...many years ago. Someone once said "Press memories into your mind like flowers in a book...knowing that too soon those moments will be gone". I did. B. Gable

[Stevedan]

Bill: Do you know whatever became of Luciana and The Donzelli Group after Home Lines went out of business?

[I'll see you there]

Sorry about the delay in response, I always have a problem getting to where I need to be with this site. I lost track of Luciana and the rest of my Italian Home Lines friends after the Homeric was sold. Oct 26, 1988, the end of Home Lines in NYC. Captain Mario Palombo, Chief Purser Roberto Sorbi, Maitre d'Hotel Giovanni Caio, Cruise Director Bill Gable, Hostess Luciana Trevisan. From1946 - 1988 Home Lines was ranked among the finest in the industry...and New York was the home port for the best of them (see John Maxtone Graham's LINERS TO THE SUN). In my opinion the floating hotels of today can't hold a candle to these grand ladies of yesteryear.

[Stevedan]

I just read on another site that the Oceanic was sold for scrap and will be heading for Alang, India in July. I guess this day was inevitable but such sad news. We all have to keep her memory alive on these boards.

[Italia1963]

Anybody out there who sailed on the M/S Italia 1963-1964?

[nadette]

My family and I sailed on the Oceanic about 25 times (mostly X-mas from NY) when I was a child and teen, on the Atlantic Maiden Voyage, and twice on the new Homeric. Words just can't describe the family atmosphere. The memorable crew members are too many to name, but a few are.....

 

Everett E. Everett (we are still in touch with his family)

Luciana Trevisan

Donzelli's Group (they had the whole ship rocking and rolling; standing room only in the Oceanic's Italian Hall)

 

No other cruise line even comes close! The Home Lines ships (esp. Oceanic) truly had a "soul".

 

So you remember Donzellii's Group....I know where they are.

[Stevedan]

Where are they?

[Mr Veendam06]

Wow Bill Gable our first ever CD !! Bill the Oceanic was our first of 76 cruises ! .you were the CD on our first ever cruise July 4th 1981 cruise on the beloved Home Lines Oceanic to Bermuda & Nassau ! You know what they say Bill you never forget your first love :rolleyes: And the Oceanic was our first cruise ship love affair ! It got us started with cruising back then, we had just gotten married the year before ! Been all over the world on cruise ships and just about every cruise line ! Oh do you remember one of your assistant CD on the Oceanic on that cruise named Rick Spath ? Well we cruised with him meany times on Sitmar cruises HAL and Disney cruise lines ! Bill the only cruise lines that even come close to to Home Lines is the high end lines for service and food now :eek: We still say the Oceanic was the best Italian restaurant we ever had dinner at :D We cruised the Oceanic 2 times with Home lines and 3 times as the Big Red boat when our boy"s were young ! We also cruised on the Doric the Atlantic and Homric !! We were on the Homric"s cruise july 4th 1986 for during the reopening of the Statue of liberty !! The Homeric was in the parade of ships !! I believe Stanly Kay i think his name is was the CD for that cruise ! When did you retire ?

[I'll see you there]

After all these years, it's great to recall those summer cruises out of New York. The Home Lines Oceanic was one of the best; certainly in my 22 years of working the cruise industry, the Oceanic, it's crew, staff and passengers were the most memorable and the most fun...plus, going out of NYC, ANYTIME, cannot be beat!

 

Since staff/crew turnover was minimal and the repeat passenger percentage was the highest in the industry, it was next to impossible not to have found a familiar face aboard any Home Line cruise. My staff usually included Rick Spath, Marty LaPalosa, Hostesses Luciana & Otti (in addition to being lovely ladies, they proved to be my moral compass when I pushed the envelope too far), Gino Gambotto, Richard Joseph, Arthur & Ida Gillium & Gail (dance team, excellent disco dancers...Ida eventually making it to the musical stages of Broadway) and those jolly Neopolitans who became close friends.

 

Rick is still cruising and remains one of the best CD's afloat, now aboard the Crystal Serenity. He's one of the few carry overs from those early days.

 

I retired in 1999 after wonderful years with Home Lines, Sitmar, Royal Cruise Line, Norweigian America (remember the Sagafjord & Vistafjord?),

Royal Viking, Holland America (5 world cruises) and the Ivaran Lines Americana. All those lines are gone now. Back then most of the staff and entertainers worked for Bramson Entertainment in NYC and we were fortunate to work many lines. I've accumulated alot of ship memorabilia (programs, menus, photos and humorous stories) that I've put together in a yet unpublished reminiscence (notice I keep away from the word BOOK), one of these days I'll finish it up. Title is Ridin' the Waves after a radio program I had aboard Royal Viking. One of these days...

 

In closing, thank you for remembering...my personal favorite evenings in those 22 years were the final nights aboard the Oceanic: Horse Racing followed by The Passenger Talent Show...where anything could happen and usually did!!