Empress of England

[Figsgrandma]

In 1967 I sailed from Montreal to Liverpool on the Empress of England. Does anyone know which cruise line this ship was from, and what happened to her?

[dougnewmanatsea]

This was a Canadian Pacific ship, built in 1957.

 

CP sold her to Shaw Savill in 1970 and she was renamed OCEAN MONARCH. In 1975 she was sold for scrap.

 

Like many other ships during the 1970s, she was broken up very prematurely due to factors including rapidly declining market for sea travel and the fuel crisis. These factors conspired to prematurely end the lives of scores of passenger ships.

 

A full history of EMPRESS OF ENGLAND, with photos, can be seen here from Simplon Postcards.

 

Amazingly her slightly older (1956) sister, EMPRESS OF BRITAIN, is still around. She is now called THE TOPAZ, and at the moment is chartered to a Japanese organization called Peaceboat who use her for what might be described as educational round-the-world cruises. A magnificent article on this ship with loads and loads of photos of her career spanning five decades can be seen here from Maritime Matters.

[Figsgrandma]

Thanks, Doug. This brought back memories. This was my first cruise, actually the only one until last year, and things have certainly changed. I was on a college tour to Europe, and 4 of us shared a cabin - 2 upper and 2 lower bunks, and a small port hole to look out. I don't remember if there was a bathroom in the cabin, or if it was down the corridor.