Strand Cruise around late 70's ?

[goldie888]

My very first cruise was on a small ship by Strand Cruise around 1977. It was from Barbados to 11 ports in 14 days. Do anyone remember this company?

[franu]

I was on an earlier cruise with Strand. It was two weeks in the Western Mediterranean.I remember that this was a budget trip and I paid only $63900 CDN including airfare. We left Toronto in a huge snowstorm in Toronto in April 1975. The city had already put all of the snow removal equiptment away for the year and I believe we had 23 inches of snow. Needless to say, we did not leave until the following day. Tired and disheveled we arrived in Malaga at 2AM. We had a fun trip and we saw so many places both on the European side as well as the North African coast.

 

This trip was a life altering experience for me. I fell head over heels in love with Italy. Since then I have been to Italy 8 more times. Most were for a month but some were shorter and one was 6 weeks.

 

I believe that the Carribean cruises by Strand were on another ship as ours had terrible problems with the sanitary system. I was on the first cruise by Strand and everything seemed OK. The problems came later.

 

Strand gave us a basic cruise at a basic price. It was a floating motel with 3 meals per day. No extras.

 

Fran

[goldie888]

Hi Franu,

 

Thanks for your respond. I was in my very early 20's when I went on this cruise by myself. I couldn't recall the name of the ship but did remember a lot of other details.

 

Just shortly before cruising again with my husband in early 2001, I had decided to discard the last bit of memento from this cruise. I am sorry I did that now.

 

Since founding out my husband like cruising as much as I, we have just completed our 7 cruises together.

 

If you can recall anything else about this cruise company, please let me know.

 

I remember having my own cabin with a fruit basket everyday. And I recall my painter's pants came back from laundry, perfectly pressed. I also met some very nice people from Tronto area and later went to visit them.

[twinds]

goldie888

Believe it or not, I have in my hands a Strand Cruises Fall 1977 through Spring 1978 brochure. The ship was the ss Veracruz. She flew the Panama Flag, just under 500 feet in length, 10,595 gross registered tons, and carried 750 passengers.

The April 14, 1978 itinerary was as follows:

Friday - Barbados

Saturday - at sea

Sunday - Caracas

Monday - Curacao

Tuesday - Aruba

Wednesday - Cartagena

Thursday - at sea

Friday - Montego Bay

Saturday - Port-au-Prince

Sunday - at sea

Monday - San Juan

Tuesday - St. Thomas

Wednesday - Antigua

Thursday - Gadeloupe

Friday - Barbados

All this including airfare from Toronto

$699.00 & $38.00 port & passenger taxes

Cattegory 23 - inside/2 birth

[vikmik]

Hi there,

 

I just found a letter in my paperwork and I was on a Strand Cruises aboard the M.V. Delphi in possibly June 1976. We cruised out of Malaga, Spain. it also was a very basic line. Does anyone out there remember this ship?

[travelnshop]

I was on the Delphi the summer of 1975. What an interesting cruise that was. We were quarantined while sailing the Mediterranean. What an experience for an 11 year old, but memories just the same.

[Seemex]

Strand Cruises Med Cruise 15 days out of Malaga, Spain, Sept 1976. Best deal ever...most fun...life changing! Does anyone have pictures of the Delphi? I hate most of the new giant ships that don't even look like ships anymore. Give be the old MV Dephi any day!

[Seemex]

On 3/31/2015 at 3:40 PM, vikmik said:

Hi there,

 

I just found a letter in my paperwork and I was on a Strand Cruises aboard the M.V. Delphi in possibly June 1976. We cruised out of Malaga, Spain. it also was a very basic line. Does anyone out there remember this ship?

I sure do! Best trip ever ( maybe not so much at the time, but now...the memories are amazing! ) Cruised aboard the Delphi Sept 1976 from Malaga, Spain, 15 days through the Med...Tangiers, Cagliari, Palermo, Naples. Rome, Cannes, and Palma, Majorca then back to Malaga. Included the return flight from Vancouver to Spain, and a night at the Holiday Inn in Malaga $939

Edited May 21, 2019 by Seemex

[Seemex]

Added to post

 

Edited May 21, 2019 by Seemex

[mikenbon]

My sister Jan was a cruise assistant on MV Delphi in the later 70's, then First Purser on the Vera Cruz. She still keeps in touch with several other former coworkers from her shipboard days. 

[Seemex]

That was the cruise of a lifetime for me. It was when I was bitten by the travel bug! What a fabulous time we all had. I'm so lucky to have been able to do that trip. I've lived off the memories for over 40 years. Every time I tell a story, I get to live it over again. All the petty disasters aboard, are the biggest laughs today. I've done cruises since, but when people ask how it was, all I can say is "fine"  When friends would tell us about their cruise, and the chocolate on the pillow, the bed turned down and the towels all folded into animals, my wife and I would roll on the floor laughing. We were lucky if we even had a pillow, we made of own beds which were about 18 inches wide and over the engine room, and in port, the shower wouldn't drain so I'd have to take off my shoes and socks to use the toilet. Towels were for soaking up excess water and throwing at the cabin steward who'd run by the cabins dodging the soaking wet projectiles! 

But, we ate great food, most Greek which we'd never had before but loved every helping. The crews did their best and we often ran into them ashore. They always helped with translations and bartering and gave us plenty of free advice. All told,it was the  best trip ever. Nothing I've been on since compares for fun and value. My hat's off to anyone who worked aboard. I think the cruise we did was the last one the Delphi made for Strand Cruises. Oh, almost forgot...near the end they painted the railings one morning and didn't tell anyone or put up any signs! Lots of passenger seemed to have striped shirts that day! LOL

 

[med76]

I was on Strand Cruises M.V. Delphi Mediterranean cruise 1976, with my parents and a cabin mate who I'd only met once.  I remember so many things about that holiday.  Getting vaccinated while ship was in Malaga because there was an outbreak of cholera in North Africa, and our next port of call was Tangier, Morocco.  The doctor asked if I was okay, he said I looked green in the face - I was seasick even though ship was still docked!  Visiting the Alhambra in Granada, our guide Pablo in Tangier, the catacombs in Palermo.  Photo of me wearing my top I bought in Tangier, Mondello Beach in Palermo, Sicily.  The air conditioning on the ship failed to work halfway through cruise, and my room-mate had a heart condition, so she was moved to sick bay.  I went with her for company, it was nice and cool up there, and everyone else sweltered.  The meals were good, the service good.  I remember our cabin steward made up our night clothes into swan shapes!  It is the only vacation cruise I've been on, and I remember it as being a great time.