Cruising on the SS Lurline - 1949

SS Lurline – April, 1949

A few years ago I wrote about how my grandparents, Sig and Loraine (Gunzendorfer) Levy, loved to cruise.  You can read about it HERE.  At the time I knew they had cruised on the SS Lurline during the 1950’s based on Passenger Lists I’d found but I hadn’t run across any photos or anything to tell me much more about those cruises.  Until today.

A few months ago my husband rescued a box of “stuff” from the garage and brought it inside so I could go through it.  There were quite a few scrapbooks (my grandfather was the king of scrapbooking) but being that they are, for the most part, history of real estate transactions in Fresno, I wasn’t too interested.  But thrown on the top (not inside the plastic box but literally thrown on the lid of the box) was a pile of things that I never got around to going through.  But today was the day.

The first thing I found was a pile of what looked to be prints of some kind.  Beautiful in their own right but even more beautiful when I opened them up and saw they were dinner menus from the SS Lurline in 1949, 1951, and 1956.  Here’s a sample.



What fun to read about the what was on the menu when my grandparents were sailing.



Now that’s some interesting selections – Broiled Fillet of Barracuda?  Turtle steak Saute?  Yes, I think that really is steak of a turtle (thank you, Google), although I’d prefer to think, instead, it was a special cut of beef steak.  I’m not too adventurous when it comes to eating so I can’t get past the thought of eating a turtle.

I picked this particular menu because of the date – Monday, April 25, 1949.  As I was going through some envelopes in the same stack I found some photos from what appears to be this trip!  And there on the back was the date April 25, 1949 “on board the Lurline bound for Honolulu”.  How ‘bout that?

Mildred Loraine (Guzendorfer) Levy April 25, 1949, On board the Lurline bound for Honolulu

Sigmund Levy April 25, 1949, On board the Lurline bound for Honolulu

Were they dressed for dinner?  Knowing my grandparents and their love of dressing up, I’d say they were dressed for the daytime activities and then later changed for dinner.  But anyway, at least I know it was the same day.

And the next day they took a few more photos.

Loraine (Gunzendorfer) Levy – April 26, 1949

Her dress is so interesting – I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything quite like it.  The 1940’s sure brought out some wonderful styles.

Sigmund Levy – April 26, 1949

Not only did I find the photo above of the Lurline (I’m assuming they purchased from a professional photographer) but in with their personal photos was this photo from the deck of the Lurline.


What fun to see the deck of a cruise ship from back then – although I’ve never been on a cruise ship like that, I can’t imagine you’d have too many people lying right on the deck as they are here.

I spent a little time on Google and found an interesting short movie titled “Over the Sea to Honolulu 1940”.  It is a great way to really understand what life was like sailing across the Pacific in 1949 – I could visualize (my dad loved to say that) my grandparents on the ship.

Some fun activities on the typical cruise:

• If passengers missed golf while they were away, they could golf from the deck and would always get a hole-in-one when their ball landed in the Pacific Ocean.
• There was shuffleboard, swimming (see that pool above?), and even horse racing (you have to see it to believe it).
• The 5th day at sea brought the first glimpse of Diamond Head.  Being that I know they arrived in Honolulu on April 27, 1949, I can assume this dinner menu was from their 3rd day at sea.

In the event you’re interested, the link to the movie is below.  It’s a 10 minute video with the first 3 minutes or so being specifically about the Lurline.

My grandparents sure lived an exciting life – who knew?

http://cruiselinehistory.com/sailing-on-the-ss-lurline-to-hawaii-late-1940s/

Cruising

As I continue to work through the scads (that was my grandmother’s word) of photos I have, I’m reminded of the many times my grandparents, Sig and Loraine Levy, cruised here and there.  I particularly remember their voyages on the S.S. Lurline between San Francisco and Hawaii.  I believe they would travel from Fresno to San Francisco, with a stop in San Jose either before or after their cruise, and from San Francisco would sail to/from Hawaii.  And now I’ve found photos as evidence of their journeys!

Sig and Loraine Levy 8 Aug 1959

I can just imagine sailing in the 50’s and 60’s – what a different time.  My grandfather looks so dapper in his tuxedo!  And thanks, Grandpa, for putting the date on the back of this photo! 

No date on this photo but based on the clothing, I’m guessing it was the same voyage.



Once they arrived in Honolulu, I remember that they always stayed at the Royal Hawaiian, the beautiful pink hotel on Waikiki Beach.  I’m sure back in the day it was about the only game in town – now it’s dwarfed by the other more “hip” hotels. 

Royal Hawaiian Hotel photo by cryptic_star

I have found records showing they sailed on the Lurline from San Francisco to Honolulu in April, 1949, August 1951, and August 1956 but I haven’t found any photos that look to be from these trips.  Yet.

1966 seems to have been a big year for cruising.  In June, they sailed on the SS President Wilson but I don’t know where they went.  The photos I have are in ‘jackets’ that show the name of the ship and Hawaii-Japan-Philippines-Hong Kong so I’m guessing they went to one or all of those countries.  There is a little nugget in my brain saying they visited Japan but I can’t be sure.  No matter where they went, they seemed to have had a good time!

My grandmother loved her mink and took it everywhere with her!  I remember when we cleaned out my parents’ house last year finding the mink in the bedroom closet – I’m sure my parents never knew what to do with it.  I don’t want to think about what happened to it in the estate sale.

Loraine and Sig Levy May, 1966

I wish I knew who these unidentified people are.  If I could find passenger lists for this voyage, I might recognize some names.  But here’s Grandma with her mink!



And some quiet dinners together.






But the quiet dinners didn’t last – looks like there was a costume party aboard the ship.



And guess who won the prize for the most original costume?  Thank you, Grandpa, for writing that on the back of this photo!

June, 1966 On board Pres Wilson Sig won the prize for most original costume THE BEEF EATER

Later that year they were cruising again as they were on board the Lurline on the Hawaii Holiday Cruise December 20, 1966 – December 30, 1966.  This cruise went from San Francisco to Honolulu via Nawiliwili (Kauai), Lahaina, and Hilo.  Look at that – Grandma has on a different mink!



Who are these lovely ladies with them?  I thought they might be the Stubblefield sisters, their next door neighbors for years, but I was able to find a passenger list on line and there was no indication that the Stubblefields were on board.  Oh look at that – if you look in the top right hand corner you can see the top of the ship!  Here’s the ship from the back of the photo ‘jacket’.



While I’ve never been on a cruise, I have heard that eating is one of the main events.  Looks like it was a great opportunity for some photos, too!



I have to laugh that they are sitting in the exact same seats!



I don’t know if this was from the same cruise but I do know it was on board the SS Lurline.  Grandpa always did like the ladies!



I just love looking at these photos and imagining what their voyages were like.  Thanks for sharing them with me, Grandma and Grandpa!