Cruise ship 1960–71 RMS Andes (1939)

1 cruise ship 1960–71

1.1 1959–60 refit in netherlands
1.2 full-time cruising
1.3 1967 refit , final years
1.4 scrapping

cruise ship 1960–71
1959–60 refit in netherlands

after last ever liner voyage in november 1959 andes sailed flushing, netherlands, koninklijke maatschappij de schelde converted full-time cruise ship. no longer carry cargo, km de schelde converted no. 4 hold 260-seat theatre , cinema called ocean theatre. additional refrigerating , air conditioning plant installed in of other disused holds. without cargo ship higher in water, holds 2 , 3 ballasted 250 tons each of concrete blocks.

the change of use of holds meant andes 4 cranes (two forward, 2 aft) removed. 2 cranes on after deck replaced single kingpost , derrick abaft e deck superstructure loading stores. superstructure of d deck extended both fore , aft add new cabins, became known dutch cabins. existing cabins upgraded had either shower or bathroom en suite. new children s playroom added. after extension allowed lido area above enlarged , given greater facilities, including cocktail lounge. air conditioning extended cabins , public accommodation.

despite addition of dutch cabins, refit reduced andes total passenger capacity 528 470. resulted factors including space taken increase public areas, , space taken upgrade remaining cabins baths or showers.

two 44 ft (13 m) launches added ship s boats, , installed above forward extension of d deck. larger andes existing boats, , had canvas covers bad weather. increasing life-saving capacity, launches ferry cruise passengers in , out of destinations sea shallow andes herself dock.

andes 1959–60 refit included enlarging restaurant. renamed atlantis restaurant after earlier rml cruise ship, atlantis, had been launched in 1913 rmsp s first rms andes.

some rooms given new names. grand hall became princess lounge in honour of hrh princess margaret s visit ship. first class smokeroom named warwick room after rms s retiring chairman, walter warwick. names galleon grill , seahorse inn referred parts of rml s coat of arms. 4 first class luxury suites named alcantara, almanzora, araguaya , asturias after famous royal mail liners of past. first class restaurant enlarged, , named atlantis restaurant after earlier royal mail cruise ship, had been in service until 1952.

km de schelde refitted andes in 2 phases. first phase, late november 1959 until january 1960, extend d deck superstructure , complete new cabins. returned passenger service annual winter cruise. andes returned flushing second phase, in km de schelde completed refit.

until andes had been in rml s normal colours liner, included hull being painted black. cruising km de schelde repainted hull white, following tradition set cruise ships of various lines including rml s own atlantis when became cruise ship 1929.

full-time cruising

km de schelde completed second phase of andes refit in first half of 1960. in june 1960 andes made short shakedown cruise in english channel. rml staff, families , travel agents passengers. port of call guernsey, @ time largest ship ever visit island. andes entered full-time public cruise service, starting three-week 1 mediterranean.

many of andes cruises caribbean (typically in spring , autumn), mediterranean or baltic. of them lasted 16 26 days. calendar included christmas , new year cruise, typically islands in atlantic , perhaps north african coast. followed each year winter cruise, longer , 2 months. length of winter cruise allowed andes sail farther home port of southampton, ocean exotic , warm while northern hemisphere in winter.

gracie fields on commodore s barge in trincomalee harbour, ceylon, members of royal navy s eastern fleet in 1945. visited andes in 1964.

in lisbon in 1962 andes port propeller fell off in river tagus. starboard propeller still maintained 14 knots (26 km/h) on return voyage southampton. master reported despite one-sided propulsion handled beautifully steering adjusted 12 degrees compensate.

the uk endured notably long, cold winter in 1962–63. may have increased demand winter cruises. in december 1963 crockfords of mayfair installed gambling table on andes. used first time on 1963–64 christmas , new year cruise. 1964 winter cruise covered 20,570 miles , included visits madras, bombay , far east.

in june 1964 pears soap held annual miss pears children s beauty competition aboard andes. singer gracie fields presented prizes in packed princess lounge.

hmy britannia in portsmouth in 1994. britannia , andes met in barbados in 1964 , 1966.

also in 1964 andes in caribbean @ same time queen elizabeth queen mother made caribbean cruise aboard hmy britannia. 2 ships berthed next each other in barbados. 2 ships met in again in barbados in 1966, when hm queen elizabeth ii , hrh prince philip, duke of edinburgh visiting island.

in 1965 furness, withy took on rml. andes cruising became increasingly diverse. in 1966 visited livorno first time, , returned akureyri first time since landed allied troops there join occupation of iceland in 1940. in 1967 made first visits mahé in seychelles , tobago in caribbean.

1967 refit , final years

about time government tightened fire regulations ships entering ports in usa. andes 30 years old , nearing end of career, rml decided have upgraded new standards. in may 1967 returned belfast, harland , wolff undertook first phase of final refit. resumed cruising summer , autumn, 1967–68 christmas cruise cancelled allow builders complete work. refit added new fire-resistant bulkheads, doors , ceilings. @ same time opportunity taken replace boiler tubes.

rml intended andes 1968 winter cruise ambitious yet: 25,000 miles in 78 days, including mediterranean, east africa, south africa, india, south east asia , far east. however, in 1967 six-day war closed suez canal, there riots in hong kong , anti-apartheid unrest in south africa. cruise plan revised omit mediterranean, suez , asia. rml added south atlantic leg saint helena , rio de janeiro, still included south africa, , revised indian ocean leg include seychelles.

andes had 458 crew carried 470 passengers, , in 1960s generous ratio became less economic. cost of bunker oil rising , competition in cruise market increasing. in december 1970 furness, withy announced number of rml ships withdrawn service, including andes.

andes made final 3 cruises in first half of 1971. winter cruises in atlantic: first south , west africa, second rio de janeiro , third caribbean. passengers take either 1 cruise or 2 or 3 of them in succession. andes becoming unreliable. on first cruise twice suffered boiler trouble. when in cape town stayed on boiler repairs, after 3 days late. on second cruise drive shaft forced-draught fan andes central boiler sheared, , left rio de janeiro steering gear failed. on third cruise, in caribbean, andes had both boiler , engine trouble , ended day late.

andes reached southampton final time on 4 may 1971. entered port flying paying-off pennant 93 feet (28 m) long, , dressed signal flags spelt out message in latin: andes in opus per mare ubique 1939–1971 hodie recedere. means andes in operation sea everywhere 1939–1971 today retires . had completed 285 voyages, called @ 174 ports, , steamed 2,770,000 miles.

scrapping

andes left southampton on 6 may 1971 under skeleton crew. next day reached ghent in belgium, sold van heyghen frères £325,000 scrap. canadian army plaque had been presented andes in 1948 had been removed, , rml presented seaforth highlanders of canada regiment in british columbia.