A visit by the 4th Form to the S.S Oriana

In the Spring of 1962 the 4th Form got a field trip to the S.S. Oriana when it docked in Naples. The school did not have buses so we were transported via a tour bus. Thses buses were well appointed -- practically royal when compared to the yellow American school buses I remember. Upon arrival we were given a tour of the engines, formal areas and the bridge. As I recall, everything was gleeming clean and all the brass highly shined. There was such a lot of brass! At this time the ship was just two year old and a beautiful example of the golden age of ocean crossing passenger ships.

When the tour was over the class was escorted to the Princess Lounge for tea. It was a grand tea!

S.S .Oriana was the last of the Orient Steam Navigation Company's ocean liners. It was launched on 3 November 1959 by Princess Alexandra. She was in service until 1984 with a lot of time in Asian ports. In 1986 she became a floating hotel at a tourist attraction in Japan and later in China. Unfortunately, a severe storm in 2004 severely damaged her and she was sold to the breakers in 2005 and destroyed.