The Travel Industry Has Changed
It’s been around 55 years since this advertisement appeared in the Mississauga News. It certainly shows how different luxury travel was in 1965 compared to today. The ship was sent for scrap in 2012 but, the travel agency, now known as STS Travel, remains in the same location today.
Today, we are bombarded with advertising, trying hard to coax us to spend our money on travel. Back in 1965, it was a bit different. The Mississauga News began circulation midway through that year. Not quite weekly, maybe a single travel ad would appear. Often, the ads were just general and didn’t showcase actual travel products like the one above.
The Cruise
Today, you can head to Fort Lauderdale, Florida or a handful of other cruise ports any day of the week, and hop on any of a wide selection of cruise ships. In 1965, the selection wasn’t so great.
There were eight departures available that season on board the SS Oceanic. The departures were from New York City. Of course, the weather at the point of departure would never be an issue with the Oceanic. It was the first ship to incorporate a Magrodome, a sliding glass roof that could cover the Lido Deck in inclement weather.
The exact itinerary is not known (by us, anyway) but the cruises ranged from ten to 20 days and stopped at anywhere from four to eleven ports in the Caribbean and South America.
The cost? From just $350 to $705 per person. Pretty reasonable, right? Wrong. It is said that a dollar in 1965 is equivalent to $8 today. This makes the rates closer to between $2,440 to $5,640 per person. And, that was minimum rates.
The travel world would like you to believe today that they’re selling you a trip of a lifetime when it comes to a Caribbean cruise. In fact, you can bounce around the seas for a week for very little. Back in 1965, a ride on the SS Oceanic would truly have been a trip of a lifetime.
Another note on how far we’ve come: Each room (yes, each and every room) came with its own bathroom.
SS Oceanic
“The Ship Of Tomorrow”
At the time, it truly was. At a gross weight of 39,241 tons, it was the largest ship ever designed exclusively for cruising. Of course, this a like a tugboat compared to the world’s largest today. The Symphony of the Seas in the Royal Caribbean fleet has a gross tonnage of 228,081.
This innovative ship was also the first to include a Magrodome, a sliding glass roof over the lido deck. The ship was also fully air conditioned.
Built by Cantieri Riuniti dell’Adriatico in Monfalcone, Italy, the original operator was Home Lines. The shipbuilder was founded in 1930 and went defunct in 1984 after being bought out by Fincantieri Group. Home Lines was founded in 1946 and ceased operations in 1988 after being bought by Holland America Line. The cruise line was headquartered in Genoa, Italy and was registered in Panama.
The SS Oceanic was 238.44 metres or 782 feet in length. There was capacity for 1,600 passengers. The boat was rebuilt in 2000 with ten passenger decks and room for 1,800 passengers.
It was renamed StarShip Oceanic in 1985, operated by Premier Cruise Lines, a company headquartered in Cape Canaveral, Florida. It stayed with that company until 2000 when Premier went belly-up. With that line, it was dubbed the Big Red Boat.
From 2001 to 2009, the name returned to just Oceanic when it was operated by Pullmantur Cruises. The line still exists and is the largest Spain based cruise company.
It operated as the Peace Boat from 2009 to 2012. The ship came under attack by pirates off the coast of Yemen in May, 2010. With some fancy maneuvering and water cannons, the crew managed to steer the boat clear of danger.
Streetsville Travel Service
We do these vintage newspaper ads every so often. This may be the first time the advertiser is still in existence today. Streetsville Travel Service is now STS Travel. The agency still operates out of the same location today as it did in 1965.
As per their website today, STS Travel was founded in 1960 and was just five years old in 1965. With 2020 fast approaching, the agency will soon be celebrating their 60th anniversary.
