The Wingham Advance-Times, 1975-04-24, Page 19litew bkly bOtjus in your UsteWed
$8nb,.er1 W Mgh*m Advisee.
` 41eli 101.4 Monne Forest Conte.
dente rean.by APO,people in
ar<hgaru of Midwestern
Ontario",
(Based on 3,5 readers in each of
000 homes.)
Published every *no in The Listowel Banner, The Wingham Advance -Times
and The Mount. Forest Confederate by Wenger Bros. Limited.
—Crossroads—April 24, 1975—
Angelina is a lady. •
And the Caribbean Islands are. her playground
r
•
A LONG -FROTHY WAKE m ret ft`hiro the cruise ship
as it hustles along at 20 knots through the blue Caribbean
Sea as gentle breezes and sunny weather prevail.
If you tend to like matronly
ladies, of more mature years .. .
ladies who may not have all the
quick charm and flash of the
younger set, but who know how to
cook well and are friendly souls,
then you would enjoyetting to
know Angelina Lauro, just as 1
did. Angelina claims Italy as her
place of birth.
While Angelina no longer lives
in Italy, she carries the unmis-
takable warmth of that sunny
land.
There is, however, one thing
that may upset you about Ange-
lina, as a lady. She weighs nearly
25,000 tons. You see, Angelina
Lauro, while very much the lady,
is a cruise ship. Recently I com-
pleted a week in her company as
she slipped - through the sunny
waters of the Caribbean Sea.
While she is not, perhaps, as new
as many of her kind in those plea-
sant waters, she is a good ship
and one that did not follow in the
wake of others as she sped along
at over 20 knots. •
My wife and I had been looking
forward for some weeks to the
cruise aboard the Angelina, anti-
cipating the joy of a warm sun
and the pleasant release from
snowbanks, if only for a short
time. We were not disappointed.
Of course we did manage to be
at Malton Airport when it closed,
just before flight time, because of
a strike and' a snowstorm. But
through the good efforts of the
people at Eastern Airlines a
fllgbt Dill pf Buffalo to fort Lau-
derdale was arranged for the
next morning. After a nasty drive
in wet and drifting snow we were
THE TOWN OF CHARLOTTE AMALIE on the island of St. Thomas in the U. S. Virgin Is-
lands, is a particularly beautiful port of call for the Angelina Lauro and caters to dozens of
cruise vessels each season. It has a unique shopping section and, as one travels the island,
beautiful vistas are at every hand.
it
whisked away to the sunny south
via Newark, N.J., arriving abQat
two hours before sailing time.
Temperature Rising, '
It is a drastic change, mind
you, leaving 20 degree weather
and a few short hours later facing,
85 degree temperatures. It is a
change one soon accepts and e *
joys—particularly when the soft
breezes of the Gulf Stream- are
ruffling your hair and a hot sun
is
tanning your bleached -out north
ern hide.
Angelina is no mean V'"
sel. She is 673 feet in length over-
all, 84 feet wide and can wind Op
her three screws to; drive her
.
along at 23 knots, top speed
However, for the most part she
runs along at about 20 knots,;
without overworking her three
12,000 h.p. diesel engines.
Under the direction of Captain
Mariano Esperti, the Angelina
Lauro is a well-run vessel and her
chief purser, Sal Masullo, is most
obliging in his efforts to see that
all passengers are kept happy.
This can take some doing when
there are 700 landlubbers aboard',
all trying to find their cabins and
their luggage at the outset of tl e
voyage. Our hat is off to Sal and
his crew, who do an excellent job.
There are about 350 crew, mem-
bers looking after the operation
of the ship and caring for the
pleasure -seekers. •
While statistics are rather dry
reading, a few about the Angelina
do help to demonstrate some of,
the behln4-the-scenes v atipp
of a well-run cruise shi
To start, the crew must load; in
a very short time, enough food,
water and, yes, wine, to look after
an average of 700 , people for
seven days. It costs the shipping
line nearly $35,000 per trip to
cover this aspect alone. Then
there is fuel -800 tons of it—being
burned up to the tune of $600 per
day while the ship is at sea.
While Captain Esperti, whose
very appearance fits him for the
position, and his crew of 32 offic-
ers guide the ship along the sea
lanes, the passengers are looked
after by a happy staff of stewards
overseeing their wants in the
cabins, decks and dining rooms.
Food Superb '
Speaking of dining rooms in-
troduces another subject—food.
On board the Angelina it has to be
enjoyed to be believed. Granted,
meal hours are regimented and it
is necessary to be on time, but
every meal hour is a treat, and
for those who wish to try new
culinary delights, a real joy.
There are the usual ribs of beef,
omelettes and perk ,chops, but
there are also myriads of Italian
dishes, fine pastas; a variety of
fish, red snapper, grouper, sole;
as well as off -beat items such as
octopus appetizers and a selec-
tion of desserts that would re-
quire the creative powers of a
chef to describe.
The dining room provides three
solid and delightful meals a day,
but shipboard life or sea air must
demand more, for midnight pro-
duces a smorgasbord that must
be 50 feet in length and contains
a so many different and interesting
foods it is impossible to attempt
any comprehensive list.
Cruising on warm seas means
sun decks and swimming pools.
The Angelina, like most of her
sister ships, has one large
outdoor pool, plus a small one for
the kids and another good-sized
indoor pool, all of. which are
drained in the evening and
refilled the next day with a fresh
supply of sea water,
Evenings for the energetic are
filled with entertainment, danc-
ing and bar -hopping. That's
right, the Italian line never
misses a trick. If there is activity
there is a bar offering the best of
wines and mixed drinks at low
prices. Two dance bands, plus a
night club act that changes each
evening, provide entertainment.
Floating Hotel
I think the ship itself can best
be described assn moving resort
hotel—regimented, admittedly.
Plenty of activity ; .. good food . .
good entertainment ...good serv-
ice, all making for happy travel-
lers or even, at times, revellers,
but all told you can take or leave
to your own choosing the ship-
board activities.
. There is no doubt that soutllerni
^aculsi-would probably .be a 1?it
of a bore were it not for the is-
land -hopping and time ashore.
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THE ANGELINA LAURO Is an Italian cruise ship which
o sails out of Port Everglades, Florida, for one-week trips to
the Caribbean islands of Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and
Jamaica. The ship, which is 675 feet long and is 24,400 tons,
cop accommodate an average of 700 passengers each trip.
It has three swimming pools, huge dining rooms, a night
club and Numerous bar facilities, but of course the main
feature enjoyed by all is the sun -drenched decks and balmy
breezes of the southern seas.
Island Stops
In the case of the Angelina,
there were three stops during the
week, and 'other cruise ships
operate in a similar way, stop-
ping at different ports of call, de-
pending on the length of the
cruise. The Angelina's first stop
was at San Juan, Puerto Rico, on
Monday afternoon.
San Juan is quite a large city
and is a mixture of rich and poor.
Along the ocean there are dozens
of resort hotels, apartment build-
ings and condominiums. In the
centre of • the city is a business
district comparable to that of
mainland cities. Beyond are the
slum areas and about all that can
be said for those who live there is
that it may be slightly better to be
in poverty and warm than under
similar circumstances and be
cold. Poverty is poverty, wher-
ever it is found and it is never
pretty.
Our stay in San Juan, the
capital of Puerto Rico, was brief.
It was very hot, and the city,
whileit does have many beautiful
buildings, tends to be dirty and
highly commercialized. We ,,did
not have time to go to the rain-
forests inland which are in the
mountains about 40 miles from
the coast. Those who have been
there describe the trip as worth-
while.
San Juan is steeped in history
and there are many points of in-
terest in the old city. The old fort,
El Morro, guarding the harbor
entce, dates back to the days
of Sir Francis Drake and is well-
preserved and maintained. In the
old city is the second oldest
church in the western hemis-
phere. A Roman Catholic cathe-
dral, which is open to the public,
has an ornate, gilded altar that
rises perhaps 30 feet in the sanc-
tuary.
Puerto Rican beaches are
beautiful, although we saw them
only in the distance. The island
has a reputation for being a
vacation resort and the new city
of San Juan is the night -life
centre of the Caribbean. The old
and new cities provide a contrast
in architecture, from the centu-
ries-old cobble stones of the
streets that were shipped from
Spain to the spanking -new high
rises which rim the ocean front in
the new area.
St. Thomas
The boat left about 2:00 a,m.
and the next morning we awoke
9s she was coming into the
harbour at Charlotte Amalie on
the U.S. Virgin Island of St.
Thomas, and a most beautiful
landfall it was. There had been a
light rain and the colors were
muted, but the harbour was
beautiful.
Once ashore on St. Thomas we
joined a tour bus that took us
across the island, which is; made
up of large, Lumpy hills, to the far
side where we boarded launches
and were taken to St. John Island,
a few miles away. Again we were
loaded onto small open-air buses
and taken -to a national park—
trunk Beach.
This; to my mind, was the high-
light of our whole cruise. Trunk
Beach is a jewel: From the hills
above it is right out of the Nation-
al Geographic and indeed has
been described by that publica-
tion as one of the 10 most beauti-
ful beaches in the world. It is
small, perhaps a mile long, and
its glimmering, white coral sand
rims an aquamarine sea; so blue
it is unbelievable.
Then came the swim in the
warm surf which tumbles you
about as the waves break and run
back to the sea. The tour people
also provide snorkelling equip-
ment and those who enjoyed this
pleasure claimed the coral bot-
tom and tropical fish provided an
experience in itself. I now wish
I'd had the nerve to have a go at it
myself.
Charlotte Amalie was touted by
the tour director on the ship as
the place to shop. It is good, but
for the most part just as
expensive as any other place in
the south With' perhaps the ex-
ception of liquor, but then you
can't bring sack a boat -load of
booze on a plane, so the ad-
vantage is lost. However, the gals
on the trip did have a good deal of
pleasure looking over the island's
shopping centre.
On to Jamaica
It was back to the boat and on
to Montego Bay, Jamaica where
we arrived Thursday. Another
tour had been arranged and the
first stop was the famous straw
market where several dozen
small shops are located in an old
shed, but each has its interesting
collection of hand-crafted ar-
ticles, many decorated with
colorful embroidered designs and
pictures. .Outside the children
were chasing the ever-present
goats which seem to be about
wherever you look. Our driver
then took us sight-seeing around
the city which, as in San Juan,
has its expensive resort hotels
and its hovels for the poor, ap-
parently the paradox of ' the
Caribbean way of life.
At one point our driver paused
while we visited a beautiful motel
zomplex, high above the city,
overlooking the harbour Which,
at that time, had four or five
cruise ships lying at anchor. A
most beautiful sight It was! The
blue of the sea, backdropped by
misty hills and highlighted by
white beaches. A place I would
like to revisit someday add ex-
plore the hills and shores.
Rose Hall, some miles from the
city, was on the tour and provided
an interesting hour. The hall is an
.old plantation home at which,
legend has it, the young bride of
the owner, who had been trained
in voodoo on another island,
eventually murdered . het" "fit
and three succeeding1iusb i'fds,
as well as several boy friends,
before she herself died at the age
of 29. The hall was burned ,,by
slaves but its thick stone walls
survived and the building has
been restored to its original
splendour. rt is refurnished with
•
some- of the finest 17th and 18th
century antiques I have ever
seen: The plantation has been
purchased for development and
will eventually be built up with
large homes, condominiums and
apartments as retirement or
vacation establishments.
Our pause in Montego was also
highlighted by.a calypso program
which had been arranged for the
benefit of the ship's passengers.at
a pretty seaside restaurant. It
was a magnificent performance
by people who are as skilled as
ballet dancers.
Again it was back to . the boat
for a five o'clock sailing and.
another day on. the waters
heading back to home port.
While our trip was on the
Angelina Lauro, we were Meta
to
admire quite a few other vessels
which we met in the course of the
2,500 miles of cruising. The
Michaelhngelo, another Italian
ship, was the largest • and a ,
beauty. We also saw the Russian
cruise ship, the Maxim . Gorky,
one I'm sure would be Most
interesting to board. We saw two
Norwegian line vessels, the Sky-
ward and the Southward, both
new and of modern design: We
saw the Brittanis, anolder ship,
but one which we hear, like the
Angelina, offers good service and
good food. There were others and
all, no doubt, have their .private
charm and character as did the
Angellria Laura
- -Hopefully, someday I'11'4 able
to. convince my wife that we
should do a repeat, perhaps on a
different ship to different ports,
but it is certain that if we. do, it
will be no more memorable to us
than our week aboard the
Angelina Lauro.
SHIPBOARD SWIMMING and sunning are two of the enjoyable activities during a cruise
in the sun. Passengers are shown enjoying both in this picture of the Angelina Lauro's
outdoor pool which is filled every day with fresh sea water.
THE GREAT HOUSE of the Rose Hall Plantation at Montego Bay, Jamaica is an. inter-
esting tourist attraction with a bizarre history of murder and slavery. Today it is a
museum of fine antiques surrounded by lush countryside that was once a sugar plantation
and will become an estate -type housing development.