Prior to air travel, cruises used to be one of the more popular ways to travel abroad, especially in the 1920s and 1930s. Launched in 1930, the Royal Mail Ship (R.M.S.) Empress of Britain took around-the-world tours to a whole new level. In the 1930s, the most luxurious world tour package allowed passengers to spend more than 4 months on the world cruise, visiting up to 81 ports and places in 23 countries with shore excursions. On their journeys, photographs were taken of scenery and people at each destination visited. Each guest was presented a personalized album as a souvenir at the end of the tour. This is the origin of the Empress of Britain World Cruise Album, a valuable historical record of this journey consisting of 137 photographs that form part of the Chung Collection, one of the largest research collections on the Canadian Pacific Railway Company.
Let’s revisit some of their favourite destinations on a virtual world tour.
Fares and itinerary
According to the Empress of Britain World Cruise Fares 1931-1932, the guests would spend their “Christmas in the Holy land”, “New Year’s Eve in Cairo” and enjoy “a comprehensive program of shore excursions”. Fares starting from $2,000, guests could select their rooms on Deck A-E and the Sports Deck according to their preferences. The more extravagant suites that came with a reception hall, a sitting room, a bedroom, a bathroom, a sunroom, and a baggage room would cost up to $26,000 (per suite for 2 persons). The cruise also accommodated servants accompanying employers at a rate of $1,570 per head. Servants would be berthed and served with meals in special accommodation set apart for their use.
Empress of Britain World Cruise Fares 1931-1932
Empress of Britain World Cruise Itinerary 1931-1932
Empress of Britain World Cruise Schedule of Fares 1931-1932
Empress of Britain’s Deck Plan, 1931
Welcome on board: Selected destinations of the World Tour
Empress of Britain, 1939
In addition to a wide range of on-board amenities and entertainment activities, the most exciting feature of the world tour cruise were the shore excursions. These adventures would take travelers to popular sight-seeing spots to experience local customs and cultural traditions. Many of these locations have remained well-known tourist destinations today, some of which are captured in the photos below:
The Bund, Shanghai, China
The Great Wall, Beijing (Peiping/Peking), China
Victoria Harbour, Kowloon, British Hong Kong
Mount Fuji, Japan
Manila, Philippines
Penang, British Malaya
Taj Mahal, Agra, India
Tiber River and St. Peter’s Cathedral, Italy
Parthenon, Athens
Promenade des Anglais, Nice, France
We hope you enjoyed reading this blog post. The full collection can be found in the Empress of Britain World Cruise Album (1930) and the Chung Collection. Bon voyage!
