Jillian Chantal

Did any of you have any doubt that this marvelous ship would be the subject of this Friday Fact?  As I prepare this post, last week at the same time, I was on this beauty. AND I’m not exaggerating the sheer beauty of her at all. Check her out if you ever get the chance.

Here are a few tidbits I learned while aboard:

(1) Cary Grant loved the ship so much that he tried to plan his trips to London to coincide with her schedule so he could travel on her. He even proposed to one of his wives onboard.

(2) It took five days for the ship to go from New York Harbor to Southampton.

(3) on a one-way trip, they would carry 25,000 lbs of fresh meat, 20,000 lbs of fresh vegetables, 5,000 lbs of butter/lard, and 50,000 (yes, 50,000) bottles of wine, liquor and mineral water.

(4) Her maiden voyage was May 27, 1936.

(5) She served as a troop ship in WWII and Churchill was aboard to plan the D-Day invasion. It was a big secret when he was aboard as there were death threats against him. When she was a troop ship, she was called the Grey Ghost as she was painted grey and could slip quickly past in the fog.

(6) After WWII, she brought nearly 15,000 war brides and children to the United States and Canada.

(7) She became a luxury liner again in July 1947.  She was sold in 1967 to the City of Long Beach, California as the Cunard/White Star line was losing money due to the  popularity of air travel.