What cruising was like in the 1950s
In the 1950s, P&O concentrated on building six new liners, acquired seven more and commissioned P&O’s first fleet of tankers.
It was a decade of change for the cruise line who faced competition in the form of newly independent nations, growth in travel and mail by air. A year-long crisis in Suez closed the Canal with tragic effects on shipping.
There were also opportunities that saw P&O re-enter the emigration trade. When cruising resumed in 1950, numbers of tourist class passengers increased.
“Your board takes the view that the world will continue to need ships as far ahead as any of us can see. Nothing has taken the place of sea transport as the most economical form of transport for general world trade,” said P&O chairman Sir William Crawford Currie in 1954.P&O Chairman, 1954
P&O amassed 54,000 employees worldwide and with a network of shipping interests, the cruise line was well positioned to compete in the new post-war market.