The Union-Castle Line S.S. “Kenya Castle” 17,041 Tons, Union-Castle Line to South and East Africa
I would have loved to ravel from Mombasa to the U.K., but no, it was not an option in 1968. Our return to the U.K. was paid for by external sources and had to be by air.
In Wikipedia there is a long list of the Union-Castle ships. The “Kenya Castle” was built in 1951. In 1967 it was sold to Greece and renamed the “Americanis”.. The Union-Castle line continued operations until 1977. Changes in shipping operations and the shift to air travel spelt the end to this “romantic” type of travel. The shift for passenger travel meant holiday cruises. And for cargo, container ships became the mode.
In 1972 we were posted to St. Lucia in the Caribbean West Indies. At that time there were the banana boats traveling between St. Lucia and the U.K. Alas, even if our employer would have agreed to such means of travel, we had 3 very young children and I could have nightmares at the thought of them running wild on a ship. Furthermore, my husband would have vetoed the idea. In subsequent years iit finally dawned on me that he wouldn’t voluntarily travel by ship at all.
Janet's Thread 2 