Munsey's Magazine, June 1914

Munsey's Magazine, June 1914, Vol. LIII

Frank A. Munsey's "Giant Liners of the North Atlantic" is a substantial feature article comparing modern ocean vessels to grand hotels. Munsey details the daily rhythms of transatlantic travel—morning saltwater baths, deck constitutionals, midday lunch and the posting of the ship's run, afternoon recreation, and formal dinners followed by smoking room auctions and evening entertainment. He examines Atlantic liners' superior ventilation systems compared to shore hotels, their superior amenities (lounges, libraries, palm gardens, swimming pools), and the psychological transformation passengers undergo at sea. The article includes a historical survey of steamship development from the ill-fated Great Eastern (1859, 19,000 tons) through the Lucania and Campania, German vessels Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse and Deutschland, and concludes with the White Star Line's newer palace-hotel type vessels: Celtic, Cedric, Baltic, and Adriatic, culminating in the Olympic, which doubled the size of its predecessor.