SS "LEONARDO DA VINCI" a remarkable liner with a short career
CRISTOFORO COLOMBO, one of the nicest ships ever built
This post is dedicated to all the Italian followers of this blog. This past week saw an unprecedented number of pageviews from Italy, I was really pleased to notice that the post "WILLEM RUYS BECOMES ACHILLE LAURO" is the most popular post of this blog, leading by far all the posts related to the COSTA CONCORDIA's tragedy, so despite the relevance of the tragic events which obviously dominated the news not just in Italy but around the world, there is an obvious interest on Italian passenger liners and this is reassuring for me, I do believe that the most beautiful liners came out of Italy, this is why I have chosen CRISTOFORO COLOMBO for many the most elegant liner ever built as a testimony of appreciation to the great nation that Italy was and still is as far as shipping and ship building is concerned, so thank you to all my Italian followers, I will endeavour to carry on with the best possible work on this blog. Postcards of my collection
From what I have read she also had a very high fuel consumption, which undoubtedly had a negative effect on her performance both as a cruise ship and as a liner.
ReplyDeleteHi Kalle
ReplyDeletethanks for your comment, yes very true, these 50's and 60's liners propelled by steam turbines had an extremely high comsumption, to be later converted as cruise ships many saw their engine rooms cut in half, like FRANCE, propellers changed, CANBERRA,QE2 saw a radical change, LEONARDO unfortunately was left as original, so never really profitable, also on short cruises, turbines are too expensive, too many manoeuvres, they don't feel comfortable, they were conceived for long distance voyages, so that they could keep stable, learn that on the GUGLIELMO MARCONI's engine room in 1976, also apparently many of leonardo's cabins were left untouched so therefore never used, shame, she had a very short active life, deserved better luck
all the best
Vitor
My family traveled from Genoa, Italy to NYC in 1962 aboard the Leonardo. 9 days at open sea. What an incredible experience! Great memories. Fabulous crew, food, on-board options and I think 5 swimming pools! She was quite the luxury at that time!
DeleteHello
ReplyDeleteFrom the published information on Da Vinci, Ansaldo threw her together. Apparently they stretched the Doria/Columbo hull by 100 feet. This increased her weight. It also altered the optimum hull form, increasing draft causing the engines to work harder propelling the ship forward. Increased work, increased fuel consumption. The engineers and builders of Da Vinci did lots of things wrong. Italia could have prevented design flaws had management understood the problems. They redeemed themselves with the super liners M & R but face it, Italia was not too swift managing these ships either.
As I recall, there were some stability problems with Da Vinci initially and there was a lot of Pig iron put into the lower areas of the hull, increasing her weight and fuel Consumption. Renovating any of the Italians would have been a costly endeavor, and I dont think Italia had the same kind of money that Kloster did to do Norway.
DeleteSailed on the Leonardo di Vinci in August 1978. We sailed from Miami to the Bahamas. It was my honeymoon. I am assuming this is the same liner. Truly enjoyed the liner and the service.
ReplyDeletehello...after reading your article, I just want to correct a date. I came to the u.s. in 1969 with the beautiful ship DaVinci...therefore it was not kept for voyages till 1965 as you state in your article. It was years after 1969.
ReplyDeleteAlso want to add, I was on the Leonardo da Vinci in June, 1967 from NYC to Naples. We stopped in Madeira and Palermo before docking in Naples, I think it was a ten day trip. Just fabulous.I was a schoolteacher checking out sites in Italy where I could teach forthe US government for a couple of years. I was with my parents and we were visiting family in Corato, Bari
DeleteOn July 20, 1967 I was nine and my family sailed First Class on the LdV from Pier 90 in NYC to Lisboa, Gibraltar, Palma de Mallorca, Genoa, Palermo and disembarked in Napoli. Our 1965 Oldsmobile Jetstar 88 was loaded into the hold and pulled out in Naples for us to drive to Den Haag. I can remember like it was yesterday....as we pulled away from the per (streamers and all) the First Class band played "I could have danced all night" and "Arrivederci Roma" What a privilege to experience what it was like as the "Golden Age of Transatlantic Crossing" was just about to end.
ReplyDeleteMy family did similar trips. Once in 69 and once in 72. We got off in Genoa both times. We went in Tourist class if I remember correctly. I also remember the streamers and party as we left NYC.
DeleteI don't remember stopping in Gibraltar, but do remember stopping in Lisbon and Palama de Mallorca. I think on one of the trips we stopped in Malaga, Spain.
I don't remember which leg/trip, but we also sailed on the SS Columbo as well.
I came to the U.S. on 11.29.62 on this ship and would like to know if there is anyone out there who came on the same voyage. I'd like to know where we disembarked in N.Y. and if there is a manifest somewhere. I'm trying to locate two friends that I made on this ship, an Italian and a French Canadian.
ReplyDeleteMy bride and I sailed on the Leonardo leaving New York July 10 1962 for Naples with a stop in Gibraltar. We were on our honeymoon and are still together 53 years later. We have wonderful memories of that voyage. I wish I could find a passenger list but no luck so far.
ReplyDeleteIn 1975 I took the Leonardo home after a year abroad studying in Rome with several of my classmates, student rate. It was cheaper than flying. We boarded in Naples, with stops in Genoa, Barcelona, Gibraltar, and Lisbon. I want to say it was a 12 or 14 day trip. As we were students, we were given cramped rooms below decks, but others got first class suites.A roommate was given to three of my female friends. She was obviously mentally unstable and disappeared one night after departing Lisbon. It was assumed she jumped overboard, which was concluded at an inquest. The actor Donald Sutherland was aboard and frequently dined with us. My first taste of brains, served at the midnight buffet.
ReplyDeleteI remember. many times accompany my maternal grandfather (Nonno) to the Italian Lines on the west side of NYC for passage aboard the Leonardo da Vinci, Cristoforo Colombo, and the Michelangelo during the early 1960s. Magnificent cruise ships of their day, I recall very ornate like the Titanic. Great era for travel👍🛳
ReplyDeleteMy family and I arrived America in the port of NY on the magnificent Leonardo DaVinci in 1965…a most amazing trip on a most amazing ship…the end of an era.
ReplyDeleteI was on the last voyage before dry docking Leonardo. We didn’t know it was the last time to b used as a wonderful cruise till we got back to Port Canaveral. There was damage to a lot of dinning rooms and had go up an down then back up stairs to dine loved it! Good memories
ReplyDeleteWONDERFUL
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