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Hotelman Cantor had a dream.
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by James C. G. Conniff
'oes a $50 fare to burope sound like a pipe
dream? It isn't Twin 90,000-ton super
liners, the SS Peace and SS Good Will, are so
close to reality that the energetic, far sighted New
York hotelman who fathered the idea will sign a
contract shortly for laying their keels.
So, with 6,000 other Americans on a one-way,
four-day passage, you could figure on going to
Europe for the price of a clutch job on your car.
What's more, you will enjoy the same spaciousness
as today's luxury liners, with more comforts thrown
in than even our finest motels offer.
Motels, in fact, along with other low-cost accom
modations for the go-minded American public, are
what got H. B. Cantor started in his campaign to
beat down the doors of transatlantic travel tradition
and throw open the scenery, culture, cooking, and
allure of the Continent to us all, instead of just the
wealthy for whom passenger ships have been de
signed up to now.
Cantor is president of Carter Hotels, a New York
Boston area commercial chain catering to patrons
who want comfort at economy prices. His 35 years
of success in providing it made him wonder if the
same principle couldn't be applied with equal suc
cess to the "floating hotels" called ships.
"After all," he told me, "bus lines offer a cross
country fare of $69.50. You can fly coast-to-coast by
nonscheduled airliner for $88. By 1960 the jetliners
should cut operating costs 40 percent and lower fares
in proportion, though it will be a while before jets
hit commuter-fare levels. Right now you can go
from New York to London by conventional airplane
for $360 round trip. But you can't go by even the
cheapest ship for anything like that"
To remedy the huge gap in low-cost ocean travel,
Cantor decided we needed a "cafeteria ship." It
would have to be big enough to carry thousands of
people without cramping, yet so fast that volume
traffic would permit the operators to transport them
for $50 each. The 83,673-ton Queen Elizabeth, Cantor
knew, has a passenger capacity of 2,233, with one
way fare many times $50. His "cafeteria ship" would
have to do much better than-that and still stay
within physical limits of port facilities on both sides
of the water. Was it possible?
Vladimir Yourkevitch, designer of the Normandie,
said it was. When he had listened to Cantor's idea
When two mammoth
6,000-passenger steamships
are completed, almost anyone
will be able to afford
a transatlantic vacation.
C
Superliners will serve food in mammoth cafeteria
AH passengers may use superliners' lounge areas. Prefabricated staterooms will cut costs considerabl
for a superliner, he liked it so well he recommended
construction of ttoo superliners. Why? Because with
that much space and speed on two ships you could
operate a two-way shuttle across the Atlantic and,
by offering departures every four days, guarantee
both volume traffic and the $50 fare that would be
necessary to attract it
Cantor was delighted. The endorsement of one of
the world's leading naval architects meant that his
idea was much more than a dream. Eager for de
tails, he learned from Yourkevitch that a vessel to
do the job would need to be 90,000 gross tons (almost
7,000 tons heavier than the Queen Elizabeth) . It
would be 1,152 feet long, against the Elizabeth's 1,031
and our United States' 917.
By Yourkevitch's estimate, each superliner will
develop 300,000 horsepower for a top speed of 34
knots and a cruising speed of 30. By comparison,
some aircraft carriers can turn up as much as
200,000 horsepower.
Passenger capacity? To meet Cantor's require
ments of safety, comfort, and dollar return, Yourke
vitch worked things out so that 6,000 passengers
can be accommodated with ease on each ship. A
crew of 1,350 will see to their wants. .
Though elimination of "luxury frills," which he is
convinced most people don't want and can't afford,
is a prime concern with Cantor, he will nonetheless
air-condition both ships and equip each cabin w'tn
individual controls. In addition, every one of the
presently projected 2,750 cabins on each ship wul
have its own 21-inch TV set
12 Family Weekly, November X, t9iS