Nostalgia

This time of year - July - I recall my first ocean cruise - the year was 1956. I approached it with a mixture of excitement and trepidation as that was the month and year the ANDREA DORIA went down after a collision with the STOCKHOLM off Nantucket. My seaworthy home for a week was the old S.S. NASSAU (pictured above) of the Incres Nassau Line - Italian flag - Genoese crew - with stops in Nassau in the Bahamas and Havana, Cuba.  At the Nassau dock the little boys were diving for quarters with the strains of calypso in the air.  The town had a distinct British flavor. Havana back then was so different. This was several years before Castro came down from the mountains and the dictator Batista was still in charge as viewers of the "Godfather" series will recall. There was the contrast of poverty and luxury. The ordinary folks had their lottery and cock fights to keep them occupied and the plush casinos entertained the wealthy and the tourists. The night life was exotic. All that changed abruptly by 1959.  And the good ship NASSAU brought us home with the ship's band playing their theme "Arrivederci Roma" every afternoon at tea.
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