Sitrmar Cruises TSS Fairsea & Fairwind of 1971 & 72

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With Reuben Goossens

Maritime Historian, Cruise‘n’Ship Reviewer, Author & Lecturer

Please Note: All ssmaritime and my other related ssmaritime sites are 100% non-commercial and privately owned sites. Be assured that I am NOT associated with any cruise or shipping companies or travel/cruise agencies or any other organisations! The author has been in the passenger shipping industry since May 1960 and is now semi-retired, but continues to write article on classic liners and cruise ships in order to better inform cruise and ship enthusiasts for their pleasure!

Page Two

Deck Plans as Built & Later

An Explanation:

I will commence with a very early, and thus a partial Deck Plan, revealing just three decks, although the ships had then passenger decks. The three decks shown below are; Europa, Ocean and Promenade Decks, these are the only decks that have public venues on them and thus of the most interest to us in relation to the images in Part Two on Page One.

I found it interesting, that on this 1972 produced Deck Plan and Sitmar did not use any names for their lounges, but rather used names such as “Grand Salon” when it was in fact named the “Seaward” or “Windward Lounge” on the Fairsea and Fairwind respectively. The same applied to the “Verandah Lounge” far aft on Promenade Deck, when it was in fact named the “South Pacific” and the “Caribbean Lounge” respectively on the said ships. It was much the same with other venues, where their actual names were not used, and I wonder why. Could be that Sitmar was still deciding regarding some of the names they had originally chosen, such as “Exotic Garden,” etc?

Yet, most who tend to know these wonderful ships well from their later days, there is no doubt, but when we look at the Promenade Deck, we can see how different the layout as they originally were. However, all that changed less than 13 years later.

Both ships were given a major refit in 1984 and believe me their interiors saw a major change, especially on Promenade Deck! In addition I have a copy of the very first cabin plan released after this refit for the 1985 cruise season and I am happy to also provide this down the page.

The famed tiered aft decks with their three pools, this was a well-used publicity photograph in brochures

The ten Decks on board were as follows; Sun, Lido, Ocean, Promenade, Monte Carlo, Acapulco, Riviera, Bahamas, Continental and D Deck.

Deck Plans & Brochures

Part One is rather exciting, for it shows a very rare pre-release Deck Plan of these fine ships from 1971. You will note that their public venues were not as yet named and some of their arrangements were still to be finalised. But this is a wonderful piece of history and it is also one of just a very few plans that actually show Lido and Sun Decks!

Part Two has a Deck Plan from one of my brochures dated 1973/74 and the public venues have now been named and of course the two ships have different names for each of the main Lounges!

Part Three reveals the Deck Plan after both ships had a comprehensive refit in 1984/85 and I will present the very first Deck plan that was released in a 1985, a brochure that also included Sitmar’s new cruise ship, the TSS Fairsky, which is featured on Page Three! But the Fairsea and the Fairwind’s public venues would remain much the same throughout their days with Princess Cruises as well as with P&O Holidays in Australia and the Dawn Princess that became the Albatros, although soft furnishings would change, etc! However, you will note that some additional cabins were added.

Part Four reveals a TSS Fair Princess (ex Fairsea) Deck Plan from the “1st.Edition” of the “P&O Fair Princess 2000 South Pacific Cruises” brochure, thus it was from the very last ever brochure of this superb ship, before she was sold to be refitted as a failed casino ship. During the refit they destroyed many of her delightful lounges and turned then into gambling venues, but the ship failed and remained laid up for years! You will note that on this Plan quite a few cabins had been removed on the two lower decks!

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--Part One--

This First Plan is from a pre release Brochure dated 1972

In order to view a full size version of the Deck Plan, click on the actual Deck Plan below and

a new but smaller image will open in a new page, then use the magnifier for the large image to open!

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The following brochure & Deck Plan is from a Fairwind Brochure dated 1973/74

June 27, 2014: Yesterday I went through one of my boxes of old brochures and I discovered the brochure you see hereunder. Amazingly I had forgotten that I even had it and it contained just what I was looking for one of the vey first deck plans that contained all the names of the actual lounges and other venues of both ships! Thus you can compare the plan above with this one and the one below, and discover the differences!

The front (right) and back cover (left) of the 1973/74 Caribbean cruise brochure

What a wonderful view of the Fairwind as she steams off towards another tropical destination

whilst her passengers enjoy the excellent service and her luxurious surroundings!

Image is from inside the brochure – part of the Author’s private collection

--Part Two--

The following Deck Plan is from a Brochure dated 1973/74

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--Part Three--

The following Deck Plan is from a Brochure dated 1985

The TSS Fairwind is seen at one of her delightful Caribbean Island hideaways were she has to use her tenders

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--Part Four--

The following Deck Plan is from a P&O Holiday’s Brochure dated 2000

P&O Holiday’s Australia TSS Fair Princess arriving in port

Below we see the final deck plan of the Fair Princess before she was sold to the Asian’s to become a Casino ship, where many of her lounges were ripped out to operate as gambling saloons, although they were hardly ever used as there were never more that twenty passengers onboard!

Although little had changed, you will note that a good number of cabins had been removed from Continental (Gala) and Bahamas (Fiesta) decks as she operated with a maximum of 1050 passengers using all berth, although, she usually sailed with 75 tom 89% on a twin bedded basis!

The card room starboard aft and the writing room portside forward became shopping opportunities. The writing room became the Photo Gallery, and the full length of Bond Street was now a shopping gallery right up to South Seas Lounge, with the Boutique (ex card room) just aft of it as well as the Pizzeria on the portside, but its was now only accessible from the exterior of the Promenade deck.

In spite of her ongoing mechanical problems, she remained popular with cruise passengers for she was the last link with the genuine days of classic style ocean travel, which modern ships simply do not provide and once she departed our shores, ship lovers wept, for a real ship had gone forever!

Remembering Two Magnificent and Genuine Classic Cruise Ships, the …

TSS Fairsea & Fairwind, Both have now Sadly Gone, but Not Forgotten!

Later; TSS Fair Princess, China Sea Discovery and the TSS Dawn Princess, Albatros

Please Note: I am most grateful to Don Leavitt of www.nautiques.net who is without a doubt one of the best Maritime memorabilia suppliers in the World by FAR. I have been dealing with Don for a very long time and he has always been so very helpful in locating in just what I am looking for, as he did for this special project, which is obviously one of one of my most loved ones! The best thing I have found, that prices have always been excellent and certainly better shopping with Nautiques than wasting my time with E-Bay! Email Don at dml@nautiques.net.

Sitmar Cruises INDEX:

Page One … The Ships History - From Liners to Cruise Ships!

Page Two … Deck Plans - 1972, 1973/74, 1985 & 2000.

Page Three … Brochures, Photographs, & Other Items.

Page Three B … Sitmar Cruises Final Brochure for 1989, but these cruises never eventuated.

Page Four … Sitmar Memorabilia and Menus.

Page Five … Other Sitmar Cruises Ships to 1988.

Page Six … MV Arcadia, launched as Sitmar FairMajesty

. with a 1998 Author’s Photo Album!

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This notice covers all pages, although, and I have done my best to ensure that all photographs are duly credited and that this notice is displaced on each page, that is, when a page is updated!