The Sanitation of a Modern Ocean Liner
By Herbert M. Lome
A COUPLE of generations ago, sanitary conditions on shipboard were either of the crudest or did not exist at all. In the days of the famous Yankee clippers, the crews of those and contemporaneous craft were absolutely without toilet conveniences.
The first-class passengers of the sailing "packets" of the 1840s and 1850s still later had no bathing facilities, and the so-called lavatories were as foul as they were inefficient. The unfortunate who had to journey in the steerages were even worse off; the filth and immodesty of the sanitary arrangements, if they could be so called, were indescribable.
Ship fever, a form of typhus that mainly afflicted immigrant ships, was one of the outcomes of this neglect of sanitary principles. Scurvy, the old-time scourge of seagoers, was due to an improper diet, lack of ventilation, foul water, bodily uncleanliness, and a total disregard for other matters relating to preserving health.
In the case of the comparatively short voyage between this country and Great Britain, outbreaks of sickness and contingent deaths were invariable in those days. The craft that plied between Australia and England always had a " buried-at-sea " list to report at the end of the outward voyage.
Even the sailors of the ships-of-war of the great powers suffered from this stupid neglect of sanitation, the disease mortality among the fleets that took part in the Crimean War, the Chinese War, and our Civil War being proof in point.
In this connection, reference may be made to the reports of a commission appointed by the British Government in 1869 to inquire into the continual diseases and deaths on transports employed to take soldiers to and from India. The reports state that the losses in question were clearly due to the scandalous neglect of the sanitation elements on the ships.
The RMS Olympic Arriving At New York City on Her Maiden Voyage, 21 June 1911. Modern Sanitation, December 1911. GGA Image ID # 21f6375f3a
Nowadays, the law pretty thoroughly looks after the crews and passengers of seagoing craft in a sanitary sense. But in addition to the requirements of such law, the companies that cater to that portion of the traveling public that patronizes ocean craft in place of railroads have discovered the advertising advantages that accrue from a system that includes the ingenuity, refinements, and luxuries of modern sanitary science.
The result is that the great liner of today lacks nothing that this science furnishes to the up-to-date mansion or hotel. Indeed, it possesses many things sanitary that are hardly to be found under one roof on land, as will presently be seen. That competition is the keynote of progress, and it is an axiom that is as trite as it is truthful.
The hygienic arrangements and appliances found on the rival lines of steamships of the first class, such as those that form the "ocean ferry" between New York and England, provide an impressive illustration of this.
The new Olympic of the White Star Line, which is just now the biggest craft afloat, is an excellent example of the trend of seagoing sanitation of the hour. The scheme of hygiene throughout is so elaborate and all-inclusive that it is difficult to know where to begin in order to describe it properly. Perhaps we had better start with that essential of health and existence—the ventilation of the ship.
The Ventilating Fans And Their Intakes On The Boat Deck. Modern Sanitation, December 1911. GGA Image ID # 21f643f114
One of the external features of the Olympics' construction that enlists the visitor's attention is the absence of the big, cowled funnels that are the rule on the upper deck of all other steamers. These cowls are to furnish fresh air to the interior of the craft. When the ship is in dock or at anchor, they are turned in the direction of the wind.
If the ship is in motion, its openings face the bow so that it may catch the air current created by the movement of the craft. They are all very well in their own way. Still, they have disadvantages, among these being that they are practically useless during a dead calm or while the ship is at its pier. With the Olympic, the cowls are replaced by electrically operated fans, sixty-four in actuate the fans are fitted with hand and automatic control so that the speed of a given fan may be in accord with the needs of that section of the ship that it supplies with air.
It is evident that a fan that has to force air via its trunk down to the lowest deck—some ninety feet below the boat deck—will require a higher rate of speed than one that serves only the upper decks.
Besides that, if all the fans were to be numbered, they would be "boxed in" on the boat deck—the uppermost deck. These fans vary from 3 to 20 inches in diameter in accordance with their purpose. Attached to groups of them are inlets—comparatively small cowled funnels—that supply them with air.
The air currents generated by the fans are conducted to the five ventilating sections into which the ship is divided and which include every portion of it using trunks, which are oblong tubes that vary in size from two feet to one foot-five inches at their broadest parts. Motors that run at the same speed would be apt to become "overloaded" or otherwise fail the requirements made on them.
As has been said, the trunks lead all over the ship, keeping the interior sweet and fresh regardless of outside temperature or local circumstances. In the staterooms, the air enters through a "hit or miss" ventilator placed in a convenient location. If the passenger finds his room too airy, he may shut off the supply altogether.
If the weather is frigid and the current too cool, he touches a little lever connected to the ventilator, and a portion of the incoming air is made to pass over steam-heated coils connected to the supply trunk. And if, in spite of all this, he continues to shiver, he may turn on the electric heater in the room.
This ventilation system also adds materially to the deck space by doing away with the old-time cumbersome cowls, which also means the sanitary advantage to the passenger that arises from the additional room to exercise. The sister ship of the RMS Olympic, which is the RMS Titanic, now nearing completion, will be ventilated in the manner just described, as will the SS Imperator of the Hamburg America Line, due in this country in the spring of 1912, and the gigantic Cunard steamer that is to eclipse anything afloat in point of size, the plans calling for a total length of 900 feet as against the 882 feet 6 inches of the Olympic.
In other words, the RMS Olympic has set the trend for a new and radical departure from ventilation afloat, which will probably be copied by all big passenger ships in the future.
"The RMS Olympic is the only ship in existence on which the occupant of a stateroom can make the temperature and the incidental ventilation suit his bodily idiosyncrasies," said one of the officers to the writer. "And when you reflect on the variety of nationalities included on the passenger list during the travel season, the advantage of the arrangement alluded to will be evident.
The wealthy Brazilian who is taking a trip to Europe will be shiveringly unhappy on the day that the robust Briton is walking the deck enjoying the crisp Atlantic breezes that are met with in midocean even in the middle of the summer.
So, the first will likely take refuge in his stateroom and become comfortable with the help of the hot-air current, the heater, or both. At the same time, the latter will revel in the pen and, when he does turn in, will see to it that he is getting his full quota of cool air from the 'hit-and-miss.' In the past, it has been hard to suit everybody in the matter of air and temperature, but this has been accomplished in the case of the RMS Olympic.
Then, all the state and other rooms, such as the verandas, libraries, parlors, palm and lounging rooms, are supplied with electric fans. These fans are portable, and cleats are placed around the rooms, allowing the former to be placed in convenient positions.
One Of The Automatic Ventilating Portholes. Modern Sanitation, December 1911. GGA Image ID # 21f649c8e9
The lavatories, water closets, galleys, pantries and so forth are ventilated by sucdon, the fans used for this purpose being of slightly greater capacity than the pressure fans. By this means the outtake is a trifle in excess of the speed of the intake, thus in-
suring the air being kept continuously fresh. The arrangement, too, affects the ship in general, new air being brought into it and foul air being removed simultaneously, thus insuring "live" ventilation of a constant sort.
The windows of the ship throughout are fitted with slide ventilators adjustable at the will of the occupants. In the case of the portholes, of which there are just x,000, those that light the lower decks are fitted with an ingenious ventilating device. When the ship heels so much that the porthole touches the water, the latter automatically closes the ventilating apertures of the former. But when the craft rights herself again, and the porthole emerges from the water, the apertures reopen; so that even in the stormiest weather, there is but slight interference with the ventilation that comes from the portholes.
The Swimming Pool On The RMS Olympic. Modern Sanitation, December 1911. GGA Image ID # 21f675cab3
The baths on the Olympic are many, varied and luxurious. There is a swimming bath on the starboard side of deck F, which is the fifth down from the uppermost deck of the liner. It is 34 feet in length, to in width and has an extreme depth of 5 feet, to inches.
The bath itself is tiled in white and the flooring and fittings are of white marble. Lockers and shower baths form a part of the equipment. Salt water is supplied, it being filtered before it reaches the bathers. By a combination of pumps and gravity, there is a constant flow of water when the bath is in use. A steam-coil attachment permits of the temperature of the water being raised when the occasion rises. The shower baths connected with the swimming bath have a fresh-water supply.
The Turkish bath rooms, which adjoin the swimming bath on the aft side of the companionway of the same deck, are notable by reason of their elaborate and luxurious appointments. Written descriptions can hardly do justice to the opulent splendor of some of them. For instance, the cooling room is decorated in the Arabian style of the seventeenth century. The portholes of the room are concealed by elaborately carved wooded Cairo "curtains," through which the light comes fitfully as if fraught with the mystery of the Orient.
A Combined Needle And Shower Bath. Observe the Space Given to the Bath Fixtures and the Artistic Nature of the Decorations. Modern Sanitation, December 1911. GGA Image ID # 21f69725d0
The walls, from dado to cornice, are tiled in panels of blue and green that are in turn surrounded by other tiles of a deeper, bolder hue. The ceiling and cornice are gilt, with intervening panels picked out in dull red. From the panels and frieze bronze Arab lamps are suspended. A warm-tinted teak is used for the dados and paneling that is in strong contrast with the gorgeous effect of the tiles. The stanchions, also cased in teak, are carved in Moorish patterns.
Over the door of the room is a semi-dome of teak carved in an Oriental design of low relief. Conveniences for the smoker are placed around the walls, interspersed with inlaid Damascus tables on which are served coffee, cigarettes or books and publications. On one side is a handsome drinking fountain of marble, framed with tiles.
Lounging chairs, lockers, footstools and so forth complete the charm and comfort of the room. Steam, temperate, hot and shampooing rooms and shower, needle and other baths are included in the scheme of the Turkish bath, all of which are in line with the completeness and luxury of the cooling room.
One of the adjuncts of the Turkish bath deserves a special mention, inasmuch as it is of a novel nature and has never been seen in this country prior to its arrival via the big liner. It is known as the "blade douche," according to the attendants, and its inventor is an Englishman. The picture of it that goes with this article needs but little explanation.
The bather lies on a slab of marble. From the ends of this slab and over him runs a pipe that, above, bears a number of faucets adjustable to any angle. The faucets have narrow, broadened mouths that throw a thin jet of water of a bladelike shape, the strength of the jet being dependable on the will of the bather.
The Blade-Douche Room - The Latest And Most Novel Form Of The Bath. Modern Sanitation, December 1911. GGA Image ID # 21f6b0e9f5
In addition to these there are other apparatus that give needle, spray or "bulb" effects. The "blade douche" can be directed on any portion of the body desired, and it is said to be as stimulating as it is pleasant. There are slight corrugations on the slab that are not seen in the picture that allow of the descending water readily passing away and so not causing discomfort to the bather.
Adjoining are two electric baths of modern type. Qualified operators are in attendance and the mechanism of the baths allows of a variety of currents being administered to the patrons.
Part II
ABOUT 50 percent of the first-class staterooms have private baths. Some of the second-class rooms are fitted in like fashion. The so-called "public baths" are as well equipped as are the private ones, the distinction being that the former are for the use of passengers in general and the latter for the individual only. Attendants cleanse a bath with disinfectants after its use. All the rooms are tiled in white and electric heaters are installed in each.
Also, there is an electric bell within reach of every bather. The baths themselves are full size and modern. The fittings are nickle-plated, and small luxuries in the shape of bath seats, rubber rugs, nozzled hose and the like have not been forgotten. The influx is rapid and the outlet the same. A fresh or salt, hot or cold-water supply can be obtained at will by turning switches at the side of the bath. In many cases a full-sized shower is found in the bath room.
The wash basins are spacious, deep, the open plumbing being nickel plated. There is a hot and cold supply of fresh water to each. The water closets and lavatories on the Olympic are arranged on the center line of the ship, which is contrary to the usual rule. But although this means a complication of the piping system of these offices, it also allows of a greater number of outside cabins than does the conventional plan. And as the liner is above all else a passenger carrier, the cause of the arrangement will be obvious.
The Beautiful Drying Room Of The Turkish Bath on the Olympic. Photo by Underwood & Underwood. Modern Sanitatation, December 1911. GGA Image ID # 21f6cf3ff1
The closets embody the latest hygienic principles. As has been said, the rooms themselves are fitted with air-suction trunks as well as ventilators and hence are kept free from odors or atmospheric impurities. Also they are well lit, lofty and tiled in white. Each closet has a time flush that runs for two minutes. Sea water is used for flushing purposes, it being furnished by a special supply tank that is situated on the boat deck.
In the majority of the first and second-cabin rooms there is an independent closet. The general closets do not differ in detail from the private ones. In the case of the former attendants come around three times daily with vacuum cleaners and cloths
dipped in an antiseptic solution.
The drinking and cooking water of the ship is carried in huge tanks on the lower deck, from whence it is pumped into the various sections. These tanks are emptied and refilled at the end of each voyage.
The Olympic has a distilling plant that is capable of delivering 120 tons of water daily, in compliance with the rules of the British Board of Trade, but the plant is not made use of as far as table purposes are concerned. As the reader probably knows, distilled water tastes flat, so much so indeed that to some palates it is unpleasant. Which explains why the Olympic patrons have water au naturel.
Before the water is served to the passengers it is filtered three times—once through a fiber filter and twice through Pasteur filters. So that it is purity itself when it is consumed. It is hardly necessary to add that the iced water of the ship is prepared by being passed through tubes cooled by the refrigerating plant and that it never touches ice.
One of the First-Class Public Baths. These Baths Have Hot and Cold, Fresh and Salt-Water Supplies. Photo by Underwood & Underwood. Modern Sanitation, January 1912. GGA Image ID # 21f6f9e001
The water used for cleansing purposes is fresh and is stored in different tanks to those that contain the potable water. Here, again, a new supply of water is obtained at the end of each voyage and it undergoes one filtration before being used.
The "housecleaning" of the ship is done with the help of pneumatic and vacuum machines. The motive power is electricity, and the machines themselves vary in size from the small ones that are used for staterooms to the ponderous contrivances swig' ing some tons that prevent the gathering of debris in the working parts of the liner.
And, by the way, the exquisite cleanliness that prevails on the Olympic is not only typical of that that obtains in the case of her big rivals, but is suggestive of the high place that sanitation holds in the economy of the modern liner.
As light has an important place in hygiene it will be in order to make reference to the methods by which it is supplied to the Olympic, such reference including both the natural and artificial kinds. In regard to the former then, there are rather over 2,000 windows and side lights on the liner, these ranging in size from the big palm-garden bay windows to the smallest portholes on the lowest deck.
A reference to the ventilating device that is attached to the latter, known as Utley's patent, has already been made in Part I. The staterooms on the upper decks have spacious windows—not portholes. In the first-class dining room are to be noted arrangements of four to six lights, each about m x 12 inches.
In the reception rooms are individual windows measuring 22 X 17 inches. The palm garden is lighted with a series of bay windows of liberal width and height.
In many of these windows a special glass that contains lenses and prisms is used, the light being much more diffused with its help than with ordinary glass. On the promenade deck there are big sliding windows that can be drawn when the weather becomes too cool or boisterous. The gymnasium on the boat deck has windows that are as big as one would find in a similar building on shore.
Chief Engineer Bell told the writer that there are over io,000 electric lamps on board
the liner, these ranging in size from 16 to ioo candle power. Tantalum loops are used in all cases. The stateroom lamps have two filaments, so as to allow of "dimming." In addition to the fixed light in the staterooms there is another and portable light that may be placed in practically any position desired with the assistance of convenient cleats fixed on the walls.
A First Class Water Closet. One of These Goes With A Stateroom In The Majority of Cases. Photo by Underwood & Underwood. Modern Sanitation, January 1912. GGA Image ID # 21f70d155d
The electric lighting of the dining room and reception rooms and the libraries and palm garden is as brilliant as it is artistic. The fixtures include designs in majolica, ormulu and Sevres, and range from Italian Renaissance to Louis Seize. It may be added that there are emergency lamps in the staterooms and passages that are connected with emergency dynamos, so that in the event of the original circuit giving out the ship would not be left in darkness.
The sanitation of the kitchens is as complete as is that of the ship in general. The help wear spotless white jumpers and overalls and keep their heads covered with the traditional cook's cap.
The writer can testify to the fact that one might literally eat off the floors as readily as he might off a table by reason of the immaculate cleanliness of the former. In spite of the fact that there are two ranges having a frontage of 96 feet and 19 ovens heated by coal, a good deal of the cooking is done by electricity.
The appliances include four silver grills, two huge roasters, steam ovens, steam stock pots, hot closets, bainmaries, and electrically actuated slicers, potato peelers, mincing, whisking, freezing and dough-mixing machines, to mention a few of them.
None of the bread used on the ship is touched by hand and the same remark applies to the bulk of the pastry. Special ventilating fans are placed in various parts of the kitchen for the benefit of the working force.
A steamship depends upon the heat generated in her bowels, so to speak, for her motion, her working and the well being of her passengers. This being so, the disagreeable effects of this heat must be offset by a sufficient system of refrigeration that shall preserve food and perishable cargo, cool those parts of the ship that are apt to get overheated and in other ways perform its duty in the total plan of sanitation.
On the Olympic the refrigerating plant, situated on the lower and orlop decks, is of elaborate design and high power. Without going into a detailed description of it, it may be said that it is of the usual brine type and that its two duplex engines have each two complete units capable of independent work, so that in the event of one breaking down the remaining efficiency of the plant would be sufficient for the uses of the ship.
The Gymnasium on the Olympic. Looking Aft, To The Right of the "Horse-Back" Apparatus. Note the Other Elaborate Athletic Contrivances. Photo by Underwood & Underwood. Modern Sanitation, January 1912. GGA Image ID # 21f74cbdcf
Adjoining the plant are compartments for perishable cargo, cold larders and apparatus for making ice and cooling drinking water. By a system of pipes, refrigerated air is led to pantries, the bar of the Café and so forth.
As sanitary conditions include facilities for exercise, it will be appropriate to conclude with a brief notice of such facilities as they are found on the Olympic. First, then, there is the gymnasium, situated, as already stated, on the boat deck. It is 44 feet in length, 18 feet wide, nearly 10 feet high, and is lit by eight windows of an exceptional size.
Also, it is fitted with a variety of elaborate apparatus, including the "horse-back," "camel-back," rowing machine, rings, trapeze, horizontal and parallel bars and more.
The squash and racket court is on the lower deck and is two decks high so as to afford players the necessary space. It is 30 feet long, 20 feet wide and has a gallery for spectators.
The deck space of the Olympic is of noble proportions and therefore allows of passengers "taking their walks abroad" while going abroad or coming home. The boat deck takes in the whole breadth of the ship, and is therefore much fancied by the athletic among the passengers for running, jumping and so forth, each exercise, however, being confined to the early morning when the bulk of seagoers are still in their staterooms.
The bridge deck, that comes next, is 400 feet in length and 13 in width. It is provided on either side with solid side screens fitted with big windows that can be raised or lowered in accordance with the state of the weather.
The Promenade Deck Of The Olympic. Modern Sanitation, January 1912. GGA Image ID # 21f7d7ef42
The main or promenade deck is 500 feet long and 30 feet wide. It is the most favored of all the decks by sitters or walkers.
The modern ocean liner is a marvel of human audacity and ingenuity. And no small portion of the latter has been expended, and rightly so, in meeting and solving those sanitary problems peculiar to the seaboard.
Modern Sanitation, December, 1911 vol. 8, No. 12 (Page 446-451) and January 1912 Vol. 9, No. 1 (Page 12-16) .
Review and Summary of "The Sanitation of a Modern Ocean Liner" (1911-1912)
This 1911-1912 article on ocean liner sanitation is a fascinating exploration of how shipboard hygiene, ventilation, and sanitation facilities evolved from the unsanitary conditions of 19th-century ships to the highly advanced and luxurious standards of early 20th-century transatlantic liners like the RMS Olympic.
For teachers, students, genealogists, historians, and maritime enthusiasts, this article serves as a case study in the intersection of technology, health, and class dynamics in ocean travel. It provides valuable insights into how ocean liners became floating cities with advanced ventilation systems, private and public baths, waste disposal solutions, and even luxurious gymnasiums and Turkish baths.
Relevance to Different Fields of Study
1. For Educators & Students: Industrial Progress and Public Health
📌 Key Themes: Maritime Engineering, Public Health Advancements, Class Divisions in Hygiene
This article is a prime resource for studying industrialization, technological innovation, and public health improvements in transportation. It highlights:
- The dramatic shift from disease-ridden immigrant and war transport ships of the 19th century to sanitary, well-ventilated luxury liners.
- The role of competition among shipping companies in improving ship sanitation to attract wealthier travelers.
- How ships like the RMS Olympic pioneered ventilation, water purification, and personal hygiene innovations, many of which became standard in modern travel.
🔎 Classroom Discussion Ideas:
- How did advancements in sanitation technology change the experience of ocean travel?
- Compare early 20th-century ocean liner hygiene to rail travel and hotels of the same era.
- How did social class impact access to sanitary facilities on ocean liners?
2. For Genealogists: Understanding Immigrant and Passenger Experiences
📌 Key Themes: Health and Sanitation for Immigrant Travel, Class-Based Hygiene Access
For those tracing family history through ship manifests and passenger lists, this article helps explain:
- How immigrants in steerage lived during transatlantic voyages, often without proper ventilation or sanitation.
- How first- and second-class passengers enjoyed private baths, filtered water, and controlled ventilation, while steerage passengers had far more limited access.
- Why ship health records and disease outbreaks were common in earlier travel, as poor sanitation could lead to outbreaks of typhus and scurvy.
📖 Genealogy Tip:
- If an ancestor traveled in steerage before the 20th century, their experience was vastly different from those aboard later ships like the Olympic or Titanic, which featured improved sanitation laws and medical oversight.
- Check shipboard health inspection records—some passengers were quarantined upon arrival due to concerns about infectious diseases from unsanitary conditions.
3. For Historians: Evolution of Maritime Hygiene and Engineering
📌 Key Themes: Innovations in Ventilation, Water Filtration, Waste Management on Ships
This article offers a detailed technical look at early 20th-century maritime sanitation, including:
- Advanced ventilation systems using electric fans instead of the outdated deck cowls, allowing for individual temperature control in cabins.
- Filtered water supply—the Olympic’s drinking water was purified three times, ensuring a level of sanitation far superior to many land-based systems.
- Onboard waste disposal and plumbing innovations, including state-of-the-art flushing water closets and advanced vacuum-powered sanitation for galleys, lavatories, and crew areas.
📖 Historical Research Tip:
- Compare these advancements with earlier ship sanitation failures, such as disease outbreaks on 19th-century immigrant ships and naval transports.
- Research the role of British and American health regulations in improving shipboard sanitation and reducing disease transmission across oceans.
Most Interesting and Unique Content in the Article
1. The RMS Olympic’s Revolutionary Ventilation System
🌬 Why It’s Interesting:
- Unlike older ships, which relied on fixed cowled funnels to capture fresh air, the Olympic used 64 electrically operated fans to maintain ventilation throughout the vessel.
- Passengers could adjust their own room temperature via a system that combined heated air, cold air, and electric heaters.
- The automatic ventilating portholes allowed for fresh air even in rough seas—when submerged, they closed automatically.
📖 Why It’s Useful:
- Shows how engineering and sanitation were linked to passenger comfort in ocean liner design.
- Demonstrates early forms of climate control technology, an ancestor of modern HVAC systems.
2. The Luxurious Turkish and Electric Baths
🛁 Why It’s Interesting:
- The Olympic’s Turkish baths were designed with exotic Arabian décor, including carved teak, colored tiles, and bronze lamps.
- The "blade douche" bath, an advanced hydrotherapy system that directed powerful water jets onto specific body areas, was a cutting-edge medical and luxury feature.
- The electric-light bath, available for first-class passengers, was an early form of light therapy for relaxation and health benefits.
📖 Why It’s Useful:
- Reflects the rise of luxury wellness and spa treatments on early 20th-century ocean liners.
- Shows how ocean liners were not just for transportation but became floating hotels and resorts.
3. The Olympic’s Extensive Waste and Water Management System
🚰 Why It’s Interesting:
- Freshwater for drinking was filtered three times, ensuring better sanitation than many urban water supplies at the time.
- Separate tanks for drinking water and cleaning water prevented contamination.
- A massive refrigeration system preserved food and perishable cargo, crucial for long voyages.
📖 Why It’s Useful:
- Highlights the maritime advancements that made long ocean crossings more comfortable and disease-free.
- Provides insight into how the shipping industry influenced sanitation innovations later adopted in hotels and rail travel.
Final Thoughts: A Masterpiece of Hygiene and Engineering at Sea
This 1911-1912 article on ocean liner sanitation is a rich historical document that reveals the dramatic transformation of shipboard hygiene from the disease-ridden ships of the past to the technological marvels of the early 20th century.
✔ For educators, it is an excellent resource for studying industrial and public health advancements.
✔ For genealogists, it provides crucial context on the sanitation conditions immigrants endured.
✔ For historians, it showcases early engineering solutions for water purification, ventilation, and waste disposal.
✔ For maritime enthusiasts, it paints a vivid picture of how ocean liners became floating cities with hotel-like amenities.
Ultimately, the RMS Olympic set new standards in maritime sanitation, creating a golden age of ocean travel that lasted until the rise of air travel. This article is a must-read for anyone interested in maritime history and the evolution of hygiene and engineering at sea.
