Ocean travel used to be a luxurious affair.
If you could afford the upper decks, that is.
Ships were built with painstaking attention to detail, and meant to resemble the finest hotels on dry land.
You'd even get a maid to help you unpack.
The architecture was stunning.
You could barely tell that you were in the middle of the ocean.
Opulence was key.
Before airplanes became commonplace, traveling by ship was the only way to cover long distances.
People would spend entire months on ships (like Greta Garbo and Mauritz Stiller, pictured here traveling from Europe to the US in 1925).
So it's no surprise that ships had gyms...
...no matter how quaint these may seem today.
When locked up for so long, people needed the opportunity to move.
How stunning is this pool? It even has a little fountain.
It's like an ancient Roman spa.
Pre internet and smartphones, people came up with all sorts of ways to pass the time.
They played this weird game with rings...
...engaged in a round of tug of war...
...and set up boxing matches.
To pass the time even further, dinners were long, drawn out events.
And dining halls were fit for a king.
They had detailed murals...
...incredible skylights...
...and intricate carvings.
They almost looked more like opera houses than cruise ship cafeterias.
Accordingly, people got really dressed up.
Of course, everyone drank a lot too (because what else was there to do?).
They do say champagne is good for seasickness.
There was dancing...
... and live music.
But mostly there was a whole lot of lounging around.
Be it on the decks...
... in elegant lounge areas ...
...or in cozy reading rooms.
Despite being in the middle of the ocean, cruise ships offered all the amenities of the mainland.
Passengers could call home...
...get their laundry done...
...and even pick up prescriptions at the onboard pharmacy.
Kids could be pawned off in the (somewhat terrifying) playrooms.
Bedrooms were cozy.
But surprisingly spacious.
Single beds were the norm, even for married couples.
Even the less expensive rooms were nice.
Back then, cruise ships were more than just floating malls.
Celebs like Mae West were regulars.
And Cary Grant...
...Jackie O...
...Elizabeth Taylor...
...and Ginger Rogers.
Maybe ocean travel is the reason there's the old adage of the journey being the destination.
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