Canadian Railroads > The CP MultiMark still lives, on Carnival Cruise

Carnival Cruise is introducing its newest ship, the Mardi Gras for cruises in 2021.  As with most Carnival ships, it retains a version of the Canadian Pacific MultiMark of red, white, and blue on its stack.   The initial Carnival ship was also named Mardi Gras, and was the former Canadian Pacific liner Empress of Canada.  That ship was a regular on the Canada to Liverpool trans-Atlantic run for many years.


https://www.carnival.com/cruise-ships/mardi-gras.aspx#meet-mardi-gras

Kind of a stretch, at least from my point of view, to call that the old multimark.

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
The initial Carnival ship was
> also named Mardi Gras, and was the former Canadian
> Pacific liner Empress of Canada.  That ship was a
> regular on the Canada to Liverpool trans-Atlantic
> run for many years.

From - http://www.liverpoolships.org/empress_of_canada_loss_by_fire.html

The Empress started her life as the Duchess of Richmond, built 1928 for Canadian Pacific Steamships by John Brown & Company of Clydebank, Scotland and served (among other things) as a troop carrier during WWII.  In 1946-47 she was overhauled, refitted to resume passenger service and renamed the Empress of Canada.  On 25 January 1953 while tied up at the Gladstone Dock in Liverpool, England she caught fire and was destroyed.  The following year the burned-out hulk was towed to Italy for scrapping.

A photo of (from left to right) my aunt, my dad (10 years old), my uncle and an unknown woman enroute from Liverpool to Montreal, 31 October 1930.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 11/02/20 13:14 by Nscaler.

---

Carnival may be trying, in naming this ship Mardi Gras, to return to its earliest days but there is no way it can escape the current travel and health environment. The cruise business will be dead for the next several years:-(

WP17

It was the 1960 Empress of Canada that was sold to Carnival. I preferred the traditional checkered flag to the multi-mark. It was reported that it was not a coincidence that the new Carnival emblem resembled the CP multi-mark.  I never sailed in that fine vessel but was able to get a tour on the eve of its final crossing from Montreal.

http://www.liverpoolships.org/empress_of_canada_of_1961.html
 

PHall Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Kind of a stretch, at least from my point of view,
> to call that the old multimark.

Perhaps....but have a look at Item #2 here:

Cruise marketing top 10 greatest moments:


https://cruisemarketwatch.com/articles/cruise-marketing-top-10-moments/


”Having been painted on the Empress of Canada’s funnel, the ship and design were transferred in February 1972 to a young former NCL marketing executive, Ted Arison.  Renamed the Mardi Gras the ship became Carnival's first.  By rounding the edges and changing the CP logo’s colors to a festive red, white and blue the multimark morphed into the most distinctive image at sea and a corporate logo recognized worldwide.  Visually communicating the Fun Ships”


The Empress of Canada in her last CP Ships scheme...

---

>

---

By the time the new Empress of Canada arrived in 1961.....it was already outmoded by CP's own DC-8 Jets:



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/02/20 15:40 by ghCBNS.

---

ghCBNS Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> PHall Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Kind of a stretch, at least from my point of
> view,
> > to call that the old multimark.
>
> Perhaps....but have a look at Item #2 here:
>
> Cruise marketing top 10 greatest moments:
>
>
> https://cruisemarketwatch.com/articles/cruise-mark
> eting-top-10-moments/
>
>
> ”Having been painted on the Empress of
> Canada’s funnel, the ship and design were
> transferred in February 1972 to a young former NCL
> marketing executive, Ted Arison.  Renamed the
> Mardi Gras the ship became Carnival's first.  By
> rounding the edges and changing the CP logo’s
> colors to a festive red, white and blue the
> multimark morphed into the most distinctive image
> at sea and a corporate logo recognized
> worldwide.  Visually communicating the Fun
> Ships”
>
>
> The Empress of Canada in her last CP Ships
> scheme...

Wasn't Canadian Pacific still using the multimark in 1972? So why would they let another company use it while they were still using it?
Kinda defeats the reason to have a trademark.

If you read the article they describe how it 'morphed' into Carnivals Logo.

Posted from Android



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/02/20 18:04 by ghCBNS.

Some trivia to keep this on the subject of railways: The CPR British Columbia fleet of ferries and the (former ferry) cruise ship Princess Patricia received the red railway  multi-mark as opposed to the green multi-mark placed on the Empress of Canada. Canadian Pacific Steamships, later CP Ships, was a British subsidiary of the CPR. The coastal ships were operated by the CPR, later CP Rail. Our first ocean voyage was on the Princess Patricia. Reservations and ticketing was handled by the railway. Our tickets were clearly CP Rail tickets.

I don't have any scanned photos of my own, but there are many superb photos on this site:

http://ssmaritime.com/TEV-Princess-Patricia.htm
 

The days of elegant travel but a memory!  Happy to have been around for it.

Chris Rye

DrawingroomA Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Some trivia to keep this on the subject of
> railways: The CPR British Columbia fleet of
> ferries and the (former ferry) cruise ship
> Princess Patricia received the red railway 
> multi-mark as opposed to the green multi-mark...

Same goes for the 'Princess of Acadia' between Saint John NB and Digby NS. The brochure below is from 1969....just after the Multi-Mark was introduced but the photo still shows the Checkered Flag on the funnel. This is the former 'Princess of Nanaimo' ....transferred from the west coast fleet and renamed the 'Princess of Acadia'

---

---

In 1971 the new 'Princess of Acadia' was launched and it carried the red CP Rail Multi-Mark on the funnel.

---

---

---

exrtc Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The days of elegant travel but a memory!  Happy
> to have been around for it.
>
> Chris Rye

Of course there is far less elegant travel available now than in the 1970s, but it isn't all bad. There are some very elegant trains around the world - if you can afford them.

Most of the ships today are mega-ships carrying thousands of passengers and have an ambiance that has no appeal to me. But there are a few smaller, luxurious, and expensive ships. And of course there is Cunard's Queen Mary 2 which, this year excepted, offers the traditional Atlantic crossing. Tables are set with Wedgwood china, Waterford crystal and Gainsborough silver. The superior restaurants offer flambéed items and off-menu ordering. Afternoon tea is served in an elegant ballroom with a string quartet or harpist to assist in the appreciation of the freshly baked scones with clotted cream. The Queen Elizabeth has a degree of Edwardian elegance. Fares for modest-sized cabins are reasonable.

There are some splendid hotels and front cabins of aeroplanes  for those with the means to enjoy them.

What is missing, with few exceptions, is reasonably-priced elegance in travel. Sadly, that is not likely to return.

Interesting website with interesting details for those who are really into it.
In grade school, early 60's,  the family travelled to Scotland to visit family on the Empress of Britain and Empress of England, another family member travelled separately on the 'new' Empress of Canada. Very impressive and definitely a big deal for a small kid. Interesting to hear what happened to the ships.

A few years later the family travelled between Seattle and Victoria numerous times on the Princess Marguerite, my last trip was in the early 70's. We all joined in on the early Caribbean Cruise action with the early smaller, stretched ships. The prize goes to my parents though for the numerous cruises on the SS Canberra, after a while we just called it doing laps. Their background included post war travel on White Star Line, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary, because that was all that was out there at the time.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/03/20 22:16 by TCnR.

I am pleased to see references to the Princess Marguerite and also the S.S. Canberra.  We were on the Princess Marguerite only once. It was the last leg of an all-CPR trip starting with the Canadian from Toronto to Vancouver with a same-day connection with the Princess Patricia for an eight-day Alaska cruise. We would never chance a same-day connection these days, but in 1972 it wasn't a concern. At the conclusion of the cruise we walked over to the other CPR pier to board the Princess of Vancouver to Nanaimo; then took the CPR RDC to Victoria, then the Princess Marguerite to Seattle. We were aboard three CPR ships and one train in a 12-hour period. Although we didn't need it, we paid a modest charge for a wood-panelled Boat Deck cabin on the Princess Marguerite and enjoyed a fine dinner in the elegant dining saloon.

Although the Canberra wasn't the most elegant ship we sailed in, it had a lot of charm with much wood-panelling throughout. We enjoyed  three cruises - all from Southampton. We always had the same style of cabin, half-panelled in polished wood. P&O ran chartered boat trains to and from London and the ship's terminal.

Regarding CPR ships, the Great Lakes ships between Port McNicoll and Fort William were retired before the multi-mark was designed. Some people liked to break their train-journey to and from the west. The CPR operated a boat train between Toronto and the ship in Port McNicoll and train connections could be made in Fort William. This service was discontinued before I had a chance to take a trip on one of the two ships. The one survivor, Keewatin of 1907, can (except for this year of course) be toured in Port McNicoll.  The second photo I attach is the dining saloon, with tables set with the typical CPR silver and a menu depicting The Canadian.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/04/20 05:38 by DrawingroomA.

---

---

I see that the Princess of Acadia (1971 version) was finally retired in 2015.  I didn't realise that it was on its last legs when I used it multiple times in 2014 - I definitely feel lucky to have gotten the opportunity. 

(The SS Badger remains on my bucket list!)

Magellan

Still looks lik PacMan. Needs some dots and a ghost or two.