Stories from passengers
Peter De Monte
(New York – USA)
Passenger: Peter De Monte
Date of travel: 24 June and 26 September 1966
Liner: Michelangelo e Raffaello
Class: Tourist
Route: New York – Naples and back
“I was 4 at the time but I have vivid memories. My father took us to see the Michelangelo damaged from the wave, moored in the New York port, as we were set to sail on her in a few weeks, and my father feared that she was not be ready in time (but she was).
We left NY on 24 June 1966 on the Michelangelo, we were in cabin B-25.
The day we left was a beautiful day, we were on the Tourist Promenade, the windows were down, and we were throwing streamers across to the pier, and the people on the pier threw some back. We had relatives on the pier waving goodbye from the green colored pier. As the ship slowly moved the streamers pulled, and pulled until they finally broke. The Tourist Promenade became our playground for the trip as that is where the ping pong table was located. I spent hours looking at the water pass from there.
I remember watching the funnels pass under the Verrazano Narrows bridge in NY and my father kidding me that they will hit it, boy was I scared!
We had hit some bad weather on the way over and most of the passengers were sick, so as kids we had the run of the ship (I was found by the crew in the engine room one day and was returned by the crew to my father, who was not too happy!).
We returned on the Raffaello on 26 September 1966 in the cabin A-74. I remember the skeet shooting off the stern, I watched that all day!
They were beautiful ships and I miss them”.
Peter De Monte (New York)