CASTEL FELICE

We left South Hampton In August 1970 travelling through the Suez canal, too Cape Town, South Africa Finally stopping at Fremantle. We Continued on to Outer Harbour South Australia. I was 2 years of age.

We left South Hampton In August 1970 travelling through the Suez canal, too Cape Town, South Africa Finally stopping at Fremantle. We Continued on to Outer Harbour South Australia. I was 2 years of age.

We left South hampton in April 1967 and arrived in Perth( where we have lived ever since) 9th May 1967 I was 5 and had come through the Suez canal just before the 6 day war, dont remember much at all its our 50th anniversary next week just wondering anyone from ship still about

We left Southampton Sept 1964. Travelled through the Suez Canal and was able to visit Port Said and Aden .Crossing Indian Ocean wasn't pleasant, so was good to stop at Freemantle. Then another few days of rough sea to Port Adelaid where we disembarked, exactly one month trip.

We left Southampton in July 1967, travelled to Las Palmas, down past the Cape onto Fremantle then to South Australia where we arrived August 10th. My mother, father two sisters and little brother made this journey to Australia. Being only 10, some of my memories were having to go to school to learn all about dollars and cents.

My mother, Regina Rocholz, immigrated to Australia from Germany aboard Castel Felice in 1959. My father, Alexander Charlton, was the English teacher on the ship. They married soon after. My parents are now deceased and I would love to hear any anecdotes from others sharing this voyage with my mother and father.

We sailed from Auckland to Southampton in November 1965 arrived in UK December via Sydney,Melbourne,Adelaide, Fremantle,Singapore, Colombo, Aden, Suez and Naples a family of four all for the princely sum of £319.00!!

departed Copenhagen 1958 with train to Hamburg to embark on the "Castel Felice" in 1958 for Melbourne Australia.,then with train to Adelaide.

we left cuxshaven in germany to come to australia,1960 on the castle felic i was 8 years old and have a very good memory of our 6 weeks on board.our voyge started nicely till we got in to the english channel were i got sea sick and that was it from hen on,all good not so for mum and dad us 3 boys were great, first thing i remember was passing the queen elizabeth in the channel just on dusk,what a sight.then we went past malta and the rock of gibralter what fantastic sights for a young boy to see and never forget. we stopped outside of aden and went ashore on little tenders it was night time and what a sight that was men lying on beds of nails sand streets,mum told me not to let her hand go as i would be kidnapped and sold as a slave and never see my mum and dad again,i held on for grim death. we then went through the suez canal and bought the little stuffed camels filled with sand of the traders that came along side of our ship.they wanted you to throw them the money first but when a lot of the passengers did they would row around to the otherside and you wouldnt get you camell,once we got into the red sea the ship had a prop go out on it and we sailed on with 3 engines and thats why it took us 6 weeks to gt to melb we were supposed to disembark in sydney but they wanted to repair her in melb dock.we then went to bonnigilla in vic for about 2 mnths and then we were taken to the mayfield west migrant hostel in newcastle and ive been here ever since. thanks to my father making the move to this fantastic country.greatest place on earth,and ive been to some places.

Hi I went out on the Castel Felice in April 1969 to Perth oz on the £10 Pom had a really great time met up with some great lad and girls. some of the lad also got off at Perth. and we got a place together at first and had a great time before I left to go my own way I went off to meat up with some friends in Melbourne . I allways wonder what happen to them. a really great bunch of lad l've got a few photos of them.there was Paul .Nuth.Terry ..sorry I can't remember. Hope some one see & remembers. all the best George..o

Departed Southampton on 14 September 1969. Stood alongside Hall Family waving 'Goodbye.' Still see Angela, Annette, Trudy, Sarah and Duncan regularly. Had exciting time for 5 and half weeks. Hall disembarked Adelaide. We arrived 24 October in Sydney. Led a trivia team which won all but one session. School taught by my wife Cynthia and me. Dancing was a challenge between Cape Town and Fremantle. Met by Aussies in both Perth and Melbourne. Never regretted the 20000 kilometre move.

My Dad travelled to Australia from Germany on this ship in 1955. He was only ten years old and travelled solo, but he was very thankful that he was given the opportunity. He had great memories of the trip - lots of games with other kids on the journey, good food and a great way to travel. He landed in Sydney on a Saturday and then started at the Marist Brothers school in Hamilton (Newcastle) on the Monday. Quick learning curve in terms of adjusting to a new life, but again he was thankful. He would tell us of what he thought his life might have been like as a refugee in war torn Germany, and was so happy that he found his way to Australia. We miss him everyday, and wish he was here to share his stories, laughter and love with our children. We are very thankful that Dad safely completed his journey as a boy on the high seas. Thank you to the ship and the crew of the Castel Felix.

Left Southhampton in 1964 arrived in Fremantle then went through to Sydney via Adelaide . Left Sydney and landed in Auckland spent the next 12 yers in Christchurch New Zealand. Then came to Adelaide Australia and have lived her ever since. I can't remember the exact date we arrived in Australia way..back in 1964/65. Great crew on board Got myself in a bit of strife..!!

July - September 1968. Five weeks aboard Castel Felice, Southampton to Melbourne, great trip, best ten quid I've ever spent. Crew and food excellent - a very memorable voyage. Glad I didn't fly I would have missed it all!! Still in Australia - it's the best!

Left Tasmania at the age of 13 and boarded the Castel Felice on the 14 february 1969 in Melbourne with my mum and sister who was 6 years old. Arrived in Southhampton at the end of march and travelled on to Our final destination Oslo Norway, we arrived 01.april 1969 and have lived here ever since. Have never forgotten that wonderfull voyage, Canberra, Auckland, Fiji, Tahiti, Suez Canal, Curacao,(extra stopp in Caracas Venezuela ) Lisboa and Southhampton. Remenber flying Fish, sea turtels and the crew who put on a show with king Neptune who baptised us as we crossed the equator, eating cake with raisens, grapefruit and vegetables cooked in oil.

We arrived in Fremantle on the 9th July 1962 from Jersey channel lslands the family myself two sisters mum and dad and grandmother . l was 14 and remember being so sick in the bay of biskay .and found it hard eating the yellow bread and marmalade for breakfast ,our cabin was an inside one 4 bunks and a cot in the middle for my little sister Susan ,my gran slept in another cabin with other women ,we had extra clothes kept in the baggage room bottom decks as there wasnt enough room for all our clothes for the 5 weeks in the tiny cabin .Shared bathrooms only a few on deck mens and woman separate ,the old ship carried more passengers than the 80thousand ton Sun Princess and she was only 12,ooo ton. It was no luxury voyage. Fremantle passenger terminal was awful and still as ugly today if l hadnt married an Australian chap at 19 l would have gone back to Jersey .Dads passed a fewyears ago ,mum is 92 ,gran passed 2years after arriving .Must mention we are 5 generations of women and me being a great gran of 6 . Holiday in Jersey but to old to move back

My mother, sister and I left Auckland in October 1966 to vist family in England. I was 7 years old loved the trip but the ship was filthy some of us children ended up doing the cleaning, as the ataff didnt dona lot.

Left Southampton in May 1967 on board Castel Felice, aged 6. Was one of last boats through Suez Canal. Still remember waiting at entrance with doubts over whether we would be allowed through. Recall it was dark when we did. Awoke to camel train outside porthole on banks of canal. Pretty exciting for a 6 yr old! Stopped at Port Said and Aden before crossing Indian Ocean. Still remember vividly playing deck games, and hanging around dance tent on rear deck listening to tunes. Journey from Fremantle was rough and everyone was sick. Water was seeping through porthole and we were tossed like a salad for most of the night. Stayed in Aussie for 6 yrs before returning to Uk, but rest of family still live in Melbourne and Brisbane.

Fifty years ago this coming Tuesday, July 31st 1968, I sailed from Southampton toward something unknown. I was twenty one, single and driven by the prospect of a ten pounds adventure. The voyage on the Castel Felice turned out to be one of my life's most memorable events. The ship, the crew and the friends I made were all unforgettable. There was a juke-box at the stern of the ship where I spent many hours reading and listening to the unsurpassed music of that era. I still hear that music against an imagined rumble of the ship's engines. 'Fire' by Arthur Brown, 'On the road again' by Canned Heat. (Even 'sinking ships' by the Bee Gees). I still live in Australia although I have been back to England a number of times and family have visited me here. Before the Castel Felice arrived in Fremantle on 31st August 1968 we were shown a film of what to expect in Australia. Apart from the sun and the sea they said that on average single men arriving in Australia would marry an Australian girl within three years of arrival. 'Not me' I thought. In 1971 Marie and I were married. We have three children and four (going on five) grandchildren. Immigration was - and still should be - a wonderful thing. I will always look back with great fondness on Sitmar and their wonderful ship the Castel Felice.

Myself my Mam and Dad left Southampton in1967(not sure what month) arrived 6 weeks later in Sydney. I was 4 years old. We stayed 3 years before returning back to the UK. I can remember going to school on the ship on the way back.

I sailed from Southampton on my 19th birthday, 7th July 1967. The reason I logged on to this site was hearing the death of Aretha - her record 'Respect' was the 2nd most played on the juke box on the ship, the 1st being 'Whiter Shade of Pale' - both must have been worn out by the time we docked in Perth where I disembarked. I lived there for 10 months then moved to Sydney to share a flat with 2 other shipmates, Christine and Moira, later another, Gloria, came down from Brisbane to flatshare too. I still tell people about sitting on the floor for about 3 days and nights in the loo being seasick! England after 5 years in Oz - the biggest mistake of my life, I've regretted it every day since. I have photo's of us teens together on deck, also some of the crew, all of which I cherish - what wonderful, but sometimes scary, days!!

Voyaged on the Castel in 1966 Aug September I was 11 got to Oz first in Perth then on to Adelaide then Melbourne Arrived Grand final Day and Melbourne Show. Best time of my youth lots of fond memories On the Juke box was a very Scratched Beatles song. It wasnt until October 1966 I found out it was We all live in a yellow submarine. Until then I though it was We all live in the Yellows of Marie.

at age 10 i sailed from auckland with my mother on the castel felice in late october 1969. arrived early december 1969 south hampton. the food was terrible, but great children entertainment.i made a friend 3 years older than me. jamie copeland.we played table tennis . we both had a bad experience in lisbon.would like to know how i could find him.

My parents and I left Germany for Australia on the Castel Felice in 1955. I had my 7th birthday in Port Said. I am trying to find out what month the Castel Felice left Bremerhaven in Germany. I too remember having a wonderful time while on board and the crew were very caring of the children whilst the adults were all very seasick.

My father, mother and elder sister arrived in Australia from Greece in 1954. Unbeknown to my mother, she was pregnant with me at the time but thought she just had a bad case of seasickness, by all accounts my father and elder sister had a good journey with sister being involved in lots of children's activities and dad learning as much English as he could, would have been quite a change from village life back in Greece,

I left Southampton in Nov 1965 on Castle Felice with my Mum Dad and sister enroute to Auckland New Zealand. We also travelled through the Suez Canal, visited Port Said. I remember soldiers standing on the roof tops holding rifles!!! There were camels walking in the streets and it was very hot!!!

I remember the assisted passage with some fond memories. Peter McGurk and myself left from Southampton in March 1967 on board the Castel Felice which was around 12,000 tons and was built in Glasgow in 1930 by A Stephen and sons. (see link )www.istrianet.org/istria/navigation/sea/immigrant/castelfelice.)I remember saying to Peter when we first saw it “ Jeez look at the size of that, it looks about the same size as the Glen Sannox” (which was a slight exaggeration.) We had a cabin, along with 4 other guys from England which slept 3 double bunks, and it took 5 weeks to reach Australia. The cabin was right next to the dining room. Shortly after leaving Southampton we were entering the bay of Biscay when we came across these giant rollers, The waves were so broad across the top that the whole ship would rise up and then it would go down the other side in a sort of corkscrewing motion. It was a weird sensation because the sea wasn’t really rough. I remember going for dinner that evening and the dining room was next to empty (only me and another guy from our cabin made it, the rest were giving it the old Hughie.) I was sharing a table with this welsh couple and their son. The father was saying how hungry they were,and couldn’t wait for dinner. we were served the first course of soup and were waiting for the next course when the rolling motion of the ship started having an effect on me so I excused myself and staggered back to the cabin where I lay on my bunk feeling terrible. I wasn’t actually sick but I came close. However the next day we had our sea legs and were all feeling much better. We sailed through the med and arrived at Port Said where all the locals would come out in there little boats and try to sell things to us. They would put whatever they were selling in a little basket and throw the rope up to you, which you pulled up and then put the money in and lowered it down to them. We then entered the Suez Canal where some passengers left the ship for a tour of the pyramids and met up with the ship at the other end of the canal. I can’t remember how long it took to go through the canal, probably a few days, but I remember it was freezing on deck at nights. One memory that stands out in my mind was one night me and Peter were sitting in the mini café at the rear of the ship (Where all the younger people hung out) although it was empty that night. We were sitting drinking coca cola(I wasn’t very much into alcohol then)and listening to the music coming from the speakers, and one particular song stuck in my mind, it was “house of the rising sun” I’ve always loved that song which is one of my all time favourites. Memory is a strange thing although reading through what I have just written it doesn’t sound very special, but it was a kind of surreal experience at the time. There is a point where the canal breaks into 2 sections one northbound and one southbound. So you could look across the sand and see large ships going the other way which was a strange sight. Just a couple of months later the canal was shut when the six day war started so we just made it through in time. We then entered the red sea when one Friday night just as we were finishing our dinner, an announcement came over the tannoy saying that we were going to stop to take an injured seaman , (who had broken his leg) off a tanker, as we had a doctor on our ship. We all gathered at the side of the ship to watch the proceedings, what a pantomime that was. Firstly the crew got into a lifeboat and as they were lowering it into the water one end went down fast and the crew all tumbled to the low point, then the other end did the same and they all fell the other way. Eventually after much arguing they got the boat in the water, started the engine and went across to the tanker. After about an hour the boat came back with the injured party, the crew were rowing the boat as it turned out they had fankled a rope round the propeller and the engine broke down. They then strapped the injured seaman to a stretcher and attached it to a winch to haul it on board. There was a slight swell on that night and the ship was swaying from side to side as a result when they were winching the stretcher up the poor guy was banging his broken leg off the side of the ship and you could hear him yelping in pain. I turned to peter and said “After that performance god help us if this ship sinks” When we were approaching Aden we were lying on the deck sunbathing when this almighty roar frightened the life out of us, it was an R.A.F. sabre jet which skimmed across the water right over the ship about 30 feet above us. The pilot did this several times and we could see the ships captain shaking his fists at him. We were allowed ashore to the duty free shops with a warning not to go in any taxis because of the trouble there at the time. The place was crawling with soldiers from a Scottish regiment and I was speaking to some of the lads who told me that a guy I knew from Stevenston was stationed there. We were warned that the place was infested with fleas, and they were spot on about that. Next we sailed across the Indian Ocean and me and Peter went on a tour of the bridge and I was looking at the charts with the ships course plotted on it and I noticed that it went through the middle of the Maldives and our position was very close to them. I asked the officer if we would see the Islands soon and he told us that we would be hundreds of miles away when we passed them. The next morning when we looked out our porthole we could see an Island about 2 miles away. (So much for Italian navigation). As we neared the Australian coast at Freemantle, we were on the deck watching the shoreline and the thing that struck me was this peculiar smell coming from the land. I remember turning to Peter and saying it must be Kangaroo s***e. We got a few hours ashore at Freemantle to allow some of the immigrants to disembark and we spent some time looking around and stretching our legs as we had been at sea for about 2 weeks. We then left Freemantle and headed across the Australian Bight, what an experience that was For three or four days we sailed through this horrendous storm, it must have been a force ten gale. We couldn’t sleep at night because the ship was heeling over so much that you would have been thrown out of your bunk. I remember we played monopoly all night and you had to hold onto the board and your markers to stop them crashing to the floor. Meals were a problem as well as you had to hold your plate with one hand and eat with the other. When we were in freemantle there was a Volkswagen beetle loaded on to the deck for the voyage to Melbourne. The crew had to lash it down with ropes which had to be pulled so tight to stop in moving that the roof was crushed in due to the severity of the storm. Me and Peter were sitting in the minicafe having a coke when the ship tottered over even more so than usual and Peter fell backwards of his chair and hit the back of his head of the corner of a table I saw a huge lump rose right before my eyes then it burst open and started bleeding. He had to go to the sick bay to get it stitched. It was really frightening at times when an extra large wave would smash into the ship every now and then , and the ship would roll over so far that you thought it was going to capsize but it always managed to swing back at the last minute. The water was pouring in through our cabin roof as well so we didn’t manage any sleep for the duration of the storm. At last we got to Melbourne and docked. I think it was a Saturday night andHughie and Betty were there to meet us but we were told we could’nt get of the Ship till the next morning. This was just a few of many bits and pieces I can recall. All in All it was the best tenner I’ve ever spent. Chriso.

We left Southampton 17/8 1970 on Castel Felice, sailed to Australia via Las Palmas and Cape Town, Fremantle and disembarked n Melbourne 21/9/1970. This was the final voyage of this ship.

I was a cruise director on the Castel Felice the summer of 1954 &1955. Both years we hit a large storm that the ship rocked all over. We had to make sure everyone stayed in their cabin. At that time the furniture was not bolted to the floor and things were flying every where! And if they went outside they would be sure to be thrown in the water! It lasted all night. So many people were sick but they had to stay in their rooms. It was a student organization that hired to ship during the summer to take students over and back from Europe. Myself and another male student were the cruise directors. We had to come up with all sorts of games and entertainment for the 6 day journey. Neither one of sang so that was one of our challenges. The ship was not very big only 12000 tons. Leaving New York Harbor, we passed the Queen Mary and she was standing still and it took us 15 minutes just to go past her-- so you can imagine in a storm Castel Felice would be rock and rolling! There were some students that would try and stowaway and as we were boarding I would try and listen to people's conversation because if they were discovered too late they were fined and would have to pay 5 times the normal fare. If we discovered them before leaving the bay in New York -- it was not so expensive for them. I had a lot of fun on the boat even though we had some scary moments. It allowed me to travel to Europe where I have been traveling since.

We arrived in Southampton in late 1970s from Auckland and I understand after we disembarked the was a fire on board . There was my mum and dad Keith and Eileen my brother Neil and hazel

Left Auckland,N.Z.on Castel Felice, aged 10, with family. Mother, 2 younger brothers and baby sister. Left November 1961, I think! Stopped in Genoa, Italy. Motor problems I think. Went by train and channel crossing to London. Went to live in York for a time, then settled with family in Thorne, near Doncaster. In 1988 moved to Australia with late wife and young son. If anyone out there er was on that trip, would love to chat. Regards, Paul Edgecumbe

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I travelled with my parents not sure of the month maybe September 1966. From Melbourne to Brisbane Hong Kong Yeman through the Suez Canal then Naples then on to Southampton. .. I was 6 years old and can remember going to school on the ship and hanging out with 2 other kids .. also one of the Stewards kindly helped me with my reading a word I was trying to sound was the Statue of Liberty. Also King Neptune when we crossed the equator which was fun and bartering with biscuits for bangles.. Heather Germaine

I travelled with my parents not sure of the month maybe September 1966. From Melbourne to Brisbane Hong Kong Yeman through the Suez Canal then Naples then on to Southampton. .. I was 6 years old and can remember going to school on the ship and hanging out with 2 other kids .. also one of the Stewards kindly helped me with my reading a word I was trying to sound was the Statue of Liberty. Also King Neptune when we crossed the equator which was fun and bartering with biscuits for bangles.. Heather Germaine

I travelled to Australia on the Castel Felice from the UK in 1969, I was 12 years old and came over with my mum dad and 4 siblings, we had a ball it took about 6-7 weeks and because mum was sea sick for the biggest part of the voyage we Only had dad to keep his eye on us. We arrived in Fremantle then made our way around to our final destination Brisbane. When I look back on the size of the ship in comparison to the ships of today I wonder how we made it here. I remember dad looking at the progression chart that was updated daily and I still here him saying we travelled so many miles in the day and then went backwards during the night. I think the worst part was coming around Cape Horn, the decks were closed and we rocked from one side to the other, you could see ocean in one window and sky from the other side , scary. But I am so grateful to my parents for taking the risk of leaving England and making us a better home in Australia, where I know that we made a better life. Mum and dad never wanted to go back to the “old country” but I’ve been back with my husband and my kids have been back to visit, and I see the different lifestyles we have much much better here

Departed Southampton end FEB 1970.Husband David. 3 boys Stephen 11 Colin 9 and Glenn 7. Good decision .I am now 82 remarried 1983.BEST decision ever made.All boys have made themselves a wonderful life. I have 3 grandchildren and a great grandchild due mid AUG. Sadly Have been widow since 2007

Left Southhampton mid August 1970 on the castle felice’s last voyage had to disembark in Melbourne due to dock strike in adelaide caught train back to Adelaide over night train so next year will be our 50 th wedding anniversary and 50 years being in Australia. Is anyone on here who was on that last sailing doing anything special. We have booked a cruise to Hawaii ,

Hi at all, my father was on board of Castel Felice during that trip (July 1969), he was part of the crew! Now my father is gone and i'm rebuilding his story. Can i see your photos of the trip? Thanks a lot!

I left Southhampton on the 31/5/1970 and arrived in Sydney Australia on the 30/6/1970 and coming to Australia was the best thing I ever did and changed my live forever The cruise was great about 30 singles on board and we partied the whole way here I am still in contact with a lot of the guys and girls from that trip Gerry Arthur. John .C Graham .B To name a few This was the second last cruise and we went down to the dock on its last cruise and even went on board before it set sail to NZ and a very special guest was on board for that last leg no other than KFC col Sanders who was such a nice man .

I left Southhampton on the 31/5/1970 and arrived in Sydney Australia on the 30/6/1970 and coming to Australia was the best thing I ever did and changed my live forever The cruise was great about 30 singles on board and we partied the whole way here I am still in contact with a lot of the guys and girls from that trip Gerry Arthur. John .C Graham .B To name a few This was the second last cruise and we went down to the dock on its last cruise and even went on board before it set sail to NZ and a very special guest was on board for that last leg no other than KFC col Sanders who was such a nice man .

With my three friends we departed Sydney on the Castel Felice on Christmas Day 1963. I turned 21 on board ship. The first port of call was Brisbane then Singapore, Colombo, Aden, Port Said, Naples and Southampton. It was the start of an adventure we had been planning for 12 months. The music was fantastic, as were the Italian stewards. It was an old ship, unlike the cruise ships today, but we had the best fun during the six week trip.