Over a decade ago, I launched The Captain’s Table to share stories about the ships and people who shaped the Golden Age of ocean liners. At the time, I was working as a tour guide aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. As a result, it quickly became a way for me to deepen my knowledge and explore a subject I’d been passionate about for years.
I’ve always had a special place in my heart for ships. Part of that comes from my grandfather, a US Navy aviator who served on carriers like Tarawa, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Wasp. His home was filled with books about ships and naval history, and I spent countless hours poring over them as a kid.
Like many, the Titanic disaster was my introduction to the world of ocean liners. Long before the 1997 blockbuster movie, my grandparents gave me a VHS copy of National Geographic’s Secrets of the Titanic. I was hooked. The 1996 TV movie with Catherine Zeta-Jones, George C. Scott, and Tim Curry became a personal favorite. That same year, I visited a Titanic artifact exhibit aboard the Queen Mary. It was incredible! I was 10 years old, and instantly fell in love with the Queen Mary. After that, my parents took me back dozens of times. Even now, I like to joke with my wife that Mary was my first love.
I ultimately fulfilled a lifelong dream in August 2009. That’s when I became a Queen Mary tour guide. I interviewed on the same day Captain Richard Phillips and his family visited the ship after his dramatic rescue from Somali pirates—a day I’ll never forget. Not long after starting my new job, I felt inspired to start an ocean liner blog. I ultimately kept it going until 2012. After that, I moved to Washington, DC for grad school.
At the time, I got so busy with school and work that my ocean liner obsession, unfortunately, waned quite a bit. Nevertheless, we did visit the SS United States in Philadelphia once, and I’m forever glad that I had that opportunity.
In 2019, my wife and I took our first cruise for our honeymoon aboard the Norwegian Gem, right after getting married on the Queen Mary. After six cruises, my passion for those grand old liners came roaring back. A deep dive into the largely forgotten 1965 Yarmouth Castle disaster convinced us it was time to resurrect the blog. And here we are.
With this overhauled version of The Captain’s Table, I’ll not only continue sharing stories about ocean liners and the people who sailed them but also highlight the cruise ships of today that carry on their traditions. Expect a healthy dose of ship nerding—and I hope you’ll enjoy coming along for the voyage.
So pull up a chair. The Captain’s Table is ready.