The Four Chaplains and the Sinking of USAT Dorchester
During World War II, scores of ocean liners were converted into troop transports for the Allied war effort. Mighty ships like Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, and Aquitania were pressed into service along with more humble liners like Evangeline, Yarmouth, and Borinquen. These ships collectively transported millions of Allied servicemen and women to all theaters of…
From Cunard’s Storied History to the Future: The Queen Anne’s Maiden Voyage
There’s something really special and magical about a Cunard Queen. Having worked aboard the legendary Queen Mary for three and a half years, I’ve experienced it firsthand! Today, Cunard’s newest ship, the Queen Anne sets sail from Southampton on her maiden voyage. She is the company’s 149th ship in it’s almost 185-year history. This new…
Going Beyond with Celebrity Cruises
My wife and I just got back from a five-day cruise aboard Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Beyond. Wow! What an incredible experience! This was our first time sailing on Celebrity and they really set the bar high. We’re looking at doing another one in 2026 and can’t wait! The entire time we were aboard the Beyond,…
Cruise Mode: April 2024
Hello everyone! Just wanted to let you know that my wife and I are going on a cruise next week. We’ll be sailing with Celebrity Cruises aboard Celebrity Beyond. It’ll be our first time sailing with them, and it’s an understatement to say that we’re excited! It’ll be a five-day Caribbean cruise with stops at…
The Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse & Baltimore’s Cruise Ship Operations
Like many others, I was dumbstruck when Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed on March 26, 2024 after being hit by the container ship MV Dali. Six men lost their lives in the accident, and three are still missing. I lived in the Washington, DC area for almost a decade and made several trips up…
Vanished Without a Trace: The Disappearance of the Antonia Graza
For as long as people have sailed the high seas, ships have sunk and gone to the bottom. But some have disappeared without a trace. This happens despite continual improvements in shipbuilding and marine engineering. There are no distress calls, wreckage, or survivors ever found. The USS Cyclops is arguably one of the most famous…
The Captain’s Table
Stories from the Golden Age of Ocean Liners to the Cruise Ships of Today
How it all started…
Over a decade ago, I started a blog called The Captain’s Table to tell the stories about the ships and people involved in the Golden Age of ocean liners. I was working as a tour guide aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA at the time and it was a way to help me both deepen my knowledge and explore a topic I’d been passionate about for a long time.
With this overhauled version of the blog, I’ll continue to explore the stories, ships, and people connected to the old ocean liners. But there’ll also be a new emphasis on cruise ships as well: they continue the traditions and history made famous by such ships as Queen Mary, United States, Mauretania, Caronia, and many others. I’ll be nerding out a lot, and I really hope that you enjoy this blog.
Zach Whitlow
Writer, Ship Geek, and Avid Cruiser