Old Postcards of Ocean Liners

By the end of the 19th century, the ocean liner had established its place as the major means of transportation across the seas. With the huge increase in migration to North America from Europe, nations competed to build the best liners, with the struggle being dominated by Great Britain and Germany. However, World War I intervened, and many of the early great ships were destroyed.
After the war, the transatlantic trade experienced another boom in the 1920s and into the 1930s. Some of the greatest liners ever built were launched in this period, eg the two Cunard Queens. But once again war intervened, and although the transatlantic trade picked up again after the war, it never matched the heyday of the 20s and 30s as air travel became the favoured means of crossing the seas. Liners today are built for pleasure cruising and although some still make the Europe - America crossing, this is usually just a way of getting their passengers to the right place for their cruise. Ship design has changed too, giving passengers more comfort and better sea views, and although safety has not been compromised, modern cruise ships are not designed for the winter storms in the Atlantic.
I crossed to New York on the "Queen Mary" in 1963 and remember seeing Portuguese fishing vessels being almost turned over in high seas, whilst the Cunard ship was barely troubled.