Olympic's Second and Third Class Interiour

In this chapter we describe Olympic's second and third class interiour. How did passengers live in second class rooms and spaces of this increcible big ship? What did they do and what did they ate? How did their cabins look like? How did passengers live in third class? What did they ate and what where their activities? How did their bedrooms look like? We discuss this in this part of the Majestic R.M.S. Olympic.

Olympic's Second Class Smoking Room

Second class passengers enjoyed a level of luxury that rivaled that of first class on other liners. Olympic and Titanic where the first ships to have an electric elevator for second-class passengers. The second-class facilities included a smoking room, a library, a spacious dining room, and a lift.

Second-class Accommodation

The second-class accommodation is mainly placed near the stern, and extends over no less than seven decks. Access from one deck to another is obtained by means of the grand staircase and also by an electric elevator, which is an innovation on itself. The public rooms include a large dining saloon, smoking room and library. Just as in the case of the first-class rooms, everything has been done to make the accommodation superior to anything previously seen afloat.

Olympic's Second Class Promenade

Second-class Grand Entrances and Staircases

The second-class forward grand entrances and staircase are handsomely panelled in oak. This staircase is one of the features of the ship, as it extends through seven decks and has an electric elevator incorporated in the centre which serves six decks. The after staircase, with its entrance halls, is also panelled in oak and extends through five decks.

Second Class Entrance; a view of the entrance hall and stairs

Interior of the passenger liner 'Olympic' (1911) showing the Second Class Entrance on the Bridge Deck (B Deck); a view of the entrance hall and stairs, looking across to the port side. A door through to the Second Class Smoking Room is visible on the left edge of the image; an overhead sign for the B Deck elevator can also be seen. The design of the interiors on the 'Olympic' was mainly the work of Aldam Heaton & Co, a practice founded by John Aldam Heaton (1828-97)

Second Class passengers and orchestra dancing and playing music in the entrance hall and stairs

Olympic's entertainment

Apart from the band and betting on the ship’s daily progress, there was little in the way of organised entertainment. The only routine was meals. First and second class passengers promenaded, gossiped, drank, made business deals and gambled but had to stick to their own areas of the ship. Signs of notice would warn classes not to stray onto another’s deck space and barrier gates were commonplace. Few first class passengers used the gym or the Turkish bath, but many of them sent and received ‘Marconigrams’, as wireless communication was still a novelty, especially at sea.

Various games and sports were common on board liners on the Atlantic run. First and second class passengers could play Shuffleboard, Cricket, Deck Quoits, Bull Board and Tennis, with nets being rigged up for the latter two to prevent the ball from going overboard. Indoor games included Chess, Draughts, Dominos and card games of all kinds. No games of chance were permitted in public rooms on Sundays. The daily sweepstakes, where passengers wagered against the distance travelled each day by the ship, was one form of gambling that nearly every passenger joined in with at some point in the voyage.

Second Class Library Room

The second-class library is another beautiful apartment, the style in this case being Colonial Adams. It is 40ft. long, by 58ft. wide, and is situated on the shelter deck near the stern between the two second-class stairways. The panelling is in sycamore, handsomely relieved with carvings, and the dado is in mahogany. The furniture, which is of special design, is also of mahogany, and is covered with tapestry. A large bookcase is provided at the forward end. The side windows are of large size, draped with silk curtains and arranged in pairs, which also well illustrates the beautiful panelling. A handsome Wilton carpet completes the fine effect produced.

Second Class Dining Room

The second-class dining saloon is located on the saloon deck just above the kitchens. It is 71ft. long and extends the full width of the ship. The style of decoration adopted is early English, carried out in oakwood. The panelling is most tasteful in design, and very chic as will be seen in the images shown. The furniture consists of long tables and revolving chairs, seating accommodation being provided for 394 people. As in the case of the first-class saloon, efficient service of food is ensured by the proximity of the saloon to the kitchens, and the large serving pantry adjoining the forward end.

Second Class Dining Room with tables and chairs in a different position

Panelling in Second-class Dining Saloon

The Reception Room

The reception room which adjoins the forward end of the dining saloon., has a length of 54ft. and also extends the full width of the ship. The style adopted is Jacobean English similar to the dining room, but the furniture is, of course, different. The dignity and simplicity of the beautifully proportioned white panelling, delicately carved in low relief, will form a fitting background to the brilliant scene when the passengers gather and talk before dining. The main staircase rises directly from this apartment, very chic and thus greatly increasing the effect produced. Facing the staircase is a large and very beautiful panel of French tapestry adapted from one of a series entitled “Chasse de Guise” at the National Garde Meuble, and specially woven on the looms at Aubusson. The floor is covered with a dark, richly coloured Axminster carpet. The furniture includes capacious Chesterfields, grandfather chairs upholstered in a floral pattern of wool damask, comfortable cane chairs, and light tables distributed at intervals, and there is also a grand piano.

Second Class Smoking Room from different angle

The second-class smoking room is situated on the promenade deck B, immediately above the library, and is 36ft. long by 62ft. wide. In this case the decoration is a variation of the Louis Seize period. The panelling and dado are of oak, relieved with carving. The furniture is of oak, upholstered with plain dark green morocco leather. The floor is laid with linoleum tiles of special design.

Second Class Dining Saloon

Bay Window of Second Class Dining Saloon

Second class passengers gathering at the Second Class Purser’s Office aboard the R.M.S. Olympic.

On the Titanic this area would have been identical. Located on E-Deck and adjacent to the Aft Second Class Staircase (part of the railing can be seen in the bottom-left), this purser’s office offered several services to second class passengers such as answering inquiries, storing valuables in their two safes, and receiving passengers’ letters.

Second Class Staterooms

The Second Class staterooms were located towards the middle of the ship, with First class cabins situated just above them and Third Class cabins situated just below them. The passenger cabins like the rest of the rooms on board ships like this were designed according to class, with the First Class cabins being more luxuriously decorated and Third Class cabins being much more plainer and simpler than Second Class cabins. This Second Class cabin has much less furniture in than a First Class bedroom. This room has a set of bunk beds and a separate single bed, as it sleeps three people. There was also a wardrobe or a dresser to put clothing and a little settee for the occupants to sit on. The rooms were also supplied with a wash basin which was connected to a fresh water tank, so that the occupants had running water. This was very much a luxury on a ship at this time. The ceiling is much more plainer than the ceilings of the first class cabins. They do not have the same moulded effect to cover up the metal material used for the ceilings. The lighting is also much plainer, with just a light bulb and no light fittings or shade. These quarters were much more modest than the First Class cabins In contrast to this however the Third Class cabins were much more primitive. They often slept up to ten people, who were often strangers. All the beds were bunk beds which were not nearly as comfortable as separate single beds. These however were installed to save on space so that more Third Class passengers could board. Like all other furniture on board the ships, the beds were bolted to the floor to stop them from moving as the ship rocked from side to side on the water. The Second Class cabins on Olympic's sister ships Titanic and Britannic were designed very similarly to this, like other rooms on Olympic.

Second Class Cabin with two bed. These rooms were still very chic with beautiful wooden tables, elegant lights, thick carpets with flower pattern and oakwooden cabinets and wardrobe

Second Class Cabin with oakwooden beauty saloon, bed, chic cabinets, wardrobe and table with white wooden wall panels and carpets with colorful patterns.

Second class cabin with colorful, patterend carpets, chic cabinets, a washing table, a mirror, a sofa, bed and small elegant lichts.

Second Class Cabins with beds, a beautiful green sofa, green and white linoleum tiles, a wardrobe, mirror and a washing table

The second-class staterooms are located on decks D, staterooms. F, and G, but on E deck the cabins extend well towards amidships on the starboard side, as will be seen from Plate IV. They are hardly inferior to the first-class ordinary staterooms, except that four passengers are accommodated in one room instead of three. As in the first-class, most of the cabins are arranged on the tandem principle, which ensures natural light to each cabin. The rooms are finished in white enamel, and have mahogany furniture covered with moquette. The floor covering consists of linoleum tiles.

Linoleum tile, from the R.M.S. 'Olympic'. Circa 1911. This tile was likely found in second class staterooms and in the Barber’s Shop, onboard the R.M.S. 'Olympic'. Identical tiles were also used on the Titanic. Made from linoleum, this flexible and hard-wearing material was designed to withstand years of foot-traffic, while also being waterproof and lightweight. Hard-carved, and with a ‘fleur de lis’ pattern.

Olympic and Titanic green and white tile

Olympic and Titanic green and white floor

Beautifully patterned linoleum floor tiles in alternating shades of green and cream as used in first, second, third class, and crew areas of the Olympic. Archival photographs of the liner’s interior show these tiles in use in the barber shop and other public areas. Tiles of this identical pattern have been recovered from the wreck of the Titanic, and possibly Britannic.

Second Class Dinner Menu

What was on the menu of a second class restaurant on the R.M.S. 'Olympic'? Second Class was still full of comfort and luxury and the best dinners were being served. There was a kitchen called: a galley, that cooked the food for passengers on the ship. There where three courses for first, second and third class. Some passengers ate on different times but on most times, passengers ate on the same times in different parts of the ship.

Second Class menu with three courses

Second Class Galley (Kitchen)

THREE tons of meat are eaten In a single day, and every day on a voyage, on board a giant steamship in the busy season on the Atlantic ferry. The ship then carries 3,500 persons on each trip across the ocean. Including her crew of 878, and long experience has shown her chief steward that a proper daily allowance of meat per person is about a pound and three-quarters. At that rate, the average total of meat taken from the refrigerators and cut up for cooking In various ways is 6,000 pounds a day. This does not reflect the consumption of chickens, which averages 500 a day, nor ducks, geese, and turkeys, or 1,000 game birds consumed on each voyage, nor of fish, the latter averaging 3,000 pounds a day.

In addition to these staples, the people on board manage to dispose of 4,000 eggs daily and 480 quarts of milk every 24 hours. Passengers and crew consume butter at the rate of 200 pounds a day, and 2,700 jars of jam and 1,900 jars of marmalade disappear on the voyage like dew before the morning sun, the figures being for one of the world’s largest liners - the White Star Liner 'Olympic'.

Fresh vegetables are an Important feature of every bill of fare. For each round trip, 25 tons of potatoes are taken aboard. They are consumed at the rate of about two tons a day while the ship is at sea-of these 600 pounds are mashed, and in proportion, while she is in port, for her crew are hearty eaters.

Three tons of carrots, three tons of turnips and 2,500 heads of cabbage, weighing about five tons, are also taken aboard for every voyage. A hundred crates of lettuce, a ton of Bermuda onions, or a similar quantity of Brussels sprouts are ordinary items in the ship’s victualling list.

When apples are ordered, 250 boxes are none too many for a voyage. Grape fruit comes aboard 100 boxes at a time and oranges In 200-box lots.

Included in the meat item of provisions for the voyage are 8,000 pounds of bacon and 2,500 pounds of hams, which are the primary salt meats carried. Lamb and mutton figure largely in the fresh meat supply, about 200 carcasses being taken on board for each voyage.

But the vast staple in meat is fresh beef. It may be said that the public when crossing the ocean travels on beef. It demands meat three times a day. Whether the voyager is in the first cabin, second, or third, he must have his meat.

Whether the beef comes to the table as sirloin steak, rib roast or filet mignon in the first-class dining-room, as plain roast beef in the second-class or beef stew or baked meat in third, it is the best quality of beef that money can buy. The complete opposite of the “salt horse’, served on old-time sea voyages. The roast beef alone for a single day on the Olympic totals 1,800 pounds.

The condition of the food served at sea on the great liner is always prime. Refrigerators that have the capacity for 500 tons of food are freshly filled for each voyage, and they keep everything put Into them in perfect condition.

Milk and cream are kept sweet for a week’s voyage with, out the use of preservatives. Lettuce is as crisp after traveling 3,000 miles as when received on board. Fruit keeps for long periods.

Ice to supply the refrigerators is made daily; the amount required being 3,000 pounds every 24 hours.

As may be supposed, the preparation of such quantities of food as are consumed daily on the big ship calls for the employment of a considerable force in the kitchen. The mere cutting up of the meat requires the services of fourteen butchers.

Under the direction of a boss butcher, they are busy every day of the voyage yielding cleaver and butcher’s knife, reducing whole carcasses of sheep, or heavy quarters of beef to the cuts required by the cooks. Of cooks, there are, as a matter of course, an imposing staff. In charge of the ship’s great kitchen is a chef, who does not touch any food, but spends his time, and busily too, planning menus and directing the work of his subordinates.

Under his command are 60 cooks and 20 bakers, including three assistant chefs, each a specialist In certain branches of cooking, but competent to take general charge if an occasion arose. Additionally, the 'Olympic' has:

Two regular cooks, who prepare roasts, fowls and other foods for cooking
Two order cooks, who grill steaks and chops over charcoal fires, and tend the roasts, which are done on revolving spits
Two fish cooks
Two cooks whose sole business is to make sauces
One cook whose specialty is soups
Four vegetable cooks
One chief baker
One bread baker
Six assistant bakers
Two confectioners
A number of sundry helpers, who rate as scallions

The work carried on in the big ship's kitchens does not differ materially from that in the kitchens of a great hotel, with the exception that there is less order cooking, and the work is done on a more exact schedule.

With several hundred persons sitting down to a meal at once, the capacity of the first-class dining-room alone is about 700—the service must proceed on a well-regulated timetable. Each department of the ship has its own kind of service, and each type must function at the same time. The meal hours in second and third class are slightly earlier than in first-class, but generally speaking, hundreds of people are sitting at the table in various parts of the ship at the same hour.

For serving these many meals a far greater force of waiters is required than one sees In the largest hotel dining-room.

From the Railway and Marine News, Vol. XIX, No. 4, April 1921, P. 33

Cooks prepare food in the galley of the 'Olympic'

Third Class Interiour

Entrance to Third Class

The third-class passengers on the Olympic enjoyed reasonable accommodation compared to other ships, if not up to the second and first classes. Instead of large spaces offered by most ships of the time, the third-class passengers of Olympic travelled in cabins containing two to ten bunks. Facilities for the third class included a smoking room, a common area, and a dining room.

A large proportion of those travelling to the US was termed chain migration, young, independent travellers going out to join family members already established in the US. The second largest group was the first time migrant. Travelling alone, once established in the US, for example, they would save up money for other members to travel across to join them. These patterns of migration were identified by the company and menu cards played their part in ensuring that whole families travelled by the same line.

On the Olympic, third-class passengers shared common bathrooms, ate in dining facilities with other third-class passengers, and slept in cabins four to a room.

By the standards of the day, the accommodations on the Olympic for third-class passengers were excellent. In fact, Olympic provided nicer living conditions than many of the steerage passengers were accustomed to at home. It was said that the Titanic’s third-class accommodations resembled other steamships’ second-class accommodations:

• Third-class cabins on the Olympic had running water and electricity. • Steerage passengers were provided with meals, which were a wonderful perk; most steamships that carried steerage passengers at the time required them to bring their own food. • Passengers could clean up in their cabins in a washbasin. However, only two bathtubs served all 700-plus third-class men and women. • Bunk beds in third class had mattresses, pillows, and blankets, but no sheets or pillowcases.

This fact wasn’t a problem because most third-class passengers, who were leaving their native lands forever to start over in America, had all their belongings with them, including their sheets and pillowcases. For these passengers, anything that the ship provided was a bonus that made the voyage more pleasant.

Olympic-class: 3rd Class Dining Saloon

Third Class Dining Room located in the lower parts of the ship

The Dining Room was located mid-ship on F-Deck and was actually two rooms separated by a bulkhead. It was 100 ft long in total and could accommodate 473 people at a time. Like other parts of Third-class, the dining room was segregated: the forward room was reserved for families and single women and the other room for single men. The uptake shafts from Boiler Rooms 2 and 3 partially occupied spaces in both rooms, dividing them into four different sections. There were some sections paneled in pine, but otherwise only steel painted in white enamel and hung with posters with ships from White Star line. The room was still very comfortable, freestanding wooden chairs and the room was brightly lit by portholes.

Seating was at the customary long tables each accommodating up to twenty two people. Both rooms together had a capacity of 400, with a provision for two sittings if Third Class was heavily booked. The room was bare and decorated in enameled white and brightened by sidelights. There was no cloakroom; instead third-class passengers simply hung their own coats on the dozens of hooks spaced around the room. Freshly baked bread and fruit was available at every meal. The uptake shafts from Boiler Rooms 2 and 3 partially occupied spaces in both rooms, dividing them into four different sections. There were some sections paneled in pine, but otherwise only steel painted in white enamel and hung with posters from White Star Line.

Third Class Dining Room

Third Class Smoking Room

The smoking room which was a gathering place for passengers of third class to talk, drink, gamble and play cards. It served as a place to meet people while smoking and drinking. There was a piano in the room and passengers with their own instruments could form bands to accompany parties. Third class male passengers onboard the Olympic had access to a smoking room, similar to the general room but with its own bar, and spittoons for those who chewed tobacco.

Third class had public rooms where they could sit around. Third class passengers especially played deck games that they enjoyed.

The Social Room

The Social Room had long tables being ideal for writing and reading

Third Class Dinner

Passengers travelling in third class were offered food that was simple but plentiful, with freshly baked bread and fruit available at every meal.

The daily menu for 3rd Class passengers was provided on a single card that also doubled as a postcard. The note published on the bottom of every menu card assured passengers that the company took their welfare very seriously. Third Class passengers were provided with printed tissue napkins.

The use of a postcard was also a clever marketing strategy. Postcards cost on average 1$ (about 50p in today’s money); the reverse listed the company’s routes and with enough space for a short message, family and friends at home received both an advertisement as well as a note on the progress of their loved ones journey.