I heard today that Princess Cruises most travelled passenger, who had amassed over 5000 days at sea has passed away. Lorraine Arzt loved cruising so much that she made her home on board,first the Sea Princess then in her latter years,the Royal Princess.
It’s hard to believe that Lorraine came from such humble beginnings. Born in Glasgow and raised in Belfast where her father was a hairdresser.
At the age of 18 towards the end of World War 2, she and her brother joined a convoy of 98 ships from Liverpool. Sixteen days later when she arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia, only 47 ships were left – the others had been sunk by torpedo attacks.
Lorraine’s first few years in the US were tough as she moved from job to job as she took care of her brother and the rest of her family members as they arrived into the States one by one.
She then met Joe, who was to be her husband for over 45 years, and together they had two children plus Joes daughter from a previous marriage. Joe and Lorraine were professional ballroom dancers before setting up their own Real Estate company.
Lorraine began cruising with Joe, in the early 1970s aboard P&O’s Spirit of London – which later became the original Sun Princess. The Arzts then spent 17 years as regular passengers aboard Royal Princess. It was whilst I was working on the Royal Princess in 1992 that I heard that “Mr & Mrs Arzt” were coming onboard and to make sure we had plenty of Moët which was their favourite tipple.
If I had to describe Lorraine I would say perhaps she wore a little too much make up and her clothes were a little loud for my taste but she was a breath of fresh air. If she had something to say she would say it, and many times with quite hilarious outcomes. I do remember her once querying another guests attire in the dining room at lunch time. He was wearing shorts and a vest t shirt and she literally told him it was putting her off her food. I have never laughed so much.
When Joe passed away I had already moved back onto dry land but with many contacts still at sea was delighted to hear that Lorraine was still cruising and that the crew were looking after her by taking it in turns to keep her company.
Princess Cruises bestowed a great honour on her in 2007 when she was named Godmother of the Royal Princess (formerly Adonia).
Lorraine was almost 87 when she passed away and I am sure she is cruising in heaven now with her beloved Joe by her side and a chilled bottle of Moët.
Good night and God bless Lorraine, sleep tight xxx