1970s P&O LINE ALASKA CRUISE PROMOTIONAL FILM SS SPIRIT OF LONDON SS ARCADIA 31714

Love our channel? Help us save and post more orphaned films! Support us on Patreon: Even a really tiny contribution can make a difference This 1970s era, color promo movie for P&O Lines is narrated by journalist Stanton Delaplane. It follows two ships through Alaskan waters and recounts the experiences of guests as they tour several Alaskan towns. The film opens in a bar with people having a great time. Many different scenes of Alaska are shown. Main title: Dateline Alaska. Journalist Stan Delaplane talks to the camera. The SS Arcadia and SS Spirit of London cruise ships are seen and to be featured throughout the film 1:17. Tourists enjoy the amenities onboard, drinking and singing 1:46. Drummers drumming for the crowds along with bagpipes greeting tourists coming off the ship 2:35. Victoria, British Columbia 2:46. Horse and carriage passes by 2:51. Scenes from downtown Victoria 3:09. A lacrosse game is played 3:16. Gardens of Victoria 3:26. The Arcadia sails into Alaska’s inside passage 4:01. Sea plane approaches the shore 4:13. Seaplane takes off 4:22. Downtown Ketchikan, Alaska. Delaplane stands under an umbrella 5:15. Totem poles 5:36. Back aboard the Arcadia an entertainer sings and directs the crowd in a dance 6:17. Tourists visit the bridge 6:30. Man plays a piano in a saloon 7:04. People share drinks at the bar 7:25. Delaplane sits at the bar in Juneau, Alaska 7:40. Tourists board sea plane 8:08. Seaplane takes off and flies over glaciers and ice fields 8:40. Aerial view of the glaciers 9:00. Se plane comes in for a landing with cruise ships in the background 9:14. A daycare center on the Arcadia 9:33. The on-ship spa puts on a demonstration for hairstyling 10:02. Miniature shopping bazaar on board 10:14. View of the Arcadia on the sea 10:36. A man starts a small gambling game amongst the ship’s guests 11:10. Sunset over the mountains with views from the deck of the Arcadia 12:00. Man plays the piano and sings for the ballroom 12:15. Officers dine with guests for dinner 12:34. Guests take to the dance floor 13:12. View of the Spirit of London in dim sunlight 13:41. Aerial view of Glacier Bay 13:55. Terry Russell, Chief Officer, S. S. Arcadia speaks to the camera 14:23. Views of the glaciers from the ship 14:57. Tourists stand on the bow of the ship as she cruises through the ice 15:19. Seals are spotted 15:30. Glaciers calving 15:46. A waiter serves Irish coffees to the guests on the bow 16:15. Snapshots are taken of the guests 16:20. Some of the ship’s crew set out to collect some glacial ice 16:39. Champagne is set across the glacial ice 16:55. Stan Delaplane and guests enjoy chilled champagne and dinner 17:14. Old Sitka, 17:21. Historic Russian cemetery 17:33. The guests come into Sitka on boat launches 17:46. Sitka National Historic Park 18:00. Local girls practice Russian dancing for the guests 18:15. Skagway 18:41. People in costume greet the guests as they the deboard the ship and arrive in Skagway 19:08. Delaplane sits in a cemetery in Skagway as old photos fill the screen 19:20. He tells the story of famous Alaskan pioneers 19:23. An old cemetery 19:46. A Chinese tombstone 20:00. Downtown Skagway’s boardwalk and dirt roads 20:32. The train ride over White Pass to Lake Bennett 20:46. The Bennett train station 21:02. Scenes from the train 21:20. Performers in costume on board the ship 21:57. Chefs prepare food for the cameras 22:46. Snapshots of incredible dishes are taken 23:00. Vancouver, British Columbia 23:30. Grouse Mountain, the peak of Vancouver; a tour guide speaks to the crowd as they take the “Sky Ride” up the mountain 23:53. Aerial view 24:00. Vancouver Harbor 24:27. Stan Delaplane sits next to the Arcadia on the dock and speaks to the camera 25:03. The cruise, now come to an end, is celebrated with confetti and streamers 25:43. With Stanton Delaplane. Produced by Crommie and Crommie for P&O and the British Cruise Line. SS Arcadia was a passenger liner built for P&O in 1953 to service the UK to Australia route. She was scrapped in 1979. SS Spirit of London was an Italian built cruise ship put into service in 1972. In 1974 she was renamed Sun Princess as part of P&O’s purchase of Princess line. Stanton Hill (“Stan“) Delaplane was a travel writer, credited with introducing Irish coffee to the United States. He worked for the San Francisco Chronicle for 53 years, winning a Pulitzer Prize in 1942. This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit
Back to Top