I just started watching series 3 of Upstairs, Downstairs. In the first episode Lady Marjorie Bellemy goes on a trip* to North America with her brother and sister-in-law, the Earl and Countess of Southwold. Being upper-class Britons they of course travel in First Class and bring their lady’s maids and valet along with them. How would the servants travel? They can’t go in steerage since they would be seperate from their masters for the entire trip and would have to pass through immigration at Ellis Island. Would the party need to book whole suite or would the servants simply be put up in an adjoining (or at least nearby cabin)? Would they have traveled Second Class (in which case would they still have access to wait on their masters)? When they aren’t actively working would they be expected to remain in their cabins (I can’t imagine be welcome in the First Class Public Rooms)? Or were there special accomodations in crew areas for servants traveling with their masters?
Not sure about sleeping accommodations, but I recall that the Olympic-class liners were designed with a dining saloon, smoking room and promenade specifically for servants of first-class passengers. I misremember exactly where these facilities were located, but presumably they were convenient to the very first-class cabins (not all first-class passengers traveled with servants — in fact, I imagine the percentage was not all that great).
Actually everybody went through Ellis Island, I have seen an Ellis Island record of my father, at the age of 12 coming back from europe through Ellis Island, as far as I know, all the customs agents for passenger terminals went through there.
I know for damned sure my dad was both born in the us, and he was traveling first class, we have pictures of them on the boat and my grandfather would have never traveled anything but first class.
On the other hand, when he went to Britain in ww2, he traveled on the Queen Mary when it was a troop ship … he said the crossing was much different that time around …
This very first-class accommodation consisted of suites.
While maids and valets travelled first-class, other servants such as chauffeurs were billeted in second-class berths. I imagine this was because the services of chauffeurs were not in great demand during the voyage, therefore it was unnecessary to accommodate them in close proximity to their employers.
A book review I read recently confirms the existence of a servants’ dining room on the ship.
Looking at a deck plan for Deck B, there were several smaller inside cabins. No idea if these were for First Class passengers who wanted to save a few dollars, or more likely, this is where their household staff might have stayed if there wasn’t enough room for them in the suites.