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The Stella Solaris, Sun Line

From Ft. Lauderdale to Rio de Janeiro


We visited St. Thomas, Martinique, Tobago,

Fortaleza, Salvador da Bahia and Rio de Janeiro



This cruise was from January 26 to February 10, 1986. I traveled alone. I had a lot of fun and met very nice people. In Rio I stayed for 3 days, and got to view Rio's spectacular Carnaval (Carnival), before flying back to U.S. We were given the opportunity to fly on the Concorde. I am sorry I didn't do it.

These photos were taken from pages 1986A to C of old site. All photos may not appear here or may not be in the same order. Also, information posted with photos/postcards may have been corrected or omitted.



Day one



January 26, 1986



Port Everglades sign



Boarding the Stella Solaris



Stella Solaris, Sun Line. Later, company changed name to Royal Olympic Cruise Line.
Stella no longer exists.



Pool deck



Life vest drill



A sailor at work



The entertainment schedule for the entire cruise.
In some ports, local talent was brought on board to entertain us.









Our first port of call - St. Thomas
January 29, 1986





St. Thomas: Ma and Glory met me.
We took ferry to St. John





Ship docked in Crown Bay



Ma and Glory



Trunk Bay, St. John



Beautiful Trunk Bay



St. John and a few postcards





Ship activity as seen from Trunk Bay



"A century tree overlooks the red roof of Government House on the Battery as well as the Ferry Dock and Wharfside Village. There are the sights that greet visitors arriving on St. John." Photo by Bob Reardon, Pub and distributed by
(c) M&M Postcards



View of Cruz Bay, St. John. Dist. by V.I. Cards Inc.



"After the damage Stella Solaris suffered in 2001, she was planned yet another remodeling and further cruise service. However, in years following, modern cruise ships began to overtake older ships in popularity. Maintenance costs rose and Stella Solaris was taken out of service in 2002. Along with hundreds of other relatively old ocean liners, she was sold for scrap around late 2003." Wikipedia



More views of Stella Solaris
These postcards were all obtained on board the Solaris





One shown as opening to this page



Martinique, our next port of call
January 30, 1986







Martinique



January 30, 1986



Park in Martinique
Possible La Savane Park



Fort de France



Folkloric show
Local dancers came on board to entertain us.



Very entertaining



The Kon Tiki - A Party Boat





A glass section in the middle allows passengers to see the marine life in the area.





Music, dancing and lots to drink



Tobago





January 31, 1986





Tobago - Trinidad and Tobago



January 31, 1986



Pigeon Point, Tobago.
Where we were dropped off by tenders.



You can see Stella is anchored away from reef.
Wave can be seen as it breaks against reef.



Another view of Stella



Jorge. Taken by ship's photographer.
Stella can be seen at a distance.



Do you get it? Mrs. Betty Stiven died at age 23.
What was remarkable of her?
"She was a Mother without knowing it and a Wife without letting her Husband know it except by her kind indulgences to him."



Leaving Tobago.
The ship struggled when leaving the Caribbean Sea and moved to the Atlantic Ocean.
Many passengers got sick. Dinner was moved to the pool area.



Close-up view of Pigeon Point.
When we get into the Atlantic Ocean and head for Brazil, we will begin changing our time pieces.
It felt as if we did it daily.



$1 from Tobago and Trinidad
No idea what the exchange rate was at the time.
Today, $1 TT equals about $0.147313 US.







Having fun on the ship



January 1986



My table mates. Kathy (in white) and Jon were celebrating their wedding anniversary.
(Kathy, RIP 2012)



All dressed up for dinner.
Carol & Anita in front.
In back, Jorge, Christine, Kathy and Jon.
Carol, Anita and Christine were from Canada.



The ladies were shown how to do the Can-Can Dance correctly. They left the stage, and the MC asked the audience if they wanted to see more.



Instead of the ladies coming back on stage, we did. We made a mess of the dance.
It was a lot of fun!



Cannot remember name of man on the left.
Jon is to my right.



One of the male dancers had a face drawn on his stomach. He made the face on his tummy move!



Jorge as a Can-Can dancer
Dance outfits supplied by ship personnel.





Jorge and Jon
Like my bloomers???





From left to right - Christine (Chris), Anita, Jon, Kathy,

Jorge, and Carol. We all wore something red or pink.

One of the formal nights.





King Neptune and the Seaweed Court invited us to join them when crossing the equator.



It was a lot of fun.

Whatever King Neptune and his Court told us to do, we had to do. And, we were asked, "Did you feel the ship bump into the equator?" No, but we all said yes!





To make it official, we received a Certificate!!









February 4, 1986





Fortaleza



February 4, 1986



Entering harbor of Fortaleza.
By the way, after we left Tobago, and on our way to Brazil, we constantly had to change our time pieces.



Getting ready to tour Fortaleza.
Where did we go? What did we do?
It's now all a fog!!



Anita and Jorge enjoying the music.
What was playing? "Hot, Hot, Hot" by Arrow



Cruzeiros (Today money is called Real)





The back of 100 Cruzieros and postcards





Aerial view of Fortaleza
(c) Tavares - Alaor Distribuidora Ltda.
All cards here sent to me by a former pen-pal.



"Chegada das Jangadas da Regata, Dragao do Mar", estado do Ceará
(c) Foto: Carlos Fernando S. Borges



Metropolitan Cathedral
Was started in 1939, consecrated and inaugurated on December 22, 1978 by the Cardinal Bishop D. Aloisio Lorscheider



Salvador da Bahia.
Most people refer to it just as Bahia
February 6, 1986







Salvador da Bahia



February 6, 1986



Entering the harbor



A fort in the bay



"Old" part of Salvador.
Salvador was once the capital of Brazil



A street in Bahia



The loop table lamp



"Growth" is a geometric, origami-inspired



More of Salvador



1986



One of the beaches



A close-up view



Local dancers and band came onboard to give us a show. Lady sitting on floor, foreground right side wearing white, was the choreographer.



Dancers represent different gods/goddesses.



Capoeira



Another routine



Jorge being interviewed and a beautiful sunset as we left Bahia





I was interviewed by a TV station. They spoke Portuguese, I answered in Spanish. I think we understood each other. Why was I in Bahia? (On a cruise.) How did I get to Bahia? (Ship.) Was I staying long? (No.) Did I like the city? (Yes, very much so.) They thanked me for answering their questions.
Did they show the interview on air? I don't know because we did not stay long enough in port.



Leaving Bahia, a beautiful sunset



Rio de Janeiro





February 8, 1986





Rio de Janeiro



1986



Entering Rio's harbor



A Cunard cruise ship



A Costa cruise ship



Different view of Pao Da Azucar (Sugar Loaf)



The view of the surrounding area from the top is incredible



Rio de Janeiro continued



1986



Trams used to get back and forth from top



View from tram



Trolley used to get to the top of Corcovado to see statue of Christ the Redeemer



Christ the Redeemer



There's a chapel beneath the statue



Six pack of Solaris Ale.
We won first price in one of the categories.



Another night at dinner. Our friendly Greek waiter is standing. Left to right are - Anita, Jorge, Kathy, Jon, Chris and Carol.





A passenger drew this. Any resemblance? Too bad I cannot recall the name of the person who drew it. But did I ever meet the person?





Ipanema Beach in Rio and Carnaval



1986



Ipanema, one of the lovely beaches in Rio



Almost appear to be ants



Incredible! These photos do no justice to the colorful event. Everything is choreographed.



Event takes place in a huge stadium.
Every Samba School has their own theme, dancers, music, etc.



There are clocks along the route.
Points are lost if group does not move from one clock to next in a specified time.



This photo and one on the right are part of the same Samba School.



Look at the elaborate costumes.
These dancers are behind the guitar.



More photos of the Carnival



1986



A group of passengers enjoying the festivities.
Behind me is Anita and to the right is Carol. The lady next to Anita worked on the ship. I don't know who the others are. It's an all-night event. We left at 5 a.m. and the last School had not passed by.



Don't I look sharp?
And the lady behind me took advantage of being photographed in this photo. Another woman in photo at left. Were they part of the group???



Jorge and cards





Every night the bed would be turned down and there would be a chocolate and a card on the pillow. Above are a few of the cards. The lower left card was left on the last night of the cruise.

I liked the following the most: "The world is a great book and those who do not travel, read only a page." (Top, upper right card)
St. Augustine



This card also appeared on the pillow with one of the above cards
or another one that I didn't keep or post.



On February 10th, most of the passengers were taken to the airport for their flight back home. Some stayed onboard to take the ship back to Florida. I flew from Rio to Florida. It was an 8-hour flight. In Florida, I changed plane to New York. We had breakfast, lunch and dinner during the 8-hour flight. In between, movies were shown. Since the plane was not full, I was able to stretch out in the seats next to me. I think the center portion of the cabin had 4 seats and the window seats were 2 in each row. The 4 seats, with arm rests pulled back, became a bed.

We were offered the opportunity to fly on the Concorde. I think it was from Rio to French Guiana. I can't recall if one stayed on the Concorde to the US or if there was a change of planes. Total for the flight was $699.00. I am sorry I did not take the Concorde. The flight I took was already included in the price I paid for the cruise. I think the flight on the Concorde from Rio to French Guiana took about 2 hours.



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