30If it was true that the Lord never closed one door without opening another, for most of the passengers, the Nea Hellas was that door. Nicknamed “The Ship of Dreams”, the big steamship was filled with immigrants to America with little in their purse but with hope in their hearts that a new life in a new land would bring them peace and undreamt-of prosperity.
Once the ship was in the open sea, Captain Thomas greeted everyone on the loudspeaker. With a warm and welcoming voice he spoke about the size and speed of the vessel, the sailing time, fifteen days, the ports at which they would be stopping, Naples, Gibraltar, Halifax, and finally on to New York. There was a large children’s playroom, a ballroom, a movie theatre, and a bar.
Their cabin had two sets of bunk beds. When they first ent
