RMS Mauretania (1906) and launched with passengers. When "Britannic", working as a hospital ship during World War I, sank in 1916 after hitting a mine in the Kea channel the already davited boats were swiftly lowered saving nearly all on board, but the ship took nearly three times as long to sink as "Lusitania" and thus the crew had more time to evacuate passengers. "Mauretania" departed Liverpool on her maiden voyage on 16 November 1907 under the command of Captain John Pritchard, and on the return voyage captured the record for the fastest eastbound crossing of the Atlantic, with an average speed of
Collins Line features included bathing cabins, a hairdressing salon and separate lounges for men and women. The "Atlantic" was the first ship in service, beginning her maiden voyage on 27 April 1850. With the crossing from New York to Liverpool taking 10 days and 16 hours, the ship clipped 12 hours off the existing Cunard record. "Atlantic" and her sister ships consistently bettered the crossing times of the Cunard ships, and the "Baltic" became the first mail ship to cross in less than ten days. However, due to their high speeds, the Collins steamers were also extremely uneconomic, with fuel consumption at