We went on a tour of the NS Savannah, the first civilian nuclear-powered merchant ship, it sailed from early 60s to mid 70s. While so much of the ship reminded me of TOS (the mid-century look but also stuff like the ‘grates’ in the staterooms), our tour guide pointed out these tables and said Gene Roddenberry had been on the ship at some point prior to TOS. Just thought it was interesting!
So the starfleet symbol basically comes from a design to decorate an ash tray? How very 1960s
I would have loved it if the captains chair had an ashtray built into the armrest
“Dammit, Jim! I thought you quit!” - De Kelly
Eh it was the 60s there was equally a chance McCoy would prescribe them for low oxygen environments.
Haha who knows how true it is, but it’s actually a table in the bar of the ship (it also carried passengers) that has an ashtray built into the center because, 60s. There was even an ashtray in the waiting room of the sickbay lol.
So much of it reminded me of Star Trek: the ship’s purpose was to show the peaceful use of atomic power so it would show up somewhere and host local dignitaries and ‘show the flag’. Very much reminded me of TNG in that respect too. The captain was also expected to entertain in his cabin.
How often do they do tours? That would be so cool to see
Here’s the website: https://www.ns-savannah.com/
They don’t have any scheduled now but there is an open house on 11/14/26. There is some uncertainty as to what will happen to the ship at the end of the year. It’s still owned by the US government and it could be scrapped if they can’t find an organization willing to take it over and run it as a museum ship.
