Hello,
For any ship aficiondos out there, I've finally figured out the name of the ship Charlie Chan (who has a bad case of mal de mer) and Lee (who is not helping his father feel better and is a serial hotel towel stealer!) are sailing aboard to New York.
However, the "library" shot of the ship should have been reversed as it is assumed Chan père et fils are travelling from the Berlin Olympics, and not from Honolulu
Here is a link to the SS Champlain: http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0oGdXedYARNkgABdklXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEzNW5sMnE1BHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDNQRjb2xvA3NrMQR2dGlkA1FJMDA3Xzcy/SIG=120t4gf12/EXP=1292218909/**http%3a//www.youtube.com/watch%3fv=5yLMYlXcj1k

~Teil

Dear Teil,

Thank you (so much!) for searching for and finding the identity of the actual ship used used by Charlie Chan and son to sail to New York City! That information will be added eventually to this humble site.

Sincerely,
Rush

You are most welcome, sir!

I must say I was inspired to take my first ship cruise based on all the times Charlie traveled by same. Of course my cabin was not quite as elegant as his usually were. I just watched CC in Shanghai and was amused by prominent sign on boat that warned second class passengers not to venture onto main deck.

Yes, in those bygone days, 1st Class (Cabin), Tourist, and Third Class passenger areas were strictly separated. This is a "180" from today's cruise liners.
~Teil