Interesting Post, as an 11yr old we had a school trip that went on a tour of the Holy Land over Christmas 1964 on the Nevassa! The boat had a "passenger" section up front and the blunt end was a floating school. The two sections were well separated to keep the school kids out of the "posh" area. It seems the accommodation hadn't changed much from the troopship days with three tiered bunks.
We flew on a BCAL Brit to Venice, then by sea to Athens, Beirut, Haifa, Gib and back to Southampton. Great trip, but wish I had done it a few years later when I had a better appreciation of girls!!
ex-egll