RMS Olympic, in the course of her nearly 25 years at sea, earned the name "Old Reliable". Besides being cherished by her passengers and crew alike, Olympic proved herself time and time again to be a ship that could not be stopped or sunk. When World War I broke out in August 1914, Olympic remained in commercial service. She once rescued the crew of a British battleship off the coast of Ireland. The warship had struck a mine and was sinking fast. In September of 1915, the Royal Navy requisitioned her as a troop ship. She was painted in various colors and geometric shapes and refitted to carry more lifeboats and thousands of troops in a crossing. During her war service she survived four submarine attacks, turning one of them into an attack of her own as she turned on the enemy sub and rammed it. Although a glancing blow, with more than 46,000 tons of steel behind it, it was more than enough to sink the German submarine, forcing its crew to abandon ship.

All told, Olympic transported more than 120,000 civilian and military personnel across the Atlantic and was, like so many liners drafted for war duty, instrumental in bringing the war to a close. Following a postwar refit, "Old Reliable" was back to sea by July of 1920. The Roaring Twenties offered a rejuvenation of sorts for the ocean liner. Many people, weary of war, sought comfort and relaxation aboard ship. Americans, in particular, sought European liners as an escape from the stringent shackles of Prohibition. Once clear of American waters, the drinks were on and the party started. The pictures below show Olympic passengers in a variety of activities.