CGTNORMANDIE

"BUT...taking booze into a public area onboard the ship is a big NO-NO...it can have serious consequences"

 

We will be on our 1st cruise shortly and I was wondering how does drinking your own beer at the pool works or anywhere else away from the cabin ? How is that done without breaking the rules and looking tacky? In a way it seems from the above post you can get in trouble for that?

 

Can you perhaps pour your drink into a bigger carry around mug and head to the pool ? I have no idea what's the etiquette in this regard or how the smugglers do it. Please dont flame me for asking this. I am just curious and its better to know the "how to" and the "don'ts" before we leave.

 

Thank you kindly.

DON'T DO IT!!! You are absolutely NOT supposed to be imbibing your own booze outside of your cabin. DON'T DO IT!!! The cruise lines have every right to make a profit in their public rooms. My stance has always been that what you do in your cabin is your business...and no one elses' as long as you are not bothering anyone. Drinking your own booze outside in the public areas is really low class/ no class. If you are out at the pool feel free to order a drink at the bar or from one of the pool stewards. The ONLY exception is ...if you bring wine to the dining room and offer to pay the corkage fee.

You are welcome kindly.:D

GO AMY!!! This is great we can actually talk about booze without interference from the "RULES AND REGS ADDICTS".

THE FUNNIEST ONE: I was on Princess last year doing a back to back cruise. I just walked into the booze shop onboard the last night of our first cruise. I bought a bunch of booze...5 or 6 bottles. The store allows you to take the booze with you on the last night of the cruise...so I just took it back to my cabin. I was all set for my 2nd week on Princess!!!:D (OBTW...I always leave the leftover stuff with my cabin steward...they seem to be very pleased with it.)

I usually buy my booze just before embarkation...but I think I will get one of those boxes of wine and stick it in my suitcase before the flight...and just leave it there until I am onboard the ship.:D

REGENCY CRUISES had a fascinating history. My understanding of REGENCY is as follows: REGENCY was originally formed by 2 gentlemen who had been associated with the ROYAL VIKING LINE. Their original idea was to take an older classic ship and run it like a first class ocean liner...very similar to CHANDRIS. Their first acquisition was the NAVARINO or ex GRIPSHOLM from the SWEDISH AMERICAN LINE. Unfortunately Antonios Lelakis was the owner who leased the ship to REGENCY CRUISES. REGENCY had a fantastic product...they based the REGENT SEA out of Montego Bay, Jamaica and offered 7 day cruises to the Panama Canal and Southern Caribbean. The REGENT SEA was old but she was still gorgeous. The cabins were really nice...well laid out for longer voyages with lots of nice wood cabinets, racks and closets etc. The food was fantastic...French inspiration...catering by Apollo Caterers out of Miami. There were fresh flowers everywhere and the service was just wonderful. Evidently, when it looked like REGENCY CRUISES was going to be a successful venture, Mr. Lelakis was able to seize the company on a technical default. It was at this juncture that the problems began. Lelakis basically gutted the company and made all sorts of cuts that cheapened the product...until the bankrupty took place.

If you were one of the lucky ones to have sailed on the original REGENT SEA...you would know what I am talking about. It was a great cruise and a great product and it is sorely missed by those of us who were fortunate enough to have had the experience.

ROSS

HI ROTTERDAM!!!

I think the BREMEN had that kind of an effect on people. The BREMEN was very conducive to meet new people and have quiet conversations in some of the intimate lounges etc...gave you a very warm and happy atmosphere. The Germans called it Gemultishkite...pardon my spelling...but the BREMEN had it in spades. We honeymooned on her in 1971 and then did a double crossing on the SS FRANCE in 1973...just missed your aunt by 1 year...LOL.

THANKS JOHN!!!

Always great to share BREMEN memories. I was on her in 1971 for my honeymoon...lol.

By all means check you mother for memorabilia. I am a collector and I have acquired many parts and pieces from the BREMEN V. The borcures are really deluxe...but the most thrilling items...by far...are the menus. I have quite a collection and I can tell you that these are some of the greatest menus ever produced...each one is a work of art...from a culinary standpoint they are unbelievable. The food was superb and the wine list would make any liner of today look shabby in comparison. The traditions that had been laid down from the turn of the century (20th) were strictly adhered to and it really showed.

THANKS AGAIN!!!

ROSS

THANK YOU POST CAPTAIN!!! The BREMEN was a classy vessel...her interior finish was really nice with a lot of wood and brass. I really think it was the elegant atmosphere that the crew promoted that made her so special. The crew was so finely tuned...very polished. This created a refined and elegant atmosphere. When you went aboard at embarkation there was a big thick welcome mat at the head of the gangway and the ship's officers were there to great you. Once you had gone to your cabin you could go to tea time...just before sailing and they had white gloved tea service with the violins playing...the finest china and those Viennese pastries...mmmmm..it was just so elegant and First Class all the way. Cocktail time before dinner was so special...they had a room...I think it was the Pine Room...with a big organ and a gentleman named Willy playing the music as the ship sailed along...and sometimes zither music too...shades of the movie..."The Third Man". The Champagne flowed...they served German beer in big clay BREMEN steins...you could buy your own. I remember Lowenbrau for 25 cents for a pint. The late evenings always offered a "Snack Buffet" with some great German specialties...it was like going to a wonderful house party at a German Schloss. It is funny that I can remember they had the best breakfast sausages that I have ever had...and still can't get anything like it since. The service was fantastic and you really felt that the entire ship was First Class. The dining room was gorgeous...the china, silver and crystal were exquisite...there were fresh flowers everywhere and the stewards were stellar. You felt so well cared for and so comfortable...it was such a special experience.:D

ROSS

I JUST REMEMBERED!!! I was onboard her 35 years ago today!!! Thanks again Reini the web site brought back a lot of great memories.:D

ROSS

THANKS REINI!!!

A lot of us on both sides of the Atlantic have great memories of this excellent ship.

ROSS

HI ANDREW!!!

I knew that you had a deep appreciation for the "Old Guard"...those who were fortunate enough to have crossed in the twilight of the Transatlantic Era. Most newbie cruisers, who get hooked on cruising, do not realize where all those fine traditions of service came from. Most do not realize that you could not go to Europe in the 50's and early 60's unless you took a ship...it was, indeed, THE ONLY WAY TO CROSS...LOL.

You are right...we do see glimpses of the past...the OLYMPIC DINING ROOM on the Celebrity MILLENIUM...the GRILLS on the QUEENS...the NORMANDIE DINING ROOM on the Celebrity SUMMIT. The French created "L'atmosphere Transatlantique" when the French ships sailed. The Italians created "La Dolce Vida" and these experiences will never be recaptured. The crews of the ships you mentioned were highly trained and highly skilled and then finely tuned. Aldo Barbieri told me that the Italian Line would send him back to their school in Italy just to tune him up...lol. We have been so fortunate to have had a taste and to have experienced this. What great memories...Thanks Andrew.:)

Ross

THANKS JIM GALLUP...TOO FUNNY!!!

I am with you MRS FUZZMO!!!

How about being able to bring on your own Champagne etc. for Sail Away. On the French Line...You could bring on a few bottles, take them up to a public room and the steward would open and pour for you as the ship left the pier. Bon Voyage parties were incredible...you could have your family and friends go onboard with you and they could bring a cooler with bar snacks and plenty of booze and you would party like hell until the gong sounded..."ALL ASHORE WHO ARE GOING ASHORE"...LOL. I can remember one party on the Amerikanis out of Boston where they found a Long Shoreman passed out on a couch in a foyer...they had to take him all the way to Bermuda...LOL. He actually stayed onboard and paid his fare for the entire cruise!!!

How about 5 cent beers on Cunard and 10 cent steins of Becks on HAPAG and 10 cent pints of Heiniken on HAL. The Gala nights on the French Line included arm bands and Pom Poms that you could dip in your Champagne and toss at someone you liked...LOL!!! We would toss them high...out onto the dance floor. HAPAG LLOYD would serve Champagne with a little wooden stirrer that took the excess bubbles out of the Champagne. All the drink stirrers on all the different lines were unique...Cunard had one that looked like an oar. HAPAG had the Triton...type of pitch fork. Most of the lines would give you a souvenir ash tray.

Deck stewards really worked to keep the pax happy. Plenty of blankets in your "reserved" deck chair in the cold weather along with plenty of beef bouillion and other snacks including afternoon tea. Informal cocktails while shooting skeet in the afternoons. Bar snacks always served from Noon on at the bars. Low priced drinks...made it easy to buy multiple rounds for friends etc. The would always be a bar that would stay open until dawn and the service was extraordinary. The Atlantic Bar on the SS FRANCE would allow Tourist Pax to sneak up a hidden stairway to that First Class Bar. The French thought it made things more interesting for all the pax. They would also serve all sorts of litte hot snacks all night long...with onion soup at dawn. Some of the lounges had great live bands playing until 3 or 4:00 in the AM. Sometimes there would be a famous musician who would sit in with the band and you were treated to special concert. Every night was New Years Eve.

The dining room would only assign 3 or 4 tables to your waiter and his assistant. You never even knew that they were working other tables...they were always there for you. The late seating was the best...you could stay with your coffee, bottle of Port and cheese tray and the waiters did not care one bit if you left the table at 10:30 or 11:00 PM. Table side preparation was always there for special orders. The Italians loves to prepare special pastas at dinner. The French and English would flame everything they could. Special orders were never a problem.

GREAT MEMORIES!!!:D

ROSS

THANK YOU MATSONBRAT!!! What a great story...you must have some wonderful memories. I collect ocean liner memorablilia and I know how good Matson really was.

THANKS,:D

ROSS

Thanks RKA...you did make a good choice with Rotterdam V. I remember seeing her from the Bremen.

Thanks Doug...I have seen the book...interesting.

Thanks DMK...she was used to transport the troops...in high style I might add.

The BREMEN was a wonderful ship and classy. She had a style that will not be seen again...very nice. Everything on her was top shelf...sharp and first class all the way. The only ship that I can remember with loads of caviar, lobster and more. They even gave us bottles of German Champagne at dinner...twice. She was pure heaven...and nice wood interiors...that creaked a lot when the seas came up.

Great memories!!!:D

ROSS

Let's see if any of you "old salts" remember the T.S. BREMEN. She sailed transatlantic from 1958 to 1971 from NY. She also did a lot of cruising out of NY in the winter months. She was another fantastic ship that had a wealth of tradition sailing with her. :)

ROSS

I was only 7 years old when the Andrea Doria sank off Nantuket...and I will never forget it. Years later my wife and I were able to sail on the Leonardo DaVinci in 1976...WOW!!! We still use that cruise as a yard stick to all other cruises...nothing like it and...probably never again. Everything was fantastic and we had more fun than anyone ever deserves to have in their lifetime.

Last year we were on STAR PRINCESS and had the pleasure of meeting Dianne and Aldo Barbieri...HI DIANNE AND ALDO!!!...Diane has posted above (Scaaty). I am an ocean liner historian and it was a great pleasure to sit and talk to Aldo about all his experiences on the Michaelangelo and Raffaello. I remember seeing the Michaelangelo in NY harbor in 1965. She was brand new and I saw her from a very unique vantage point. I was onboard the (old) QUEEN ELIZABETH and we were preparing to sail that morning. I was high enough up to get a real good look at the Michaelangelo...she was brand new and she litterally sparkled in the sun...and that image is still as clear in my mind today as it was 41 years ago.

The Italian Lines is sorely missed and will never be replaced by any line today...however...many thanks to Rick Sasso and his management team at MSC North America for trying to bring back that great Italian ambiance onboard the new ships of MSC. They are our only hope and we wish them God speed...and BONA FORTUNA!!!:D

ROSS BLOUIN

We cruised from Boston on her in 1972...it was our first anniversary. We booked that 10 day cruise for $305 per person. As we were getting onboard they informed us that we were upgraded...our first upgrade!!! The service was fantastic...and she had been refitted beautifully. Our cabin had the thick flocked wall paper and a huge marble bathroom...we even had a TV!!! Everything about her was nice. The best thing about her was the great crew and the entertainers who kept everyone going full speed. I still have my menus and programs and the menus would put any of today's ships to shame.

GREAT MEMORIES!!!:)

ROSS