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Could we start a list of perks that were discontinued?


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I'm not trying to be negative here because crusie lines have added services and attractions over the years that may make up for these losses. Also I have only been on 8 cruises on various lines. Some may have been discontinued on some lines and not others. Some of these things I don't miss at all. Also I am very pleased that mini-refrigerators are becoming common. If you know of others please post. But these are the things that I think were discontinued:

 

anytime lemonade

 

gifts like fanny packs and win a cruise contests for repeat cruisers

 

fruit basket in the rooms

 

water color prints (suitable for framing) of your ship

 

soft serve ice cream

 

24 hour pizza station

 

some midnight buffets

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Discontinued freebies on cruise lines:

 

Refrigerated closets for the ladies' furs - About 1968.

 

Complimentary streamers to throw at sailaway - About 1970

 

Brass Band on embarkation day - About 1975.

 

Endless complimentary Beluga Caviar on embarkation day - 1988.

 

Midnight Buffets - 1995

 

Free sodas - April 2003

 

 

Discontinued items on cruise lines:

 

Thin Passengers - 1995

 

Well Dressed Passengers - 1998

 

Well Behaved Passengers - -1999

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  • 4 weeks later...
I'm not trying to be negative here because crusie lines have added services and attractions over the years that may make up for these losses. Also I have only been on 8 cruises on various lines. Some may have been discontinued on some lines and not others. Some of these things I don't miss at all. Also I am very pleased that mini-refrigerators are becoming common. If you know of others please post. But these are the things that I think were discontinued:

 

anytime lemonade

 

gifts like fanny packs and win a cruise contests for repeat cruisers

 

fruit basket in the rooms

 

water color prints (suitable for framing) of your ship

 

soft serve ice cream

 

24 hour pizza station

 

some midnight buffets

A deck of cards on Carnival and Royal Caribbean left on our pillows. I still have packs in their original wrappers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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On the Oceanic's longer winter cruises from NY in the 1970's, we always received spectacular Limoges porcelain chargers and decorative platters. And sterling silver pen and pencil sets with the Home Lines logo and "SS Oceanic" engraved on them.

 

Passenger lists were distributed mid-way through the cruise and have all but vanished except on Crystal, Silverseas, and perhaps a very few other lines.

 

Very nice (and expensive) gifts to past passengers. We received silk scarves and neck ties on Sun Lines' Stella Solaris, shoulder tote bags with the Italian Line logo on the Leonardo da Vinci and Raffaello, leather portfolio tablets from Holland America, Lalique candy dishes with the CGT logo on the France.

 

Of course, cruising in the 1970's was much more expensive, on a per diem basis, than it is now. Even the nominal trinkets have been discontinued on all but the most expensive voyages.

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anytime lemonade

 

gifts like fanny packs and win a cruise contests for repeat cruisers

 

water color prints (suitable for framing) of your ship

 

soft serve ice cream

 

24 hour pizza station

 

some midnight buffets

 

These are still available on Carnival! Pretty funny that one of the cheapest lines still has these. However, they have cut things over the last 7 years:

Real flaming baked alaska

Free rum swizzler party

Make your own orange juice- they had a basket of oranges next to a machine that squeezed juice for you.

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Actually dining with the Captain!! Sailed the Big Red Boat in 1989 and my friend and I were invited along with 4 married couples to dine with the Captain, and we were each seated on either side of the Captain and had the absolute best time ever!! Of all my cruises, this still stands out as the most memorable event!!

 

I also miss the tours of the galley and the bridge. I understand this is because of security concerns, but I still miss them!

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I also miss the tours of the galley and the bridge. I understand this is because of security concerns, but I still miss them!
Silver Sea and Seabourn still offer these tours, and this leads me to believe that most lines eliminating them is more likely due to the dramatic increase in the number of passangers that they haul, than any security issue.
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We are Diamond Plus members with Royal Caribbean, and are always given a choice between a bridge tour or a kitchen tour as one of the perks.

I refuse to set foot in a kitchen on our vacation (only kidding, as I have seen several ship's kitchens), so we usually choose the bridge tour. We have seen just about every bridge in the Royal Caribbean fleet.

The captain on the Voyager class ships use a scooter to get around, as the bridge is so large.

Captain Johnny let me sit in his chair to have my photograph taken. It's very interesting.

Ginnie

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Discontinued items on cruise lines:

Well Dressed Passengers - 1998

Well Behaved Passengers - -1999

LOL...sad but true!

 

Actually will NEVER forget when for our last formal night aboard S.S. Seabreaze a man showed up in a vest over his NAKED HAIRY TORSO!!!! :eek:

(Ok, he DID have pants on...thank GOD!!! :rolleyes: )

But... he was allowed into the Dining Room and everywhere else throughout the night clad like this!

 

No, I don't think it was a joke or a bet!!!!

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Don't many lines still have soft serve ice cream? :confused: I have been on Celebrity and HAL and seen it on both.

 

Jim, I am puzzled by your suggestion that midnight buffets went away in 1995. They have had them on the two cruises I have been on. Is it that they are not as lavish as before?

 

And I am pretty sure people still get to dine with the captain...my in-laws were chosen for that on Maasdam and I have heard about it happening on other trips too. I guess because there are more people (like Sthitch said) it is no longer as likely that you get that opportunity, though.

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I remember the "make your own sundae" bar on HAL, early 1980's, that included bottles of premium liquor to be used for toppings. Free! I still have a few Delft plates that we received on HAL ships, too.

 

With the advent of e-tickets, receiving your docs in a portfolio is a thing of the past. However, I do have a nice green leather ticket holder from a recent Crystal cruise.

 

Yes, dining with officers is still common on many cruise lines. On Celebrity ships we are offered extended tours of the ship's kitchen and food prep areas.

 

Food was prepared table-side. Flambe desserts, fettucini alfredo, salads.

At the end of each cruise, your waiter would present the week's menus to you.

 

My parents cruised frequently in the 50's and 60's and have many pictures of all the passengers participating in costume parties. And on formal night, gentlemen were in dinner jackets/tux while ladies were in elegant gowns. In those days, the fashion police were Dior and Channel.

 

Darcy

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I dined at the Captains table not once but twice on a 7 night Hawaiian cruise on American Hawaii Line in 1985!!

Last bridge tour I had the option for was 1996 on Seawind.

Received streamers for sailaway last in 1986 on the Stardancer.

Received a nice travel kit on RCCL in 2005.

Toured the galley on Princess 2 years ago.

Had a "make your own sundae" on Princess 2 years ago.

Soft serve ice cream on RCCI 2005.

Decks of cards and an embroidery kit on Princess 3 years ago.

Fruit baskets on Princess last year.

Costume party I last attended was on Seawind 1996.

Oh, well....!!

What I do love are stabilizers and refrigerators!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I miss most the "motion of the ocean". With all the stabilizers out there and the newly built ships, you just don't feel like you are on water anymore. (Unless there is a pretty good storm). I used to love walking on the decks in the evenings and not being able to keep a straight line. (now I just have to have a martini or two). How much fun it was to watch a whole group of passengers walking forward.....then all left.....then all right! What a blast. It may make some people seasick, but that's the one thing I miss about cruising.

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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

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thats really sad about the Rhapsody, last year we went over Mardi Gras and we were impressed that they did provide towels at the pool. I have also noticed things not dissappearing so much but rather, now you are being charged for them. I remember not to long ago the free ice cream, now they serve "Ben and Jerry's" and charge you for it. Cruising is a lot cheaper now but you pay for more on board. Some fitness classes cost money as well, What happened to everythings included but alcohol and various souvieners bought on board.

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While it is sad to see some things go, it's a delight to see some of the new features.

 

I think it is all due to corporations trying to max out on the onboard revenues all the while lowering cruise prices to get these mega ships full to the brim with pax.

 

I'm not sad at all to see sodas not available on an unlimited basis with no extra charge. The last time I was on a ship with a soda fountain near the pool, some darling unsupervised boys were filling and throwing glasses of soda at each other. Unfortunately, the soda didn't know to just stay in the vicinity of the boys. I think if it was a free-for-all, we'd see a lot more waste (just like in the buffets) and a lot more empty soda glasses left lying around the ship in unusual places.

 

I only started cruising in 1998 and I do wish I had started earlier, some of the perks sound like they were wonderful. Of course, cruising was probably a lot more costly back then too, right?

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On my RCCL cruise last month on the Rhapsody, they didn't even provide towels by the pool. You had to bring down the ones placed in your room and return them to your room, or you were charged for them :(

 

WOW, I was on the Rhapsody 9/2/06 week and there were plenty of towels by the pool-you had to go to the "towel" room port side behind the bar, but there was always a pool attendent there waiting to help. I'm gonna miss the Rhapsody & her Texas-friendly crew.:(

B

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  • 2 weeks later...

"Discontinued items on cruise lines:

 

Thin Passengers - 1995

 

Well Dressed Passengers - 1998

 

Well Behaved Passengers - -1999"

 

 

I love it!!! Its sadly VERY true :-(

 

 

Julie

Carnival Victory 2000

Celebrity Zenith 2003-2004 (working)

Carnival Sensation 2006 (my wedding!)

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