A question for the "old school" cruisers

I have NO idea what we paid 20 years ago...but we were making less money than we now do....and getting MORE for our money than we now do! The overall experience isn't quite the same....not to say it's "bad"...but less "special" than it used to feel.

Calculate that 1979 $141 per night in 2018 dollars.

 

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Forums mobile app

Yeah, 1979 think I was making about $3 hr as a Manager

In 1990 we sailed on the Sovereign of the Seas in an inside cabin. There were no balcony cabins. Our 7 day cruise including airfare from DFW to Miami was $2066.00 So for an inside cabin. Subtract about $400 for the cost of airfare then and you have 1600$. Almost looks more expensive then than now. The year before we sailed on the Grand ole Lady The SS Norway ( again no balcony at that time) and with airfare included for a very small inside cabin for 7 nights in 1989 we paid $3120. Which is more than we paid in 2017 for a balcony on the Harmony of the seas ( minus airfare)..

For "Old Style Cruising", one needs to look no further than some of the "luxury" cruise lines... the per diems are almost the same as RCL.

An ongoing complaint on cruise critic is that cruising just isn't "what it used to be" 20-30 years ago.

 

To that, I ask, what were you paying 20-30 years ago during those "good old days?"

 

According to the US government, $900 in 1988 has the same buying power as about $1,900 in January 2018.

 

In 2018 dollars, you can get a 7 night OV balcony cabin on on Oasis class ship for 2 adults at about that $1,900 price point. Maybe lower, maybe higher, sure, but let's use $1,900 as our example.

 

That being said, what were you paying in 1988 for a 7 night OV balcony cabin on the "latest and greatest" cruise ship for 2 adults? Was it more or less than $900? If so, how much more or less?

 

I think the answer to this question will put some things into perspective.

In 1973 for a 7 day cruise to Bermuda from NYC we paid $699 for my wife and I ,tax included on a Cunard ship ,OV.

In May 1981 we sailed on the Oceanic (Home Lines) out of NYC on a 7 night cruise. We had an inside cabin (first and last) and it was $1598 total for 2. However, we had a really nasty incident the last evening and they moved us to a suite for the night and the cruise line refunded our entire cruise fare. I have in the past tried to tell what happened, but CC always removes it.

I sailed on the Grace Lines Santa Paula and Santa Rosa in 1968 and 1969 on 14 night Christmas Cruises in a very large ocean view cabin to San Juan, St. Thomas, Kingston, Port Au Prince, Curacao, Aruba and La Guaira (for Caracas). The fares both years for the first 2 passengers in the cabin was $600 each and in 1968 the 3rd person was $100. In 1969 the 3rd person was free. There were no port taxes and fees on top of this. I remember we went to the company's Philadelphia office with our passports and vaccination certificates (had to have smallpox again) and the fare was paid in cash. They typed up the tickets on the spot.

Cruising was very different back then. Long evening gowns, mink stoles and jackets along with long kid gloves were part of the uniform for women on sea nights. Men wore tuxes or white dinner jackets every night if the ship was at sea. On port evenings a dark suit and tie was expected for dinner. Women wore nice short dresses for dinner on port nights. There were cocktails with the Captain in the lounge on all the sea days. Mixed drinks were 35 cents each! There was a full orchestra playing at dinner every night. Everyone stayed dressed all evening. We had friends sailing on other ships over the holidays and made arrangements to meet on the pier after dinner whenever we were in port together. We were allowed to visit each other's ships. The ship's officers knew everyone by name.

I sailed on the Grace Lines Santa Paula and Santa Rosa in 1968 and 1969 on 14 night Christmas Cruises in a very large ocean view cabin to San Juan, St. Thomas, Kingston, Port Au Prince, Curacao, Aruba and La Guaira (for Caracas). The fares both years for the first 2 passengers in the cabin was $600 each and in 1968 the 3rd person was $100. In 1969 the 3rd person was free. There were no port taxes and fees on top of this. I remember we went to the company's Philadelphia office with our passports and vaccination certificates (had to have smallpox again) and the fare was paid in cash. They typed up the tickets on the spot.

 

Cruising was very different back then. Long evening gowns, mink stoles and jackets along with long kid gloves were part of the uniform for women on sea nights. Men wore tuxes or white dinner jackets every night if the ship was at sea. On port evenings a dark suit and tie was expected for dinner. Women wore nice short dresses for dinner on port nights. There were cocktails with the Captain in the lounge on all the sea days. Mixed drinks were 35 cents each! There was a full orchestra playing at dinner every night. Everyone stayed dressed all evening. We had friends sailing on other ships over the holidays and made arrangements to meet on the pier after dinner whenever we were in port together. We were allowed to visit each other's ships. The ship's officers knew everyone by name.

Thanks for posting these memories; they are fun to read!

If you want REALLY, REALLY old school, our first cruise was October 1973 on the Nordic Prince. The two of us, including air and a pre-cruise hotel was a total of $550. Air was SFO to Miami. Tips were $7 per day for two people.

We had an AMAZING first cruise, and booked a two week immediately on the Sun Viking for March 1974. We had the retired pastry chef from the French Embassy in D.C., and the pastries have yet to be duplicated since then.

Huge lobster tails, too. (Yes, I had multiples.)

Yes dress code was different everyone had suit and tie every night in the 70’s , drinks were about a dollar

An ongoing complaint on cruise critic is that cruising just isn't "what it used to be" 20-30 years ago.

 

To that, I ask, what were you paying 20-30 years ago during those "good old days?"

 

According to the US government, $900 in 1988 has the same buying power as about $1,900 in January 2018.

 

In 2018 dollars, you can get a 7 night OV balcony cabin on on Oasis class ship for 2 adults at about that $1,900 price point. Maybe lower, maybe higher, sure, but let's use $1,900 as our example.

 

That being said, what were you paying in 1988 for a 7 night OV balcony cabin on the "latest and greatest" cruise ship for 2 adults? Was it more or less than $900? If so, how much more or less?

 

I think the answer to this question will put some things into perspective.

Yep first cruise in 1996 in an inside cabin on the Majesty of the Seas, We paid over $1100PP. The seas were rough on that 7 night Western cruise, so much so that we skipped Labadee because of the wind and rain and waves. The wall panels squeaked all cruise, so much so that we folded pieces of paper and slipped them in the gabs to reduce the noise. We had a great cruise. The food was probably better, slightly, but not significantly so. The ships are so much more amazing now, and yes if you only cruise to eat, then the old days were better. The Main dining room was dresses with men wearing jackets most nights, and always on formal night. Don’t particularly miss it. The airlines resolved formal night for me after 911, when they quit letting me lug two suitcases for free. Thank you miserly airlines!!!

JC

Thanks for sharing your stories everyone. Based on what I've read, cruising in 2018 seems to cost less than it did 30 years ago. When adjusted for inflation...that's A LOT less. That being said, I guess the old saying "you get what you pay for" is true. It's unrealistic to think that you can spend the same amount of money in 2018 as you did in 1988 and get the same, or even a remotely similar product.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure the RCI CEO is doing just fine. In fact, he's doing so fine, he's taking home about $4 million a year. ;)

That’s not including the stock options, he sells those shares a few million dollars at a time!

Thanks for sharing your stories everyone. Based on what I've read, cruising in 2018 seems to cost less than it did 30 years ago. When adjusted for inflation...that's A LOT less. That being said, I guess the old saying "you get what you pay for" is true. It's unrealistic to think that you can spend the same amount of money in 2018 as you did in 1988 and get the same, or even a remotely similar product.

I think NCL is trying to find a balance of both with the Haven. If you want a cheap cruise, you can have it. If you want a fancy cruise, you can have that, too -for a price. :)

If I had the responsibility of running a corporation that size I’d need at least $4 million a year too. I don’t think its out of line, if that’s what you’re inferring.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I was joking around....:rolleyes:And no idea what I would do with, or why I would need, 4 million a year to do anything.

I paid $749 pp on NCL 7 night Bermuda out of NYC in 1991. Oceanview cabin. I remember the food in MDR was fine but the buffet area was subpar. They were also selling drink of the days in glasses from another ship to use them up.

In the MDR, they sat us at a table for 10 but no one else showed up. The people next to us felt bad for us and told us to talk to the head waiter but we didn't care. We ate there all week. ps they told us not to tip him ha ha

An ongoing complaint on cruise critic is that cruising just isn't "what it used to be" 20-30 years ago.

 

To that, I ask, what were you paying 20-30 years ago during those "good old days?"

 

According to the US government, $900 in 1988 has the same buying power as about $1,900 in January 2018.

 

In 2018 dollars, you can get a 7 night OV balcony cabin on on Oasis class ship for 2 adults at about that $1,900 price point. Maybe lower, maybe higher, sure, but let's use $1,900 as our example.

 

That being said, what were you paying in 1988 for a 7 night OV balcony cabin on the "latest and greatest" cruise ship for 2 adults? Was it more or less than $900? If so, how much more or less?

 

I think the answer to this question will put some things into perspective.

Crusing is not what it was 1 year ago!

Put that into perspective!:rolleyes:

I have NO idea what we paid 20 years ago...but we were making less money than we now do....and getting MORE for our money than we now do! The overall experience isn't quite the same....not to say it's "bad"...but less "special" than it used to feel.

But you have choices today which is great. You have the option of paying the costs you paid 20 years ago on high end lines, get the 'special' treatment you want; but it appears people would rather not make that choice, which is fine. But is nice that today you have that choice you didn't have 20 years ago.

Cruising today is cheaper then it has ever been with more variety. The 2 things that have really changed for the worse, in my not so humble opinion, is that dining has dropped drastically - especially over the past 15 years. The other problem is the quality of passenger attracted has gone down, especially on Carnival and NCL, though certainly not limited to those 2 cruise lines. That may sting for some people to hear but it is a factor of marketing to the plebeian masses and lower cost of cruises. 3 night cruises to the Bahamas have become little more than booze cruises with not infrequent fights on board. Same reason "formal" nights are no longer formal.

This from a thread I started in March 2017 about our Aug. 1994 cruise:

It was a 7 day western Caribbean on Majesty of the Seas (yes, 7 days on the Majesty and we were darn happy about it!). MJ was a sister to Sovereign and Monarch which were the newest and largest afloat back then. The cabins were, and are, tiny but we had no basis for comparison and we were more than pleased. Note that this was an outside deck 3 cabin @ $1541.50 per person! This did include round trip airfare, port transfers, and the note says cruise insurance also but I think that was in the neighborhood of $45 per person.

I went to the CPI inflation calculator on the US Department of Labor website and found that the $1541.50 equates to $2539.32 in March 2017 dollars. If is take away the airfare and port transfer cost based on our upcoming Liberty cruise of $260.15 that leaves a cost for cruise only of $2279.17 in 2017 dollars. Our liberty cruise in the same week (our anniversary) for 2017 is $964.33 including all taxes & fees. We also have an OBC which equates to $50 PP so that further reduces it to $914.33.

So, we have an OV cabin in 1994 for $2279.17 PP versus a Balcony cabin in 2017 for $914.33 PP. Same cruise length and essentially same itinerary on a larger ship with more bells & whistles for $1364.84 per person less. In 1994 a beer was $2.30 which is $3.79 today, so that has gone up. You got "free" soda back then and a number of other smaller ticket items were included. The MDR was very good and there was a midnight buffet every night. There were no specialty restaurants park cafe, etc. You had MDR and Windjammer.

The gist of this is that for the $1364.84 difference I can eat in specialty dining every night, pay the difference in drink prices and use room service every day (we do not) & still come out ahead in real current dollars. The truth of the matter is that we only eat in specialty dining once or so per cruise so we are really spending significantly less of our disposable income now on a cruise than we used to and we are on much nicer ships.

If you look at prices over time, the price of a cruise has really gone down. Granted, there is not as much included in the base fare as there used to be, but most of those things are available at extra cost. That said, there becomes a trade off between the low base cost (to fill the ships) versus how much extra you have to spend on board to have the same experience you are accustomed to - quality of food, room service, etc. As the on board costs continue to go up to keep things the same, it is harder to know ahead of time what your true final cost will be. You see a "deal" on the cruise, but then to get what you expect you have to spend hundreds more on board. The upside is that you do have a choice in the extra expenditures.

I went on the Norway in 1995. An inside cabin (with a bathtub) was $1499 total for 7 days for two people and included airfare from Dallas to Miami.

I was a travel agent 1979-1987. I was fortunate to be able to cruise for $25 a day and on my first trip that included free shore excursions in 5 ports on a week long Costa cruise out of San Juan. I would never have been able to afford that on my salary or even mine combined with my firefighter and air national guard husband. I took a friend with me on a 2nd cruise-$25 a day each. She still talks about it to this day as one of the best trips of her life. Again we would never have been able to afford the real prices of the cruise, even in our inside rooms. I wish I still had a brochure to compare it to. They were small, a bit cramped, the food was ok, but for small town girls just starting out, they were amazing.

I think people have been on so many cruises that they have eaten the same things over and over and it gets old. We went on a cruise on our honeymoon and I told my wife I liked it but didn't want to do another until we were much older. Back then the main activity was Bingo, a small gym, small casino, less then a 1/2 basketball court, hitting golf balls off the back of the deck, and of course the midnight buffet. So I am glad some of the old school activities have evolved.

An ongoing complaint on cruise critic is that cruising just isn't "what it used to be" 20-30 years ago.

 

Well, it has changed. Most things for the better, some not so good. Example, ships are bigger and more efficient with the ship being a destination, instead a hotel that went from port to port. More entertainment, more family friendly. More music entertainment. Than some things changed also that are not so good, but I understand why. Midnight buffet. Loved it. Food, is slipping. Cost of some items on the ship, especially the cost of beer. Bring back the beer package!

 

To that, I ask, what were you paying 20-30 years ago during those "good old days?"

 

I think cruises are cheaper today, but it is also about fixed cost vs per unit cost. Example, the ship, gas, and mechanical are a fixed cost. Food, is a per unit cost. More customers on a ship, the fixed cost drop per guest, allowing for a cheaper trip. 5500 customers vs 900 customers.

 

According to the US government, $900 in 1988 has the same buying power as about $1,900 in January 2018.

 

In 2018 dollars, you can get a 7 night OV balcony cabin on on Oasis class ship for 2 adults at about that $1,900 price point. Maybe lower, maybe higher, sure, but let's use $1,900 as our example.

 

That being said, what were you paying in 1988 for a 7 night OV balcony cabin on the "latest and greatest" cruise ship for 2 adults? Was it more or less than $900? If so, how much more or less?

 

Balconies were not on ships in 1988. Can't compare LOL.

 

I think the answer to this question will put some things into perspective.

Cruises are cheaper today (adjusted of course to the dollar rate) and gives you a better product (except for the food).

I went on a cruise in 1988. We sailed the SS Independance. The ship cruised the Hawaiian islands. We boarded in Honolulu and hit all the beautiful islands and were in port everyday and only sailing in the evening. The cost pp was $1000 pp - it was the tiniest room I ever saw. It had a porthole and was the cheapest price available. It was a US ship and didn’t even have a casino - and the shows were basically Hawaiian entertainment - hula dancers.

The food was outstanding and had about 6 courses. Midnight buffet with ice sculptures at the grand midnight buffet. Entertainment on board was mainly provided by the cruise directors and was divided into 2 groups young in 1 group and old in the other.. we were in the young group which probably consisted of about 50 people out of the 750 onboard.

Lots of games and silly stuff that kept you laughing all night. Drinks were really expensive but it was Hawaii where everything was pricey. It was my favorite vacation ever.

Having said all that and wouldn’t change a thing I really enjoy the cruises of today. We are booked on the Oasis in may and have a balcony room for $900 pp and $100 OBC. We have the drink pkg for $380/wk which still makes the total only $1280 pp. All the entertainment is free so it should be a great time

We hadn’t cruised in many many years and then last year we went on NCL Breakaway and it was great. I haven’t been on Royal Caribbean in many many years and so looking forward to it in May.

It was usually just under 100 a day in late 80s on a brand new carnival ship. The beers were 2 bucks cash as I recall.