Who out there remembers the good old days of...

[Hlitner]

Hate to admit we are old enough to remember those "good ole days" of crusiing. The OPs mention of the Norway did bring back some fond memories. Strolling down the International Deck at night, with the sound of music drifting into the very wide long indoor promanade, and seeing the hundreds of lights lighting this same promanade (which ran the length of the ship) was very special.

 

As to the muster drills, the reason most cruise lines stopped requiring passengers to take life jackets was that there were many injuries because "idiot" passengers would let the straps drag on the floor thus tripping themselves and/or other passengers. The SOLAS rules no longer require the life jackets to be worn at the drill. The irony of the Costa situation is that some ships do not have passengers go to their boat stations because of the possibility that the boats on some parts of the ship might not be usable (which is what happened on the Costa ship). The theory is that by assembling at a central location the crew can deal with these boat problems. Of course it does help if the crew does its job and the officers take proper command.

 

Hank

[Kartgv]

Some great, some not so.....

- "Double Bed" that was barely wider than a single. Luckily we were newlyweds at the time!

- Smoking everywhere.

- Split Cruises. Our first cruise - boarded in Florida, 2nd port was Ocho Rios, Jamaica. A group of about 40 got off the ship and stayed in villas in a gorgeous resort, then got back on the ship a week later and finished the cruise.

- After getting back on the ship on the split cruise, deciding to throw a cocktail party for about 10 of the couples we had spent most of the time with. Had a private room, open bar and snacks and the total bill was $48.

- Things we haven't seen in awhile - Costume parties, horse races, passenger talent shows, cheap Bingo!

- Truly superb food, often prepared tableside, was the rule, not the exception. There was, however, a culture of almost 'forced feeding' - you just didn't say no to anything.

- Sail-Aways with confetti and streamers as well as music and drinks, hundreds of friends and onlookers lined up on the pier cheering and waving goodby.

While we miss some things from the "good old days", cruising is still a great way to vacation.

[GolferGal2]

I fondly remember the "good ole days" and my first cruise all of 23 yrs. ago as being absolutely wonderful. However, as time goes by and with age, I wonder if I really remember things being as I think they were - who knows. I think majority of times your first cruise will be your best and will be remembered as the good ole days whether it was 30+ yrs., 10 yrs., or 1 yr. ago. I'll admit ours was very expensive to do back then, at least for us and we didn't cruise again until 2004. I love the fact that we can cruise more often now because it's more affordable. Doesn't mean I like how things have changed but have had to tolerate. Some of the things I have noticed and don't appreciate are the way people seem to be more rude, demanding, no etiquette, never picking up after themselves, lack of respect to staff as well as to other cruisers. Do people not know how to say "excuse me, thank you, your welcome, even hello"? There's seems to be more of an entitlement attitude. I really enjoyed the formal nights but can say that I'm glad it's not quite like it use to be mainly for packing purposes. Those nights that are "suppose to be" dressy or dressy-casual, I just wish people would be more respectful and considerate with how they are dressed. Not asking you to go all out but could you at least put on a pair of slacks, a decent shirt, or dress, etc. and leave the jeans, shorts, tank tops, flip flops, etc. for casual nights or buffet. It's not going to ruin my dinner experience but sure would be nice to see people follow the guidelines.

 

Some cruises have been better than others and I plan to continue cruising, complaints and all, until it gets to a point where I or family can't enjoy ourselves. Don't really see that happening as we try our best to enjoy and be thankful for the opportunity that we even get cruise. If not for cruising, I'd never been to the places I've been or had some of the most rewarding experiences, not to mention meeting some awesome and wonderful people.

 

Can't wait until Feb. for the next cruising experience. This trip is going to be a "girls" get away and the first cruise for my friend. So here's hoping her first cruise will be a wonderful and memorable experience and one she'll remember as "in the good ole days".

[MamaTene]

Who remembers skeet shooting off the fantail? Or hitting golf balls out to sea?

How about "horse races" around the lido deck?

Or (yuck), the crew throwing garbage overboard?

 

Oh gosh yes I remember all of those very well (with the exception thankfully of the garbage throwing!) I have pictures of my husband shooting skeet and another of him in the harness at the fore of ship hitting the golf balls into the ocean.

[MamaTene]

Hate to admit we are old enough to remember those "good ole days" of crusiing. The OPs mention of the Norway did bring back some fond memories. Strolling down the International Deck at night, with the sound of music drifting into the very wide long indoor promanade, and seeing the hundreds of lights lighting this same promanade (which ran the length of the ship) was very special.

 

Hank

 

Wasnt that the most awesome feeling Hank? Stored in my memory bank forever and thankfully I have many stunningly beautiful pictures of the Norway and all her special amenities.

[Hlitner]

Wasnt that the most awesome feeling Hank? Stored in my memory bank forever and thankfully I have many stunningly beautiful pictures of the Norway and all her special amenities.

 

They just do not build them like that anymore. :)

 

Hank

[lovevacadays]

IMO, things are much, much better now! For the same cost (especially adjusted for inflation) you can stay in a suite and eat in a specialty restaurant every night for less money than what a regular stateroom cost 15 or 20 years ago.

 

That and the addition of so many more entertainment and activity options make cruising much more intereting for those that get bored quickly. Our first cruise was in 1994. I didn't think the food was any better in the MDR than it is now. I have always found the service to be wonderful and love that the pricing is low enough to be able to cruise more often.

 

I agree. My first cruise was in the mid 80's. Certainly, there are things that are different today. But, not enough for me to miss them and I'm also very happy that the price of cruising seems to not have increased all these years and maybe gone down. I'm happy with today's cruise experience.

[lovevacadays]

IMO, things are much, much better now! For the same cost (especially adjusted for inflation) you can stay in a suite and eat in a specialty restaurant every night for less money than what a regular stateroom cost 15 or 20 years ago.

 

That and the addition of so many more entertainment and activity options make cruising much more intereting for those that get bored quickly. Our first cruise was in 1994. I didn't think the food was any better in the MDR than it is now. I have always found the service to be wonderful and love that the pricing is low enough to be able to cruise more often.

 

sorry having trouble posting

[griffy116]

We took our first cruise over 25 years ago when our daughters were in 12 and 16. We had the time of our lives but we now laugh at some of the memories.

1. The bathroom shower poured all over the toilet, into a drain in the floor and everything got drenched it was so small.

2. You smoked anywhere and everywhere, including the dining room that had no windows. The waiters all had lighters and would suddenly appear to light the cigarette and re-fresh the ashtray during dinner if you snuffed a cigarette.

3. You choice of food was more limited and dining times were fixed. Period.

4. Anyone could play the casino and drink, regardless of age. Our 12 year old wandered into the casino and we found her playing (and winning) on a slot machine with an mixed drink. She was asked if she would like a drink and ordered her Grandmother's favorite and it was brought to her.

5. Not as many choices of activities, especially for children and teens, so the teens made their own "entertainment" and the crew never stopped them.

6. You ate, you sat in the sun, you lounged near the ONE small, overcrowded pool in wooden loungers.

 

Let's admit that we like many of the improvements and changes. A cruise "back when" was wonderful in it's time and cruising today is wonderful. Just different experiences.

[sarge98]

My recollection as to cruising costs in the mid-70's differs. I took a 7-day Caribbean cruise aboard the Song of Norway in the mid-70's ('74 or '75) when I was just a whippersnapper, & I recall it being very reasonable.

 

As to "the good old days:" Go see "Midnight in Paris" for a great perspective on this subject.

 

Going along with you, as I recall our first cruise, 1979, Carnival was $654 pp, incl RT air. Inide cabin. And there was a Midnight buffet too. Our last trip was on Princess 7 days out of San Juan, aprox $4000 incl RT air, balcony cabin.

[Hlitner]

Going along with you, as I recall our first cruise, 1979, Carnival was $654 pp, incl RT air. Inide cabin. And there was a Midnight buffet too. Our last trip was on Princess 7 days out of San Juan, aprox $4000 incl RT air, balcony cabin.

 

You can still get a 7 day Princess Caribbean cruise (inside cabin) for under $700! Amazing!

 

Hank

[navybankerteacher]

And we threw streamers overboard while people stood on the dock waving goodbye to us.

 

As for the life boat drills -- on HAL we have always reported to our life boat station. And until recently we always wore our life jackets and Roll Call was taken and people remained silent during the captain's talk.

 

I think Costa Concordia might bring back that one element of "the good old days".

[sullaRaffaello]

The only self sevice buffet was a lavish one at midnight, in one of the main public rooms, most likely only once on a week long cruse. Multiple classes on transatlantic crossings.

[marco]

Some one in an earlier post remembered the "Norway". I did sail on the "Norway", but I also was on it when it was the "France". Honestly....the refit to make it the "Norway" made it much, much nicer!........... But we got complimentary wines with lunch and dinner on the "France".

[harleysmama]

Agree... RCCL Song of Norway the mid 1970's :D

 

Absolutely, what a wonderful ship and the service was great, miss that. And one of my favorite things was throwing the confetti off the side of the ship and lots of people waving and saying good bye.

[barante]

When I worked for Royal Viking Line in the 1970's and 1980's, we offered all those great things that are missing today.

 

A 7-day Mexican Riviera cruise on the Royal Viking Sea in an Ocean View Cabin (we didn't have balconies in those days) cost the same as a new Cadillac.

 

Today, if you are willing to spend the price of a new Cadillac for a 7-day cruise, I can guarantee that it will be even better than the true 5-star experience on Royal Viking from 30 years ago. Check out Seabourn or Silver Sea Cruise Lines.

 

However if you are trying to vacation on the cheap today, you will be disappointed - just as you would have been 30 years ago.

 

Nostalgia is remembering the past with pain removed. So . . .

What are the good old days. In 5-10 years, today's experiences will be good old days?

As to disappointments, we have cruised only since the passage of "good old days." We have taken 15 cruises so far, with three more booked, including a 37-day cruise, 20-day cruise and a 30-day cruise. We find value and take advantage of it. And we have never been disappointed, not in insides, not on balconies, no on NCL, HAL, RCI, Celebrity, Princess, Carnival. In November, we will go to SEAsia with Costa.

Have some cruises been better than others. Absolutely. But much depends on you, your stae of mind and so on.

[mr green]

True customer service, outstanding food with no specialty restaurants, muster drills that took place AT THE MUSTER STATION your cabin assigned too with attendance taken, room service that allowed you to WRITE IN your own choices if you preferred something not on the menu.

 

Our most memorable cruise without a single doubt was aboard the Norway. This was sailing at its finest in the true spirit of cruising.

 

I fear those days are indeed gone for good.

 

Strange. My worst cruise was on the Norway. I wrote in my report that the ship should be retired. This action might have saved a few lives.

 

john

[Mathguy42]

Wow, you are indeed lucky to have sailed on the Norway.... You should write about that experience before it disappears forever. Maybe a Seabourn transatlantic will come close...but it might never be quite the same. Futile it is indeed to attempt to recreate the past, but we can always hope for a better future.

[Hlitner]

Not sure why John thinks retiring the Norway saved lives. She was certainly getting old and either in need of major renovations (bringing her up to the current SOLAS regulations) or she had to be retired. The ship had an amazing history starting out as the France with an unusal top speed (might have been the fastest cruise liner of her era) with a degree of elegance seldom seen in modern ships. After about 15 years (she was built in 61) the ship just became too expensive to operate because of her excessive fuel use (she was built for speed, not economy). When she was purchased by NCL they did major renovations including the removal of two of her huge engines (am trying to do this from memory). NCL tried to convert her from a true Ocean Liner to a single class cruise ship with mixed reviews. DW and I have cruised on more then 60 different ships and the Norway remains fixed firmly in our minds as one of the most beautiful (inside and out).

 

Hank

[SPacificbound]

Good points. The good old days of customer service - love to have that back. Food, better, more plentiful for sure.

 

But, higher price, relatively, thus fewer cruised. No or very few balconies. So, do we go back?

 

Funny how the memory is so selective about the good old days. I hear the same selective memory about the good old days of the 1950s.... life was simplier, cheaper, but travel was much more limited and relatively expensive, there was still segregation, women hardly worked outside of the home. Do we go back?

 

Nope. Been there, done that. :D

[GrannyJ]

My first cruise was on the next-to-last crossing of the old Queen Elizabeth I in 1967. My sister and I were teenagers, returning from three months of backpacking through Europe. There were three classes of cabins: First Class, Cabin Class and Tourist Class (otherwise known as "steerage"). Guess where we were... Our cabin was all metal, floor, walls, bunk beds. The cabin was exactly twice as wide as the bunk...you could just get the door open past the bunk beds. Most cabins only had a toilet and sink (you had to go down the hall to use the shower), but we were lucky that we also had a shower. Food was good, but "strange" to us (picture putting a bowl of pickled herrings on a bed of chopped onions in front of an American teenager at breakfast). No disco, no hairiest belly contests, no casino. The pool was a cold, small tank of salt water somewhere down in the bowels of the ship. Booze was cheap, though, and they didn't seem to have any compunctions about serving teenagers, so I had my first, second and third cocktail, followed by my first hangover. The young folks just sort of gravitated together and hung out in the bar. We'd convince the orchestra every night to play a song or two WE could dance to. You couldn't just wander up to First Class, or even Cabin Class, to see how the other folks were faring, but a nice steward took pity on us and sneaked us up for a look-see. The ship was getting quite shabby by then, but to two Midwestern teens who had been sleeping in youth hostels, really really cheap hotels, and train stations for three months, it looked like Buckingham Palace. I've seen some pretty fancy ships since then, but I don't think anything will ever WOW me like the Queen Elizabeth I.

[MamaTene]

Not sure why John thinks retiring the Norway saved lives. She was certainly getting old and either in need of major renovations (bringing her up to the current SOLAS regulations) or she had to be retired. The ship had an amazing history starting out as the France with an unusal top speed (might have been the fastest cruise liner of her era) with a degree of elegance seldom seen in modern ships. After about 15 years (she was built in 61) the ship just became too expensive to operate because of her excessive fuel use (she was built for speed, not economy). When she was purchased by NCL they did major renovations including the removal of two of her huge engines (am trying to do this from memory). NCL tried to convert her from a true Ocean Liner to a single class cruise ship with mixed reviews. DW and I have cruised on more then 60 different ships and the Norway remains fixed firmly in our minds as one of the most beautiful (inside and out).

 

Hank

 

My sentiments mirror yours almost word for word Hank. Truly a magnificent cruiserliner. We had the time of our lives on her.

[Taxguy77]

The Queen Mary is now a hotel in Long Beach, California. Only the first class cabins are hotel rooms. We stayed one night, very interesting. The bathroom was as big as the whole inside cabin we had on NCL a few years ago. My DW could not find anything to stand on so she could see out the 2 portholes inthe cabin, I could barely see out myself.

 

My favorite cruise was on the Royal Clipper, 227 passengers.

[isujim]

Our first cruise was the Nordic Prince.........being our first we thought it was wonderful.......in the next 50 days we will take our 23rd cruise on the Golden Princess and later in the year on HAL.......

 

To me the biggest change is people 30 years ago weren't in as big a hurry as they are today and not in to "I want or need it now" mode.

 

Can you imagine a cruise today without walkie talkies:D cell phones:D or rum runners:D

 

You really can't compare different times...........each had good points and bad points..........

 

Memories are like photo albums..........you pull them down once every so often and look at the pictures with a smile on your face.............then you put it up and get ready for rush hour traffic to get to your cruise ship with 3,000 (or more passengers)...........that's just the way it is today. Whether that is progress or not is all up to your perspective.

[navybankerteacher]

With the premium price luxury offerings, the "good old days" are still available -- for about the same number of passengers as used to be able to afford cruising in those days. What we have now is a product which did not exist before: inexpensive cruising -- which millions tody can afford rather than the few tens of thousands who enjoyed what used to be "standard" cruising. Now you have your choice: cruise affordably (and often) or save for years for a premium experience.

 

The one bit of the past which seems to have largely faded is more the level of courtesy shown by the average passenger to his fellow passengers, than the level of service provided by the cruise lines.