Old time cruising

[NSWP]

1 hour ago, ceeceeDee said:

Oh wow. Photos of Iberia!!!! Had my very first cruise on her waaayyyy back in the day. I think the old girl was scrapped very soon after. My friend and I shared a quad cabin with two strangers (all girls). The bathroom was down the hallway and although it had a bath, you could only use salt water (showers were fresh water). There was also a distinction between first class and we plebs. A la Titantic, there was a locked concertina gate/door between first and second class.😄

Ah ye olde Iberia, I met my late wife on that ship, mid 1970 when Iberia was out here. Sailed from and to Sydney, Solomon Islands, Rabaul, Lautoka and Suva. Grand old ship. My workmate and I were in a 4 berth ..bunk, inside cabin, toilets, showers etc down the corridor. I was probably on F deck, lol.

 

Great trip.

Edited May 10, 2023 by NSWP

[ceeceeDee]

I honestly don't remember what deck we were on, NSWP, but probably somewhere in the bowels of the ship😄 I distinctly remember we paid $99 for a three day cruise, which in today's money would be around $490!!! Compare that with what you can get on P&O nowadays.

[NSWP]

16 minutes ago, ceeceeDee said:

I honestly don't remember what deck we were on, NSWP, but probably somewhere in the bowels of the ship😄 I distinctly remember we paid $99 for a three day cruise, which in today's money would be around $490!!! Compare that with what you can get on P&O nowadays.

Back in 1970 I was on about $150 a fortnight. From memory the cruise was about $250 for 14 days.

[ceeceeDee]

Wracking my brains, but I think I was on about $65 per week, so that cruise was a week and a half's wages for 3 days!!! And the $99 was p.p. Definitely not cheap. These days cruising has become a lot more affordable with better amenities.

[NSWP]

2 hours ago, ceeceeDee said:

Wracking my brains, but I think I was on about $65 per week, so that cruise was a week and a half's wages for 3 days!!! And the $99 was p.p. Definitely not cheap. These days cruising has become a lot more affordable with better amenities.

I could never afford to take my kids on cruiseships. These days families are regular cruisers with somewhat affordable prices.

[Jean C]

On 5/10/2023 at 6:58 PM, Rassa said:

Was it CTC Shota Rustavelli - my 2nd cruise to Singapore and back in the early 19seventies.   A 6-berth cabin with a window - 4 were strangers.    Bathroom yes down the hallway.  My first cruise was on Fairstar.

I came to NZ from England on the Shota Rustavelli in December 1972 - good memories. I was in a 4 berth cabin, they were cleverly designed so they all had portholes, our cabin had a passageway to a small table under the porthole 🛳

[MMDown Under]

1 hour ago, Jean C said:

I came to NZ from England on the Shota Rustavelli in December 1972 - good memories. I was in a 4 berth cabin, they were cleverly designed so they all had portholes, our cabin had a passageway to a small table under the porthole 🛳

That does sound unique design.  I don't recall any portholes in my cabins.

[Jean C]

On 5/11/2023 at 9:12 PM, MMDown Under said:

That does sound unique design.  I don't recall any portholes in my cabins.

I was emigrating rather than cruising so I didn't take too much notice of fare structures, all I recall is that I chose the slightly dearer 4 berth cabin (sharing with two other girls who I did not know, fourth bunk remained empty) rather than a 6 berth cabin. As others have said, back then bathrooms were down the hall. The cost of the sailing, £200 from memory, was the same cost as flying.  Here's my photo of Shota Rustavelli when we docked in Tahiti 🛳

Edited May 13, 2023 by Jean C

[MMDown Under]

4 hours ago, Jean C said:

I was emigrating rather than cruising so I didn't take too much notice of fare structures, all I recall is that I chose the slightly dearer 4 berth cabin (sharing with two other girls who I did not know, fourth bunk remained empty) rather than a 6 berth cabin. As others have said, back then bathrooms were down the hall. The cost of the sailing, £200 from memory, was the same cost as flying.  Here's my photo of Shota Rustavelli when we docked in Tahiti 🛳

Nice looking ship.

[MMDown Under]

12 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

Nice looking ship.

So Jean you weren’t a ten pound Pom!  That was luxury living with a spare bunk!  I don’t know what I was thinking when I stayed in a

6 berth cabin from Sydney to Perth! (I didn’t cruise for another 30 years!)”

[SuitesRbest]

Thanks for all this history, it is fantastic to from a late blooming cruiser, they would have been some great memories. Nothing like you would get these days, with all the penny pitching from cruise lines and not to mention the winge and whine you hear these days about every little thing!!! 

There was shared bathrooms and not a worry in the world on these ships..

[Jean C]

3 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

So Jean you weren’t a ten pound Pom!  That was luxury living with a spare bunk!  I don’t know what I was thinking when I stayed in a

6 berth cabin from Sydney to Perth! (I didn’t cruise for another 30 years!)”

No, not a ten pound pom, hehehe, I was just a young thing travelling to the other side of the world for I suppose a working holiday - I didn't want to be locked in to staying two years so paid my own fare. Just walked into NZ - no visas or anything needed in those days. As it turned out, I met my hubby within my first week here, we were married within a year and I've been here ever since 😄

[MMDown Under]

3 minutes ago, Jean C said:

No, not a ten pound pom, hehehe, I was just a young thing travelling to the other side of the world for I suppose a working holiday - I didn't want to be locked in to staying two years so paid my own fare. Just walked into NZ - no visas or anything needed in those days. As it turned out, I met my hubby within my first week here, we were married within a year and I've been here ever since 😄

What a lovely story!  Such a brave young thing travelling to the other side of the world on your own.  A lot of young Queenslanders went to NZ for working holidays and ended up marrying locals.  I had a girlfriend who did just that!  They decided to return to Australia when their daughter knew the names of all the long boats, etc.

However, I wanted to go further afield overseas and visited NZ several times later.  

[MMDown Under]

22 minutes ago, SuitesRbest said:

Thanks for all this history, it is fantastic to from a late blooming cruiser, they would have been some great memories. Nothing like you would get these days, with all the penny pitching from cruise lines and not to mention the winge and whine you hear these days about every little thing!!! 

There was shared bathrooms and not a worry in the world on these ships..

Cruise ships may have been old and basic, but cruiselines were much more generous in those early days.  

From memory.  No extra charges for anything.

Midnight suppers - champagne fountains, chocolate fountains, carved fruit demonstrations

I won an English t-towel for being first on the dance floor.

lots of ports

long time in ports

Greek dance lessons every morning

bingo - minimum entry fee reimbursed to winners

 

No wonder I get cranky with cruiselines now charging for some food!!

 

 

Just now, MMDown Under said:

What a lovely story!  Such a brave young thing travelling to the other side of the world on your own.  A lot of young Queenslanders went to NZ for working holidays and ended up marrying locals.  I had a girlfriend who did just that!  They decided to return to Australia when their daughter knew the names of all the long boats, etc.

However, I wanted to go further afield overseas and visited NZ several times later.  

 

[MMDown Under]

39 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

Cruise ships may have been old and basic, but cruiselines were much more generous in those early days.  

From memory.  No extra charges for anything.

Midnight suppers - champagne fountains, chocolate fountains, carved fruit demonstrations

I won an English t-towel for being first on the dance floor.

lots of ports

long time in ports

Greek dance lessons every morning

bingo - minimum entry fee reimbursed to winners

 

No wonder I get cranky with cruiselines now charging for some food!!

 

 

 

Ps T-towel is Irish linen, not Chinese Cotton. A bit Threadbare, but I still have it!

[ceeceeDee]

Suites, we were just grateful to get on a cruise and took things as they came. Didn't think twice about sharing a cabin with strangers or a bathroom down the hall or a duty free 'shop' which consisted of a small table with goods displayed on it or the segregation between first class and the rest of us or the different food served in first class etc., etc. We had a wonderful time and if there was anything to complain about, I certainly don't remember it! Maybe we've been incredibly lucky, but we haven't had any complaints about any cruise we have been on (or cruise line) since then.

[MMDown Under]

9 hours ago, ceeceeDee said:

Suites, we were just grateful to get on a cruise and took things as they came. Didn't think twice about sharing a cabin with strangers or a bathroom down the hall or a duty free 'shop' which consisted of a small table with goods displayed on it or the segregation between first class and the rest of us or the different food served in first class etc., etc. We had a wonderful time and if there was anything to complain about, I certainly don't remember it! Maybe we've been incredibly lucky, but we haven't had any complaints about any cruise we have been on (or cruise line) since then.

We were just grateful to get a berth in a 4

berth cabin with strangers.  Whilst I was shocked to be sharing with three “old ladies”,

they turned out to be the best room mates. 
On my return cruise I shared with two young and one “old” lady.  The young in this cabin weren’t as kind to the old lady as my old ladies were to me.

[buchhalm]

What is noticeable is that there are a lot fewer "large" people in these photos 

[MMDown Under]

7 hours ago, buchhalm said:

What is noticeable is that there are a lot fewer "large" people in these photos 

We used to be a lot more physical then, if

 not sport then dancing, walking, etc.  There was certainly plenty of food available on the ship, including mid night feasts.  
Life was harder then. I went to a one teacher school once where a boy had to milk the cows before he came to school.  He got the cuts if he was late, which seemed unfair to a city kid