You're Old If You Can Remember When.....

[HamOp]

HAL used to provide stationary imprinted with the suite guest's name.

 

Who else is old?

[BetsyS.]

I remember the stationary, the crew shows, the Yum Yum man and dinners with no upcharges on the menu , not even for lobster (if my memory is correct).

[USN59-79]

I noticed the following on our disembarkation info form from the Amsterdam in 2002:  Although Holland America sails under the "Tipping Not Required" policy, if you do wish to recognize staff members, we suggest you do it the last night of the cruise as most of the crew will not be at their regular stations on the morning of disembark.

Ray

[canadianbear]

2 hours ago, HamOp said:

HAL used to provide stationary imprinted with the suite guest's name.

 

Who else is old?

I loved the printed stationary on our first cruise ever and was in a Neptune suite.  I also remember in the MDR where they’d use a utensil to “scrape” off any crumbs before the next dish was served.  

[BobbiSox]

I remember standing outside in the glaring sun waiting for the last of the 'drifters' to waddle in so we could get the muster started. Thank heavens those days are gone. 

[CruiserBruce]

Yep, had the stationary a couple of times.

[dobiemom]

I may have some HAL stationery. 😉 I also remember the Dutch hats, white for women and blue (different shape) for men. But I was never lucky to have mine painted/decorated. 

[BermudaBound2014]

I don’t remember stationary but I remember skeet shooting off the aft.

[whogo]

10 hours ago, HamOp said:

HAL used to provide stationary imprinted with the suite guest's name.

 

They used to leave a couple of Holland America postcards in your cabin, too, with more available for free from the front desk. I sent out a bunch of them back in the day.

[ClippyJoe]

Sitting in a deck chair and having a steward ask if I were warm enough . Did I need a blanket or a warm beverage. Miss those chairs.

[highscar]

1999 on the Vendamm.  Daily silly, funny games with prizes.  My winning battery alarm clock has since cruised many times.  Prizes at bingo, write a poem about bingo etc.   

[bluesplayer]

The Baked Alaska parade with the dessert on flames.

[whogo]

I am trying to forget the almost mandatory disembarkation meeting in the showroom with pleas for excellent ratings on the post cruise survey.

[tjcox9]

Mister and Mrs WhateverDam ship you were on. It was an attempt at getting people to interact......

[Lakesregion]

I remember seeing the photos of the couple that always wore bunny slippers around the ship all day and evening. They cruised a lot.

 

[Sir PMP]

I remember having a rijsttafel for lunch on New Year's day in the Ritz Carlton, we sat in these chairs:

[VMax1700]

Still have some of the stationary.  

Why do I still keep it?

And the Yum Yum man and the dinner time gong!

Slippers in all staterooms and the little bedside mats put beside the bed each evening at turn down...........and evening turndown!!😁

 

(and I am not old.......am I?)

 

[rothbury]

Let's go back to the 70's and 80's when it was tux or suit for men and evening gowns for women every night after 6.  And ballroom dancing after dinner.  Live music in the MDR.  I remember the midnight buffet before there was a lido buffet.  A beer cost a dollar and a mixed drink was $2.50 and up.  At the end of the cruise your MDR steward would give you a bundle with your menus from the cruise.

 

Anybody who cruised into Nassau might remember the young men who would dive off the ship for money thrown by passengers.  A time when Nassau was duty-free and you could get cameras and electronics cheap.

[Heidi13]

In addition to the dinner chimes, fixed seating was the only option, you had separate wine waiters and the waiters performed flawless "Silver Service", with some dishes finished at the table - salads, pastas, desserts. Many tables also had an officer assigned, especially late seating.

 

Bridge visits mornings & afternoons on seas days.

 

After departure, the ship steamed 25-miles offshore, opened a shell door and conducted floatation tests with the garbage.

 

In Glacier Bay, each week we lowered a boat bringing back a bergy bit, which the galley carved and displayed outside the MDR.

 

Not sure what HAL experienced, as these were all P&O/Princess.

[lcand1923]

My first cruise (Veendam 1999), the Dining Room Section Manager, asked why I never ordered the Flaming Dessert.  I replied that the only Flaming Dessert that I liked was Bananas Foster.  The next port day, boxes of bananas were delivered to the ship.  I got a double order of Bananas Foster that night.  The next time I had Bananas Foster on a HAL ship, they were not flamed table side.

 

I always enjoyed earning DAM Dollars for participating in activities onboard.  I can’t remember how you earned them other than doing the Morning Walk on deck, but do remember exchanging them for a key chain towards the end of the cruise.  Most of the time, I passed them on to another passenger who was going after some bigger prize. 

[1ANGELCAT]

Passport to Fitness program, I still have the jacket. 

[highscar]

also have the passport to fitness bottle holders use them daily.  Vendam1999. 

[RedneckBob]

Been sailing on HAL over 45 years and there are so many things out there that it would so difficult to hold back the tears! 🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲

[Susanmaz]

DH and I were talking just yesterday about the dinner bell man calling us to dinner and the after dinner mint man at the door when we left dinner. And speaking of dinner,we sure do miss the later “early dinner” seating time - we hate the 5:00 time for early seating.

[Mitwif]

Fresh fruit in the rooms, Dutch night (with his & hers hats), real formal nights, the Yum Yum man, waiting in the lounges for the dinner chimes, bottomless Pina coladas in the pineapple, the string quartet while enjoying after dinner coffees....sigh.