Sitmar Memories/Photos of Your Cruises in 70's & 80's

[FairwindLover]

Please everyone, help a Sitmar addict out! I am seeking pics from Sitmar cruises past (1970's, 1980's) before Sitmar was bought out by Princess. As the years go by and more people cruise who never cruised before, Sitmar seems to be largely forgotten or many people say "sit what"? when I mention Sitmar.

 

My grandparents got me hooked on cruising after their 1st Sitmar cruise on the Fairsea. Sadly their pics of the cruise no longer exist. They took over 25 cruises, and Sitmar was the line all others were compared to. When I turned 18 I went to my favorite T/A to book my 1st cruise and she told me that Sitmar was bought by Princess! What a shock! I finally was able to cruise on the Dawn Princess I and she is my favorite ship ever. Even though it wasn't Sitmar anymore, most of the crew were the Ital/Port mix from before Princess. Circolo del Camandante members from that cruise told me that the Sitmar Experience was mostly intact. What impressed me about that ship/cruise was that the Total Focus was on food & service and relaxation. Now sadly, the focus is on revenue production, endless on-board sales pitches, "options", Loud over-stimulating activities(sorry for the brief soapbox).

 

I'd love to read your fond memories of cruises on the Fairwind & Fairsea.

Did you have a favorite of the two? Was one ship ran better than the other? Which of the two had nicer interiors? Any memories of favorite crewmembers? Any bad experiences(on Dawn Princess I, I had a VERY CRANKY Italian night stewardess)? And Please - PICS, PICS, PICS!!!!

[LARGIN]

Sitmar was our most favorite of all ... Have many fond memories of the ship and her crew.. Go here.. I think you will enjoy what you see..

 

http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/Sitmar.html

[tbruin3235]

I sailed on the Fairsky twice just before the Princess buyout. Loved it. I loved the Italian crew.

[mii]

Largin, great pics. I was on the Sky Princess in 2000. It was formerly a Fairsky ship.

 

Marilyn

[Druke I]

Sitmar was a class act.

 

Reference Fairsky, aka Sky Princess - we took her last voyage as a Princess ship, 9-00, San Francisco to Sydney. Nice ship in her day, but now plagued with turbine and gearbox problems.

 

Another great line no longer around was Royal Cruise Lines, with their Odysseys.

[tbruin3235]

 

Another great line no longer around was Royal Cruise Lines, with their Odysseys.

 

Some of my most memorable cruises were on Royal Cruise Line. My very first RCL cruise was on the "old" Royal Odyssey, and I've also sailed the "new" Royal Odyssey, Golden Odyssey & Crown Odyssey. My favorite was the Golden, it's size made it very intimate. They just don't make cruise lines like they used to.

 

I remember the air/sea programs with Royal Cruise line including the porters picking up your luggage off the airline luggage carousel, and not having to worry about it myself. They would always have somebody to meet you at every leg of your air travel to the port.

 

Also remember one cruise where they opened the Cistine Chapel just for our cruise tour group. Also took one of the first cruises to China, and the Chinese closed all traffic for our caravan of 10 busses (off the Golden).

 

Many of the crew would remember me by name when I cruised. Same was true on Sitmar, even though I only sailed with them twice. My second cruise even the captain remembered my name :)

 

Boy, those were the days :)

[Druke I]

Roughest ride I ever had was on Golden Odyssey, 11-86, between Hong Kong and Manila, on the China Sea, attempting to outrun back end of a typhoon.

 

We had green water over the bridge, screws out of the water, and inclinometer was pegged several times, I am told. Very rough for about 24 hrs. Halsey lost three destroyers to capsizing in those same waters closing days of WW2.

 

Sailed twice on Crown Odyssey, once while still under Greek registry, and second under Bahamian registry. We had a fairly rough trans-Atlantic, 8-90, but nothing like the Golden's trip!!

[Lynda90]

My very first cruise was on Sitmar and several after that. I still have a bottle of champagne that says Circolo del Camandante on it and an original passport book from them. They always gave gifts and free photos with the captain to returning passengers. Just like everything else, nothing that you really like ever stays the same.

[bbuchanan]

Change is constant. But, losing Sitmar was tragic. Today they would rival the likes of Regent/Radisson in style. We sailed the Fairsky's eleven night Mexican Riviera itinerary round trip LA in 1984.

 

Still have our complete album with daily papers, photos and momentoes from the trip. Including the passenger list provided to every passenger.

 

Dinner service was unbelievable. The Champagne Waterfall began with Sitmar Princess now uses. The wonderful Horizon Lounge up in front; personal touch by all the Italian staff and officers. A great cruise line.

[chasetf]

Please everyone, help a Sitmar addict out! .......I'd love to read your fond memories of cruises on the Fairwind & Fairsea.

Did you have a favorite of the two? Was one ship ran better than the other? Which of the two had nicer interiors? Any memories of favorite crewmembers? Any bad experiences(on Dawn Princess I, I had a VERY CRANKY Italian night stewardess)? And Please - PICS, PICS, PICS!!!!

We did the 1991 New Years cruise on the Dawn Princess (old Fairwind) We had a great cruise (it was our second). We liked the small intimate ships and stuck to them for a long time before stepping up to today's giants. Here are some pics from the 91 cruise.

[KreinKrunker]

We booked a Sitmar cruise, and sailed on Dawn Princess(Fairwind). The Italian crew was still there. It was the best service and best food we've ever had. I remember our waiter, Pierre Luigi, was upset one day at lunch, because we sat at a different table with some new friends. Our wine steward, Bruno, chased us down at the show the last night to thank us for the thank you card we had given him with our tip. There were some drawbacks too. Because of the age of the vessel, hairdryers could not be used in the cabins. (That was when I still had lots of hair.) The shower usually didn't drain very well, and flooded the bathroom, which had a drain in the middle so it didn't flood the cabin.

[rkacruiser]

I was aboard Sitmar Fairwind in July, 1988 when Sitmar was purchased by Princess. We left Fort Lauderdale a Sitmar vessel and returned as a Princess ship.

 

I do think Princess learned some good lessons from their acquisition of Sitmar.

 

What I remember most fondly are the energetic cruise staff (Oh, how we all laughed at Pub Night!), the excellent Italian cuisine, and the pleasing, attentive stewards.

 

This cruise started interestingly. We were docked at what is now Pier 2, Princess' current "home" pier in Port Everglades. Just at sailing time, a very severe storm blew in from the West. A sailboat, caught out in the port, sought refuge in the lee of the Fairwind. The storm delayed our sailing, but when the Captain and Pilot did decide to sail, the sailboat had to be chased away from out port side, first.

[CalTravelers]

My first cruise experiences were wtih Sitmar. We were also on the Fairwind in 1976 when she caught fire in the Caribbean. One engine, thirty staterooms and one dining room were ruined. They radioed to two ships in the area and we prepared to abandon ship. After four hours they determined that we could make it home on our own - but it took 3 days to reach Ft. Lauderdale! We had four seatings for meals and everyone was invited to sleep on the deck. Of course, open bar for the remainder of our time at sea! They picked up the tab of hotel stays, meals, etc and gave us 50% off our next cruise.

Can you believe that we are booked on the Star Princess in May???!!!

 

While the ships were smaller, you couldn't beat the service and food. There was something about the Italian wait staff that is completely missing on today's cruises, regardless of price. The emphasis was on quality and service in the dining room. And the freshly made pizzas in the bar were unbeatable. And you made friends in the community hair dryer room!

 

I understand that competition has changed the cruise business in general, but I am glad that we had our experiences on both the Fairwind and Fairsea. We did visit the Fairsky while in port in Acapulco one year.

 

If I have a chance to scan my old photos, I will get them to you. I too have a Sitmar towel, Commandante glasses and original passport.:)

 

Linda

[FairwindLover]

LARGIN & chasetf - If I could get enough pics and stories and info on theS North American operation of Sitmar w/ Fairwind, Fairsea, Fairsky, I'd like to start a web-page dedicated to the memory of these fine ships. Thank you for the pics!

 

catravelers - Thank you for that interesting story. That's a fascinating trivia tid-bit, to say the least! I never heard about that before. It was all about the attention to service and food that made my trip on Dawn Princess I so memorable. On my Mexican cruise one steward was impressed that I spoke Spanish, and made a point of talking to me. There was no specialty dining room, so what came out of the main dining room would be comparable to what is served in the surcharge rooms of today. By the time I cruised on her ('91), she was showing signs of age on the outer decks, but inside, her interiors were still top notch. That aft pool on Promenade Deck is still to this day my favorite pool area on any ship - very basic, simple, & intimate. Very similar to the aft deck pools on HAL!

 

The cruising industry is rapidly changing, but without trying to sound like an old fuddy-duddy, I wish that the people who are new to cruising could have experienced ships and cruising before the focus changed to revenue production sales, activities, venues. I tried MSC on the Opera and loved it!! But it wasn't the same as Sitmar. Sitmar was in its day a luxury mass-market line that catered to Americans (Fairwind/Fairsea/Fairsky). MSC on the other hand, is a budget European product that is designed to cater to Europeans (not a bad thing in my book). Both Italian, but different.

 

Please everyone keep your stories/pics coming!

 

Chao

[Cruisin Kay D]

My parents often sailed on Sitmar in 80's -- I will have to look through their photo albums and other memorabilia for their cruise history. Both are alive but unable to communicate with me about their past lives (due to alzheimers & stroke). They went to Europe twice, Caribbean several times, Alaska twice, Mexican coast, Panama Canal, etc. Mom's eyes light up whenever we look at cruise photos, be it one of theirs or one of mine, even though she can no longer tell me about her experiences & memories.

 

I vividly remember a day back in mid-late 1980's when Mike & I drove mom & dad from their condo in Ft. Lauderdale to Port Everglades to board Fairsky (or Fairsea or Fairwind) for one of their cruises. Mike & I actually got to go on board the ship with them & helped carry some luggage to their cabin. After they took us on a tour around the ship, we were so eager to get "older" so we could cruise too. Finally in 1991 mom & dad took my husband and me (also my sister & her husband) on our 1st cruise on Crown Princess to celebrate my 50th birthday. They treated us to balcony cabins!!! Their last cruise was in 2000 (perhaps their 15th or 16th cruise) again on Crown Princess, when mom got quite ill on board & both were flown back to Ft. L from Panama Canal.

[Beave8920]

:) Aw....great memories when I saw this thread...my first cruise was on the Fairwind, May 1980....10 days in the Carribean. Such a wonderful experience, great Italian crew! Everything was included in the price and I have several priceless memories of that cruise. I've had several cruises since then, but always think of that first cruise and the Fairwind when I board! I've enjoyed reviewing all the other reviews....thanks for the memories!

[Fuzzzy]

Sitmar was our most favorite of all ... Have many fond memories of the ship and her crew.. Go here.. I think you will enjoy what you see..

 

http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/Sitmar.html

 

Thank you for sharing this. The Sitmar line had truely beautiful ships.

[MTJSR]

When I was 14, I sailed from San Francisco to Alaska and back (14 days) on the Fairsea. I will never forget that awsome cruise as long as I live. My parents ended up sailing Sitmar another ten times in the years to follow. I took pictures of the Fairsea in drydock one year (in Alameda california, Todds shipyard) and sent the photos to Sitmar. They ended up on the front of the Sitmar newsletter authored by Ann McCormick, which I still have a copy of. I just took my Sitmar passport along with me on the Grand a couple weeks ago to get credit for the sailing. Which was given without question. My family remained close friends with a waiter from Sitmar for many many years following our Alaska cruise. What a great cruise line.