SS Veracruz

[Diver doug]

Don't know if any of you remember me ...I was the dive master in charge of the snorkeling expedition around 84-87. I married the singer Lynsey Simon on this ship.

[RetiredandHappy2]

Good day all. I'm new here and was feeling nostalgic for my old cruise ship the Veracruz.

I see some members here worked on or cruised on the little ship. The Veracruz was my first and only cruise. I was on a honeymoon cruise out of Vancouver and we had an awesome time in Alaska. It was 1980 and the ship was full of seniors with fur coats - hilarious! I think this was the early years before Alaska became a big destination.

The ship was small but as its my only cruise to date, it was great. I'm with someone new now and she is a cruise-a-holic, so I can't wait to see what a large ship is like now.

Does anyone have any links to the actual ship - Veracruz?

Can anyone tell me how many passengers it held and if in fact its the same ship that is listed as having sank from a fire?

 

Thanks

 

Ian

[RetiredandHappy2]

Don't know if any of you remember me ...I was the dive master in charge of the snorkeling expedition around 84-87. I married the singer Lynsey Simon on this ship.

Hi Doug. I was on the Veracruz for my first and only cruise in 1980. Do you have any pics?

 

Thanks

 

Ian

[falcon10156]

ss Veracruz was my first cruise as well - 1983. - Unfortunately, I was not able to cruise again until 2010, but I am hoping to make up time :)

 

Cruising sure has changed and I also remember winning dimes in the slot machine. :)

[luckycruzer]

I tok Russell Stover chocolates for the crew!......met a sweet man, 2 weeks later I met his friend from Chicago, and we were together 12 years. , met another thru him,,,,and stayed friends for 8..then we cruzed together.....that one was a nightmare !!!.....now have a steady !..he loves cruzin

[greenrose]

Actually had been on samller (Istra, Dalmatijia). Veracruz still had the smallest cabins.

[mibenco]

I went on VERACRUZ I in 1983, alone. It wasn't my first cruise but I loved the tiny, almost spartan ship. The cabins were unbelievably small and averaged 10'6" x 10'6"...I still have the brochure in fact. I had a cabin on Aztec Deck that looked aft towards an outdoor bar...it was either A24 or A26. It was spring break and there were tons of breakers aboard. We docked in Cozumel next to MARDI GRAS which was huge by comparison and sparkling white. I hope everyone enjoys the VERACRUZ pics:

[mikenbon]

My sister worked on the VeraCruz in the '70's to about 1981 as a Cruise Assistant and then First Purser. I'm going to send her these photos so she can take a walk down memory lane.

[mibenco]

Here's some more Veracruz stuff of mine

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mikenbon]

Thanks!

[Lostincruisin]

I went on VERACRUZ I in 1983, alone. It wasn't my first cruise but I loved the tiny, almost spartan ship. The cabins were unbelievably small and averaged 10'6" x 10'6"...I still have the brochure in fact. I had a cabin on Aztec Deck that looked aft towards an outdoor bar...it was either A24 or A26. It was spring break and there were tons of breakers aboard. We docked in Cozumel next to MARDI GRAS which was huge by comparison and sparkling white. I hope everyone enjoys the VERACRUZ pics:

 

My husband and I with two friends were on the Veracruz in March 1983 when It left out of Tampa Florida I'm not sure if this is the same cruise you were on but it sounds very familiar and I will look at your photos later on my desktop computer. Capt.jan Larson was the captain of this particular voyage and he was so much fun he joined in with the festivities including some of the beach breaks with his passengers. Since then we have taken many cruises and some on very large ships but I have very fond memories of the Veracruz as it was my very first. We actually took this in 1982 for the first time and this 1983 voyage was her second. And you are right it was very spartan and a 1982 it was almost under construction as we were standing up on it LOL. Thanks for the memories and I look forward to seeing your photos today.

[oomwizard]

First cruise ever! It was 1985 and I was living in Germany but had come back to Tampa for my sisters wedding. While home, an old neighborhood friend and I were at a bar and he introduced me to an agent friend of his that worked for the cruise line. He said that since the boat wasn't fully booked he could get me on for $100. I called my commanding officer in Germany, got the go ahead for another weeks vacation and went on a 5 day cruise for $120!

 

Dang those rooms were small! Ended up befriending an older English gentleman (name: John Holmes :eek: who owned some casino in England) who was on holiday and he clued me in on what to do while cruising. And we swapped girl chasing stories.

 

Also remember shooting skeet of the back of the ship. Think I remember shooting all of them! Last day of the cruise I met the couple in the cabin next to mine. It was my backdoor neighbors from my old neighborhood! They had been shooting a promo video for the cruise lines and said if they had run into me earlier they would have put me in the videos.(laughing/splashing in the pool and such)

 

That ship was so small you ended up knowing about everyone.

When I got back to Germany I had the best tan ever. LOVED IT!

[nursemommy7578]

I was going through my grammas photo albums last night and came across one from 1980. Gramma and Grampa sailed the Veracruz for 2 weeks out of Barbados. Gramma said it was a great time! She has lots of photos.

 

I will let her know that the ship is now gone. Maybe she will let me post a few pics:)

[judyzoo]

I was going through my grammas photo albums last night and came across one from 1980. Gramma and Grampa sailed the Veracruz for 2 weeks out of Barbados. Gramma said it was a great time! She has lots of photos.

 

I will let her know that the ship is now gone. Maybe she will let me post a few pics:)

 

Would like to see some of those pics.

[#CruiseGal]

My first cruise was on the SS Veracruz out of Tampa with my great aunt in 1979. The cabin was so tiny we had to fold the bed up just to walk through the cabin. Best vacation of my life up to that point! We went to Mexico and Central America. We took the day trip to Chichen Itza (Myan ruins) and it was unforgettable. Thank you Aunt Dorothy!

[#CruiseGal]

November 3, 1979 the SS Veracruz I set off for "The Land of the Maya." Happy hour drinks were .75 cents each. Breakfast Bloody Mary's were .85 cents.

This picture is me embarking the ship for one of the shore excursions. There were 9 excursions on this trip, the most expensive was the Chichen Itza excursion for $50.

[Kentchikan]

November 3, 1979 the SS Veracruz I set off for "The Land of the Maya." Happy hour drinks were .75 cents each. Breakfast Bloody Mary's were .85 cents.

This picture is me embarking the ship for one of the shore excursions. There were 9 excursions on this trip, the most expensive was the Chichen Itza excursion for $50.

 

wonderful picture

[ThatU@Girl]

I remember being on the Veracruz in May of 1982. Turned 10 years old on board! :)

Great time and my first cruise. I had looked up what happened to the ship once to see if it was still in existence and I think I read that the ship had been sold off to another line in Europe and then it was involved in a fire and is no more. But, I might be remembering that wrong.

[ss veracruz cruise]

There was a "Performing Arts Cruise" (Jazz and the Big Bands) on the VeraCruz Dec 1-14, 1979. The ship sailed from Tampa to Montego Bay. The ports of call were Tampa, Key West, San Juan, St. Thomas, Barbados, Caracas, Curacao, Aruba and Montego Bay. The performers were Peter Duchin, Bob Eberly, Helen Forrest and George Shearing (the blind guy). I worked on board during this time period as a cruise assistant. The Go Bananas Program was at the "Seawind Beach Resort" in Montego Bay. My name is Erika. I am glad you had a good time.

Edited September 12, 2015 by ss veracruz cruise
delete post

[boyetsacramento]

Hi Ericka, this is boyet sacramento, the keyboardist of the band when you were one of the cruise assistants. Our band members were Toby the vocalist, Jun the drummer, vic on trombone/flute. How about getting in touch with me. My facebook name is of course boyet sacramento and my e-mail address is jojosacramento@yahoo.com, phone# is 713-325-3117. I would like to get in touch w/ you for good time sake. Thanks :)

[mikenbon]

Do you remember a blonde Canadian gal in the Purser's office named Jan or Janet? She's my sister and was on the ship at the same time, and she remembers the cruise you are talking about, Erika.

[rln44]

Found this thread by accident. Can't believe it's been going on for more than 10 years. We sailed on the Veracruz out of Tampa on December 4, 1982. Our first cruise (now approaching 50 cruises). We still have our brochure and daily schedules but not the menus. Visited Key West, Cozumel and Playa del Carmen. Took the ferry over from Cozumel for the tour to chichen itza. Two blocks from the dock was a dirt parking lot and nothing but Jungle beyond that. What a difference from modern day Carmen del playa. We had a bone jarring ride on an old school bus and when passengers complained that they needed to go to the bathroom we stopped on a dirt road with irrigation ditches on both sides and our driver commented "men to the right, women to the left". Our captain was Jens Thorn, Cliff Nelson was the mc (he reminded us of Buddy Hackett) and Kay Lynn was the social director. Food was great-easily equal to that being served in modern cruise ships, and the service was even better-very friendly and much less harried than in today's main dining rooms. Still remember the .85 daily drink specials with .15 added for service-even for those days an amazing price. Our favorite story is the man overboard drill which entertained the passengers. A collection of life vests joined together to resemble a passenger was tossed overboard and the crew led by the staff captain jumped into a lifeboat to rescue it. It took them several passes and about a half hour to retrieve it after which it was generally agreed by the passengers that we should probably try to avoid falling overboard. We loved the ship and were hooked on cruising.

[Lostincruisin]

Found this thread by accident. Can't believe it's been going on for more than 10 years. We sailed on the Veracruz out of Tampa on December 4, 1982. Our first cruise (now approaching 50 cruises). We still have our brochure and daily schedules but not the menus. Visited Key West, Cozumel and Playa del Carmen. Took the ferry over from Cozumel for the tour to chichen itza. Two blocks from the dock was a dirt parking lot and nothing but Jungle beyond that. What a difference from modern day Carmen del playa. We had a bone jarring ride on an old school bus and when passengers complained that they needed to go to the bathroom we stopped on a dirt road with irrigation ditches on both sides and our driver commented "men to the right, women to the left". Our captain was Jens Thorn, Cliff Nelson was the mc (he reminded us of Buddy Hackett) and Kay Lynn was the social director. Food was great-easily equal to that being served in modern cruise ships, and the service was even better-very friendly and much less harried than in today's main dining rooms. Still remember the .85 daily drink specials with .15 added for service-even for those days an amazing price. Our favorite story is the man overboard drill which entertained the passengers. A collection of life vests joined together to resemble a passenger was tossed overboard and the crew led by the staff captain jumped into a lifeboat to rescue it. It took them several passes and about a half hour to retrieve it after which it was generally agreed by the passengers that we should probably try to avoid falling overboard. We loved the ship and were hooked on cruising.

 

We also sailed out of Tampa on the Veracruz in March of the same year. Our captain was Larsen. At the moment his first name escapes me he was a tall very handsome blonde sweet who lived in the Tampa area. When we got off the ship his little red Corvette was waiting for him in the parking lot. He always had theDJ play little red Corvette by Prince. I have the same memories of the cruise director Cliff, Who reminded us of Benny Hill. We met the captain San Francisco beach in Cozumel one afternoon and he bought us all drinks. Quite a change from the Large ships and formality of the captains of today. That was actually our second cruise on the Veracruz, our first being the Eastern Caribbean the year before. So bare bones and Spartan compared to the new ships. Lots of fun memories though.as I'm writing this the captain's name came to me it was Jan Larson. Hope to see more memories of the Veracruz posted here.

[livetocruise1988]

It was the best cruise, I have ever been on. the crew was awesome. And I just got married that morning June 18 1988 and left out of Tampa, Florida for our Honeymoon with my beautiful wife. the service from the crew on that trip was top notch. they treated us like kings. I remember being at the Captain table for dinner every night and it was wonderful. food was awesome, drinks were great and the entertainment was the best. loved how everyone dressed up for dinner and dancing. I remember being ask by one of the other passengers, if I would ask her mom to a dance as she was on the cruise alone with her daughter. "don't worry my wife said do it" It is one of those memories you will never forget. I wish SS Veracruz was still around, I would love to go on it again just because. the room service, the Champagne in the room, the beds turned back with chocolates on the pillows at night. the crew from purser to housekeeping was the best at making you feel great your whole trip. :)

[hixsoncruiser]

Thanks for the memories. Was our first cruise also.Have often wondered what happened to the old Veracruz. Sad to hear of her demise. Found these old photos of July 28, 1987, Mexico cruise out of Tampa. We are now in our late 60s and early 70s, and our then six-year-old son is nearly 35. What memories! Been cruising a few times since. Headed off to Alaska in June for another one.:cool: