How has cruising changed over the years?

[BobBeaSea]

Yes Bob, you are right. My DH owned 2 tuxedos, bowties & cummerbunds in various colors, a white dinner jacket, and pleated shirts just for cruising. These days he wears a dark suit. Times have changed. Everyone runs to the stateroom to change into extremely casual clothing immediately after dinner. I don't really care because the older we get, the more flexible we have become and to each his own, but your post brought back memories of much grander times....skeet shooting off the stern, driving golf balls into the deep blue, real movie theaters, etc. :p

 

Yup! I did the tux/dinner jacket routine back then. The last 2 cruises, just took a dark suit and didn't feel out of place at all.....definitely would have felt out of place on formal nights back then with just a dark suit for formal nights. :) I did the golf ball driving routine as well...remember how they hooked you up in the safety harness in case you went over? :D As far as cruising today, it's great-just different. I also can't believe the congestion in the ports, especially a port like St. Thomas. In 2005 on Voyager we were tied up with Glory and Caribbean Princess at the main dock while a small Celebrity ship and I think a HAL ship were docked at the other pier. I couldn't believe the number of people. I figure there were at least 3x the number of people in port compared to 16 years ago.

[sea-cruise]

Yup! I did the tux/dinner jacket routine back then. The last 2 cruises, just took a dark suit and didn't feel out of place at all.....definitely would have felt out of place on formal nights back then with just a dark suit for formal nights. :) I did the golf ball driving routine as well...remember how they hooked you up in the safety harness in case you went over? :D As far as cruising today, it's great-just different. I also can't believe the congestion in the ports, especially a port like St. Thomas. In 2005 on Voyager we were tied up with Glory and Caribbean Princess at the main dock while a small Celebrity ship and I think a HAL ship were docked at the other pier. I couldn't believe the number of people. I figure there were at least 3x the number of people in port compared to 16 years ago.

 

We DO think alike!!

Yes! We can't believe the size of the crowds there now! We've become like sardines..They just pack us in.....:eek: haha.

[katiel53]

My first cruise was on Home Lines Oceanic. It was supposed to sail from NYC to Nassau and Bermuda. We never made it to Bermuda because the tender workers were on strike, so we stayed in Nassau for two days.

 

We had an inside room, paid a fortune but loved every minute of that cruise. I went with a girlfriend, and we were both divorced so we were living "La Dolce Vita" on that cruise.

 

We were assigned the same table for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We paid I think $5 for a week to reserve a chair on deck. Drinks were probably about 50cents or not much more. (This was in 1980) The food was wonderful.

 

Everyone dressed as the dress code said. It wasn't a "suggested" code, it was what was expected. There wasn't anywhere near as much to do on the ship, but it was wonderful.

 

Because we never made it to Bermuda, we decided to book another cruise the minute we got off the Oceanic. We got home, booked the Doric to Bermuda and that cruise was only 3 months after the first one.

 

Our first cruise was at Easter and there were a lot of kids onboard. We decided, that from then on, unless we were taking our own kids, we wouldn't go on school vacation time. (We since took our own kids many times.)

 

After we got off the Doric, we booked a cruise on the Atlantic. It was almost an inagural cruise. We loved it. We were hooked on cruising.

 

I talked my family into going on Emerald Seas for many cruises too. We loved all our cruises except for one. That was the first cruise my husband went on with me. It was on Carnival Mardi Gras. That room was soooooo tiny and the bathroom sink was in the bedroom. When we took a shower, the toilet paper got soaked. You could literally sit on the john and take a shower. The water didn't drain from the shower, so even taking a shower before breakfast, coming back after, there was still water on the floor.

 

There are many advantages today in cruising. Today, there is a lot more to do, cabins are larger and less expensive. I think today there isn't the respect for passengers as there was years ago, but it's not only in cruising. People today also feel that rules don't apply to them, and suggestions are just that, so there isn't any reason to dress etc. (I am not trying to start another dress code thread)

 

I miss some of the old customs of cruising, but like everything else, we need to move forward. I don't miss the midnight buffets, I do miss having my chair out by the pool though. Oh well, maybe someday, some of the "good old days" will be back.

[ckrobyn]

Katie - what a great post!

You have outlined so well how many aspects of cruising have changed over the years......you're right, people took the dress code a lot more seriously then.

I can't believe your bathroom sink was in the bedroom :eek:

Sounds like the cabins have come a long way too!!!!!!

[sea-cruise]

Katie, We sailed on the Home Lines "Homeric" ship about 25-27 years ago. She was later purchased by Holland America and was stretched, then became the Westerdam around 1987 if I remember correctly.

Your post brought back fond memories of "high tea" at 4 p.m. The tiny gourmet sandwiches and fresh pastries, and the white gloved waiters with the wooden tea cabinets. Wow....I had nearly forgotten how elegant everything was!

We swam in the indoor pool which was WAY down in the bottom of the ship. Our voices echoed off the tile walls down there. That was strange!!

We had scavenger hunts and costume contests, and French Night whereas they provided everyone with black french berets, red and white striped shirts, neckerchiefs, and black wraparound mini-skirts. Oooooo-LaLa!

They even gave us a booklet (Passenger List) naming each passenger on that cruise, which I still have as a souvenier.

[ckrobyn]

Katie, We sailed on the Home Lines "Homeric" ship about 25-27 years ago. She was later purchased by Holland America and was stretched, then became the Westerdam around 1987 if I remember correctly.

Your post brought back fond memories of "high tea" at 4 p.m. The tiny gourmet sandwiches and fresh pastries, and the white gloved waiters with the wooden tea cabinets. Wow....I had nearly forgotten how elegant everything was!

We swam in the indoor pool which was WAY down in the bottom of the ship. Our voices echoed off the tile walls down there. That was strange!!

We had scavenger hunts and costume contests, and French Night whereas they provided everyone with black french berets, red and white striped shirts, neckerchiefs, and black wraparound mini-skirts. Oooooo-LaLa!

They even gave us a booklet (Passenger List) naming each passenger on that cruise, which I still have as a souvenier.

 

Wow! That was a trip down memory lane....thanks for sharing :)

[sea-cruise]

You're welcome....and thank YOU for starting this thread and jarring our memories for us!! :D

[ckrobyn]

You're welcome....and thank YOU for starting this thread and jarring our memories for us!! :D

 

You're quite welcome! Your memories are my lessons on cruises, past and present....

I may have 4000 posts but I only started cruising 2 years ago :o

 

I was very curious about what cruising was like years ago....because although I only just started cruising.....it is something I longed to do for many years...

 

Again - thanks to you and all the others who took the time to respond to my question :)

[DeepWaterMariner]

Those high teas haven't totally disappear. I'm looking forward to enjoying tea time on Princess in about 3 weeks.

[sea-cruise]

Lucky you! I'll be on the Explorer in 3 weeks...Do they serve high tea???

I just love the pastry!

[Days @ C]

Katiel53, my 1st cruise was also on the Home Oceanic back in the early 70s. Most of the threads are saying how costly it was to cruise then, I paid $245 outside cabin for 7 days from NY to PR and back. Do you remember that all the meals came with some type of fresh just made pasta, since it was an Italian line? Midnight buffets every night and 2am pizza parties every night. Cabin boys would look for the ladies night gowns and fan them out on the bed and pump up the breasts. One night my wife hid her nightgown, he found a bathing suit and displayed it on the bed. Beautiful ship with all the marble statues. Back then ice sculputes and butter carvings every night. Many advantages then and many now. The slow changes are good, otherwise we would all be bored from lack of change. Just got of the Navigator of the Seas this past Saturday, what a change from the Oceanic.

Paul

[TriGirl]

I took my first cruise in 1986 on NCL Southward. I went with my mom and we had an outside cabin. It had two tiny portholes and was so narrow we couldn't both be up walking around. One person had to sit on the bed while the other person got dressed. I remember being in awe of how big the ship was, by today's standards it would be tiny. We had real keys and our cabin number was on a plastic key chain attached to the key. I don't recall having boarding passes, but they must have issued something. Pretty much what everyone has said is true, back then the food was REALLY good. It's good now, but I had some truly memorable meals back in the mid 1980's. I sailed on RCL's Viking Serenade many years ago and I seem to remember there were two restaurants, one of which was smoking, I could be wrong though. On that Southward cruise NCL flew us in a day ahead and put us up at a really nice hotel in Miami.

[skandls]

There is one thing that has not been mentioned. There were actual 'officer' tables. The assigned officer would show up 3 or 4 night out of 7. They would host the table - they paid for wine and after dinner drinks. That only happened to us once on a Royal Caribbean cruise. We never figured out why we got one of these tables. But it was nice. (Would do big grin if I knew how.)

[jebl]

There is one thing that has not been mentioned. There were actual 'officer' tables. The assigned officer would show up 3 or 4 night out of 7. They would host the table - they paid for wine and after dinner drinks. That only happened to us once on a Royal Caribbean cruise. We never figured out why we got one of these tables. But it was nice. (Would do big grin if I knew how.)

 

In 1998 on the Grandeur I was assigned to the ship's physician's table. I was traveling solo and had requested a large table. There were two docs on board and they each hosted one night (it was a 7night cruise). One of my table mates tried to hook me up with one of the docs since we were both single. They did buy wine when they were there and it was really nice. I figured I was seated there to 'round out' the table so there wouldn't be an empty chair when the docs were present. It was also the only time that I had early seating.

 

One of the things I miss most was the service in the dining room. My first cruise on the Nordic Prince in 86, is of course the most memorable. The waiters came to the table with dishes of veggies and you picked what you wanted. Everynight there was a choice of potato also. Of course there were only 1200 or so pax on board.

 

Late DH and I did the skeet shooting on the back of the ship. The cruise staff also did some of the nightly entertainment. On 50's night they did a skit to the tune of "Going to the Chapel" and there was a hula hoop contest. And of course, on the last night they did the famous 'If I were not upon the sea' skit. I always looked forward to that and would love to see it revived.

 

As others have said, there was not as much hawking of extras, you paid cash in the bars, no art auctions, and no casino. By the time I was on Nordic Prince in 90 she had a casino added, albeit a small one. Dress codes were more closely followed and I think the general demeanor of the pax was just nicer. There was always the one or two complainers. Perhaps it was the standard of the day, unlike today, where it is a ME,ME,ME attitude.

 

The best thing about cruising today are the prices and the choices. I would love to see some of the 'old' customs return, but I will not stop cruising if they don't.

[rsscaptain]

I wish it would go back a bit to the days of the older cruises. When it comes to dress say, I'm a traditionalist. Not an elitist mind you, but I would prefer the romance of the really formal formal nights. I understand that many cruisers do not care for it, so it seems like it's going away.

 

Is there another cruise line that seems to uphold some of these past traditions more than others? I hear that NCL is very relaxed! I would venture a guess that Cunard may be more traditional, and was surprised that it is although more expensive, it wasn't out of reach. Any input?

[jebl]

I wish it would go back a bit to the days of the older cruises. When it comes to dress say, I'm a traditionalist. Not an elitist mind you, but I would prefer the romance of the really formal formal nights. I understand that many cruisers do not care for it, so it seems like it's going away.

 

Is there another cruise line that seems to uphold some of these past traditions more than others? I hear that NCL is very relaxed! I would venture a guess that Cunard may be more traditional, and was surprised that it is although more expensive, it wasn't out of reach. Any input?

 

 

I don't know about their pricing but, it looks like Crystal, Silverseas, etc are more along the lines of the traditional cruise experience. Probably the old adage "you get what you pay for" applies.

[DeepWaterMariner]

The upscale lines are definetly more formal but I wouldn't necessarily say they are comparable to the old days of mainstream cruising. They have things like drinks included and wine at dinner that weren't part of cruising in the past.

 

I don't think officers tables have totally disappeared. The last time for us was in 2002 when the staff captain hosted our table on the Splendour. In the past we have been hosted by the chief engineer (Song of Norway) and ships doctors (Princess and the old Greek Line).

[vickiw0318]

I started cruising in 1998 so I missed the "old days" too. However, when I did start, I had all sorts of ideas about the glamour of cruising from watching "An Affair To Remember". Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant dressed to the nines every night. Even their daytime casual dress was anything but. Guess I thought doing a transatlantic cruise was the most elegant thing you could do. I can remember being disappointed when we set sail on the Monarch that we weren't given paper streamers to throw towards those waving goodbye on the docks. (Of course, I don't think there WAS anyone waving goodbye from the docks.)

[caviargal]

My first cruise was in 1968 on the SS Ariadne to the Bahamas. It carried about 200 passengers and we sailed on her a half dozen times. Since then there have been a lot of cruises on many lines.

 

Back in the old days you were able to get to know your fellow passengers easily. We dined often with the Captain (my parents made friends with the Maitre'D on our first cruise). People dressed for dinner. Salad dressings were homemade and served on your salad in front of you by your waiter. Vegetables were brought around the table and individually served. Table side preparation of pastas, salad, desserts and special entrees were common. Personalized service was the hallmark. Food was much better than what is served in the main dining rooms on mass market ships today.

 

Ships looked like ships, not like towering and bulky convention hotels.

 

I do not like the big ships of today and would gladly trade the production shows, ice rinks, etc. for the better food, service and ambiance of yesterday.

 

I would miss: my balcony, a nice gym, more comfortable staterooms. Cannot think of much else.

[sea-cruise]

Back in the old days you were able to get to know your fellow passengers easily. We dined often with the Captain (my parents made friends with the Maitre'D on our first cruise).

 

Yes, It WAS much easier to dine with the captain back then. We dined with Capt Olaf Gunnar (Sovereign of the Seas) twice, also captains of two other cruiselines, and the Hotel Manager (a pleasant Greek fellow..forgot his name) on the old Celebrity Meridian. All of the ladies received a rose or an orchid, and were escorted to reserved front row (show) seats after dinner. From finger bowls to bridge tours, to priority boarding of tenders, to champagne prizes for winning contests, things have really become more casual. To be honest though, I would much rather dine with friends than a captain, and I'm sure nearly everyone else feels that way too. I use to get the feeling that they were tired of repeating the same old stories to dinner companions. Polite smiles and all, but all out fun is better than guarded conversations.

[ckrobyn]

I've never met the Captain......:(

 

I'm simply one of 3500 passengers......all wanting to meet the man who sails the ship. Maybe it wasn't that way when there were only 200-500 passengers?

[caviargal]

I've never met the Captain......:(

 

I'm simply one of 3500 passengers......all wanting to meet the man who sails the ship. Maybe it wasn't that way when there were only 200-500 passengers?

 

The Captain and Senior Officers were definitely more involved with passengers when the ships were smaller. The Captain had a table in the dining room where he dined regularly, not just on formal nights. Senior Officers hosted cocktail parties in their suites.

 

As another poster mentioned, some dinners were great fun depending on the personality of the Captain. Some are dull as can be. But the fabulous wines, special menu, white glove service and the whole experience are pretty nice IMO.

 

I think these events are less personal now than they used to be as is the very nature of modern cruising.

[sea-cruise]

I just found some of the invitations and discovered that my post above was wrong. You get to be 63 and forget easily :rolleyes: and I know that some of the younger and sharper cc kids would have corrected me in a flash. The Captain that we had dined with on the Sovereign was Gunnar Oien. The other captains were Capt Varsamis, Celebrity Jan. 1995, Capt Ulf Svensson, Grandeur of the Seas, Feb 1998, and the Hotel Manager of the Meridian (Celebrity) was Petros Macris. I also found the light blue priority tender embarkation cards from X cruises.

[Nurse Daybreak]

Wow, everyone has brought back some memories. My first cruise was in 1988 on The Big Red Boat - The Oceanic. We had an inside cabin on deck 4 for 4 people when all the beds were open there was only 1 foot of space to walk to get to the bathroom which was smaller than an inside cabins today. Everytime you left your cabin the steward was in. If you sat on the bed and left a wrinlke, it was smoothed. If DH left a cigarette butt in the ashtray it was gone. I thought then that they must have cameras letting them know when we left as this seemed to be done immediately. I even tried to catch them in the act but was never able.:cool:

 

There was no seapass card. You had a room key, plain and simple and paid for your drinks with cash . You may have been able to use a credit card but we never did.

 

I traveled with a voter's registration card as proof of citizenship. LOL

 

There were some kids activities but no Adventure Ocean and no place to drop your kids off for a few hours to play. My daughter was 15 at the time and one of the cocktail waiters onboard became very familar with us, his name was Chuchat. If he saw our daughter on deck he would get her anything she wanted (virgin strawberry daquirie, etc) and bring the check to us. It was like he knew where we were at all hours. We cooresponded with this young man for several years and since, while I have had superb cocktail service, I have never recieved the kind I recieved from him. There was no teen club, no teen disco. :(

 

There was one small pool and two hot tubs and a very small kiddie pool up front.

 

The food was very memorable, but then again, this was my first cruise so that may have had something to do with it. There was a midnight buffet nightly but only one Gala Buffet where everyone went to take pictures. I still for the life of me cannot figure out why people take pictures of food. :confused:

 

I love today's cruising as much as I loved my first cruise. I love the rock wall, the inline skating, the ice rink, the numerous activities throughout the day. The cabin's are bigger and less expensive but all the same. Ships use to have irregular cabins as they made the cabins inside the ship and now cabins are mass produced else where and pushed into the ship in completed blocks. Some had neat little nooks and crannies and short little halls leading to two or three oceanview cabins. I wouldn't want to give up my balcony though.

 

In 1988 we paid $3200 for four with a senior discount (my mother was traveling with us) for a 4 day cruise/3 day disney package. This did include airfare though. I just figured out what it would cost us on a similar cruise today. It is $3,612.48 USD. That's not alot of price increase since it has been almost 19 years and I know that the price of my house has quintupled in that time as well as our income, so in today's dollars cruising is cheaper than then.

 

I wish I could share pictures with you but that was the days before digital cameras. Home computers were rare and the internet was not what it is today. I'm not even sure if Al Gore invented it yet.:D

 

Thanks everyone for taking me down memory lane.:D

[DeepWaterMariner]

Seacruise, you've got a better memory than I do. We had dinner with the Hotel Director on the Rhapsody this past July and I've already forgotten his name. That's what happens when you eat with the help. It is an interesting experience to eat at the captain's table, even when the hotel director is his stand in, but we (my wife, our two daughters and their DHs) agreed that we would rather have dinned at our normal table.

 

These messages keep jogging memories. Way back when we started cruising (1968) many ships gave you a gift as a memento at the end of the cruise. I've got a priceless North German Lloyd beer stein from the cruise on which I met my wife. Women might receive a silk scarf. On some cruises you would be presented with all the menus from the cruise, back when they were printed daily and dated rather than the preprinted multi use ones of today.

 

Caviargal, I agee with you...they could take away all those new enticements like ice rinks, etc. and I wouldn't miss them.