Demand and Prices

[fPetrarca]

Healthy competition between two similar lines is in everyone's interest. As consumers it allows us to choose from among a wider variety of itineraries, it gives us a wider choice of cabins and it often brings lower prices. For the lines themselves, competition encourages them to constantly stay on top of their game. I don't understand why anyone would hope one of these lines (Azamara and Oceania) would fail. It just makes no sense to me.

[Acrusa]

I spoke to my Ta and asked her if O took an early payment discount.She told me only Crystal and Silversea do. Not O.

[hondorner]

...I don't understand why anyone would hope one of these lines (Azamara and Oceania) would fail.

I don't recall anyone on this thread expressing any desire for either line to fail. If I gave that impression with my unemotional analysis of Azamar, then I failed to express myself properly.

[CruseKrazy]

Me too hondorner. I was merely passing on one of the Mail Bouy's 2009 predictions that one of the boutique lines would disappear this year. I do not hope for this either. The conversation about this possibility was nevertheless interesting.

 

Dave

[ClaudiaF]

Having been on both O and Az I feel your comment about the elegance and/or intimacy of the latter to be wrong. (why do I always seem to disagree with you).

 

 

Stan and Jim.. taking the words from our friend BRIAN.

You guys are constantly high 5ing O.why?

Aza is fabulous..service unreal..I mean UNREAL..if any had ever cruised on the R small ships then that is the feeling with the folks on Aza..most of the people on all of these ships started on pretty Ren anyways..anyways I appreciate all of your posts for years, but obviously if you haven't tried them then don't comment sorry. My loyalty has always as yours has been to R or now O.. but hey.. we are consumers and we LIKE being treated ..:rolleyes:;););)

I have always booked OS on O and A and R as it was/is.. but am not feeling that love from O.. so what are they giving you to write the "pretty

posts"?

[StanandJim]

Stan and Jim.. taking the words from our friend BRIAN.

You guys are constantly high 5ing O.why?

Aza is fabulous..service unreal..I mean UNREAL..if any had ever cruised on the R small ships then that is the feeling with the folks on Aza..most of the people on all of these ships started on pretty Ren anyways..anyways I appreciate all of your posts for years, but obviously if you haven't tried them then don't comment sorry. My loyalty has always as yours has been to R or now O.. but hey.. we are consumers and we LIKE being treated ..:rolleyes:;););)

I have always booked OS on O and A and R as it was/is.. but am not feeling that love from O.. so what are they giving you to write the "pretty

posts"?

 

We have Sailed Azamara. We did not love the service. We thought that the ship was slightly understaffed, and found what service there was to be clumsey and amaturish.

 

The butler for every cabin concept would be ridiculous if it were not so pretentious. Butlers should not be cleaning toilets.

 

We also disliked the crass way that A redecorated their R ships. That whole nightclub in the library thing just irks. That Grand Piano is practically IN the fireplace.

 

And don't even get us started on that over-crowded coffee-bar at the top of the Grand Staircase! It's just too "grand central station" for words.

 

Oceania, to us, has a civilized and relaxed ambience that we have not seen since the demise of the Home Lines or Sitmar. It's something akin to what Holland America was, pre Carnival.

 

Thankfully, that superior atmosphere attracts a very congenial sort of passenger. Sailing with those educated, urbane people greatly enhances our cruise experience. So far, Oceania has not let us down in that dept. either.

 

By all means, however, if you enjoy A, and they treat you well, sail with them. Cheer for them as loudly and long as we will for O.

 

Must Run-

 

J&S

[Leonid]

Couldn't agree more with your last two posts. On our latest adventure on O (BA to Valpo over the holidays), we were in an OS. Butler was fantastic if under used. In fact all the crew we encountered provided the best service we've experienced to date on 33 cruises - and that includes our experiences on Crystal, Seabourn & Silversea.

 

BTW - didn't know you were Sitmar people. We started sailing with them in 1981 and continued until Princess absorbed them in 1988. The last sailing was 1988-1989 over the holidays. Went from Auckland to Sydney. Sitmar was truly an Italian line and it was sad to see the Brits. attempting to replace them. Sitmar had a return clientele (percentage wise) that we have not seen on any other line.

[joan24]

We also loved Sitmar. Stan and Jim, I thought Bob and I were the only Home Lines people still around. They were both wonderful lines, but so is O.

Joan

[StanandJim]

didn't know you were Sitmar people. We started sailing with them in 1981 and continued until Princess absorbed them in 1988. The last sailing was 1988-1989 over the holidays. Went from Auckland to Sydney. Sitmar was truly an Italian line and it was sad to see the Brits. attempting to replace them. Sitmar had a return clientele (percentage wise) that we have not seen on any other line.

We also loved Sitmar. Stan and Jim, I thought Bob and I were the only Home Lines people still around. They were both wonderful lines, but so is O.

 

Having been raised in New York, we were lucky enough to have been "raised" on Sitmar and Home Lines.

We learned about French Service in the Escoffier Room on the Oceanic (in miniature white dinner jackets, mind you.....and dont spill anything!)

In those days, the Oceanic was the last word in cruise ship style, and her layout -with the Magradome pools, in the center of the top deck, has become rather the industry standard.

Home Lines just loved those padded striped mats and distributed them on every cruise, as long as they owned the ship!

 

By the way, do you remember the Eden Roc bar, just forward of this pool? Jim had his first martini there.

Also sailing from New York, regularly were the beautiful, classic ocean liners Fairwind and Fairsea.

 

Beautifully served, flowers everywhere, and nobody but nobody had a private verandah! It was all about the food and the ambience......and getting a good deck chair!

People booked a year in advance just to get one of the original first class staterooms, which were HUGE, wood paneled and had real portholes! If you were a determined 15 year old boy with a lot of time on his hands (and very strong thumbs) you could actually open them.........dont ask me how I know~

Incidentally, if you're interested in the ins and outs of the Sitmar Story (everyone wonders why they ended so abruptly) this is a very interesting book, although it is a tad dear: http://www.amazon.com/Sitmar-Liners-V-Ships/dp/0953429105/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233228808&sr=8-2

 

It is nice to know that so many of us Home/Sitmar Alumni have chosen Oceania as their new cruise line of choice. It reinforces our decision-:D

[wripro]

StanandJim,

 

Your previous post made me so nostalgic for what ship life used to be like. I never sailed the Oceanic but was lucky enough as a child to cross on the original Queen Elizabeth and the Liberty. Steve and I also crossed on the SS France and QE2 several times. Nothing on the sea today is like those liners in tone. I'd trade all the balconies and other so called improvements in a hot minute for the true excitement of boarding in those days and throwing streamers to friends on shore who had come to see us off (remember when people could do that?) We can trade old sailing stories in June.

[meow!]

Isn't it against safety rules to "open" portholes?

[Bruin Steve]

I remember the very first time I was ever on a cruise ship...

I don't remember which ship...and I wasn't on for a cruise...

It was back in the 60s and I was just a kid...

My uncle and aunt were going on a cruise to the Mexican Riviera out of Los Angeles...and we came to the port to see them off...We were able to board the ship and go to a "Bon Voyage" party in their stateroom...after which, we were all escorted off and they sailed away...and we drove home...

 

I remember thinking this was SO COOL...

 

In retrospect, the ship was probably tiny compared to today's ships...and lacking in so many of the amenities we have come to expect nowadays...But there was certainly an element of "cool" to it all...

 

But, it's also easy to be nostalgic...Sometimes things seem so much better in the distant rear view mirror...Doesn't really mean they were...Our memory can play some incredible tricks on us...

 

Personally, I am very much okay that times have changed and things have changed...Yes, it would be good to have some things back...It definitely would be fun to have a few friends come on board before sailaway--but I understand the need for security nowadays...and when the ships hold so many more people, getting all of those guests on and off would be a nightmare...But I also appreciate so many of the modern improvements and innovations. How many of you would like to sail with no balconies, no jacuzzis, no gyms, no specialty restaurants (I know a lot of you don't care about the ice rinks and rock climbing walls--but, I think it's great some ships have them--especially when cruising with kids)...just cabins and a dining room and a bar and a pool? And thanks for modern sanitation systems and cleaner burning engines and "stabilizer systems"...

[Leonid]

Fairwind & Fairsea had "mini suites" on which DW and I would occasionally splurge. They also had those wonderful pizzarias where one could get a glass of real Italian red wine. And the pizzas were something else!

 

We did Alaska in 1984 on the Fairsky out of SF (14 days round trip). Fun ship with a totally different design than the sister ships.

 

Thanks for the picture of one of the "V" ships. Still have our Circolo del Comandante Log Book and past pax. cards.

[sunnies]

What memories!! In my early twenties I travelled on Fairstar from Melbourne to Southhampton with ports of call including Papeete, Panana Canal, Curacao, Lisbon and Rotterdam. It took nearly six weeks and that was in a four bunk cabin with no port hole!! I like to travel a little more upmarket these days on Oceania but it was the most wonderful experience.

[Acrusa]

1984 our first time to Venice. The Sun Line M/V Stella Maris. Small ship great worldly travelers. No phones in staterooms single beds only.When you rang the stewards button, he appeared in less the 10 seconds. No matter what time of day or night.

[Acrusa]

I forgort Large picture window in the cabin no balconys.

[shoshona2]

To Leonid,

 

Do you want my 8 "on the rocks" glasses which are etched with "Circolo del Comandante Sitmar Cruises" on them? They still look brand new. My in-laws used to cruise on Sitmar a lot and brought them home from one of their cruises. In all our 35 or so cruises, we never cruised Sitmar, but have the same warm feelings about the Royal Cruise Line which folded with the wonderful Crown Odessey going to NCL and being ruined.

 

Sheila

[Leonid]

Thanks for the offer - LOL! :D We lost all of ours in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. We were living in Cupertino, CA at the time.

Never did sail on RCL, although we sure wanted to try them.

[StanandJim]

but have the same warm feelings about the Royal Cruise Line which folded with the wonderful Crown Odessey going to NCL and being ruined.

 

shoshona2

 

I (Jim) sailed on Golden Odyssey in 1980, solo, but found her a little too small and the ambience a little too sophisticated for someone not yet 25.

 

Chastened, I decided that my next cruise would be with family and friends on Home Lines Doric, which was at least familiar.

14 days, Caribbean round trip from NYC, fares starting at $875! Those were the days!

 

Imagine my shock, when ten days after I booked , Home Lines abruptly cancelled Dorics' 1982 season and sold her to Royal!

 

I must say that I took it very personally and vowed never to set sail on another Royal ship.

 

Then, I read in the New York Times travel section, about a cruise that Crown Odyssey made annually. It was called "The Magnificent Odyssey".

28 days, Athens to New York, with stops in Naples, Rome, Villefranche, Barcelona, Lisbon and Casablanca.

It was then, and still is my idea of a perfect itinerary.

-And it didn't hurt that I pictured myself as Carey Grant in "An Affair to Remember", either

I was determined sail on that cruise, but in those days 28 days was more vacation than ANYONE got!

Anyway, time was running short.

Within a year of that article, sadly, NCL decided to rationalize Royal Cruise Lines sailing schedules and the Crown Odyssey was relegated to shorter and less glamorous itineraries before being absorbed by NCL completely.

 

It was an opportunity that I shall always regret having missed!

[Acrusa]

It was 1985 on the Royal Odeyess North Sea cruise. One day out of St. Petersburg USSR.It was Friday night due to dock Sat. Morning.

 

A few passingers my wife and I included,asked the cruise director if he could set up a Friday Night Shabat service. No problem he said. They provided us with Skull Caps, Prayer shalls Prayer books candels monohras and Chala twist loaves.

 

We where about 50 people all together. The ship had all the item's stored in it's hull.

The ship was the SS/Shalom built for the Isreal govt. back in 1964.

 

That explained all the Chagal painting in the lobby and stair cases.

[shoshona2]

Hi StanandJim,

 

Loved the photos of the old Royal Cruise Line. After the Golden Odyssey was sold, we were berthed next to it in some port. One of the former crew who was on our cruise got to board the Golden and view the ship. It was sold to a Russian line and they put plastic seat covers on the dining room chairs. It was in need of a redo when we sailed on it from Beijing to Hong Kong over 20 years ago. Nothing was changed!!!

 

As to the Crown, NCL (I call it Never Cruise Line) took out the library amongst other changes and finally sold it to the Fred Olsen Line where it is now sailing under the name Balmoral. Look at this week's cruise news. They added space to it and it now holds 1360 people. It used to be about 1100. The photo doesn't even remsemble what I remember the Crown looking like. Used to love to dance up in the Crown to live music.

 

Like, the saying goes, you can't go home again.

 

Sheila

[shoshona2]

Hi Acrusa,

 

Yes, we were also on the Royal Odyssey and the Star Odyssey as well as the Golden and Crown -- 11 cruises in all and loved them all. I knew that the Royal had that history. I'll have to research and find out where the Royal is now. It could be scrapped by now. The Star was sold while we were sailing from Singapore to Hong Kong many years ago. I'll never forget saying goodbye to the Greek crew who had become friends. Such wonderful memories -- I will never forget!! That cruise was the end of Royal Cruise Line.

 

Sheila

[ClaudiaF]

Sheila,

Crown Oddessey was a wonderful ship and you are so right what a wonderful crew and oh the..food..:D

[shoshona2]

Hi Claudia,

 

I see you are busy cruising as usual. Hope all is going along wonderful for you. Maybe, we can get together and "do lunch" again.

 

Sheila