Cruising history

I am curious what cruise lines included/provided during the 70's and 80's? The dawn of modern cruising. Were drinks included? If drinks were not included were they inexpensive? What type of entertainment was provided? How was the main dining room set up?

I have old menus showing $2.95 cocktails! :)

some cool info here....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruise_ship

I started cruising in the early 80's. Virtually all meals were in the dining room at your assigned table at your assigned time. You ate 3 meals a day with the same table mates. The only exceptions were poet days when there was a buffet in the dining room for lunch and you could go anytime between the hours of 12 and 2and so wherever you wanted. I recall a grill by the pool where you could get burgers, hot dogs and chicken for lunch on sea days. No Windjammer. No specialty restaurants. No 24 hour options other than room service. There was a themed midnight buffet every night.

Entertainment was similar to it is now in some aspects. There was always a comedian one night. There was often a singer in a smaller lounge. No big production shows though. Once during the week there was a passenger talent show and also a costume contest. I recall spending time making paper flowers to add to my Mexican skirt and blouse, I actually came in 3rd. Which only goes to show how bad most of the costumes were.

There were daily trivia contests just like now only with far better prizes. I still have a set of Royal Caribbean bar glasses and I won several bottles of champagne.

More amenities in the cabins. There was a basket of fruit. Also decks of playing cards. Of course the cabins were minuscule.

I'm sure there were many more differences as well. And this is just on Royal Caribbean. I sailed one time on another line that doesn't exist anymore and I recall being in a fashion show, morning bouillon, and wooden deck chairs with our names on them. I also remember waiters coming around with glasses of iced tea and lemonade.

I know my uncle cruised a lot in the 70s and 80s, but he was paying about 3 months average wages for every week at sea.

He was paying $3 for a can of coke at a time we were paying 50c on land.

It wasn't for the masses back then.

There was once a great cargo-passenger ship called the Centaur which sailed from Fremantle to Singapore and Penang return, see http://www.ssmaritime.com/centaur.htm

I remember being able to get a can of beer from a vending machine near the pool in 1978 for 20 cents. Those were the days.:D

I cruised a lot in the late 80's . On NCL there were theme cruises for no extra cost . We were on a cruise with several NFL players . There were theme nights with buffets on the deck & the midnight buffets . Costa had a toga night that was a lot of fun . The cruises were not cheap . We paid about what we pay now & the rooms were small. Entertainment varied & NCL was always the best entertainment . There was assigned seating in the dining room for breakfast & dinner . Lunch was open seating. Poolside lunch was hotdogs & hamburgers . Plenty of chairs available so no hogs .People dressed for dinner not formally just nice.

We started to cruise in the 80's.

First ship we were on was the Cunard Countess -- 18,000 tons -- no stabilizers.

No Lido buffet -- just 3 meals a day in the dining room. No specialty restaurants. Room service was a very limited menu. Last morning of the cruise, limited offerings for breakfast.

Some evenings at dinner were theme nights.

Our first cruise was almost 30 years ago. The MDR was very elegant but had no windows. The waiters were very formal, stood near your table watching for your every need, complete with white gloves...and smoking was permitted at your table. We had an inside cabin for me, my husband and our two daughters. The cabin was TINY with a bathroom that had a drain in the center and when you showered, the entire bathroom got "showered." You could have literally sat on the toilet to shower. The cabin attendant would put any of your clothes away if you left them laying about in the cabin...dirty or clean, they got folded and put away and you couldn't explain to them the difference. They spoke no English. There were no rules regarding age for drinking or gambling in the casino. We let our pre-teen daughters go ahead of us to sit at a lounge while we got ready in the tight quarters. When we found them, they were in the casino next door to the lounge, playing the slot machines and drinking apricot sours, compliments of the bartender that asked if they would like a drink (drinks were free). No one ever said "no." When you went out to the pool, an attendant would put towels on a lounger and position it for you before you could speak. A bartender would be at your side asking what you would like to drink. The entertainment wasn't the quality it is today and there were no big production shows. Much more like "Love Boat" but without the spacious cabins. Different, but I appreciate the modern ships with all the bells and whistles now.

Great question ! And am enjoing the replies

I have old menus showing $2.95 cocktails! :)

From the 70s and 80s! That seems steep, on occasion you can get cocktails for under 5 bucks-40 years later.

My favorite thing about cruising today is that it is actually affordable.

Loving this thread though, thanks OP for starting it.

I appreciate everyone's replies. The reason why I ask is thinking about how much cruising has changed in the last 10-15 years. Some good changes and some bad. It seems to me we now have more options for food, entertainment ext. That being said I think that maybe while options have improved quality has deteriorated. No more midnight buffet or buffet/BBQ by the pool. Less in the way of "free" organized entertainment like the crayola craft class. Ow with dynamic dining an option who knows what the future will hold. Happy cruising:-)

I still have a bar list from Homes Lines "Oceanic" from the late 60's. Most mixed drinks were around a dollar. An after dinner liqueur, like Amaretto was 65 cents. Everything was "cash as you go", no sign & sail. There were no casinos. At dinner, clean plates and silverware were changed for every course and entres were served off of huge silver platters. Menus were printed up on board daily and printed on the menu would be something like "Wednesday, January 23, 1968 - enroute to (tomorrow's port of call)" Informal nights meant jacket and tie for men after 6PM and it was STRICTLY enforced. Deck chairs were heavy wooden things with cushions that you had to RENT for the length of the cruise. A deck steward would come set it up for you every morning. Midnight buffets were as extensive as today's luncheon buffets are. Back then, there were no other buffets, all meals were by in the dining room. Breakfast was always open sitting, but lunch was only on port days. Other then the top 10 or 12 cabins, there were no TV's, only closed circuit radio (3 or 4 options) in cabins. Portholes opened. Double cabins had twin beds that mostly could not be made into a king. Staff was much more engaging and friendly. Most made this their career and if you sailed regularly, they would remember you. Ships from the exterior were much more aesthetically attractive (IMO) At least half of the ports in the Caribbean, you had to tender in. The best part, and what I miss the most are the bon voyage parties pre-sailing. There would be well over twice as many folks seeing friends off as there were passengers and the staterooms would be packed as well as all corners of public rooms, the whistle would blow "all ashore who's going ashore". What a rush when the ship departed with folks on the ship and on the dock screaming "bon voyage" and throwing streamers and confetti with the bands playing out on he decks. Ya....things have changed a lot in cruising, but so has everything else.

One of my best childhood memories was seeing my parents off to bermuda from nyc in 1959...we were able to go onto the Cunard ship and check it out before they left....flowers and a big bucket of champagne in the cabin....sailaway was a band with the streamers and confetti and a lot of mink stoles....my mom brought back menus decorated with embroidery and ribbons....I was a hit at 5th gr show and tell...