hatterasjack

I sailed the Southward in 1980 and remember the hammocks they had on the in between open deck area.I loved that section of the ship and spent many hours in the hammock having afternoon cocktails.

Does anyone remember the hammocks?

Ginnie

I sailed the Skyward back in '71. It did not have hammocks but it did have wicker chairs suspended from a single point. They would swing back and forth with the motion of the ship. Quite relaxing and enjoyable.

I realize that by shoehorning passengers into these gigantic seagoing amusement parks keeps fares low and makes a lot of profit, but it's not what I want in an ocean voyage. I will never be seen on one of them. Pay more and get a real cruise.

I sailed from Charleston, SC in May of 1970. I remember the swinging chairs in an observation area above the bridge. We had an outside cabin with a porthole; it came in handy to check the weather before going ashore. The ship was cozy, almost like a yacht. You got to know so many people. It's too bad today's ships are so huge you're lucky if you see a fellow passenger more than once.

We were tied up in Nassau and had gone clubbing one night. While we were in town the Starward arrived and was tied up at a right angle to Skyward; bow to bow. The cab bringing us back to the ship pulled up to Starward and started to let us out. Most of the folks in the cab were too smashed to notice it wasn't the Skyward. Luckily I called it to their attention before they went aboard. Back in those days there was no security. You could just walk right in. It was just like walking into a hotel, no one checked to see if you were a passenger.

Well that was a real cruise; they don't make 'em like that any more.