Song of America R.C.C.L.

[PennyAgain]

We really enjoyed our cruise on SOA. West Carib. I think. What fascinated me was the beautiful artwork on board including a most interesting painting of a Viking ship bow forward. I have always wanted to see that painting again.

 

Now I would photograph such and have the memory.

[Jacktown]

Song of America took me to Bermuda many years ago - Thanks for bringing her back to mind!:p

[Jacktown]

That Bermuda trip on Song of America was in the aftermath of Hurricane Lily! We rocked and rolled all the way from New York City to Bermuda! Good trip.;)

[obsessedsc]

my parents cruised on the song of america for their honeymoon! i love looking at the pictures and how much fun they were only 2 years older than me!

[Catnip]

This thread brings back memories of my parents' cruises on Nordic Prince, Sun Viking and the Song of Norway in the 70's and 80's.

No one even thought about wearing jeans or shorts in the dining room.

Children were few and far between-occasionally there would be European children who were extremely well mannered.

 

That is very true.....I've been on the Nordic Prince, SOA & SON several times each back in the 80's & early 90's and there were very few children. And when you did see them, they were well behaved. Not like the kids you see now running and screaming down the passenger hallways, pushing all the buttons on the elevators, sitting in the stairwells and daring people to try and get by.......:cool:

[bajanterry]

We want to take a moment to join with many of the sentiments expressed in this thread. We sailed on the SOA on July 1, 1984 and on August 7, 1988; they were both fantastic cruises. The 1984 cruise, which was our first, was the genesis of our love for cruising. We've cruised five times since then and loved every moment of every cruise. We just sailed on the Adventure of the Seas on July 8, 2007, but as lovely as that ship was, it cannot touch the Song of America. We would really enjoy just having one more cruise with her.

[Mines]

http://www.louiscruises.com/vesselsspecs.html?SHP=SB

 

She still looks nice, doesn't she?

 

[Mark]

Yes, S of A still does look good in those photos...when I look at S of A, I can see where the Sovereign, Monarch and Majesty all got their good looks from...seems like they just decided to take the S of A and make it a lot bigger...one of the reasons I still think Sov, Maj adn Mon are the best looking ships in the RCCL Fleet along with of course the old Nordic Empress...seems like most of the new ships....including RCCL may have more creature features but look like floating refrigerators...I have seen the Queen Mary 2 in NYC and she does not have the lines or looks of QE2!:cool:

[LEET44]

Song of America will always be near and dear to my heart .It was our first cruise and our honeymoon.What a beautiful elegant ship:)

[kruz]

That Bermuda trip on Song of America was in the aftermath of Hurricane Lily! We rocked and rolled all the way from New York City to Bermuda! Good trip.;)

 

 

 

Hey, Jack..I was on that sailing too!!! That was my second trip on board SOA....not sure if it was because she was my first ship but truly my favorite one :)

 

Remember the wine Somliers??

Oh, the good ole days!

[jimswims]

I have been reading these posts about the Song of America and it brings back some nice memories.

 

We were on the SOA in November of 1993 for a 12 day. It was our 4th RCCL cruise.

We did the Nordic Empress, Sovereign of the Seas, Monarch of the Seas and then the SOA. We loved the ship but were shocked at how small it was to us.

 

Our friends went on the Sun Viking, Nordic Prince, and then the SOA and were commenting on how HUGE the ship was.

 

It was a great cruise.

[Susie51]

I loved the aft lounge. Was it called the South Pacific lounge?

 

I have also been a pax who attended every event to earn Ship Shape dollars.

 

To this day I faithfully use my long, narrow, bright yellow, plush workout towel. It wraps around my neck without being bulky.

 

I wouldn' relish being in one of those tiny cabins again. Remember the half decks, and going up and down steps on the Promenade deck?

 

Good times!

[bluesea777]

Our first cruise was on SOA in October 1987 - Western Caribbean - truly loved it. Our second one was on newer and bigger Star Princess the following year, but preferred SOA. Star Princess wasn't Carribbean enough to us. The bar staff on SOA were great fun on the pool deck!

 

Nordic Prince was regular visitor to Bermuda in 1980's and used to leave on Sunday afternoons. We used to follow the ship out of harbour in our boat (20' open launch motor boat), riding on its waves, waving to passengers. Several other boats did the same. Those old days!

 

When my folks lived in Grenada (mid 1970's) they lived in the house up on the hill next to that big unmistakenable tree, and had a clear view of Sun Viking in port. I used to watch people staggering back to the ship from the Rum Rummer party boat!! And I used to swim out to the Rum Runner and hang on to it when it was cruising along the Grand Anse bay! :D

[Catnip]

I loved the aft lounge. Was it called the South Pacific lounge?

 

I have also been a pax who attended every event to earn Ship Shape dollars.

 

I wouldn' relish being in one of those tiny cabins again. Remember the half decks, and going up and down steps on the Promenade deck?

 

Good times!

 

I do remember those steps on the Promenade Deck. And I believe that lounge was the South Pacific. My mother was always up early & ate b'fast in the dining room and then raced to the Ship Shape Dollar morning stretch out on the sports deck. She would always have enough for a t-shirt and still has a few of those bright yellow Ship-Shape T-shirts.

[Catnip]

Our first cruise was on SOA in October 1987 - Western Caribbean - truly loved it.

 

Nordic Prince was regular visitor to Bermuda in 1980's and used to leave on Sunday afternoons. We used to follow the ship out of harbour in our boat (20' open launch motor boat), riding on its waves, waving to passengers. Several other boats did the same. Those old days!

 

I sailed on the Nordic Prince to Bermuda back in 85. It was so much fun! I met one of the waiters (from Paris), and we had a shipboard romance for 5 days! :D We kept in touch after the cruise and I flew over to Paris to visit him on his next vacation, and then he visited me a few months later!!!!! Ooh, la-la!

[dz63]

On the SOA, they blew the horn 1/2hr or 1hr before leaving port and I think they did it again when they were leaving port. We noticed that they did not do this on the Carnival Triumph this summer. Do any cruise ships still do this? Any idea why they stopped doing this?

[happyshelly]

i posted this on my roll call board but thought i would look for this post again. I was going through my husbands junk drawer to look for a certain credit card to get our daughters car out of the repair shop and what do i find? Well it was the sign and sail card from our first cruise ever which was on the Song of America in August of 1998. Wow what memories. Now i cant wait for our cruise in March on another royal ship. This time we are doing the Explorer of the Seas.

Michele

[berwyn]

Any chance you can scan that card and let us see it?

[happyshelly]

I dont have a scanner but i will see what i can do.

 

Michele

[O2Bcrusin]

For every excercise activity we participated in, we got one ShipShape dollar. At the end of the cruise, you could trade in 10 ShipShape dollars for a free SOA sun visor or tee shirt. My DW liked to sleep in, so I got up at the crack of dawn - areobics on deck, jogging laps around the deck, etc, etc. I managed to collect enough ShipShape dollars by the end of our cruise to get free sun visors and tee shirts for both of us! Man was I ever stiff after doing all that excercise! :)

This brings back memories. I think I even have a couple of ship shape dollars tucked away somewhere and I bet I still have the bright yellow t-shirt too. Wonder how much those are worth. I also remember that not only did they have formal nights and casual nights but they had a couple of "semi-formal" nights. Oh the planning that went into packing.

[Head Shot]

For every excercise activity we participated in, we got one ShipShape dollar. At the end of the cruise, you could trade in 10 ShipShape dollars for a free SOA sun visor or tee shirt. My DW liked to sleep in, so I got up at the crack of dawn - areobics on deck, jogging laps around the deck, etc, etc. I managed to collect enough ShipShape dollars by the end of our cruise to get free sun visors and tee shirts for both of us! Man was I ever stiff after doing all that excercise! :)

 

This brings back memories. I think I even have a couple of ship shape dollars tucked away somewhere and I bet I still have the bright yellow t-shirt too. Wonder how much those are worth. I also remember that not only did they have formal nights and casual nights but they had a couple of "semi-formal" nights. Oh the planning that went into packing.

 

Wasn't there also a costume party- voting after parading each couple's entry? My memory isn't what it used to be, but I could have sworn that there was a couple's costume party with prizes and dancing.

[Catnip]

I do remember those costume parties, and the cruise staff would help you find/make your own costume! :D

Yes, they had those "semi-formal" nights, and I believe they had those up until just a few years ago. And yes, I used to take a lot more clothes, matching shoes & belt, & co-ordinating jewelry! :eek: LOL!!

[linkerbink]

Our very first cruise was on the SOA to Bermuda. At that time RCCL was docking at St. Johns and then Hamilton, not to King's Wharf like now. I guess that was because it was a smaller ship. It was a great way to be introduced to cruising, as my sister and I had our elderly mother with us and she didn't feel at all overwhelmed. You could tell it had been around the seas a bit, as it was a tad tired looking, but a great ship, nonetheless!

[berwyn]

linkerbink,

I see RCCL got you hooked on cruising and you stayed with them. It always happens that way.

[linkerbink]

rdlouhy,

 

we talked with others who cruised on other lines, and it seemed that RCCL was the best fit for two middle-aged sisters and our elderly mother. Disney was DEFINITELY out, we heard that Carnival attracted the young party people, Holland, Crystal and Celebrity were rather "stuffy" (that might be just their perception, I can't speak from experience). Our travel agent didn't think Norwegian and Princess would fit us, and we've been very happy with RC. A woman I know has sailed on both RC and NCL, and greatly preferred RC. Also, it's nice to "work our way up the ladder" so to speak. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.....