Cruising.....I remember when!

[RCIGUY]

So much has been said about the Oasis of the Seas and the surcharges for the new venues being "a part of cruising", and some infer it has always been this way. I don't agree!

 

I remember when I could take a Hawaiian cruise aboard American Hawaii's Independence and enjoy punch bowls filled with Macadamia nuts...free of extra charge, box lunches provided for your excursions/daily outtings...free of extra charge, ondeck sunset barbecues with local entertainers performing while you enjoyed steaks, ribs, chicken, grilled to order along with ice cold beer or sodas, while watching a beautiful Hawaiian sunset...free of extra charge.

 

The drink of the day was reasonably priced ($1 Bloody Marys or Screwdrivers for an eye opener), and punch bowls overflowed with JUMBO shrimp at the midnight buffet.

 

I remember when nearly everything was paid upfront, and you didn't have to concern yourself with anything but drinks, gifts, and tips as onboard expenses!

 

Do you remember when?

[Cruzaholic41]

I remember when nearly everything was paid upfront, and you didn't have to concern yourself with anything but drinks, gifts, and tips as onboard expenses!

 

I'm not sure I understand this. Who is making anyone go to the specialty restaurants? Oasis still has 13 free food venues.

 

If you are not doing anything different, it still is "everything was paid upfront, and you didn't have to concern yourself with anything but drinks, gifts, and tips as onboard expenses!"

 

Just because the extra venues exist doesn't mean you have to use them.

[cb at sea]

Yea,,,me too! Too bad it's all changed---for the worse!

[cruisinisforme]

This is slightly different..but when I heard it I could not help but think of when it was like that for me.

 

I was sitting in the airport today and I heard a couple talking who obviously had just gotten off their first cruise...they were so excited and were going on an on about the food.....I sat there thinking...remember when it was all so new and exciting and we liked everything..now days I hear so many complaints about food on the boards...it was nice to hear that couple enjoy their cruise without thoughts of anything negative.

[kooljamming]

I used to dream about cruising for years and saved and sacrificed for months before booking.

The Viking Serenade was the prettiest ship I have ever seen

In my 20's I felt like the youngest one on board

Everyone waited for retirement, the kids were grown, and the mortgage was paid before cruising

The ship was nothing more than a mode of transportation taking you to beautiful places and getting there was half the fun

Soda was free in the MDR

 

Sometimes, I complain about the food because my palate knows what seasoned food should taste like

They better have a decent Reggae band or else they won't hear the end of it

I am getting old, if I hip and hop, I will drop, so give me Marvin Gaye for some kind of healing.

 

For all the great memories then, I wouldn't change a thing NOW.

[maitaiguy]

What some people don't realize is that in many cases it is cheaper to cruise now than it was twenty years ago.

 

I paid as much for 4 days on NCL's Southward (LA, San Diego, Catalina, Ensenadad, LA) as I'm paying for 7 days on Mariner of the Seas next year.

The Southward cruise was 20 years ago!

 

For newbies, the Southward was about 16,000 gross tons with a passenger capacity of maybe 700.

 

It was our first cruise. It was fantastic. It was addicting.

 

Oh yeah, when our party of six got back on board about 4 PM in Ensenada there was NO PLACE TO EAT on board except room service which would take at least 30 minutes. No WJ, no anything until 'afternoon tea' snacks about 5 PM.

 

Several of our party had 'bad limes' with the Coronas at Papas and Beer and needed a little something in their stomachs besides.....um.....um..... the bad limes.:D

 

We didn't care that much and it did not ruin our cruise or memories of that fantastic cruise.

 

For those of you keeping score, and you know who you are (cheerleaders) we tried RCI's Sun Viking for our second cruise and have yet to go back to NCL!

[imsulin]

I remember midnight chocolate buffets, horse racing (we used to bring costumes for them, and hope they didn't get horse-napped), theme nights (every night), skeet shooting, huge cabins and tiny swimming pools, confetti, wearing skirts and high heels at ports of call, shaking hands with the Captain (REALLY big deal!), 20 people on the beach at Trunk Bay, actually being able to walk on the STT sidewalks, free drinks at Sailaway, 50-cent sodas, cabin bathrooms that could hold more than two people, the awful Pirate and Parrot that hovered over your shoulder during dinner, big lobster tails and steaks, real coffee, and cash tipping, even when it wasn't asked for, suggested, or required. Aaaah - the good old days!

[Aquahound]

I paid as much for 4 days on NCL's Southward (LA, San Diego, Catalina, Ensenadad, LA) as I'm paying for 7 days on Mariner of the Seas next year.

The Southward cruise was 20 years ago!

 

For newbies, the Southward was about 16,000 gross tons with a passenger capacity of maybe 700.

 

Your experience sounds a lot like my first cruise on the Sunward II.

 

Also, in a similar manner, after a cruise on the Monarch of the Seas, I never went back either.

[HB Cruiser]

I can remember my mother and father bringing home $100 a week between them each week and they thought they were very well off.

 

Do I want to go back to those days, NO WAY.

 

I know there is going to be some backlash from this comment BUT remember, times change, and so has cruising. :(

 

Tim

[GXmanDC]

So much has been said about the Oasis of the Seas and the surcharges for the new venues being "a part of cruising", and some infer it has always been this way. I don't agree!

 

I remember when I could take a Hawaiian cruise aboard American Hawaii's Independence and enjoy punch bowls filled with Macadamia nuts...free of extra charge, box lunches provided for your excursions/daily outtings...free of extra charge, ondeck sunset barbecues with local entertainers performing while you enjoyed steaks, ribs, chicken, grilled to order along with ice cold beer or sodas, while watching a beautiful Hawaiian sunset...free of extra charge.

 

The drink of the day was reasonably priced ($1 Bloody Marys or Screwdrivers for an eye opener), and punch bowls overflowed with JUMBO shrimp at the midnight buffet.

 

I remember when nearly everything was paid upfront, and you didn't have to concern yourself with anything but drinks, gifts, and tips as onboard expenses!

 

Do you remember when?

 

Crystal and Seabourn still offer that type of cruise.

[sea-cruise]

I remember the towers of lobster tails on the buffet, and all of the glamour of cruising, but we paid well over $1,000 for a tiny inside cabin down in the hold, and a thousand dollars was a lot of money 30 years ago.

I loved the food, but I hated the prices. ;) We're getting a pretty good deal these days. :)

[imsulin]

Oops! Forgot the afternoon tea with the great pastries! Yes, we paid a higher price back then, but got what we paid for.

[Ashland]

I remember my parents taking the family on our first cruise in the mid 1970's "Song of Norway" the first RCCL ship...that was a classic cruise..:o

[5waldos]

Ok- I remember tea at 4 on the deck, covered with a blanket and the ship rolling, except for us youngsters it was boullion- with people playing shuffleboard. Now close to 60 years later the smell of boullion still takes me back, however dimly.

[maitaiguy]

Your experience sounds a lot like my first cruise on the Sunward II.

 

Also, in a similar manner, after a cruise on the Monarch of the Seas, I never went back either.

 

I think the Southward and Sunward II were sister ships. They were at least very similar sized.

[sea-cruise]

Oops! Forgot the afternoon tea with the great pastries! Yes, we paid a higher price back then, but got what we paid for.

Ahhhh.....I had forgotten about the formal afternoon teas! :p The experience was grand! :)

[sea-cruise]

I remember my parents taking the family on our first cruise in the mid 1970's "Song of Norway" the first RCCL ship...that was a classic cruise..:o

 

 

She was our first RCCL ship! I found this photo of her cabins on the web....

They sure were tiny, weren't they!

:)

[sea-cruise]

Remember the underwater portholes in the deep end of the SON's pool? I was walking down the hall and looked into the porthole thinking it was an aquarium, but I saw people's legs (swimming). :eek:

Another adventure was climbing the steep stairs in the wind, to reach the Viking Crown Lounge, especially climbing in heels and a dress. :o

[maitaiguy]

Remember the underwater portholes in the deep end of the SON's pool? I was walking down the hall and looked into the porthole thinking it was an aquarium, but I saw people's legs (swimming). :eek:

Another adventure was climbing the steep stairs in the wind, to reach the Viking Crown Lounge, especially climbing in heels and a dress. :o

 

Same as on Sun Viking! Did at least three sunsets in the Viking Crown on that 7 day cruise. What did the VC hold back then, about 15 people or so? It was pretty small but we loved it!

[sea-cruise]

It was pretty small but we loved it!

We did too! Being it was so small we all got to make friends with other passengers. :):)

[Bigtex1622]

....I loved the food, but I hated the prices. ;) We're getting a pretty good deal these days. :)

 

 

I just checked Princess' website.

The same Alaska cruise, in a suite is now just under $10,000

For 3 people,

 

Back when we did it it was a little over $5,000 each!

That is $5,000 cheaper, even more if you figure what you get for the dollar now.

So keep the pay-per- use items, I can get a lot for my $5,000:D

[sea-cruise]

I just checked Princess' website.

The same Alaska cruise, in a suite is now just under $10,000

For 3 people,

 

Back when we did it it was a little over $5,000 each!

That is $5,000 cheaper, even more if you figure what you get for the dollar now.

So keep the pay-per- use items, I can get a lot for my $5,000:D

 

You SAID it! That's a HUGE difference! :D

[nycruiser80]

OP has some valid points cruises have changed and the inclusive atmosphere has as well. I have been on 27 cruises and started at a very young age so I do remember the large bowls of shrimp, bread basket at dinner (some lines still do this) and being able to get juice and tap water at any bar with no charge.

 

But we also tend to look at the past with rose colored glasses. Many ships tended to be a bit older though some lines like RCI had new custom built ships and all of these ships tended to be a bit more sedate.

 

We have come along way....no doubt look at Oasis whether you love her or hate her she is revelutionary and has made non cruisers really consider a cruise a viable vacation option, especially for younger people and families whose life is always on the go.

 

Having cruises enter the mass market world they have changed and evolved to accomodate their new business model which is low sticker prices and to make what they can with onboard revenue.

 

Cruise lines have done a GREAT job IMO at creating onboard revenue. These days all mass market lines have specialty dining establishments on most or all of their ships, very few drinks are included, larger shopping areas and some of the activities and entertainment carry fees. They have done a clever job at making us aware that we need to pay to get higher quality food by saying that certain dining establishments carry a nominal fee. Infact, many of us on these cruise boards refer to the included food as free food.....its not! You paid for that food but I am sure the cruise line executives love when we say that. Because psychologicaly if there is "free" food then why not pay a "nominal" fee for some.

 

Wether you love it or hate it this is the business model cruise companies are using. The "homey" days of cruising is gone (exceot for luxury/deluxe lines) and mass market is in. Cruising has become more mainstream and things change. I for one enjoy cruising and being on the sea... I don't care for some of the changes and others I love....like open seating dining!

 

Who knows what the future holds! Imagine 50 years from now how cruising will be....I will be 79 by then and I only hope I can still cruise!

[sea-cruise]

I found a photo of SON's empty pool, and you can see the portholes that would be underwater. When we were swimming we were "on display" to other passengers without realizing it. :o

[sea-cruise]

Here is a photo I took onboard the old Homeric ship in the early 80's. The pyramid on the mid-day buffet table is composed of lobsters.