HAL Before 1980

[G&G]

Let's see. Prior to 1980 I do not remember if we were on the Ninadam, Pimtodam or the Santa Mariadam :D !

Actually our first HAL cruise was 1980; I hope this qualifies for this thread. What I remember that continued for several years was the restaurant staff preparing cherries jubilee or babanas foster next to your table.

[geocruiser]

Here is one I use to watch all the time on Homes lines and wonder did they also have it on HAL.

 

It is horse racing time! Place your bets. People would really get "into it". Cheering on thire horse.

[RuthC]

Here is one I use to watch all the time on Homes lines and wonder did they also have it on HAL.

 

It is horse racing time! Place your bets. People would really get "into it". Cheering on thire horse.

I haven't thought of horse racing in ages! What fun that used to be, and I used to bet on the races, too. I don't know how much money it made for the line, or how many drinks were sold during the activity, but it was one of those great little activities that brought folks out to play, and to mix with other passengers.

Cruising used to be a much more social occasion all day long. I miss that. :(

[Topsham]

I'm suddenly thinking about how everyone asks, "How old are the passenegrs on HAL?" Where did HAL get the reputation for being only for old passengers? It seems to me that all of us posting on this thread were in our 20, and 30s when we started cruising with HAL!!!!!

 

 

The first time I spent a night on board a HAL ship was in 1966. The old,old, old NIEUW AMSTERDAM... built 1938... was in Bermuda. The Cruise Director was Robert (Bob Smith and a friend of my dad. I was invited to come aboard for the evening. I had dinner with Mr Smith. Mostly we discussed the fire on the MORRO CASTLE in 1934... he was the Cruise Director on the ship when she burned. Anyhow, I was given a cabin for the night and turned loose with a card to present in any of the bars etc.... "charge to Cruise Director'. I remember sitting in the night club in the wee hours. Met two old girls who were school teachers from New York. They suggested that we should go back to their cabin and smoke a joint. I have never been so scared in my life. Well... I was just 13 and the two 'old' girls were ancient... about 25!!!!! I had visions of being drugged and taken as a sex slave.:D

[kazu]

Here is one I use to watch all the time on Homes lines and wonder did they also have it on HAL.

 

It is horse racing time! Place your bets. People would really get "into it". Cheering on thire horse.

 

The one with the dice and 'dress up your horse' :) I remember it on Princess as well. My memory may be blurred but I believe HAL did it (don't hit me if I mixed up my ships).

 

Had a lot of fun - actually bid on one horse and my rider won:):)

[Randyk47]

The one with the dice and 'dress up your horse' :) I remember it on Princess as well. My memory may be blurred but I believe HAL did it (don't hit me if I mixed up my ships).

 

Had a lot of fun - actually bid on one horse and my rider won:):)

 

The last time I remember the "horse racing" was actually on the Carnival Fantasy in 1994. That was our one and only cruise on Carnival, and not that I was against it, but that cruise was kind of a non-stop four-day party from embarkation to disembarkation so there seemed to always something going on around the main pool. Prior to that I think I vaguely remember the races on our trip back from England in 1952 but those were in-doors in a lounge as that wasn't a fun and sun cruise in the Caribbean. They may have had the races on HAL and I just missed them but I don't remember any since we started cruising with HAL in 1995.

[George C]

I'm suddenly thinking about how everyone asks, "How old are the passenegrs on HAL?" Where did HAL get the reputation for being only for old passengers? It seems to me that all of us posting on this thread were in our 20, and 30s when we started cruising with HAL!!!!!

 

Yes I was in my 20's when I started cruising, used to travel with Singleworld which was just a bunch of single people, we had a host and some excellent shore excursions that was not part of the ship.

[RuthC]

I'm suddenly thinking about how everyone asks, "How old are the passenegrs on HAL?" Where did HAL get the reputation for being only for old passengers? It seems to me that all of us posting on this thread were in our 20, and 30s when we started cruising with HAL!!!!!

I was in my 30's when I started cruising, and it was on HAL. I sailed Cunard, Carnival, Chandris, Royal Caribbean, and Royal Viking before I returned to HAL a whole bunch of years later.

Even in my 30's the atmosphere on HAL was perfect for me.

[3rdGenCunarder]

I'm suddenly thinking about how everyone asks, "How old are the passenegrs on HAL?" Where did HAL get the reputation for being only for old passengers? It seems to me that all of us posting on this thread were in our 20, and 30s when we started cruising with HAL!!!!!

 

 

The first time I spent a night on board a HAL ship was in 1966. The old,old, old NIEUW AMSTERDAM... built 1938... was in Bermuda. The Cruise Director was Robert (Bob Smith and a friend of my dad. I was invited to come aboard for the evening. I had dinner with Mr Smith. Mostly we discussed the fire on the MORRO CASTLE in 1934... he was the Cruise Director on the ship when she burned. Anyhow, I was given a cabin for the night and turned loose with a card to present in any of the bars etc.... "charge to Cruise Director'. I remember sitting in the night club in the wee hours. Met two old girls who were school teachers from New York. They suggested that we should go back to their cabin and smoke a joint. I have never been so scared in my life. Well... I was just 13 and the two 'old' girls were ancient... about 25!!!!! I had visions of being drugged and taken as a sex slave.:D

 

Wow, what a great story! And when YOU were 25, did you wish you had taken those 'old' girls up on their offer?????

 

I would love to have heard the stories about the Morro Castle. My Dad was a little kid when it happened, and his father took him down to see the wreck just off the beach. I've seen pictures of the crowds on the beach looking at the ship.

[3rdGenCunarder]

I haven't thought of horse racing in ages! What fun that used to be, and I used to bet on the races, too. I don't know how much money it made for the line, or how many drinks were sold during the activity, but it was one of those great little activities that brought folks out to play, and to mix with other passengers.

 

Cruising used to be a much more social occasion all day long. I miss that. :(

 

I think one reason cruising is less social is the large cabins and balconies. On older ships with small cabins (remember when you felt lucky to have a PORTHOLE???), people spent more time in the public areas, which resulted in a more social feel to the cruise. We were all traveling together.

 

Now, with big cabins, balconies, private cabanas on deck, people are not thrown together as much, and there's less of a social atmosphere. We may all be on the same ship, but we aren't really traveling together. Sadly, a lot of people don't want to be bothered meeting new people.

 

 

The one with the dice and 'dress up your horse' :) I remember it on Princess as well. My memory may be blurred but I believe HAL did it (don't hit me if I mixed up my ships).

 

Had a lot of fun - actually bid on one horse and my rider won:):)

 

Yes, I remember the horse racing on HAL. People would bid to "buy" the horse and dress it up. I think the "owner" got some of the betting take if his/her/their horse won.

[RuthC]

Now, with big cabins, balconies, private cabanas on deck, people are not thrown together as much, and there's less of a social atmosphere. We may all be on the same ship, but we aren't really traveling together. Sadly, a lot of people don't want to be bothered meeting new people.

Which comes under the heading of "Which came first ...?". Do people want more privacy now, so cruiselines are providing that, or did the balconies arrive, so people went off by themselves?

It is too bad when you try to strike up a conversation, and others won't join in. Didn't used to be like that.

Yes, I remember the horse racing on HAL. People would bid to "buy" the horse and dress it up. I think the "owner" got some of the betting take if his/her/their horse won.

Buying your own horse wasn't the usual horse race, but I do remember it happening on a longer cruise. I don't recall the winning owner getting a piece of the action, though. But, then again, we didn't win.

Usually the horse races were out on deck, or in a lounge, and you just bet on a favorite horse (mine was Danny Boy), and the race was on. Sometimes it was passengers chosen to advance the horses, other times it was cruise staff.

[3rdGenCunarder]

Which comes under the heading of "Which came first ...?". Do people want more privacy now, so cruiselines are providing that, or did the balconies arrive, so people went off by themselves?

It is too bad when you try to strike up a conversation, and others won't join in. Didn't used to be like that.

 

 

That's a good question! I think a lot of what we see on cruises now comes from feedback and market research. Maybe there were complaints that cabins were too small--our first cabins sure were! Maybe cruise lines saw how many hotels were putting balconies on new buildings. The "floating hotel" concept extended to cabins that were more like hotels.

 

Oddly enough, on a ship I've always loved the idea of hanging out in public areas, reading, relaxing, meeting new people. But in a hotel, I'm much more inclined to sit in my room than to sit in the lobby if I want to read and relax.

 

Buying your own horse wasn't the usual horse race, but I do remember it happening on a longer cruise. I don't recall the winning owner getting a piece of the action, though. But, then again, we didn't win.

 

Usually the horse races were out on deck, or in a lounge, and you just bet on a favorite horse (mine was Danny Boy), and the race was on. Sometimes it was passengers chosen to advance the horses, other times it was cruise staff.

 

IIRC, there were a couple of races, sometimes on the deck by the pool. But the last race of the cruise was the big one, where people "owned" horses and dressed them up. I'm not sure if the winner won anything more than the fun of winning, but I do remember betting. I have no idea where that money went. I hope it went to some sort of crew fund.

 

(sorry about the odd quoting, Ruth, but no matter how I edit this post, your original posting looks wrong)

[3rdGenCunarder]

Did HAL put TVs in cabins back in the 70s and 80s? I can't remember, and I'm not going to dig out the slide projector to see what my old cruise photos look like!

[CoronaCRZR]

We sailed on a pre 1980 HAL ship indirectly.....

 

Back in the mid 80's we took a cruise on the Bermuda Star out of Los Angeles. It turned out that the ship at one point (early 70's) was HAL's Veendam. At some 23,000 tons it held 700 guests and was a great vessel.

Very small guest rooms and even smaller port holes.

 

Eventhough it had not been a HAL ship for a number of years some of the markings throughout the ship still had Holland America written on it.....

 

During dinner seating the servers in those days came around each table to dish out the side dishes (green beans potatoes etc.) a lot of personal service throughout.

 

It actually was our first cruise, and the one that got us "hooked"

 

See here:

http://www.midshipcentury.com/bermudastar.shtml

[RuthC]

Did HAL put TVs in cabins back in the 70s and 80s? I can't remember, and I'm not going to dig out the slide projector to see what my old cruise photos look like!

Heck, no! I remember being on the Rotterdam in '92, and there was no TV. Can't recall when it was added, but I was on the same ship a year later, then again in '95. It was one of those two years when the TV showed up. That was one more thing that sent people back to their cabins, and out of the public rooms.

 

We had a lovely card slipped under the door every morning, with varying pictures of sunshine/clouds/rain, and the prediction for the day circled, with a temperature listed.

In '97 I had to make an emergency call home from that same Rotterdam. I had to go to the radio room to place the call.

[kazu]

That's a good question! I think a lot of what we see on cruises now comes from feedback and market research. Maybe there were complaints that cabins were too small--our first cabins sure were! Maybe cruise lines saw how many hotels were putting balconies on new buildings. The "floating hotel" concept extended to cabins that were more like hotels.

 

Oddly enough, on a ship I've always loved the idea of hanging out in public areas, reading, relaxing, meeting new people. But in a hotel, I'm much more inclined to sit in my room than to sit in the lobby if I want to read and relax.

 

 

 

IIRC, there were a couple of races, sometimes on the deck by the pool. But the last race of the cruise was the big one, where people "owned" horses and dressed them up. I'm not sure if the winner won anything more than the fun of winning, but I do remember betting. I have no idea where that money went. I hope it went to some sort of crew fund.

 

(sorry about the odd quoting, Ruth, but no matter how I edit this post, your original posting looks wrong)

 

If the 'owner' of the horse won, they got a prize (at least on the one I was on where we won). Both the rider and the owner. We got some obc and some other goodies as I recall. The winning betters got a portion of the winnings (similar to an actual horse race).

 

All the ones I saw were in the lounges - but it was a long, long time ago :p

[3rdGenCunarder]

Heck, no! I remember being on the Rotterdam in '92, and there was no TV. Can't recall when it was added, but I was on the same ship a year later, then again in '95. It was one of those two years when the TV showed up. That was one more thing that sent people back to their cabins, and out of the public rooms.

 

We had a lovely card slipped under the door every morning, with varying pictures of sunshine/clouds/rain, and the prediction for the day circled, with a temperature listed.

 

In '97 I had to make an emergency call home from that same Rotterdam. I had to go to the radio room to place the call.

 

Yes! I remember those little cards. VERY helpful if you were in an inside cabin and couldn't even see if it was sunny or cloudy.

[DFWGUYZ]

There are a couple of HAL ships posted.

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/shipgeek/videos?sort=dd&flow=grid&view=0&page=3

[dogo88]

We did our honeymoon on the Rotterdam in 1978 out of NYC to Bermuda and Nassau. Had to outrun a hurricane coming up the coast so they reversed the ports and we went to Nassau then Bermuda. The first night out of NYC was an interesting affair. We had a small stern inside cabin with upper and lower berths. The ship was running as fast as it could. And the engine noise was LOUD. The next day it was nice, calm and beautiful.

 

Dan

[CoronaCRZR]

There are a couple of HAL ships posted.

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/shipgeek/videos?sort=dd&flow=grid&view=0&page=3

 

 

Some great videos. Thanks for sharing.

 

 

.

[rkacruiser]

We sailed on a pre 1980 HAL ship indirectly.....

 

Back in the mid 80's we took a cruise on the Bermuda Star out of Los Angeles. It turned out that the ship at one point (early 70's) was HAL's Veendam. At some 23,000 tons it held 700 guests and was a great vessel.

Very small guest rooms and even smaller port holes.

 

Eventhough it had not been a HAL ship for a number of years some of the markings throughout the ship still had Holland America written on it.....

 

During dinner seating the servers in those days came around each table to dish out the side dishes (green beans potatoes etc.) a lot of personal service throughout.

 

It actually was our first cruise, and the one that got us "hooked"

 

See here:

http://www.midshipcentury.com/bermudastar.shtml

 

French service, it was called, I think, when the stewards came around and served from platters/dishes of food.

 

"Funny" story about this kind of service--although the woman who was on the receiving end didn't think it was funny, I am sure.

 

On a formal night--1970, Rotterdam V--a lady at an adjoining table, wearing a formal gown, bare back, was being served from a tray containing the entree with gravy/au jus. The steward lost control of the tray, allowing it to tip towards the woman. Gravy/au jus flowed off the tray and onto her back. Her reaction:eek: and the subsequent reactions of the dining room staff:o:o were interesting to observe, to say the least.

 

The image of this event is as vivid in my memory as if it just happened.

[DeepWaterMariner]

I don't recall the first time we saw horse racing, but it was a real big deal on Sitmar. The horses were auctioned, usually the winning bid was from a syndicate due to the price paid which could be in the hundreds. The money was pooled with the winning horse taking the pot minus whatever was skimmed off by the cruise line. We were on cruises where the pot was in the thousands. Princess certainly carried on that activity after they merged with Sitmar but I don't recall seeing horse racing on any of our more recent Princess cruises.

 

First TV in a cabin for us was on the old Chandris Amerikanis (sp?) in 1975. A miniature set that didn't work. It was many years later before we encountered a working TV in our cabin.

 

I think the ship that changed how cruise lines thought about balconies was the old Royal Princess, a ground breaking design with all outside cabins and two full decks of balconies. What a wonderful ship she was, one of our favorites.

[Rotterdam]

HAL, Home Lines, Sitmar, lauro Lines, Italian Line & Princess going back to the mid 1970's...and some cruise lines donated part of the proceeds to the Seamans Fund or such...great fun all round!

[geocruiser]

dose any one else remember the costume nights. It was fun, lots of PAX would dress in costumes. They would bring you into the main ball room and other PAX would vote on who had the best costume.

[kazu]

dose any one else remember the costume nights. It was fun, lots of PAX would dress in costumes. They would bring you into the main ball room and other PAX would vote on who had the best costume.

 

Not totally gone yet - sort of :o we had Ventian mask dance and contest on our cruise when we left out of Venice:) kind of fun - would have been more fun if I had won:rolleyes::p