How it was and how it is.

[uncleah]

Last night, on-line, I booked a 10 nighter on Explorer out of Bayonne. I don't know why, but it triggered strong memories of my first cruise in the mid 70's. In fact, it brought back memories of well before then.

 

When I was growing up, every so often my grandmother would sail to Europe to visit family there. It may be hard to believe, but back then you could board with the passenger and visit the ship for a while before it sailed. We always took my grandmother to the ship and although I didn't sail on them, I did walk the decks of the United States, the Hanseatic, the Ile de France and others that I don't remember.

 

My first cruise was with Home Lines on the Oceanic. It was the second cruise for DW. She had cruised before we were married with some girlfriends on the Oceanic.

 

Even then you could have guests on board before sailing. All of our parents joined us for a bon voyage party that I had arranged in our cabin. They really did make the "All ashore that's going ashore" announcement when it was time for visitors to leave. DW and I went with them to the gangplank to see them off and then waved at them from the deck much as my grandmother had waved at me.

 

Well we all know that that has changed. Some other things have changed and others haven't. We didn't have floor to ceiling windows and balconies on the Oceanic, but we did have a couple of portholes. We did have a cabin steward who seemed to have a vacuum cleaner growing out of his arm and an uncanny ability to know every time we left our room. We've found that to still mostly be the case.

 

Since we didn't have balconies, we did have assigned deck chairs and with the deck chairs came our deck steward. It's almost 40 years later and I can still remember his name, Luigi. It became our practice to have afternoon tea up on our deck chairs. We usually had iced tea and some pastry that we had Luigi pick out.

 

One afternoon I left DW up on deck while I went on an engine room tour. Sorry ladies it was a man only thing. They didn't allow women to go. Don't get mad at me, it wasn't my ship.

 

This was a real engine room tour. It wasn't a quick visit to a control room. We climbed up and down ladders and walked across catwalks in steamy boiler and engine rooms. We looked through sight tubes and could actually see the flames inside the boilers. We saw the push rods and rockers moving on the propulsion engines and could see the propellor shaft rotating. It was like we could see and hear and smell and fell and taste the heart of the ship.

 

When I got back up to DW, I had missed tea time. A little while later Luigi came by and stopped and said "Senor you missed your tea I will get it for you." I told him not to bother but he said "No. No. It is my job I will get it for you." He literally ran off to get me a tea. I could see him running down several flights of stairs. A few minutes later he as back with my tea and a pastry. Perhaps that is why I still remember him.

 

There was no confusion back then as to what to wear to dinner. It was definitely formal. I rented a tux along with a white dinner jacket so I'd have some variety. I was never a suit and tie guy and was lucky that I spend most of my working life in a shirt and jeans and wore a suit only when I absolutely had to. The ladies all wore gowns. We all looked damned good. It was classy. I even kind of enjoyed it. I kind of miss it today.

 

Dinner was an experience. It seemed that every night had a theme and the waiters wore different uniforms each night to go along with the theme. The lights dimmed and the waiters paraded around the dining room with trays of flaming cherries jubilee held high. That was the life. I miss that.

 

That was my first cruise and also my last for a while. We bought a house, our daughter was born and cruising money was nonexistent. We did go on family vacations most years but really never considered cruising.

 

When our daughter was 14 or 15 or so, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law volunteered to stay with our daughter (who we now referred to as the beast. Unless you had an exceptional teenaged daughter you know why.) while we went on a vacation by ourselves. After carefull consideration for perhaps a half a millisecond, we accepted. Now we had to decide what to do.

 

The idea of another cruise came up. We devoured brochures, talked to travel agents and decided on the Star Princess (the old Star). Since we had waited over a decade to do this, we went a little nuts and booked the top end suite on the ship.

 

If you are at all like us, you study the brocures. You look at the cabin pictures and the layout drawings. Today you gets lots of information from the internet. You think you know what you are going to get, but you don't know for sure until you open the door. Well we opened the door and WOW.

 

We walked into our living room. Sofa, end tables, chairs, coffee table, refrigerator, fully stocked bar, floor to ceiling windows and a door to a deck. What a step up from port holes. To the left we walked through doors into our bedroom. More floor to ceiling windows. Then came the dressing room with a mirrored wall and dressing table and more closets than we could possibly use. The bathroom had a sink and tub with shower. There was a separate room with the toilet a sink and a stall shower. On a plaque on the wall next to the toilet were the immortal words that I will never forget "Do Not Flush Whilst Seated." This was probably the best cabin I have ever been in. It was fantastic.

 

We really enjoyed this cruise. We have found that the one of the best parts of any cruise is the people that you meet, both other passengers and crew. Everything worked on this cruise. In the dining room we liked our waiters and they knew it and we could tell that they liked us. This made things really work well.

 

We like to go with fixed time dining. We like meeting people and always opt for a larger table. On this trip we were with 3 other couples and we all hit it off.

 

If you have cruised before or if you have just looked at the pictures here on CC you know that you will have a wide variety of very interesting looking deserts each evening. One of the couples with us wasn't very interested in them. They just wanted a dish of ice cream. The rest of us ordered our fancy deserts.

 

Now we were on Princess. The cruise was in February and included Valentines Day. If you haven't guessed where this is going you are too young to appreciate it.

 

Well the deserts arrived and the simple dishes of ice cream had become "Love Boats" the Princess version of banana splits. The whole table and the waiters were all laughing. It was great.

 

The next night, in addition to our regular desert orders, the waiters brought Love Boats for everyone. We were all hysterical. Before the end of the week, we were all ordering Love Boats and Love Boat Fever had spread to some of the adjoining tables. It really was a great cruise.

 

The beast reached the age of 18 and was old enough to leave at home (in chains with bowls of food and water) so that we could start to cruise on a more regular basis. We returned to the Star Princess (the new Star) for its inaugaral season on an Alsaka cruise. If you haven't done one you really should.

 

We continued with Pricess until some time in 2009 when I heard something about cruises out of Bayonne, NJ. I live in NJ and if the traffic cooperates I am less than an hour from Bayonne. I can get to Bayonne without flying and if I don't have to fly I don't have to go through an airport. I hate airports.

 

And I have written so much that I have run out of space and will to contine on the next rock.

[uncleah]

I am no stranger to trans-atlantic and trans-pracific flights. I don''t mind flying. In fact I have a pilots license. I just have never done well sleeping on plane even in the flat bed seats in first and business class. So the idea of no airport, no flight was really appealing.

 

We booked Explorer for a 12 nighter in a balcony cabin in Jan 10 and we haven't looked back. We loved it. The ship was just amazing. Our crew encounters were mostly all very good. Everything was good enough that we booked again for Jan 11 and upgraded to a GS. Now were working on making this a family tradition. Next is Jan 14.

 

We are sorry to see that the 12 days are gone. If they do away with the 10 days I guess we will have to start thinking about B2B.

 

The weather in January can be a little dicey. We had a day or so on 2 of these cruises where the seas were 20-30 feet and the winds hit 70-90 mph. We were a rocking and rolling. Fortunately neither DW or I have much of a problem with motion sickness and now we know how to jam all the drawers and doors closed so they aren't slaming around at night.

 

All and all Explorer + Bayonne = Nirvana.

 

We'd love to hear what you remember and what you liked and what you missed.

 

Keep cruising!

[RocketMan275]

What a nicely written review. Thanks for sharing that.

[Judicruise]

Wow! Thanks for sharing such wonderful memories. We took our first cruise in 1995 on the NCL Dreamward. We had a large window but no balcony.. then we went to a balcony on the Nordic Empress now we will be of Explorer of the Seas for the 2nd time in a junior suite. We do notice that the whole cruise experience is much less "formal" now but we still think it is the very best kind of vacation.

[twiztid17]

I have only been on one cruise when I was 17 and finally have one planned for nov of this year. I just want to thank you for you sharing your story it's really cool to hear what cruising used to be like compared to now. It can be overwhelming how much things can change.

[hairymelon]

What a wonderful review of your cruising life so far. You really conjured up images in my mind of what cruising used to be. I was lucky enough to be toured round Queen Mary when I was a little girl (I think it was Queen Mary - it could have been Queen Elizabeth 1) when it was docked in Southampton and I remember the smell of the beeswax on the wood and the high polish of everything to this day.

 

I never thought I would be lucky enough to go on a cruise and now I am completely hooked.

 

Thank you for sharing your memories it really made me smile :)

[K1200S]

Last night, on-line, I booked a 10 nighter on Explorer out of Bayonne. I don't know why, but it triggered strong memories of my first cruise in the mid 70's. In fact, it brought back memories of well before then.

 

When I was growing up, every so often my grandmother would sail to Europe to visit family there. It may be hard to believe, but back then you could board with the passenger and visit the ship for a while before it sailed. We always took my grandmother to the ship and although I didn't sail on them, I did walk the decks of the United States, the Hanseatic, the Ile de France and others that I don't remember.

 

My first cruise was with Home Lines on the Oceanic. It was the second cruise for DW. She had cruised before we were married with some girlfriends on the Oceanic.

 

Even then you could have guests on board before sailing. All of our parents joined us for a bon voyage party that I had arranged in our cabin. They really did make the "All ashore that's going ashore" announcement when it was time for visitors to leave. DW and I went with them to the gangplank to see them off and then waved at them from the deck much as my grandmother had waved at me.

 

Well we all know that that has changed. Some other things have changed and others haven't. We didn't have floor to ceiling windows and balconies on the Oceanic, but we did have a couple of portholes. We did have a cabin steward who seemed to have a vacuum cleaner growing out of his arm and an uncanny ability to know every time we left our room. We've found that to still mostly be the case.

 

Since we didn't have balconies, we did have assigned deck chairs and with the deck chairs came our deck steward. It's almost 40 years later and I can still remember his name, Luigi. It became our practice to have afternoon tea up on our deck chairs. We usually had iced tea and some pastry that we had Luigi pick out.

 

One afternoon I left DW up on deck while I went on an engine room tour. Sorry ladies it was a man only thing. They didn't allow women to go. Don't get mad at me, it wasn't my ship.

 

This was a real engine room tour. It wasn't a quick visit to a control room. We climbed up and down ladders and walked across catwalks in steamy boiler and engine rooms. We looked through sight tubes and could actually see the flames inside the boilers. We saw the push rods and rockers moving on the propulsion engines and could see the propellor shaft rotating. It was like we could see and hear and smell and fell and taste the heart of the ship.

 

When I got back up to DW, I had missed tea time. A little while later Luigi came by and stopped and said "Senor you missed your tea I will get it for you." I told him not to bother but he said "No. No. It is my job I will get it for you." He literally ran off to get me a tea. I could see him running down several flights of stairs. A few minutes later he as back with my tea and a pastry. Perhaps that is why I still remember him.

 

There was no confusion back then as to what to wear to dinner. It was definitely formal. I rented a tux along with a white dinner jacket so I'd have some variety. I was never a suit and tie guy and was lucky that I spend most of my working life in a shirt and jeans and wore a suit only when I absolutely had to. The ladies all wore gowns. We all looked damned good. It was classy. I even kind of enjoyed it. I kind of miss it today.

 

Dinner was an experience. It seemed that every night had a theme and the waiters wore different uniforms each night to go along with the theme. The lights dimmed and the waiters paraded around the dining room with trays of flaming cherries jubilee held high. That was the life. I miss that.

 

That was my first cruise and also my last for a while. We bought a house, our daughter was born and cruising money was nonexistent. We did go on family vacations most years but really never considered cruising.

 

When our daughter was 14 or 15 or so, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law volunteered to stay with our daughter (who we now referred to as the beast. Unless you had an exceptional teenaged daughter you know why.) while we went on a vacation by ourselves. After carefull consideration for perhaps a half a millisecond, we accepted. Now we had to decide what to do.

 

The idea of another cruise came up. We devoured brochures, talked to travel agents and decided on the Star Princess (the old Star). Since we had waited over a decade to do this, we went a little nuts and booked the top end suite on the ship.

 

If you are at all like us, you study the brocures. You look at the cabin pictures and the layout drawings. Today you gets lots of information from the internet. You think you know what you are going to get, but you don't know for sure until you open the door. Well we opened the door and WOW.

 

We walked into our living room. Sofa, end tables, chairs, coffee table, refrigerator, fully stocked bar, floor to ceiling windows and a door to a deck. What a step up from port holes. To the left we walked through doors into our bedroom. More floor to ceiling windows. Then came the dressing room with a mirrored wall and dressing table and more closets than we could possibly use. The bathroom had a sink and tub with shower. There was a separate room with the toilet a sink and a stall shower. On a plaque on the wall next to the toilet were the immortal words that I will never forget "Do Not Flush Whilst Seated." This was probably the best cabin I have ever been in. It was fantastic.

 

We really enjoyed this cruise. We have found that the one of the best parts of any cruise is the people that you meet, both other passengers and crew. Everything worked on this cruise. In the dining room we liked our waiters and they knew it and we could tell that they liked us. This made things really work well.

 

We like to go with fixed time dining. We like meeting people and always opt for a larger table. On this trip we were with 3 other couples and we all hit it off.

 

If you have cruised before or if you have just looked at the pictures here on CC you know that you will have a wide variety of very interesting looking deserts each evening. One of the couples with us wasn't very interested in them. They just wanted a dish of ice cream. The rest of us ordered our fancy deserts.

 

Now we were on Princess. The cruise was in February and included Valentines Day. If you haven't guessed where this is going you are too young to appreciate it.

 

Well the deserts arrived and the simple dishes of ice cream had become "Love Boats" the Princess version of banana splits. The whole table and the waiters were all laughing. It was great.

 

The next night, in addition to our regular desert orders, the waiters brought Love Boats for everyone. We were all hysterical. Before the end of the week, we were all ordering Love Boats and Love Boat Fever had spread to some of the adjoining tables. It really was a great cruise.

 

The beast reached the age of 18 and was old enough to leave at home (in chains with bowls of food and water) so that we could start to cruise on a more regular basis. We returned to the Star Princess (the new Star) for its inaugaral season on an Alsaka cruise. If you haven't done one you really should.

 

We continued with Pricess until some time in 2009 when I heard something about cruises out of Bayonne, NJ. I live in NJ and if the traffic cooperates I am less than an hour from Bayonne. I can get to Bayonne without flying and if I don't have to fly I don't have to go through an airport. I hate airports.

 

And I have written so much that I have run out of space and will to contine on the next rock.

My first cruise was also on Oceanic out of NY.

[Jan_In_Maine]

Thank you for your review - we didn't start cruising until 2003, and things had changed by that time (although they have changed a lot in the past 10 years also). Jan

[lag9122]

Thats a nice story I took my first cruise with family my daughter and sister and Mom . it was so nice . nothing like the 1st cruise .

[Familygoboston]

My originally British family began cruising back to the motherland, before flying was a practical option. I have all the 16 mm films of my dad as a teen on board with his mum and dad, with all their friends before sailing away. Then you can see them all leaving ( except dad and my grandparents) and waving goodbye from the pier. It was a big deal, everyone was dressed up in fancy clothes!

 

Fast forward 20 years and my grandad took me on the Stefan Batory for my first TA to visit the family ( Montreal to Southhampton) it was the 70s and the economy was wrecked. There was a first class level and dining room, but no one in it. They had a few kids activities, a parade around the lounge one night in costumes we made of toilet paper- try that in AO today and see how it flies:rolleyes:

 

Fast forward another 20 years and I was cruising not long after the " love boat" made cruising a vacation rather than a method of travel;)

I have some fond memories of early cruising, but to be honest, I really do like the progress. I prefer a more active and casual cruise environment of today. I like that cruising is a little more open to all people- even 20 years ago it was rare to see an African American on a cruise- now i see people of all types. Cruising looks ( in N America) more like America every day... And I like that:D

[copi2boys]

My first cruise was on the Volendam. WONDERFUL experience and knew when I met someone special we would have to do a cruise. OUR first cruise was on the Oceanic out of NY also. He was hooked. Like the OP, the kids came along, family vacations, sports (both boys played travel hockey so I could be in CO with one while DH was in CA with the other!). They are now out on their own and we have rediscovered cruising......The good life. No, it's definitely not like it was on the Oceanic. Family did come on board to see us off. Remember that grand staircase? The pasta at every meal....The flaming baked Alaska. We also had a port hole cabin. The toilet/sink was completely separate from the shower.

 

The next cruise on the Mariner was a balcony cabin. A relative had passed away and left us money so we truly weren't paying for the cruise and "upgraded". We are now balcony snobs, and unless I get another cruise paid for we're happy with a regular balcony. Hardly ever spend time in the room but it's nice to have morning tea/coffee out there, a pre dinner drink, especially now that we can bring on wine, and then a nightcap.

 

Have 2014 cruise booked, thinking where to go, what ship, how long, for 2015.

[emeraldcity]

What awesome memories! thanks to each of you for sharing. My first cruise was just over 25 years ago, so to several of you ... I'm just a newbie.

 

But it was on the Sovereign. It was her fourth cruise and she was brand-spankin' new. My sister and I went together. We booked an inside on that tween deck (six, I think) and had the good fortune to be seated at the hotel manager's table during dinner. What a treat that was. He was very gracious and shared a number of stories about the efforts of bringing in the best crewmembers from all over the fleet and then working to make them a team.

 

I remember telling Garnet (our cabin steward) that it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. And he told me "Oh no. You will save your pennies and cruise again." He was right, of course!

[Fla Mike]

Great memories, thanks for sharing.

 

You always remember your first. ;)

 

Of course it immediately brought back my first cruise in 1981 aboard the Costa Flavia. Some may be old enough to remember her. Fondly, I hope.

 

Not only did the waiters get dressed for the theme dinner every night, but they also had a "Toga Night" where the stewards left extra sheets on the bed and fake olive wreaths for your head. It was an experience seeing basically the whole guest compliment dressed up as Romans!

 

Now I have to rummage through all the boxes of photos to find them.

 

Again, thanks for sharing.

[katiel53]

My first cruise was also on the Oceanic. We were supposed to go to Bermuda and Nassau, but the tender workers were on strike in Bermuda, so we ended up over-nighting in Nassau. We still wanted to go to Bermuda, so we booked Home Lines Doric for three months later. We loved Bermuda and the next spring went on the Atlantic. That was the first of several trips on her.

 

I did most of my cruises traveling with a female friend. We were both divorced and loved taking our kids on cruises, but they never sailed on Home Lines. Fast forward to a few years later and I met husband number 2.

 

He thought/still thinks I am nuts as I have been on over 90 cruises on various lines and he has been on probably 60. Almost all our cruises, other than a couple of land tours through Europe, have been cruises. We are retired and try to go on at least 2 a year.

 

There have been so many changes, not only in the ships, but the cruisers as well. Not all are for the better, although many of them are. There's nothing better than sitting out on a balcony watching the sea go by. There is nothing worse than listening to some of those who feel they are the upper echelon and the crew is beneath them. My how times change!

[uncleah]

Thanks for the kind words. It's nice to see all of the Oceanic veterans out there.

 

I was really impressed when I got on that ship. We didn't have a rockwall but they don't let you shoot skeet of the stern anymore.

 

It kind of surprised me but I really liked the elegance of the cruise back then. Don't get me wrong, we still love crusing and now that we are retired we are doing it more often.

 

We both like travel. I figured I had DW hooked on travel when she flew to London by herself to meet me there. I was on my way back from a business trip to France. Of course she told me that if she didn't see me when she got off the plane she was turning around and going home. I don't think I ever landed at Heathrow on time but on that day I was there 3 hours early just to be sure.

 

There sure is a lot more to do on cruise ships these days and as long as you meet nice people I don't see how you can not have a good time. We have met people from all over the world.

 

On our first royal cruise we had dinner at a table with a couple from the UK. From the night we met we pretty much were the last ones out of the dining room every night. We felt a little guilty that the waiters were waiting for us to leave. We laughed so much they must have thought we were crazy.

 

These days we don't really worry much about where we are going. The ship is as much a destination as the ports.

 

As long as we can we intend to keep doing it.

 

We enjoyed all of your comments. Please keep them coming.

[Realtor at Sea]

My husband and I took one of our first cruises on the Oceanic, also. Cruise ships have come a long way since then!

 

In the '80's we took our three boys on several RCCL cruises and always had to book two inside cabins and we would split the family up, one boy with one parent and two boys with another. There were no family cabins in those days, but it didn't matter...we always had fun!!! The Sovereign was only six months old when we cruised on it and had a fabulous time.

 

Loved your post and hope to see others add to it! So nice to remember the past so fondly!

[shippmates]

My husband and I took our first cruise in 1989 on the Carnival Mardi Gras. All I am going to say is the memory it left us with was we will never cruise again. I will say it took us 10 years to cruise again. It was a totally different experience and we have not looked back since. We became hooked with Paradise. We sailed on when it first was launched as a completely smoke free ship. It was wonderful.

[SeaPeaInn]

Uncleah -

 

Your review brings back a lot of memories.

If cruising was still like that we would be cruising most of the year instead of once or twice. We cruised on Royal Viking up until they closed in the early 90s I believe.

Too many things are missing now and the only thing that has been added to cruising that enhances the experience are the balconies.

[noshoobie]

Our first cruise was on the Home Lines Atlantic from NY to Bermuda. We had an inside cabin and I remember always thinking (I guess because of the plumbing??)that it was raining outside.

 

Fast forward 26 years later, and we are taking our three kids on the Explorer to Bermuda in October. This time we have connecting balconies. :D

[Philly Steve]

A wonderful post that deserves to be on the front page. Thanks. :)

[mrsdoc3]

My first cruise was on Majesty of the Seas in 1998. We had an inside cabin, and I remember it being quite small. My husband would wake me up with his snoring, and when I would turn the light on to see what time it was (usually around 3:00am), I would take my book and go up on deck to read, and eventually fall back asleep. I would be woken up in the early morning by the crews "swabbing" the deck. I also remember going to Quest and laughing 'til I cried and being amazed at the brazenness of people (I guess I had led a sheltered life). The "quest"ion I remember the most was asking for a sock with a hole in it. Men were taking off their socks and then biting them trying to make holes in them. After it was closed, the CD said what I had been thinking -- socks already have holes in them -- it's where you put your foot into the sock! The whole Quest experiece seemed so much more intimate in the lounge than in the larger venues now.

[genegri]

What lovely memories! Thank you for sharing with us. It sure puts me in a nostalgia mood. :)

 

I was taken on a few river cruises (more like ferry rides) when I was a little toddler. But my first real ocean cruise came when my grandparents took me on SS Norway in 1986. I was 5 years old. What an awe inspiring experience for a child! Arriving at the busy port, the first glimpse of the ship, the first sight of the huge (to me at the time) interior. Everything was fresh and new, every step was an adventure. My fondest memory was standing on the promenade deck, barely tall enough to see over the railing, and watching the gentle waves go by. My first cruise. And I have never looked back.

[Bluwaterz]

What a beautiful post! Thank you so much for sharing your memories.

 

My first cruise was on Princess as well. I will always remember it & the great excitement that surrounded it. While I started cruising a good deal later than you did, I shared many of the same feelings you so aptly described.

[TEXASMUNK]

First cruise, our of San Juan, on the massive, overwhelming 14,ooo ton Cunard Adventurer! Fell in love with cruising. Put your shoes outside your door at night, they came back in the morning polished.....sorry today, ya cannot polish sneakers, even the ones some think are ok for formal nights!

For our 25th anniversary, we booked the top cabin on the SS Norway....pure heaven....

As the kids have FINALLY aged a bit, we now jump on a Royal ship whenever possible....depending on work (of course).

The atmosphere and onboard activities have dramatically changed, the casual atmosphere has changed cruising....We love it both ways, but doo agree with the OP, Dining was once a true occasion, now folks hit the Main Dining room to eat...there is such a difference.

[pema]

What awesome memories! thanks to each of you for sharing. My first cruise was just over 25 years ago, so to several of you ... I'm just a newbie.

 

But it was on the Sovereign. It was her fourth cruise and she was brand-spankin' new. My sister and I went together. We booked an inside on that tween deck (six, I think) and had the good fortune to be seated at the hotel manager's table during dinner. What a treat that was. He was very gracious and shared a number of stories about the efforts of bringing in the best crewmembers from all over the fleet and then working to make them a team.

 

I remember telling Garnet (our cabin steward) that it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. And he told me "Oh no. You will save your pennies and cruise again." He was right, of course!

I remember Sovereign of the Seas June 1994 when our youngest child graduated H.S. we decided to do a family cruise..3 children in 1 cabin and we were next door in another

our oldest daughter went on SOS 10/1992 for her honeymoon..we loved the SOS