NCL-A blast from the 80's with pics-just a fun little thread & review

[mitsugirly]

FYI MGM is now Hollywood Studios. My grandchildern (who know when they are on any disney property), like to shorten it to studios.:D

 

I love the thread, and had to smile at being Disneyed out. You should go at Christmas time, with adult childeren, spouses & grandchrildren, just because one or two work for Disney.The price is right, however, I'm well passed "disneyed out" :D

 

Oh yea, that's what it's called now. I couldn't remember the name. We have some friends (we met on a 2010 cruise) that live in Florida (Orlando) and she is always talking about going there (they have a pass to all the neat stuff in Orlando). I am always so jealous. I swear some day I'm moving to Orlando. It's the "happening place".

 

Do you have any pics of the ship, cabin and activities?

 

You have to remember, back then our cameras consisted of disposables and they took CRAPPY pictures, plus you had to take them to the store to have them sent out to be processed. It was a hit or miss type of thing as to whether or not the pictures would turn out or you would get a black roll of film picture. :( I do have a few of the ship and us in port. I only had 1 of inside the cabin that I could find and it had my husband standing in front of the mirror getting ready for dinner that night. I was more or less taking a picture of him and not the room, so not too much to see there. I would have to look at boxes and boxes of pictures to sort and find them all. I know there wasn't too many.

[mitsugirly]

Mitsugirly, try NCL. THe Breakaway has sponge bob and Dora. Your 5 tear old would love it and you wouldn't have to be disneyfied!

 

 

Sorry, I had to LOL at the "try NCL" comment. :p

 

We probably won't try the Breakaway for a few years and until the prices "hopefully" start to decline. I know the Epic, Gem, Jewel, Breakaway and Getaway all have the Nickelodeon characters on it. We are going to be on the Jewel in 4 months 10 days, 10 hours, 42 minutes and 13 seconds from now. :D But who's counting?

[NayRN]

Oh my gosh, how neat would that be? I would LOVE to. What all do you do on them? Is it conducted like a class? (So many hours a day of learning) Or are you doing things like you do when you are on a missionary and actually helping people? Either way, it sounds really cool. I'm up for it! :D

 

WOW...NCL-NCLEX. I never noticed that. I had to point that out to my husband. That HAS to be a sign!!!

 

 

 

Wait, your first cruise was on the Seaward in 1972? Was there another Seaward? The Seaward we went on was newly built in 1988. But how neat to dress up for the masquerade night. That would be a lot of fun and I LOVED the idea of the toga with the sheets. :D

 

It's just a couple speakers...you sit for a certain amount of hours and listen to them go on and on. Typically you get one contact hour for every hour of lecture. Ours lasted only four hours each sea day...so we got 12 contact hours. If I remember correctly, we were lectured on pain control, falls, faith (I work for a Catholic health system), cardiac and pulmonary disease. It was great....and not too hard to set up!!:cool:

They put us in a corner of the Aqua restaurant on the Star from about 0700-1130-ish. If I remember correctly, Aqua wasn't opened for lunch so there was no rush to get out. They had to close the drapes though....to many of us were staring out the windows.....:o

[goldmom]

 

 

 

Wait, your first cruise was on the Seaward in 1972? Was there another Seaward? The Seaward we went on was newly built in 1988. But how neat to dress up for the masquerade night. That would be a lot of fun and I LOVED the idea of the toga with the sheets. :D

 

OK, you make me curious enough to check. I looked at the (very old) picture and saw that it was actually the Skyward.

[rajones007]

So what happened in Montego Bay?

[mitsugirly]

It's just a couple speakers...you sit for a certain amount of hours and listen to them go on and on. Typically you get one contact hour for every hour of lecture. Ours lasted only four hours each sea day...so we got 12 contact hours. If I remember correctly, we were lectured on pain control, falls, faith (I work for a Catholic health system), cardiac and pulmonary disease. It was great....and not too hard to set up!!:cool:

They put us in a corner of the Aqua restaurant on the Star from about 0700-1130-ish. If I remember correctly, Aqua wasn't opened for lunch so there was no rush to get out. They had to close the drapes though....to many of us were staring out the windows.....:o

 

Yes, I will definitely sign up for this! :D I work for a Catholic hospital too (and will hopefully be able to continue with this hosptial once I graduate...been there in 1984 :p). Do you have to pay for the regular price of the cruise? Or do you get some type of discount?

 

OK, you make me curious enough to check. I looked at the (very old) picture and saw that it was actually the Skyward.

 

Ok, gotcha. I was wondering. I thought maybe there were 2 of them or something...like they had one back then and built another/newer version in 1988. :)

[mitsugirly]

I found this information very interesting:

 

SuperStar Libra is a cruise ship owned and operated by Star Cruises. She was built in 1988 by Wärtsilä Turku New Shipyard in Turku, Finland as Seaward for Norwegian Cruise Line. In 1997 she was renamed Norwegian Sea, remaining in NCL fleet. In 2005 she was transferred to the fleet of Star Cruises.

 

Now the reason I find this interesting (that she is now part of the SuperStar Libra) is because our beloved NCL SPIRIT ship was built for Star Cruises as the SuperStar Leo ship. We LOVED the Spirit and she is very unique compared to the other NCL ships.

 

I wonder if the people who cruise with Star Cruises find that the Seward is "unique" compared to their other ships. :eek:

[cruise luvr]

Love this thread! My first cruise was on the Seaward in 1991 doing the same itinerary. I remember thinking that I was in heaven. Your pictures have brought back a lot of memories. I just might have a brochure like that laying around somewhere.

[mitsugirly]

So what happened in Montego Bay?

 

So here's my story from our visit in 1989. I had to look up my post because I didn't feel like retyping everything. It's a lazy day. LOL

 

We were there in the 80's and I was completely scared almost the entire time I was there. I swore I would never go back, however, the cruise I want to take next year has Jamaica on the itinerary. :( (We went back last March and I posted this prior to going trying to find a "safe" place to go).

 

I had a horrible experience and it was more than just 1 thing. Everything that day went wrong.

 

When we got off the ship we were surrounded by pushy sellers wanting us to buy drugs..one after another. A polite no thanks, I don't smoke. At one point we had went to the restroom and I came out before my husband and was completely surrounded by several men trying to get me to purchase drugs. Luckily my husband came out and stepped in the circled, grabbed my arm and pulled me out and we quickly walked away.

 

We caught a cab. Told the driver we wanted to go to a nice relaxing beach (back then, no internet to do research and relied on the locals to tell us "the in place to go". He said he would take us to a beach. It was over an hour drive or so and along the way we made MULTIPLE stops at various homes. He left us sitting in the cab in the most run down areas while he ran in and did his drug dealings..with at one point he RAN out to the car put it in drive and sped off. :eek:

 

We FINALLY make it to the beach. He told us that if we were to pay him in advance and tell him a time, he would be back to pick us up at that time and it was sometimes hard to find a cab there. So, we did. The cab ride was $80!!! :eek:

 

We go into the beach, find out we had TO PAY to get into the beach. Found a spot to sit down and enjoy the view for awhile before wanting to swim.

Shocker number 2....we look out at the water AND THERE WAS OUR SHIP!!! Basically around the corner!! Within walking distance. Man, we were had! :(

 

While we were sitting on the beach we witnessed several young children (my guess all under the age of 10) going up and down the beach selling ice cream. However, we were unprepared for what we were about to witness. Several of them would stand in front of the people/couples convincing them to buy an ice cream while the others were behind them ripping them off (taking their bags and such). :eek: We decided that if they would do that with the people sitting right there, they sure would do it if we was to go out in the water to swim and our things were left on the beach. We did not move to say the least. (I remember this day so well, I actually wrapped my bag handles around my leg several times and dug my foot in the sand and put it under me hoping no one would try to grab my bag).

 

Now, looking directly behind us on the beach...there were houses, small 1 story houses that had marijuana plants growing in their entire back yard, as tall if not taller, than their house. There were guards standing at attention around the plants and the fence holding huge rifles. I was afraid to even look that way.

 

We decided everything that had happened to us just getting the beach that the place was not safe and decided to leave asap. We definitely knew that we were not waiting on the cab driver that completely ripped us off on the cab fare and took us to multiple houses along the way while taking an hour or so to get there. We decided to walk back on our own along the road. (We did see the driver coming back to pick us up at the beach. So at least he kept his word. But, we wanted no part of it and kept walking).

 

The only thing we encountered along the way were young girls trying to braid my hair and I politely declined and kept walking. We were never so happy to get back to the port and back on the ship.

 

There's a difference between asking to buy things and then basically trying to force you to. There's a difference when people deliberately rip you off because you do not know the difference and to involve you in whatever "dealings" are going on during your cab ride.

 

I swore I would never go back. Thank goodness for the internet so that I can hopefully be a little more reassured myself about this place.

 

 

So, that's what happened to us. We were only 22 at the time and it was pretty scary. We had never been out of the country before.

 

Thank goodness for the internet and places like this now. We can research prior to going and find a safe place for us to go. :)

[mitsugirly]

Love this thread! My first cruise was on the Seaward in 1991 doing the same itinerary. I remember thinking that I was in heaven. Your pictures have brought back a lot of memories. I just might have a brochure like that laying around somewhere.

 

I know. It was just so beautiful and "unspoiled" back then. Don't get me wrong, I love new stuff and updates...you have to flow with the times. But cruising back then was so simple and different.

[mitsugirly]

I just thought I would share I picture of the Seaward.

 

I use to have this in my signature line. :D

 

 

[NayRN]

Yes, I will definitely sign up for this! :D I work for a Catholic hospital too (and will hopefully be able to continue with this hosptial once I graduate...been there in 1984 :p). Do you have to pay for the regular price of the cruise? Or do you get some type of discount?. :)

 

It all depends...typically the price is increased to pay the fare for the speakers. I'd have to look back at the prices...but it wasn't much more than I would normally pay for a cruise PLUS what I would pay for a conference! Heck, we have a couple years to think about this! After your boards, your first license is typically "free" from contact hours as they count nursing school as contact hours! It's your first renewal that you will need the hours.

 

I've been thinking about doing this for a while.....;) maybe it will come to fruition...soon!!

[mitsugirly]

A few of my awesome snorkeling pictures back then with the waterproof disposable cameras LOL

 

 

 

 

 

Now the following could be from the Seaward or they could be from RCL Majesty of the Seas. I'm not completely sure. However, they still go along with the "back then" cruising. Who had "The Compass" as their dailies? Actually the more I think about it, the more I think this might be RCL. But would you get a load of that wallpaper!!!!!!!!!!!! :eek:

 

Our towel animals:

 

 

Ice sculptures and the midnight buffet:

 

 

[mitsugirly]

We can't leave out the dancing waiters:

 

[cjknox]

I'm loving this thread! Thank you so much for coming up with this, definitely a blast from the past.

[DC Traveller]

We were on the Norwegian Sea in 2001. It was our first cruise with Norwegian. I thought your photo of the fountain in the atrium looked familiar. We cruised with three other couples, and two of the three were first time cruisers. We had a great New England and Canada cruise. One of my favorite memories is the duo of musicians who strolled through the dining room serenading the diners. We really enjoyed the sailaway from NYC with the band on deck playing patriot music as we passed the Statue of Liberty. We never thought to turn and look at the Twin Towers...two months later they they would fall. Such a tragedy. We kept saying later that we couldn't imagine how it would have been if the terrorists had struck the week we were at sea, and we had returned to the ruins.

Anyway, thanks for your thread and also for the former review of the Star. We'll be on her for the TA in October. Can't wait!

[NH Cruisers]

This has to be one of my favorite thread read in a long time. Thanks for reserecting/linking it. I missed it the first time.

 

 

 

Jon

[DCT61]

"Now the following could be from the Seaward or they could be from RCL Majesty of the Seas. I'm not completely sure. However, they still go along with the "back then" cruising. Who had "The Compass" as their dailies? Actually the more I think about it, the more I think this might be RCL. But would you get a load of that wallpaper!!!!!!!!!!!! "

 

I don't think it was wallpaper. RCCL had those built in bolsters mounted to the walls over the beds, and I think that is what you are seeing. Its fabric.

[lacy1101]

On 8/2/2013 at 10:13 PM, mitsugirly said:

So that is my share of our blast from the past.

 

Feel free to share your stories and pictures.

 

It's interesting to see how things have changed. Both the good and the bad. 🙂

 

Oh my, what wonderful memories you have stirred up!  My husband and I took our honeymoon on the Norwegian Seaward in October 1988 (our first cruise too).  I found your post googling the ship today just to reminisce.  I actually found a few videos on Youtube as well. 

 

My husband did the golfing off the back of the ship and I totally remember the flaming Alaskan dessert at dinner.  We must have cruised shortly after you because I remember Jamaica had just been hit with a terrible hurricane, but we were able to dock in Ocho Rios and do Dunns River Falls.  I do remember, however, how sketchy some areas looked.  We were 22 and 23 and it was our first time out of the country, too.

 

Thanks for your post! 🙂

Edited August 22, 2019 by lacy1101

[GA Dave]

My wife and I did our first cruise on the Norwegian Sea in July 2002.  That was after the Seaward was renamed to the Sea in 1997.  We still laugh to this day about how small the bathrooms were in our port hole cabin! 

Our cruise was out of NYC to Nassau and Great Styrup Caye.  I still remember talking to so many First Responders on that cruise who were taking their first vacations since 9/11/2001.  Once we got past lower Manhattan, they really let loose and had a great time!  If I can find my pictures, I will try and post some here.

I, too, remember those great midnight buffets!!

[GA Dave]

So, here are a few from our 2002 cruise on the Norwegian Sea (formerly the Seaward).  I will post more this weekend.

We so thought that this ship was huge back then and that our cabin was amazing!  Lol.

 

[Named-Tawny]

On 8/2/2013 at 10:22 PM, mitsugirly said:

 

 

 

... That's not playa del Carmen.

 

Has geography changed since the 80s too? 😉

[newmexicoNita]

8 hours ago, GA Dave said:

So, here are a few from our 2002 cruise on the Norwegian Sea (formerly the Seaward).  I will post more this weekend.

We so thought that this ship was huge back then and that our cabin was amazing!  Lol.

 

This does bring back some memories. Our first cruise which was about 1985 was on a now gone cruise line: Commadore. Our first NCL cruise was the Seaward. I remember how impressed I was cause they had 2 dining rooms. Before that all the cruises we had taken had only one and the Seaward seemed so big to us then. We did sail her again after the name change and now I look at the pics of the cabins and I wonder how we survived in such a small space for a week? Those were fun days though and cruising was so different than today, not better or worse, just different.  

[RedwingHockeyFan]

9 hours ago, Named-Tawny said:

... That's not playa del Carmen.

 

Has geography changed since the 80s too? 😉

That is pretty funny.  There really isn't a damn thing on that part of the island even today.

[Sweetnspicy]

@mitsugirly Thank you so much for the laughs! I cried with laughter over the part about the hot dogs. My husband who was in the Navy said “hotdogs all day long is just like what you would get in the Navy if you missed meal time”!! 

 

Thank you for taking the time and for saving all of that stuff! I wish I would have made a scrapbook from our first cruise in 2009.