Your Sitmar Experience

[Sadebud]

I sailed on Sitmar 3 times, all wonderful and lots of great memories. My first was on the Fairsky July, 1973, 14 days r/t SF to Alaska. I was all of 6 years old, but still remember sailing under the GG Bridge. My brother and I also took 2nd place in the kids costume party contest, we were a king and queen. My Grandmother and her friend took 3rd in the adult contest. They were "Early Sitting and Late Sitting" and wore toilet seats around their heads, with signs indicating which one was which. The crew was fabulous and since there were not many kids, the crew took quite a shine to us. Rosa and Mario were our stewards and Johnny was our main waiter (early sitting). I can't believe I remember their names...44 years later.

 

Our next adventure on Sitmar was a 14 day Southern Caribbean r/t Lauderdale. It was a Christmas cruise, and we were at sea when they had a Christmas party for the kids. Santa came via a lifeboat....we watched as they raised him up and he passed out presents to all the kids on board. There were A LOT of kids...everyone thought how special it was the Sitmar did this!

 

The food was fantastic..lots prepared tableside...oh and the pasta!!

 

Thanks to the OP for reminding me of these special times!!!

[Astro Flyer]

Among our fond memories were the wonderful fresh pastas (made tableside at every dinner).

 

When Princess took over Sitmar, they did not retain many of the Italian crew.

 

Hank

Sadly Princess didn't retain many of their great Italian & Portuguese crew. :( There are getting fewer of the older Italian & Portuguese dining room staff that are still working on Princess. Davide who was an excellent headwaiter for our Royal Princess Winemakers Dinner including preparing gnocchi tableside is the last Sitmar crewmember we've met.

 

About 10 years ago our Portuguese waiter Jose was great & had enough seniority to assist Princess Executive Chef Alfredo Marzi in the Princess Theater cooking demonstration. One night at dinner I told our tablemates about the outstanding pastas that were freshly made on Sitmar & prepared tableside. Jose said that was an unfounded rumor before I figured he was probably a Sitmar assistant waiter (all were Portuguese). When I quizzed him about his statement he laughed & said he was just messing with me & he verified that on Sitmar the pastas were freshly made onboard the ship. :p

Edited March 22, 2017 by Astro Flyer

[MTJSR]

One small example of the difference between Sitmar & Princess...Sitmar's souvenir coffee cups were made from Staffordshire Fine Bone China from Sherwood England; Princess souvenir coffee cups are ceramic made in China. ;)

 

I'm not sure what exactly I have (quality wise), but it is a small upright white ceramic tea pot/creamer jug? with the Sitmar logo on it, several Captains Circle glasses in grey cloth bags and 2 white Sitmar ashtrays. And no I did not lift them, but I think my mom may have:cool:

[Astro Flyer]

I'm not sure what exactly I have (quality wise), but it is a small upright white ceramic tea pot/creamer jug? with the Sitmar logo on it, several Captains Circle glasses in grey cloth bags and 2 white Sitmar ashtrays. And no I did not lift them, but I think my mom may have:cool:

Oh sure, blame your mom...ha, ha! ;p

 

If I'd known in summer of 1988 that Sitmar would become Princess, I would have also been tempted to get a couple of complimentary Sitmar souvenirs. We purchased the Fairwind china coffee cups (the material used is on the bottom) in the gift shop but wish that we had more souvenirs from our best cruise experience ever.

 

It certainly wasn't our best ship we've ever sailed but it definitely was the best crew & service with outstanding food. I think that all cruise lines today attempt to wow passengers with their ships & less with providing an amazing cruise experience which is the wow factor that's most important to me.

 

The crew had what the Italians call amore della vita...love of life...which was easy for all passengers to do on a Sitmar cruise. :D

[rkacruiser]

My only Sitmar cruise was aboard Fairwind, a 10 day sailing an unusual, for then, itinerary that included Eastern and Western Caribbean ports. (Probably wouldn't be done today because of too much fuel being required to do so.) We left Fort Lauderdale as a Sitmar ship and returned to Fort Lauderdale as a Princess ship; the sale had been made while we were aboard and guests were informed of such during our cruise.

 

Memorable Italian service and cuisine coupled with entertainment that we enjoyed. I don't recall the woman's name, but she was the "piano bar-type" entertainer in one of the Lounges and she was so personable and such a good artist that I remember her. Our tablemates were of Italian heritage and the gentleman enjoyed wine. I learned much from him and complimented the Italian ambiance that we enjoyed.

 

Even when we were aboard, Fairwind was showing her years of service in some areas. Yet, it was a very comfortable ship and an excellent sea boat.

[MTJSR]

Forgot to add earlier, as the only kid onboard, I remember one day going to the Soda-A-Go-Go and keeping the poor bored crew member company, while he made me the only hot dog served the whole trip. Also at 14 years old, I would go into the LaPetite Casino and play a roll of nickles in the slot machines from time to time. And finally, as we were sailing up the inside passage to Alaska, I would climb down to the mooring deck and into the front bow rail (think Titanic) and watch as we plowed ahead. Still surprised I got away with that, Oh the memories!

[notentirelynormal]

Also at 14 years old, I would go into the LaPetite Casino and play a roll of nickles in the slot machines from time to time.

 

HaHa. You just reminded me. One time we were playing the slots for the kids. Since they weren't allowed in the casino they would stand right at the edge of the carpet and watch. One day this guy comes and stand in between me and the kids. A lady in our group walks up to the guy and says "excuse me, would you mind moving? Those kids are playing that slot machine". Of course, if there were no other adults in the casino the manager would let them come in and play but they had to be in a corner.

[Lucky TGO]

Great story thank you for sharing it with all of us.

Tony

[Clemmie]

I'm enjoying everyone's stories. We were on the Fairwind in the summer of 1985, 10 days Caribbean. Our first Ocean View (aka porthole), and our cabin had bunk beds only. It was a sideways floorplan and was the first cabin way up front. I remember the horse races, too, and it seemed they auctioned off the horse to be named, decorated and paraded around for a few days prior to the races.

Also loved the "bon appetito" after each call to dinner. Good times! :)

[tonyweir]

Our family frequented Puerto Vallarta many times in the 70s and 80s. The Sitmar ships would anchor out and tender to the dock by the house we would stay in. My brothers and I would get on the tenders by walking close to another family and get on the ship. We would go have lunch in the dining room, play some arcade games and tour the ship. We would take the last tender back to the dock before the ship sailed.

 

We did this many times on several cruise lines!

[MISTER 67]

Our first cruise ever was on the Fairwind in 1982. Needless to say that cruise hooked us on cruising.

Sitmar was a fantastic line and the crew could not do enough for you. We sailed on the Fairsky in her inaugural year in 1984, we came home with so many gifts because of Fairsky's first year, I also won a bunch of prizes for trivia and the chess tournament, back then the lines handed out some very nice prizes.

 

After 4 cruises with Sitmar we were devastated when Princess bought Sitmar in 1989. We were really depressed and I actually wrote a letter to the president of Sitmar which he took the time to answer. We didn't sail with Princess until 2006 and have enjoyed cruising with them as we made Elite status about 4 cruises ago.

 

Nothing for us will ever compare with Sitmar but we tried MSC last summer because like Sitmar they are a family owned Italian line, MSC has had some really bad reviews but we thought they were great and you can't beat their prices. Going forward we will continue sailing mainly with Princess, Holland America and MSC, all very good lines but Sitmar will always be our favorite.

BTW, my signature photo is of the Fairwind.

Edited March 25, 2017 by MISTER 67

[ShelbysMom]

I sailed on the Fairsea in 1986 to Mexico with my parents, sister and her boyfriend. We loved the Italian and Portuguese crew as my father was of Italian descent and my mother was of Portuguese descent.

 

We had an outside cabin with a porthole in the forward part of the A deck. It was an odd shape because it was where the ship started to curve.

 

The twins, Jeff and Joe Fithian, who played twins on the TV show Please Don't Eat the Daisies, were members of the cruise director's staff.

 

At the beginning of the cruise, they picked someone to be "Mr. Fairsea". Passengers were challenged to figure out who Mr Fairsea was. I never knew until then how well my father was able to keep a secret, as we all found out on the last day that he was Mr. Fairsea.

 

Many happy memories from that cruise.

[yyjguy]

On Fairsea and Fairwind one thing I remember was sitting in the movie theatre which down low in the hull of the ship. If you took a seat on the side wall, you could feel the temperature of the sea through the steel hull (very warm at Tahiti and numbing cold up the coast to Vancouver). When it was rough you could hear the waves churning along the steel plating and rivets right by your ear! Eerie until you got used to it. Their sea keeping was very good as well. On one voyage up the coast to Vancouver, Stardancer and the first Sun Princess left Los Angeles a head of us. Our Captain said we would beat them to Vancouver as very heavy seas were ahead. The next day while slicing through the head on swells at 18 knots, we passed both the other ships hammering and slamming into the waves. We arrived in Vancouver on time, and the other two were 8 hours late!

[notentirelynormal]

On Fairsea and Fairwind one thing I remember was sitting in the movie theatre which down low in the hull of the ship. If you took a seat on the side wall, you could feel the temperature of the sea through the steel hull (very warm at Tahiti and numbing cold up the coast to Vancouver). When it was rough you could hear the waves churning along the steel plating and rivets right by your ear! Eerie until you got used to it. Their sea keeping was very good as well. On one voyage up the coast to Vancouver, Stardancer and the first Sun Princess left Los Angeles a head of us. Our Captain said we would beat them to Vancouver as very heavy seas were ahead. The next day while slicing through the head on swells at 18 knots, we passed both the other ships hammering and slamming into the waves. We arrived in Vancouver on time, and the other two were 8 hours late!

 

Awesome.

[Astro Flyer]

On one voyage up the coast to Vancouver, Stardancer and the first Sun Princess left Los Angeles a head of us. Our Captain said we would beat them to Vancouver as very heavy seas were ahead. The next day while slicing through the head on swells at 18 knots, we passed both the other ships hammering and slamming into the waves. We arrived in Vancouver on time, and the other two were 8 hours late!

The Fairsea & Fairwind were twin oceanliners built in the mid 1950s for Cunard's North Atlantic crossings before the jet age effectively eliminated passenger ship service so it was necessary for them to perform well in rough seas. Although back then they mostly engineered ships for performance & then decided where to put cabins. We've had some very oddly shaped cabins on old ships unlike today's standardized modular cabin designs.

 

The Stardancer was constructed in 1982 as a car ferry & the Sun Princess in 1972 as an Italian cruise ship. Based on your experiences neither of those ships were designed to perform as well on the open ocean particularly in rough conditions.

Edited March 26, 2017 by Astro Flyer

[cruisen JJ]

I too have many wonderful Sitmar memories. My first cruise on the Fairwind was October 1974. After that I managed to do 2 cruises a year for anywhere from 7 to 18 days. Every summer the Fairsea would overnight in Vancouver on her way to Alaska. We had a standing invitation for dinner every 2nd Monday when they were in port. Captain Quartini would be waiting for us at the top of the gangway and escort us down to the dining room where Mr. Longo would have a table waiting for us. As they were in overnight on Sunday we generally had some of the crew to our home after they had finished their dining room shifts. They really appreciated a home cooked (very late) meal or just being able to spend time in a home. On November 17, 1984 I sailed on one of the first Fairsky cruises. That evening, I met a very nice fellow and last week we celebrated our 32nd wedding anniversary. Sitmar sent us a beautiful wooden music box with Fairsky inlaid on the top for a wedding present. It sits on my dresser and everyday I'm reminded of all the wonderful memories I have of Sitmar. They were the best!

[irisbax3]

In February 1985, we took the Fairsea from Aruba through the Panama Canal to Los Angeles. As everyone else has stated, the food, the crew, and the service were exceptional.

 

We had our 17 month old daughter with us. At the time, not many children would be on board (there were six under the age of ten on our sailing).

 

Sitmar had a complimentary children's program for six months old and up (there were cribs and diapers in a separate nursery area of the children's area).

 

The staff were not Sitmar employees but were instead volunteers that did a round trip (LA-LA) for free in exchange for working in the children's area a certain amount of time. And the qualifications to be eligible to volunteer were stringent. Sitmar only accepted people that had professional experience with children, i.e; nurses, EMTs, teachers, etc. On our cruise the volunteer staff consisted of one teacher, two pediatric nurses, an EMT and a child social worker,

 

Besides the usual fun and games, the teacher had a daily two hour "class" time in which she was available to help with school work.

 

The highlight was the cookies and milk "tea" party that the captain and his wife hosted in their quarters for the children (parents were welcomed to attend).

 

At the time ship's would not have a buffet area. In the morning, there would be a light breakfast (scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, pastries, cereal, fruit) set up on the rear of the promenade deck.

 

Because our daughter had learned the first day that all the action was on the upper decks, she would be awake and ready to go around 6:30 AM each morning. We would go up to have breakfast on deck. On the third morning, as we approached the serving table, a ship's officer was standing there.

 

We didn't realize he was waiting for us until he approached and said he had a big favor to ask of us. The ship crew had families and many missed their children. Would we please allow our daughter to be taken to the crew mess for breakfast?

 

When we said yes, he arranged to meet us back at the serving table in one hour.

 

Every morning after that, a ship's officer was there for the "baby," and in one hour an officer (including the captain one day) would carry her back up to us. She usually had jelly smeared on her mouth and she would be clutching some goody a crew member had given her. We would be given a full report by the returning officer on what she had eaten and drank at breakfast (and it was always nourishing food, the goody clutched in her hand was just the good bye treat each morning).

 

It seemed that every crew member on the ship knew Alicia (our daughter) and always stopped to talk and play with her as we passed. This included the crew that usually did not interact with passengers such as the deck washers, the mechanics, and others. This would happen in the presence of a "boss," who would just smile as the crew stopped to play with the baby.

 

The last day, when we were leaving, there were tears in the eyes of the crew who said good bye to her as we passed to leave. We had also received a handwritten note from the captain the night before thanking us for sharing our baby with the crew and telling us we would never know what a difference her presence had made on board ship.

 

What a beautiful story. My first 4 cruises (1979-1985) were on Sitmar which gave me a real appreciation for cruising. I remember the flaming Baked Alaska parades through the dinning room, the white gloved dining room service, the pizza parlor, the attentive ae housekeepers and so much more. I have taken an Oceania cruise and really enjoyed it; however, I still miss everything about Sitmar cruises.

[SLSL]

I think it's crazy that I saw this thread today, since yesterday I found my scrapbook from my first cruise with my husband - The TSS Fairsea, August 1984. We had just gotten engaged and this was our engagement celebration, 11 days down the Mexican Riviera. I even have the Passenger List - wow! - we actually had a pamphlet that listed all the passengers on the sailing, and where they were from. I just added this cruise to my signature - hey, why not? Going through the scrapbook brought back lots of fond memories. Yup, cruising after that stopped for many years...we were only 24 years old then. We wanted to buy a house and wait for the kids to get a bit older, and having the money for a cruise would have been helpful. But as soon as we could...we were back to cruising and don't plan on stopping any time soon. Thanks Sitmar for giving us the cruise bug!

[cruisemom42]

My first Sitmar cruise was when I was 10, in 1973 with my grandmother, on the Fairwind. My grandparents lived in Fort Lauderdale near the port, and enjoyed travel and cruising. Somehow my grandmother booked the two of us on a last-minute cruise.

 

I had the time of my life onboard, and must have raved about it so much that the next year my whole family went. I think that altogether I went on about 6 cruises on the Fairwind and 1 on the Fairsea (14-day SF to Alaska and back).

 

There were so few children on most sailings, but usually enough to get a small group going. I remember hanging out in the Soda A-Go-Go when we were a bit older. And yes, the oddly large cinema down in the bowels of the ship....

 

The waiters were always so attentive to my sister and me; they knew we didn't like the heavy, alcohol-laden Italian cakes, so they'd always stash one of the tiered trays of petit-fours and bon-bons for us. And the pizzeria -- best pizza at sea EVER!

 

I still have all my Circolo del Commandante glasses, and a photo of me, aged 11 or 12, with my hair up for the first time, shaking the captain's hand. (Potenzoni, maybe?). Every night we dressed up; there was no casual dining, and no dedicated buffet. Occasionally the crew would set up a lunch buffet out on the pool deck though.

 

About the time I went to college was the big changeover to Princess. It was a sad day -- I think my parents were onboard one of the ships, on a Panama Canal cruise, on the day the acquisition was announced.

 

I could go on and on but I won't ;). Great thread! I wonder if any of us met on any of those early cruises.....

[CruznGal145]

oh my,my! Sitmar, simply the best!! and YES, I still have 6 Circolo glasses in my bar, my CIAO necklace, a scarf, and a Fairsea bracelet charm!! My Dad, Roger James, hired all the musicians aboard all three ships from 1980-1985. He took his 16-piece band on the Fairsea in 1982 for 3-months when they did a Big Band Summer. I was 16 years old and had the summer of my life!

 

The food! oh the Food! Baked Alaska, the parade was always so much fun even though the Strawberry cheesecake was my favorite dessert! The pizza, oh my, my mouth is watering just thinking about it!! If ANYONE has the Spaghetti Carbonara recipe from the book they used to sell onboard, PLEASE let me know. I have a long time friend looking for it!

 

That summer had so many great performers! Della Reese, Vic Damone, Rose Marie, Helen Forrest, Rita Moreno, the list goes on and on! The Dolphin Lounge (aka: the disco) on the Fairsea was my haven! Since it was the summer, even though we were doing 2 week trips to Alaska, there were plenty of teenagers to hang with. I'm actually still in touch with a few of them.

 

My Dad went on to work for Holland America after Sitmar and although that line was nice, I still loved Sitmar, its staff and crew the BEST! I was so blessed to take over 30 cruises as my Dad's "guest" over the 12 years he was in the cruise industry. In fact, I JUST booked a quick 5-day trip on Princess in March. Its the first cruise I have ever had to PAY for! LOL, but I miss cruising and its been 11 years since my last trip! Can hardly wait!! Once a cruiser, ALWAYS a cruiser! Thanks for the memories Sitmar, they were the BEST!

[CruznGal145]

My first Sitmar cruise was when I was 10, in 1973 with my grandmother, on the Fairwind. My grandparents lived in Fort Lauderdale near the port, and enjoyed travel and cruising. Somehow my grandmother booked the two of us on a last-minute cruise.

 

I had the time of my life onboard, and must have raved about it so much that the next year my whole family went. I think that altogether I went on about 6 cruises on the Fairwind and 1 on the Fairsea (14-day SF to Alaska and back).

 

There were so few children on most sailings, but usually enough to get a small group going. I remember hanging out in the Soda A-Go-Go when we were a bit older. And yes, the oddly large cinema down in the bowels of the ship....

 

The waiters were always so attentive to my sister and me; they knew we didn't like the heavy, alcohol-laden Italian cakes, so they'd always stash one of the tiered trays of petit-fours and bon-bons for us. And the pizzeria -- best pizza at sea EVER!

 

I still have all my Circolo del Commandante glasses, and a photo of me, aged 11 or 12, with my hair up for the first time, shaking the captain's hand. (Potenzoni, maybe?). Every night we dressed up; there was no casual dining, and no dedicated buffet. Occasionally the crew would set up a lunch buffet out on the pool deck though.

 

About the time I went to college was the big changeover to Princess. It was a sad day -- I think my parents were onboard one of the ships, on a Panama Canal cruise, on the day the acquisition was announced.

 

I could go on and on but I won't ;). Great thread! I wonder if any of us met on any of those early cruises.....

 

When did you do Alaska? If it was 1982, I was there!!

[EllenSunny1]

I also sailed on the Fairsea after Princess took it over. I loved that ship. I was very pleased although surprised to win a Sitmar coffee mug at a trivia contest. In fact I still have it safely tucked away.

I wonder if it has any monitory value now?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Edited February 8, 2018 by EllenSunny1

[rkacruiser]

I also sailed on the Fairsea after Princess took it over. I loved that ship. I was very pleased although surprised to win a Sitmar coffee mug at a trivia contest. In fact I still have it safely tucked away.

I wonder if it has any monitory value now?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Your coffee mug could well be worth a few dollars to an ocean liner memorabilia collector.

[EllenSunny1]

Your coffee mug could well be worth a few dollars to an ocean liner memorabilia collector.

 

 

 

Thx. I’ll have to get a pic of it posted.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[triple7tahoe]

My story- I started cruising early in life-Since my Mom did not like to fly we would take the Lurline to Hawaii for the summer (1954) and I feel in love with cruising. Many cruises before marrying my wonderful wife. I love OZ and NZ so thought "What better way to introduce her to our life beside a cruise to my favorite area?". 1984 and I have our honeymoon trip planned and it includes the Fair Star on a cruise out of Sydney. We get to our cabin and there are two separate beds-One attached to each bulkhead (wall for you non navy folks)-Mattresses end up on the floor in the middle of the room :-) I know TMI . Off to dinner-We are assigned a table for four with a French couple, who are taking the cruise to see if they can save their marriage (They didn't). Only one would show up each evening with long stories of how horrible the other one was. We overlooked that because we had a table near the door and being a party ship, each evening we were treated to the Aussie men coming into the dining room in their singlets (Wife beater shirts as my wife calls them) and putting their empty (usually) beer bottles on our table. Lovely cruise to New Caledonia/Noumea and Isle of Pines but the cruise experience??? Was not sure if I would ever get my wife back on another cruise :-) A couple of years later I introduced her to P&O UK and then on to Princess. Something must have worked as DW now has almost 1100 sea days and cannot wait for our next cruise. All's well that ends well,,,I suppose :-)