Question for old time ncl cruisers 80’s and 90’s

[George C]

I cruised ncl many times starting in 1985 on the great SS Norway cruised her 7 times overnext couple of decades also seaward starting in 1988 I think it was her first month, question is does anyone remember 

when ships got safes if ever

tv’s 

i do-not think either ever got balconies , did honeymoon on a new add-on minisuite in 1991.

[boopsahoy]

I didnt start cruising till 1990 I think. I am pretty sure we had a tv in the cabin and our 2nd cruise we were upgraded to a balcony.  I really cant remember when we got safes-I feel as though we always had them....

[Rhea58]

I sailed her twice in same cabin which was L-shaped but don't remember bout TV or safes...loved that ship!!

[goldmom]

Don't know when they got safes.  But, I remember having safety deposit boxes at the Purser's desk to keep your valuables in.

[Relax@Sea]

I was on the MS Seaward in August of 1989 and there was a TV, I remember it took up much of the counter space.

There was no safe as I remember putting all my money and travel documents in the top drawer.

This sailing still used regular keys to get into the cabin and if I am not mistaken had the cabin numbers stamped on the Keys.

I did not cruise again until 1994 or 1995 and the TV was still large, but did have a safe. I believe the ship was the Monarch.

I do remember they had safety deposit boxes on both sailings at the Pursers desk.

Both sailings were in Ocean view cabins.

Edited December 18, 2018 by Relax@Sea

[George C]

We also had bunk beds first time I took then girlfriend now wife on SS Norway 30 years ago, do now remember about safety deposit box’s although I never used them. 

[newmexicoNita]

14 hours ago, George C said:

I cruised ncl many times starting in 1985 on the great SS Norway cruised her 7 times overnext couple of decades also seaward starting in 1988 I think it was her first month, question is does anyone remember 

when ships got safes if ever

tv’s 

i do-not think either ever got balconies , did honeymoon on a new add-on minisuite in 1991.

As far as I can remember and we started cruising in the 80s ships did not have TVs, they only had ;hone service in the cabins for calling the pursers desk or another cabin and no balconies. Now of the first mass marketed ship to have have a balcony category was the Carnival Ecstasy but I am sure there were others before that. I am not talking luxury liners, I am talking basic ships. We never got to cruise the Norway. We had her booked just before the accident. We were to sail her for our granddaughters 21st birthday. 

I am surprised to hear some had TVs in the early 90s. We sailed NCL on the Sea then the Seaward in about 1995 and we did not have TVs. We also did not have safes and I can remember about the TVS because we never got much news from home. We had to depend on any major breaking news coming from special announcements. I have always been amazed how we lived without 24/7 updates. I do remember phones as early as 1996 as I remember paying a fortune to call home just to find out if our grandchild was going to be a girl or a boy. That was 1997. 

Also looking back I remember only 1 dining room on ships and a small buffet. The first time I saw a specialty dining room was on our Alaskan cruise in about 1996 and it was Le Bistro. Cost $5.00. I am not positive but I think NCL was the innovator of specialty dining. 

[17cruisesnsl]

We were on the Norway in January 1992, when the late President Bush became ill in Japan  - I recall there being a news scroll on the TV in the cabin.  The TV looked more like the original computer dumb terminals rather than a real TV - I remember white font on a blue background.  The only time it acted as a TV was when you were in a port with broadcast TV stations.  To keep you informed, a ship's newspaper of world news similar to the length of today's Freestyles was delivered to cabins daily

 

Edited December 19, 2018 by 17cruisesnsl
typo

[robinpow]

Like most, always was a TV of sorts. Don’t remember a cabin safe before 2000.  More important I miss the late night dinning! Parties on the deck, the Chocolate Buffet... food that was so pretty you waited in line just to photograph it! 

Edited December 19, 2018 by robinpow

[jakesnana]

I sailed the Southward in Feb. 1989 and don't remember having a TV or safe in the cabin. It was an inside cabin and wasn't very decadent at all. 2 twin beds bolted to the floor and closets that looked more like lockers :)  I was find with it, as it was my first cruise and I was just overwhelmed with being on a cruise. That was back when they offered shared cabin guarantees. I was sailing solo so went for that option and ended up having the cabin to myself.

Edited December 19, 2018 by jakesnana

[softl]

A few old friends cruised back about 1982 or so. I remember them bragging about what they did to one of the guys who got seriously drunk and passed out. They claimed they closed him up in one of the fold-up/stow-away bunks (similar to the overhead storage on an airliner) and went about partying the rest of the night. I get the willies just writing about this.

 

Did they really have those kind of sleeping arrangements then?

[newmexicoNita]

19 hours ago, jakesnana said:

I sailed the Southward in Feb. 1989 and don't remember having a TV or safe in the cabin. It was an inside cabin and wasn't very decadent at all. 2 twin beds bolted to the floor and closets that looked more like lockers 🙂  I was find with it, as it was my first cruise and I was just overwhelmed with being on a cruise. That was back when they offered shared cabin guarantees. I was sailing solo so went for that option and ended up having the cabin to myself.

I am with you: pretty sure no TVs in the cabins until at least sometime in the 90s and certainly no safes. Talking about 1st cruise, amazing we all loved our first sea experience or most of us anyway and it didn't make much difference which ship or cabin size. Our first was in the mid 80s, not NCL: tiny cabin with a small port hole: hubby,me and god for bid mother in law: we loved every minute of that cruise. The line is long out of business and I can guess why but at the time it was like being in heaven. 

[DCT61]

I was in the "lowest of the low" inside cabin (B137) on the NORWAY in 1983. There WAS a tv. It stood on its own stand in the corner of the room. The tv was already turned on when I entered the room for the first time. 

[newmexicoNita]

10 minutes ago, DCT61 said:

I was in the "lowest of the low" inside cabin (B137) on the NORWAY in 1983. There WAS a tv. It stood on its own stand in the corner of the room. The tv was already turned on when I entered the room for the first time. 

this could very well be: our first 4 cruises were not on NCL and we did not have a TV in any of them. NCL may have been different. 

[Homosassa]

LOL - I was on the Starward in 1978 when it was undergoing renovations, our cabin which was not completed, was being wired for radio which would give you a choice of three different music station (taped programs that played on a loop) and the ability to have announcements play in the cabin.

 

Yes, no safes in room. One used a safety deposit box at the Purser's  office.

 

I don't remember TVs in the room until some time in 1990's and again it was pre taped programing that would be available at certain times.  Safes in the room started to appear about the same time as the TVs.