How Has Cruising Changed: Expectations vs. Luxuries?

[George C]

I am the total opposite of previous post love Caribbean, we love to relax by the pool during day , see great entertainment, play, ice show etc with dinner in a nice specialty restaurant and maybe a hour in the casino. Have done at least one cruise every year since 1977. We do like our occasional Europe cruises.

[lenquixote66]

11 hours ago, ducklite said:

I can think of half a dozen guys I personally know who could fit that description.

Ladyz and the Boyz

[clo]

On 10/10/2019 at 3:37 PM, George C said:

I paid 600 for my cabin on the great Rotterdam in both 1977

Yes, but what were you making back then.  I can remember, perhaps in the mid to late 60s, thinking that if I ever made $1k/mo I wouldn't know how to spend it all 🙂

[clo]

On 10/10/2019 at 2:03 PM, DarrenM said:

Just pick up a fork and dig in. And use the same fork for the main as well.

Did your family never encourage proper table manners?

[lenquixote66]

28 minutes ago, clo said:

Yes, but what were you making back then.  I can remember, perhaps in the mid to late 60s, thinking that if I ever made $1k/mo I wouldn't know how to spend it all 🙂

I remember having a conversation when I was in college and one guy saying if he had a year in which he would earn $10,000 a year he would be very happy.

 

 

[ldubs]

I'm still not entirely sure anyone has answered the original question, namely what expectation used to be a luxury.   Not sure I can either.  

 

I typically enjoy the lounge musicians more than the big theater shows.  My perception is there are fewer than in the old days, but I'm not sure that is fact.  Anyway, I still continue to enjoy them and hope they don't get cut back.   

[ducklite]

12 hours ago, clo said:

Did your family never encourage proper table manners?

 

So true!  I grew up in a working class home, but we had a copy of Amy Vanderbilt's Complete Book of Etiquette and we were expected to use good manners and proper flatware even when dinner was "Poor Man's" soup/stew and sliced bread from the "day old" store.

 

Working from the outside in and taking cue from the hostess when in doubt aren't difficult concepts, even for children.  

[ducklite]

12 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

I remember having a conversation when I was in college and one guy saying if he had a year in which he would earn $10,000 a year he would be very happy.

 

 

I remember having a p/t job that netted me about $35 a week when I was in high school in the 70's and being the envy of my peers.  Now I wouldn't get out of bed for $35 an hour.  

[George C]

13 hours ago, clo said:

Yes, but what were you making back then.  I can remember, perhaps in the mid to late 60s, thinking that if I ever made $1k/mo I wouldn't know how to spend it all 🙂

That 600 was about a months pay back then , remember Heineken was 75 cents and drinks about a dollar 😁😁

[ducklite]

1 minute ago, George C said:

That 600 was about a months pay back then , remember Heineken was 75 cents and drinks about a dollar 😁😁

 

I was a bartender during college.  $.25 drafts, $.50-.75 bottles, $.50 well drinks, and $1-2 call. 

 

Long Island Iced Teas were our most expensive option at $3. They were also one of our most popular, because you could get wasted for $6.

 

How I still vividly remember those prices is beyond me.

[George C]

When I started working in Wall Street area at 17 in 1967 drafts was just 15 cents legal age was 18 but I was 6’ 4” wearing business clothes and was never asked for Id.  Also remember a few years later in the army in Germany all drinks were 30 cents, but during happy hour just 15 cents. 

[ducklite]

A little OT, but I just remembered another thing about how times have changed.  The bar owner would take anyone who had too much to drink out to their car and put them in the backseat to sleep it off.  He then took the keys and left them in our storage room.

 

Our cleaning guy came in at 4:00 am and left around 9:00 am.  He would leave remaining keys on the hood of the cars so they could drive home when they woke up.  If they came inside before he left, there was always a pot of hot coffee on that they could help themselves to.  The cleaning guy wouldn't hand over the keys before 7:00 am which was 3.5 hours after last call, and the thought was that they'd be within legal limits by then.

 

We also served hot coffee to anyone who asked for it during business hours at no charge, (including our local LEO's who claimed we had the best coffee in town) and designated drivers drank coffee and soda all night for free.

[cruisemom42]

This conversation is skating perilously close to listening to my grandfather carp on at the Thanksgiving dinner table about prices of yore....  "And I used to go down to the Diner next to my office and get a delicious hot lunch for a dime!  A slice of pie was another nickel!"

 

Yeah......but that was 50 years ago. Things change.

 

[SRF]

On 10/10/2019 at 11:38 AM, Heidi13 said:

Similar to the previous responses, I have both worked and cruised since 1976.

 

I agree cruising has seen many changes, especially from predominantly liner service to short cruises, sadly none of the changes on the mass market ships are positive. Many of the included services we knew to expect now only exist on the premium/luxury lines, or cost extra on mass market.

 

The days of silver service and wine waiters are long gone on all but the luxury lines.

 

OTOH, prices on the mass market lines are a good bit lower

 

[ducklite]

2 minutes ago, SRF said:

 

OTOH, prices on the mass market lines are a good bit lower

 

Accounting for inflation, I'd say that is an understatement!

[lenquixote66]

1 hour ago, ducklite said:

I remember having a p/t job that netted me about $35 a week when I was in high school in the 70's and being the envy of my peers.  Now I wouldn't get out of bed for $35 an hour.  

My first full time job was for $59.00 a week and when I was offered a $1.00 raise I was so happy.

[lenquixote66]

4 hours ago, George C said:

That 600 was about a months pay back then , remember Heineken was 75 cents and drinks about a dollar 😁😁

Not sure if I ever asked you but talking about the price of drinks reminded me of something.Did you ever go to Warm Beer,Lousy Food aka Crazy Country Club ?

My friend Danny was a Waiter There and we paid a lot less than 75 cents for beer when we hung out there.

[lenquixote66]

4 hours ago, George C said:

When I started working in Wall Street area at 17 in 1967 drafts was just 15 cents legal age was 18 but I was 6’ 4” wearing business clothes and was never asked for Id.  Also remember a few years later in the army in Germany all drinks were 30 cents, but during happy hour just 15 cents. 

I was and still am 6’5 . I do not recall anybody being asked for ID in bar in NYC in the 60’s.

[ducklite]

4 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

I was and still am 6’5 . I do not recall anybody being asked for ID in bar in NYC in the 60’s.

I was in a handful of NYC bars when I was 15-17 in the mid 70's and the one time I was asked for ID I said I had lost it and they checked my two friends who were 18 and 19 and let me in with them.

[George C]

7 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

Not sure if I ever asked you but talking about the price of drinks reminded me of something.Did you ever go to Warm Beer,Lousy Food aka Crazy Country Club ?

My friend Danny was a Waiter There and we paid a lot less than 75 cents for beer when we hung out there.

The 75 cents was on Rotterdam, never heard of crazy country club. But as of asking about ID i told a friend my exact age about a bar and they would not serve him. We did get off track talking about a half century ago. 

[lenquixote66]

1 minute ago, ducklite said:

I was in a handful of NYC bars when I was 15-17 in the mid 70's and the one time I was asked for ID I said I had lost it and they checked my two friends who were 18 and 19 and let me in with them.

 

1 minute ago, ducklite said:

I was in a handful of NYC bars when I was 15-17 in the mid 70's and the one time I was asked for ID I said I had lost it and they checked my two friends who were 18 and 19 and let me in with them.

 

1 minute ago, ducklite said:

I was in a handful of NYC bars when I was 15-17 in the mid 70's and the one time I was asked for ID I said I had lost it and they checked my two friends who were 18 and 19 and let me in with them.

I was referring to the 60’s not the 70’s .

[ducklite]

1 minute ago, lenquixote66 said:

 

 

I was referring to the 60’s not the 70’s .

I realize that.  I was emphasizing your point by stating that even into the 70's they weren't asking for ID in NYC.

 

Geez, some people want to argue even when you're agreeing with them.  🙄

[lenquixote66]

6 minutes ago, George C said:

The 75 cents was on Rotterdam, never heard of crazy country club. But as of asking about ID i told a friend my exact age about a bar and they would not serve him. We did get off track talking about a half century ago. 

Crazy country club was in Bay Ridge

[lenquixote66]

3 minutes ago, ducklite said:

I realize that.  I was emphasizing your point by stating that even into the 70's they weren't asking for ID in NYC.

 

Geez, some people want to argue even when you're agreeing with them.  🙄

 

3 minutes ago, ducklite said:

I realize that.  I was emphasizing your point by stating that even into the 70's they weren't asking for ID in NYC.

 

Geez, some people want to argue even when you're agreeing with them.  🙄

Okay,sorry,I miss read your post.

 

I had long hair and a little long beard when I was in my teens so I always looked older .

[lenquixote66]

4 hours ago, ducklite said:

 

I was a bartender during college.  $.25 drafts, $.50-.75 bottles, $.50 well drinks, and $1-2 call. 

 

Long Island Iced Teas were our most expensive option at $3. They were also one of our most popular, because you could get wasted for $6.

 

How I still vividly remember those prices is beyond me.

I can remember everything from age 2 on but not what I did yesterday,lol