The other side of the coin...

[Sky Sweet]

Many of us remember the good old days of cruising before it became so popular and the Carribean Islands were not crowded. The advantages of cruising thirty years ago are obvious to those of us who did, but at the same time some aspects of cruising have improved over the years. What do you think is better now than it was then?

[cruising with marti]

My first cruise was in 1981, again in 1982 and 1983. sitmar lines, and in my view cruising and the ships are much better today.

 

Phil

[Cruise Arizona]

I just finished reading that book "Devils on the Deep Blue Sea" about the founders of RCI and Carnival.

 

I preface this by saying that I never once got ill on any of the cruises I took in the 70's and 80's, but apparently there were some problems with ships not keeping thier kitchens as clean as they needed to be.

 

According to that book, (no me because I know nothing) but the cruise lines have worked very hard with the CDC to make sure all of thier ships are up to date on the latest heath codes and that the food and kitchens are safe for passengers.

 

So though I never experienced any results of an unclean kitchen, apparently the kitchens are a lot cleaner now.

 

 

I'll think about this more and come back with some more possibilities.

[Blazerboy]

The amenities afforded most of us on modern cruise ships are far beyond what was found in days of yore... First Class cabins then did not have verandahs, safes, minibars, room service of much desription, double beds for the most part, or a whole host of other things we now think of as the norm for modern cruise ships.

 

But the grace and style of those old ships has yet to be replicated...:)

 

Andrew

[LV2COOK]

Our first cruise was in 1982. What I loved about it was the ship was small only 850 pax and at the end of the week I felt like I knew everyone. Also, the islands were empty and simple. We had so much fun on those first 3 cruises... now at #22 we are still having a blast, but I don't really go to the shows seen one seen em all. The new ships have tons more to do and the cabin choices are great.:)

[Fredr]

hello,

 

Our first cruise was in 1976 on the Island Princess. Cruising has changed some for the better and some not so good. The ships are more spectacular but in my view the newer ships do not have the ambiance and charm of ships like the first Island Princess or the Fairsea. We were fortunate to cruise on The Royal Princess just before this ship was transferred, and became the P&O's Artemis. The Royal did have a wonderful ambiance and certain style.

 

After 14 cruises and two paid for 2006, there is really no vacation or mode of travel like a cruise.

[ocngypz]

There is only one improvement I can think of... the thalassotherapy pool like those found on the Century class vessels.

 

Our first class staterooms were larger.. and there were private deck areas on some ships. Service was much, much better.......... the food was better.. and the activities more diverse.

 

I still have dailies from US Line ships in the 30's.

 

Oh..these were my father's... lol... not mine!!

[greydog]

There is only one improvement I can think of... the thalassotherapy pool like those found on the Century class vessels.

 

Long live the T-pool (C-class).

 

A modern boon to cruising is CRUISE WEB COMMUNITIES where some lurking and research serves to avoid mistakes, make informed choices and otherwise maximize the cruise experience. :) For a moment we all should set aside our martinis, get down from our pool loungers and thank Al Gore for inventing the internet. ;)

[cruisegurl]

My first cruise was in 1956, or there abouts, on the SS Queen of Nassau and I was 8 yrs old. We took three cruises on that ship and I remember that you ate meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) at assigned times. Other than afternoon tea time, and possibly a late night buffet (I don't remember) there were no other opportunities. None of the 24 hour pizza and almost anytime buffets like we have now. We will go on our 21st cruise in March on the Galaxy and as ususal we're counting the days!!!!

Happy cruising,

Sandra

[JimnKaren]

My first cruise on NCL Skyward had a cabin so small, it was amazing that I craved more. Now the options for cabin size are immense. I can also recall the pool on the Carnivale, it was in the bowels of the ship, not where we expect to find them now.

 

It is better and less costly now, I will stick with the cruising of today.

 

Jim

[JNLROSE]

My first cruise was on the Sun Viking in 1977--how cool was that??!! I so fell in love with cruising, I'm an addict! I agree, the times have changed along with the expectations of cruise pax. I SOOOOOO loved that first cruise, but I have so many wonderful memories of the cruises that have followed. Cruising is & will be forever in our lives!:D

[Tricia724]

One big plus is the availability and variety of food. I started cruising in 1970, and on the first couple of ships I sailed, there was very little food available outside of the dining room. You could usually find morning coffee and pastries available somewhere on deck, but all meals were taken in the dining room....breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Times were assigned for each meal, so if you feel structured by having to make a specific dinner time, think of how you would feel if you had to have breakfast and lunch at a set time. The midnight buffet was a big deal back then, but there was no room service, grills by the pool, fruit in the cabin, buffets, special restaurants, or food around every corner. If you needed a midday snack, you attended 4:00 pm tea or waited until dinner.

 

I remember the first outside grill I encountered was on NCL's Norway, and my friend and I were so pleased that we didn't have to get showered and dressed for lunch. When we hit HAL in 1983 and discovered the Lido buffet, we thought we had died and gone to heaven. It was so much more convenient. We also learned we could have room service for breakfast, although it was only a continental breakfast....juice, coffee/tea, fruit, and pastries. The full room service menus came later. The upside of the earlier cruises is that the ships were smaller, and for me, the food was better. I think the food I had on my first cruise on the Greek Lines was the best food I have ever had on any ship. But if given the choice, I would choose the ships of today with more options available. I guess you could say convenience is more important to me.

 

There are also many more choices in activities and entertainment. People today expect to be catered to and entertained far more than earlier cruisers did. So many people on these boards get all bent out of shape over piddly little things and complain all the time about how the cruiselines have gone downhill. I doubt if many of them would like to take the cruise today that I took in 1970. They would be bored and frustrated. I wouldn't even want to do it myself because I've become accustomed to having more options. So, even though the ports have become more crowded and intense, the onboard services have expanded significantly.