Tropicale beached for scrapping

[tidecat]

Carnival's first purpose-built ship, Tropicale, has arrived in Alang, India. She sailed for Carnival Cruise Line for 19 years, and remained with Carnival Corporation until 2008.

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/24134-former-carnival-cruise-line-ship-scrapped-in-india.html

[cruisin from vegas]

This makes me sooo sad.  I was a crew member, casino dealer, onboard for two years when she was brand new.  Best years of my life.  RIP beautiful lady

[Saint Greg]

I found this interesting.

 

 

[ninjacat123]

@Saint Greg Wow! That was fun to watch, thx for posting!

[sanmarcosman]

2 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

I found this interesting.

Near the end of the video it mentions back then you could bring your own ice chest aboard. We always checked our hard sided "Playmate Cooler" on Carnival cruises to the Mexican Riviera with our luggage. In Puerto Vallarta our first stop was always to the liquor store. First things first before heading to the Romantic Zone don't you know 😉 Top U.S. brands ashore were 30% less than the gift shop on the ship. The stores in town also included delivery of our order to the ship where it was placed in the passageway next to our cabin door. The bottles arrived in cardboard carrier packs that held 2 liter sized bottles per pack. There was no rule forbidding this and it took Carnival years to figure out they were losing lots of money in beverage revenue by allowing this practice. We never had anything missing from our orders either, those were kinder days. 

Here I am skeet shooting without the alcohol.

Thanks for the memory, Greg. 

 

 

Edited January 1, 2021 by sanmarcosman

[Jamman54]

2 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

I found this interesting.

 

 

Thanks for posting this Greg. Brings back great memories. Back in 1985 when I cruised for the first time, when my friend and I booked, we had it narrowed down to the Tropicale or the brand new super liner Holiday. We chose the Holiday, and never sailed on Carnival's older ships. 😎

[Saint Greg]

18 minutes ago, sanmarcosman said:

Near the end of the video it mentions back then you could bring your own ice chest aboard. We always checked our hard sided "Playmate Cooler" on Carnival cruises to the Mexican Riviera with our luggage. In Puerto Vallarta our first stop was always to the liquor store. First things first before heading to the Romantic Zone don't you know 😉 Top U.S. brands ashore were 30% less than the gift shop on the ship. The stores in town also included delivery of our order to the ship where it was placed in the passageway next to our cabin door. The bottles arrived in cardboard carrier packs that held 2 liter sized bottles per pack. There was no rule forbidding this and it took Carnival years to figure out they were losing lots of money in beverage revenue by allowing this practice. We never had anything missing from our orders either, those were kinder days. 

Here I am skeet shooting without the alcohol.

Thanks for the memory, Greg. 

 

 

 

 

 

Bringing an ice chest full of beer and propping your foot up on it while shooting a shotgun off the back of the ship is definitely something I wish I was around for. AND That ship left out of California...not Texas. The times sure have changed! 

[Saint Greg]

14 minutes ago, Jamman54 said:

Thanks for posting this Greg. Brings back great memories. Back in 1985 when I cruised for the first time, when my friend and I booked, we had it narrowed down to the Tropicale or the brand new super liner Holiday. We chose the Holiday, and never sailed on Carnival's older ships. 😎

 

You could be in this one then.

 

 

[sanmarcosman]

8 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

 

 

Bringing an ice chest full of beer and propping your foot up on it while shooting a shotgun off the back of the ship is definitely something I wish I was around for. AND That ship left out of California...not Texas. The times sure have changed! 

 🙂 Skeet shooting was never that relaxed on Carnival. There was a ship's safety officer with you at all times who had a deck hand assisting them who released the target when you called "pull." Passengers, as we were still called, did not handle the cartridge shells. In the second photo you can see the arm of the safety officer getting ready to load a shell in the chamber and in the first photo in the upper left you can see the target in midair. As I recall it was $6 for 3. 

[Jamman54]

34 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

 

You could be in this one then.

 

 

Thanks again Greg! By the time this promo was shot in the 90's I had been on her four times. This promo was post Kathie Lee and after the Holiday had repositioned to the West coast to do the 3 and 4 day runs. My first cruise on the Holiday was a 7 day cruise to St. Maarten,  St. Thomas, & Nassau. I remember the Mardi Gras and Carnivale being in Nassau with us and they looked like tugboats compared to the Holiday. 😎

[4hunters]

Thanks, Greg.  I love watching these classics! 👍

[4hunters]

2 hours ago, sanmarcosman said:

Near the end of the video it mentions back then you could bring your own ice chest aboard. We always checked our hard sided "Playmate Cooler" on Carnival cruises to the Mexican Riviera with our luggage. In Puerto Vallarta our first stop was always to the liquor store. First things first before heading to the Romantic Zone don't you know 😉 Top U.S. brands ashore were 30% less than the gift shop on the ship. The stores in town also included delivery of our order to the ship where it was placed in the passageway next to our cabin door. The bottles arrived in cardboard carrier packs that held 2 liter sized bottles per pack. There was no rule forbidding this and it took Carnival years to figure out they were losing lots of money in beverage revenue by allowing this practice. We never had anything missing from our orders either, those were kinder days. 

Here I am skeet shooting without the alcohol.

Thanks for the memory, Greg. 

 

 

Hey there, my fellow North County buddy.  I wish I was cruising back when they provided skeet shooting.  Looks like they used a pump-action 12 gauge?  Anyhow, what's with the third arm/hand in your 2nd pic?  I can't figure out what's going on in that shot - lol.

[4hunters]

4 minutes ago, 4hunters said:

Hey there, my fellow North County buddy.  I wish I was cruising back when they provided skeet shooting.  Looks like they used a pump-action 12 gauge?  Anyhow, what's with the third arm/hand in your 2nd pic?  I can't figure out what's going on in that shot - lol.

Never mind - I just reread your comments to Jamman.  I had a feeling it was safety related, but seemed strange that his arm was that close while you were firing or had just taken a shot.

[Saint Greg]

39 minutes ago, 4hunters said:

Thanks, Greg.  I love watching these classics! 👍

 

That cruise nostalgia page also has Festivale and Destiny.

 

 

 

 

 

[MRVEGAS711]

19 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

I found this interesting.

 

 

GREAT VIDEO GREG!!! Miss those days. If they had a Platinum program, you have been treated like a Very Important Person. That ship has long sailed.

[Maddox121]

Seems like every ship is being scrapped these days, It will only be a while until the Holiday class goes the way of the dodo

[ninjacat123]

I watched all the videos!  Such a blast from the past.  I forgot how much singing Kathy Lee did in the Carnival promos and commercials😀

[Saint Greg]

21 hours ago, sanmarcosman said:

Near the end of the video it mentions back then you could bring your own ice chest aboard. We always checked our hard sided "Playmate Cooler" on Carnival cruises to the Mexican Riviera with our luggage. In Puerto Vallarta our first stop was always to the liquor store. First things first before heading to the Romantic Zone don't you know 😉 Top U.S. brands ashore were 30% less than the gift shop on the ship. The stores in town also included delivery of our order to the ship where it was placed in the passageway next to our cabin door. The bottles arrived in cardboard carrier packs that held 2 liter sized bottles per pack. There was no rule forbidding this and it took Carnival years to figure out they were losing lots of money in beverage revenue by allowing this practice. We never had anything missing from our orders either, those were kinder days. 

Here I am skeet shooting without the alcohol.

Thanks for the memory, Greg. 

 

 

 

I always thought you were from Texas originally.  I didn't know there was a San Marcos in California as well.

[sanmarcosman]

3 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

 

I always thought you were from Texas originally.  I didn't know there was a San Marcos in California as well.

Yes, in North San Diego County. We moved to Carlsbad ( not the Carlsbad in New Mexico ) some years ago. Now we are in between two ports served by Carnival: San Diego and Long Beach/San Pedro. We did sail from New Orleans on the Dream in 2018, our first Carnival Dream class ship. We were there for Krewe du Vieux 🙂 

[Saint Greg]

36 minutes ago, sanmarcosman said:

Yes, in North San Diego County. We moved to Carlsbad ( not the Carlsbad in New Mexico ) some years ago. Now we are in between two ports served by Carnival: San Diego and Long Beach/San Pedro. We did sail from New Orleans on the Dream in 2018, our first Carnival Dream class ship. We were there for Krewe du Vieux 🙂 

 

Okay. I know Drew Brees lives somewhere in San Diego in the offseason. When he posts pictures and videos on instagram it's just a ridiculous view from his backyard. It's like when I was on top of El Faro in Mazatlan.

[sanmarcosman]

8 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

 

Okay. I know Drew Brees lives somewhere in San Diego in the offseason. When he posts pictures and videos on instagram it's just a ridiculous view from his backyard. It's like when I was on top of El Faro in Mazatlan.

https://www.nola.com/sports/saints/article_91fd6dd2-1be4-578a-9fb7-2614a2ce3050.html

[msmayor]

Tropicale was my very first cruise in 1985...it was amazing!  Booked with 'Singleworld' where I was guaranteed either a same-sex roommate or a stateroom by myself, avoiding the single supplement.  Ended up with a roommate and we got along just great.

 

Along with the skeet shooting, I also recall golf-ball driving off the fantail.  They actually removed a section of the railing and you stood on a turf mat and hit balls into the ocean.  

[Aplmac]

There's quite of history and other interesting stuff here..

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Tropicale_(1982)

 

Here she is, at Barbados, when she was Pullmantur's Ocean Dream!

 

[richfret]

Cruised on the Tropicale in 2000 and we went through the Panama Canal.  Even though a rather small ship there was only a foot or two of space on either side of the ship when going through the locks.  They really had to be careful.   We went through the locks and then entered Gatum Lake where we stayed an hour or so and then went back through the locks.

 

When we would be in port and docked next to the larger cruise ships, we would be on the top deck and would be looking directly at deck 5 of the ship next to us.  Then I would wonder.  What would it be like to be on such a large ship?  On after 23 cruises, I have found out. 

 

One other thing I remember is that when you looked up at the ceiling (Overhead to true sailors), there was wiring everywhere.  Giant 2 to 3 inch cables that went from one end of the ship to the other.  Now you would think there is no wiring on the new ships.   

[Aplmac]

I came across a telling photo today -

it kinda brings a lump in your throat!!

 

Visible are three Carnivals -and what looks like two RCLs?