Things you don’t see anymore

[NSWP]

55 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Me too!

 

Before we did our first ocean cruise I remember wondering how I would feel being completely out of sight of any land. Needless to say I love it!

You are lucky you live near the harbour Julie, your cruise awaits..

[OzKiwiJJ]

47 minutes ago, NSWP said:

You are lucky you live near the harbour Julie, your cruise awaits..

It's outside my 5km limit unfortunately.

[Blackduck59]

2 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Me too!

 

Before we did our first ocean cruise I remember wondering how I would feel being completely out of sight of any land. Needless to say I love it!

 

I still remember the first time I experienced that. I was in Sea Cadets and was on a deployment with the Canadian Navy. During the night we had gone "over the horizon" as it were. I was on the morning watch and my duty station rotation put me on "Life Boy" sentry at sunrise. As the sun rose over the horizon the only thing other than water was the silhouette of USS Constellation off our Port beam.

[NSWP]

1 hour ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

It's outside my 5km limit unfortunately.

Bit tough.

[OzKiwiJJ]

3 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Bit tough.

Yeah. 🙁 A rowboat or kayak on the Lane Cove River is about as close as I'll get to cruising for a while.

[PerfectlyPerth]

On 8/26/2021 at 3:15 PM, Cruisegroover said:

Whilst not something that has disappeared I have this memento from the last Oriana cruise. 

I have that one tucked away in my special Oriana box. Loads of 80s ship memorabilia like the daily news sheets, menus, pens, bottle openers, lighters, coasters, embossed photo albums, note paper, postcards, t shirts, sailors caps, stubbie holders etc etc. Even my hand written flight & ship tickets. And my guest boarding pass when I use to go on board the ship in between cruises when it was in port - to have drinks with friends in the crew. 
 

We were still getting big streamer send offs up to late 80s. And you could have friends board with you then they disembarked just before streamers started. 
 

I miss the friendly four booking deal. Where a solo could book a berth in a 4 bed cabin and be paired up with 3 others in same gender. That was how I did all my cruises from age 15. Still best friends with many of the girls I shared cabins with - all these years later. 
 

I miss the cheesey after dinner cabaret shows that were done by the cruise director and entertainment crew. On P&O it was always fun ole time British type humour and the big songs from musicals. I must admit most of the US cruise directors these days make my skin crawl - it's like they all went to Disney Uni or something. 
 

I use to join all the games around the ship - bingo, quiz, beetle etc etc. that's where I would win and accumulate all the memorabilia !!

 

I always slept thru breakfast and then went to the morning tea near the pool. Piles of pastries !!

And late night snacks for us who were dancing all night - the hot food place that did burgers, pizza slices, and sausages in bread. From memory it was by the pool and didn't open til around 10pm. 
 

I was earning $89 per week in my full time job as a mid teen and would save every cent after rent & bills and do 2 x 2 week pacific trips a year. And one was a Perth up to Singapore one - a leg of its half world tour itinerary from memory. 
 

Great memories. 

[NSWP]

P & O UK is a great cruise line, still a bit traditional, enforcement of jacket and tie on formal night etc. Been on Arcadia, Oriana, Aurora, no issues with any of them. Going back even Iberia in 1970 when she was in this region.  I found their entertainment to be very good. 

 

The food is good, very British of course but at least their bacon is not cremated, lol. I even had kippers for breakfast. Lot of Indian crew and they were good, start talking cricket with them and they won't leave you alone, lol.

 

Drink prices are a bit lower than the Princess too.  When we did Arcadia in 2012, 7 weeks, Sydney to Southampton via Africa, they had a wine clearance in MDR. 10 quid a bottle for decent wines. Cannot beat that.

Edited August 28, 2021 by NSWP

[Thecat123]

Reading through these posts I remembered sailing on the Monowai when I was about two or three 70 odd years ago from Auckland to Sydney with my mother. I dont remember anything about my first cruise though 😀

Ships sure have changed as the last cruises we have done with Seabourn with even one in the Penthouse suite

[lyndarra]

Anyone sailed on Orsova?

[matilda]

Long time lurker here!  Yes, I sailed on the Orion and the Orsova  in 1958 to UK and back, as an 18 yr old, with my parents and siblings.  Things you don't see any more - community bathrooms down the passageway, and also separate small rooms where a steward would run for you a hot seawater bath.

 

[NSWP]

18 hours ago, matilda said:

Long time lurker here!  Yes, I sailed on the Orion and the Orsova  in 1958 to UK and back, as an 18 yr old, with my parents and siblings.  Things you don't see any more - community bathrooms down the passageway, and also separate small rooms where a steward would run for you a hot seawater bath.

 

Some of the old ships just had seawater for the baths, down the corridor, no ensuites.

[LittleFish1976]

On 8/28/2021 at 2:41 PM, lyndarra said:

Anyone sailed on Orsova?

 

Yes! I sailed on the Orsova on a family holiday in about 1969/1970 as a month-long summer cruise from Sydney to Honolulu and back. We did two such family holidays in two consecutive summers, the first being on the Arcadia. It's was such a wonderful holiday for a child who was old enough for a bit of independence - being able to join up with other kids and spend the day swimming and just mucking around.

 

The afternoon teas were very special in those days on P&O - very beautifully presented three-layer cake stands with proper petit fours and so on. I was very impressed! And the ice sculptures near the entry to the dining room. I had a couple of special dresses to wear to dinner and afterwards everyone (adults and older children) would gather in the main room for dancing and entertainment including fancy dress theme nights which required those in costume to parade themselves while being announced.

 

 

 

[Rassa]

22 minutes ago, LittleFish1976 said:

 

Yes! I sailed on the Orsova on a family holiday in about 1969/1970 as a month-long summer cruise from Sydney to Honolulu and back. We did two such family holidays in two consecutive summers, the first being on the Arcadia. It's was such a wonderful holiday for a child who was old enough for a bit of independence - being able to join up with other kids and spend the day swimming and just mucking around.

 

The afternoon teas were very special in those days on P&O - very beautifully presented three-layer cake stands with proper petit fours and so on. I was very impressed! And the ice sculptures near the entry to the dining room. I had a couple of special dresses to wear to dinner and afterwards everyone (adults and older children) would gather in the main room for dancing and entertainment including fancy dress theme nights which required those in costume to parade themselves while being announced.

 

 

 

Went on a P&O UK cruise early 2019 and the afternoon tea was not as good as Princess but it may have been the ship we were on and I can't recall the name of the ship.

 

Princess cruises afternoon teas were wonderful when we first cruised Princess and you would even see people being served afternoon tea on the promenade deck.  However when they did cruise prior to 2020, some Princess ships did not even have afternoon tea.   

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, Rassa said:

Went on a P&O UK cruise early 2019 and the afternoon tea was not as good as Princess but it may have been the ship we were on and I can't recall the name of the ship.

 

Princess cruises afternoon teas were wonderful when we first cruised Princess and you would even see people being served afternoon tea on the promenade deck.  However when they did cruise prior to 2020, some Princess ships did not even have afternoon tea.   

I think it depends on the ship these days. We often use the Sanctuary and afternoon tea there has varied from being given a single plate with half a dozen selections each to trays of various selections being handed around. Mostly delicious although we had one cruise where the afternoon tea was a bit disappointing.

[NSWP]

I remember Princess wheeling the arvo tea trolley around the promenade deck, but that wound up some years ago. They still put some cakes and sandwiches in the buffet, but that was in 2018, last Princess cruises out of UK.

[GUT2407]

On 9/1/2021 at 2:27 PM, NSWP said:

I remember Princess wheeling the arvo tea trolley around the promenade deck, but that wound up some years ago. They still put some cakes and sandwiches in the buffet, but that was in 2018, last Princess cruises out of UK.

Yes now have to go to the MDR for a served arvo tea and even then nowhere near the quality it was, way back when. But the cost of cruising has, in real terms dropped a long way.

[NSWP]

1 hour ago, GUT2407 said:

Yes now have to go to the MDR for a served arvo tea and even then nowhere near the quality it was, way back when. But the cost of cruising has, in real terms dropped a long way.

Indeed, I could never afford to take my kids on a cruise, but many parents do these days, I suppose having both parents working full time jobs with a good salary helps plus cruise prices have dropped a bit with competition.

 

In 22 cruises on several different lines, we never ever went to the MDR for arvo tea.  Had a full breakfast, big lunch and big dinner, plus happy hour with a few snacks in places like Skywalkers PES lounge, or even a couple of drinks in cabin/balcony with some snacks purloined from the Horizon Court buffet was sufficient, no inclination to pig out on arvo tea in the MDR's.

Edited September 2, 2021 by NSWP

[MMDown Under]

On 9/2/2021 at 5:40 PM, NSWP said:

Indeed, I could never afford to take my kids on a cruise, but many parents do these days, I suppose having both parents working full time jobs with a good salary helps plus cruise prices have dropped a bit with competition.

 

In 22 cruises on several different lines, we never ever went to the MDR for arvo tea.  Had a full breakfast, big lunch and big dinner, plus happy hour with a few snacks in places like Skywalkers PES lounge, or even a couple of drinks in cabin/balcony with some snacks purloined from the Horizon Court buffet was sufficient, no inclination to pig out on arvo tea in the MDR's.

A formal afternoon tea on a ship is an experience.  My favourite was being served by a man in a suit, whilst sitting on deck chairs on promenade deck, scones, delicious jam and cream from a traymobile.  

[By The Bay]

15 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

A formal afternoon tea on a ship is an experience.  My favourite was being served by a man in a suit, whilst sitting on deck chairs on promenade deck, scones, delicious jam and cream from a traymobile.  

Ah, those were the days my friends.

[lyndarra]

57 minutes ago, By The Bay said:

Ah, those were the days my friends.

We thought they'd never end.

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, By The Bay said:

Ah, those were the days my friends.

 

9 minutes ago, lyndarra said:

We thought they'd never end.

We'd sing and dance forever and a day.

[Rassa]

12 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

 

We'd sing and dance forever and a day.

 

We'd live the life we choose.

[NSWP]

18 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

A formal afternoon tea on a ship is an experience.  My favourite was being served by a man in a suit, whilst sitting on deck chairs on promenade deck, scones, delicious jam and cream from a traymobile.  

When Princess pushed the arvo tea trolley around the Promenade Deck we had had the odd coffee and snack, but never in the MDR. These days Princess has built these stupid Royal Class Ships, Majestic, Regal, Sky etc with zero walk around prom deck. I do not like them at all, having been on a couple.

[Porky55]

8 hours ago, Rassa said:

 

We'd live the life we choose.

We’d fight and never lose.

[Porky55]

Beatles just one version of many 😆

Edited September 15, 2021 by Porky55