The more things change, the more they stay the same

[MistyRo76]

So out of boredom today, I decided to click back to the last page on the Carnival Cruise Critic board (page 13000-something) with posts dating back to 2004. I was getting a kick out of seeing how much has changed in the world of Carnival and cruising in general since then....but also how much has not changed at all! So from scrolling through just a few pages, here are my observations:

 

What's NOT the same:

Bon Voyage Gifts - I vaguely remember those. You would (I think) get a letter about this and could call into Carnival 45 days prior to your cruise and then they would ask you some questions on your preferences and you'd have a little gift show up in your cabin. It was usually a bottle of champagne or wine, but others mentioned photo credits or chocolates. 

Guest Services was referred to then as the "Purser's Desk". 

Your cruise documents and luggage tags were mailed to you a few weeks before your cruise, which resulted in a lot of people posting about doing the Happy Doc Dance! 

Travelers checks were still very much used - but I haven't heard anyone mention traveler's checks in many years! 

There were lots of comments about how BAD the buffet was and no one should ever skip dinner in the main dining room in favor of the buffet. Avoid the buffet for dinner at ALL costs! lol The buffet seems to be a much more acceptable dinner alternative these days (esp. on ships without loads of other dining options). 

Lots of discussion about removing automated tips - not sure when the auto tips were first introduced, but there were many questions in 04 about removing them if they don't use the dining room, etc. I think now the auto gratuities are more of an accepted practice and I don't see as many people asking about removing them. 

The Paradise was still non-smoking - but was soon to be moving to Cali and beginning to allow it. 

The common methods for staying in contact with friends and family at that time were calling cards or calling collect. 

LOTS and LOTS of smuggling booze threads! (pre-Cheers, people had to do what they had to do!)

 

What is still the same:

The age old question on if Carnival is the "party ship" has been being asked for over 20 years - though now it's the Walmart of the Seas comparison that sticks the most. 

Are shorts/jeans/hats/insert article of clothing here appropriate for Formal Night (now called Elegant Night)?

Upsell questions abound then and now

John Heald - though then he was a regular, but very popular, Cruise Director, while today he joins the occasional special sailing and also serves as Carnival's Brand Ambassador. There were rumblings in 04 that Heald was retiring soon! 

Towel Animals and Dancing in the dining rooms! 

 

I started cruising in 1997 so it was fun to go back in time a bit and remember how it used to be. Other things I remember from my early cruises - Welcome Aboard Rum Swizzler Party in the casino - free "Rum Swizzlers" for an hour or so on the first evening, chocolate covered strawberries in my cabin, the mint chocolate on my pillow at night. 

 

 

[Cruise, J.D.]

Our first cruise was in 2005 and that it is when I started reading Cruise Critic, so your post was a trip down memory lane!

[sparks1093]

Interesting, I thought the older posts were gone since the last renovation of the site. Loved seeing posts about skeet shooting. Tipping and whether or not to have a passport were also present.

[Thenagers]

My first cruise was in 2009.  I remember purchasing drink coupons before Cheers.  

[Homosassa]

39 minutes ago, MalteseFred said:

My first cruise was in 1971, just finished cruise #78 for me on Saturday.

Do you suppose I have seen changes in cruising since then?

Kudos to Carnival for diluting what cruising used to be all about!

Wanna talk about "PeopleOfWalmart.dotcom"? You should have been on the Panorama last week.

lmao

 

 

Thanks,

Fred.

Do you remember when the Carnival Cruise Brochures were kept in the backroom or in a cabinet and not on the rack with the real cruise lines (that's if the travel agent would even handle Carnival).  If you even asked about Carnival, the agent who knew you and your travel standards, would tell you that Carnival was not a recommended line and only if one insisted, would he book the line.

[TNcruising02]

That is very interesting reading how things cruising used to be a long time ago.  Our first cruise was in 2013, so I wasn't fortunate enough to cruise during the earlier days.

[cruisingguy007]

1 hour ago, MalteseFred said:

My first cruise was in 1971, just finished cruise #78 for me on Saturday.

Do you suppose I have seen changes in cruising since then?

Kudos to Carnival for diluting what cruising used to be all about!

Wanna talk about "PeopleOfWalmart.dotcom"? You should have been on the Panorama last week.

lmao

 

 

Thanks,

Fred.

 

Did you do a review? Didn't see one posted by you, I'd be interested to read about your experience. 

[Matco]

15 minutes ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 

Did you do a review? Didn't see one posted by you, I'd be interested to read about your experience. 

I second that notion 

[sgttami]

My first cruise was in 1992 on RCL and there are a lot of things I liked better  from those days but not the fact that cruises were a lot more $$$$$$$$.

[pe4all]

I remember when I first began cruising that small envelopes were left on my bed the night before debark for tips for cabin stewards, and on my dining room table for servers and maitre'd!

[Woody14]

3 hours ago, pe4all said:

I remember when I first began cruising that small envelopes were left on my bed the night before debark for tips for cabin stewards, and on my dining room table for servers and maitre'd!

loved those envelopes, didn't love on my first cruise when I didn't have enough cash and had to get in the huge line at guest services to get more cash,

[sgttami]

21 minutes ago, Woody14 said:

loved those envelopes, didn't love on my first cruise when I didn't have enough cash and had to get in the huge line at guest services to get more cash,

I liked the envelopes too.  It always seemed more personal than the pre-paid gratuities.

[PlanoTim]

4 hours ago, pe4all said:

I remember when I first began cruising that small envelopes were left on my bed the night before debark for tips for cabin stewards, and on my dining room table for servers and maitre'd!

We got envelopes from a stack at guest services on Carnival Vista last month for our dining room staff and room steward.  They earned the extra gratuity.  Wilmer was the best Head Waiter we've had in decades.  We had great service for the three meals we had in the MDR.

[wikoffclan]

First cruise (on the Holiday) in 2008. The things I miss:

 

Farewell Party (with drinks, snacks and a band) for Everyone on the last evening

Welcome back Party for ALL repeat cruisers - with the video parade of Ships that everyone would cheer

A basket of amenities in the bathroom.

Chocolates on the pillow each evening

Twice daily service - and the stewards had probably half the number cabins to take care of

Ice bucket and ice in the cabin... without asking

Sodas in the fridge for purchase

A live Carnival band onstage for the main shows

 

Don't get me wrong. We love to cruise (Carnival, Royal, Celebrity, Cunard) and will continue to do so. Just miss some of those perks

[pe4all]

Also - and this was not Carnival - on our first few cruises we were able to pick out our (heavy wooden) lounge chair on Lido.   That would be our chair for the whole cruise.  Our names would be inserted into a slot on the chair, and when we went to the chair a cushion would be brought and put on it.  No chair hogs!  Really miss that.  Hate walking out at 6 a.m. and seeing towels on soooo many empty lounges.

[Tapi]

When room keys looked like this:

 

I actually remember when I sailed in 1991 aboard the Carla Costa (built in 1951). She had traditional metal keys. Also, there were no "sail and sign" cards. For identification, passengers had to wear a plastic bracelet. That's all that was checked when going ashore and returning to the ship. I also remember purchasing drink voucher booklets. They had a table set up at the lobby and entrance to the night club where you could buy them using cash. 

Edited May 11, 2022 by Tapi

[Tapi]

Who remembers being escorted to their cabin upon boarding? The last time I remember experiencing that was on (defunct) Majesty Cruise Lines in 1996. They had employees lined up wearing white gloves as we boarded the ship, and they would check your stateroom number and escort you to it. Mind you, this was not some luxury cruise line. It was a cruise line doing quick 3-4 night cruise to the Bahamas from Miami. 

 

 

[pe4all]

Bon Voyage parties!  In NY we were allowed to have family onboard with us until right before sail-away.  Then they (and many, many others) would stand on the pier and throw streamers at us as we left.  Not great for the environment, but great fun!

[ineed-a-vacation]

36 minutes ago, pe4all said:

Bon Voyage parties!  In NY we were allowed to have family onboard with us until right before sail-away.  Then they (and many, many others) would stand on the pier and throw streamers at us as we left.  Not great for the environment, but great fun!

That sounds like an episode of The Love Boat.

[MistyRo76]

On 5/10/2022 at 4:40 PM, sgttami said:

My first cruise was in 1992 on RCL and there are a lot of things I liked better  from those days but not the fact that cruises were a lot more $$$$$$$$.

That's for sure! I remember our first cruise in 1997 cost us around $700 per person for an interior cabin on the Riviera Deck for a 7 day Eastern Caribbean Cruise on the Sensation. My last week long cruise was in 2017 on the Vista and for three of us (hubby, myself and our daughter) in a balcony cabin, we paid $1800. $100 less per person for a balcony on a brand new ship! 

 

Luckily, not long after my first cruise, I took a job working for an airline where I got free flights and also some pretty awesome travel industry cruise discounts! That helped me continue being able to afford cruising as a broke early 20-something! 

[MistyRo76]

On 5/10/2022 at 6:15 PM, pe4all said:

I remember when I first began cruising that small envelopes were left on my bed the night before debark for tips for cabin stewards, and on my dining room table for servers and maitre'd!

I remember those envelopes, too! Being an unworldly, young traveler on my first cruise left us both somewhat ignorant of cruise tipping practices and we were also not very good at managing our vacation spending budget! When they introduced the auto tips, I was glad that at least the minimum would be taken care of for me off the top and then I could just add more as a saw fit! 

[MistyRo76]

On 5/10/2022 at 10:12 PM, sgttami said:

I liked the envelopes too.  It always seemed more personal than the pre-paid gratuities.

Definitely more personal...but I do wonder if Carnival saw a dramatic increase in the amount of tips their staff received once they were automatically added? I know not everyone would be disciplined enough to budget their cash to have enough left at the end of a cruise (my 21 year old self was unfortunately one of those people!). 

[Megan_Strick]

On 5/10/2022 at 2:21 PM, MistyRo76 said:

So out of boredom today, I decided to click back to the last page on the Carnival Cruise Critic board (page 13000-something) with posts dating back to 2004. I was getting a kick out of seeing how much has changed in the world of Carnival and cruising in general since then....but also how much has not changed at all! So from scrolling through just a few pages, here are my observations:

 

What's NOT the same:

Bon Voyage Gifts - I vaguely remember those. You would (I think) get a letter about this and could call into Carnival 45 days prior to your cruise and then they would ask you some questions on your preferences and you'd have a little gift show up in your cabin. It was usually a bottle of champagne or wine, but others mentioned photo credits or chocolates. 

Guest Services was referred to then as the "Purser's Desk". 

Your cruise documents and luggage tags were mailed to you a few weeks before your cruise, which resulted in a lot of people posting about doing the Happy Doc Dance! 

Travelers checks were still very much used - but I haven't heard anyone mention traveler's checks in many years! 

There were lots of comments about how BAD the buffet was and no one should ever skip dinner in the main dining room in favor of the buffet. Avoid the buffet for dinner at ALL costs! lol The buffet seems to be a much more acceptable dinner alternative these days (esp. on ships without loads of other dining options). 

Lots of discussion about removing automated tips - not sure when the auto tips were first introduced, but there were many questions in 04 about removing them if they don't use the dining room, etc. I think now the auto gratuities are more of an accepted practice and I don't see as many people asking about removing them. 

The Paradise was still non-smoking - but was soon to be moving to Cali and beginning to allow it. 

The common methods for staying in contact with friends and family at that time were calling cards or calling collect. 

LOTS and LOTS of smuggling booze threads! (pre-Cheers, people had to do what they had to do!)

 

What is still the same:

The age old question on if Carnival is the "party ship" has been being asked for over 20 years - though now it's the Walmart of the Seas comparison that sticks the most. 

Are shorts/jeans/hats/insert article of clothing here appropriate for Formal Night (now called Elegant Night)?

Upsell questions abound then and now

John Heald - though then he was a regular, but very popular, Cruise Director, while today he joins the occasional special sailing and also serves as Carnival's Brand Ambassador. There were rumblings in 04 that Heald was retiring soon! 

Towel Animals and Dancing in the dining rooms! 

 

I started cruising in 1997 so it was fun to go back in time a bit and remember how it used to be. Other things I remember from my early cruises - Welcome Aboard Rum Swizzler Party in the casino - free "Rum Swizzlers" for an hour or so on the first evening, chocolate covered strawberries in my cabin, the mint chocolate on my pillow at night. 

 

 

My first cruise was on the Celebration out of Miami in 1995 when I graduated high school. It was called the pursers desk and my parents used travelers checks!

[MistyRo76]

On 5/11/2022 at 7:57 AM, pe4all said:

Also - and this was not Carnival - on our first few cruises we were able to pick out our (heavy wooden) lounge chair on Lido.   That would be our chair for the whole cruise.  Our names would be inserted into a slot on the chair, and when we went to the chair a cushion would be brought and put on it.  No chair hogs!  Really miss that.  Hate walking out at 6 a.m. and seeing towels on soooo many empty lounges.

Ok...THIS sounds amazing!