Trip down memory lane

[trout62]

I was reminiscing with Mrs. Trout about changes we have seen over the years with HAL.  Not in a negative way.  We understand that the price we pay now, is in many cases less than we paid 10, 20, 30 even 40 years ago adjusted for inflation.  My first cruise in 1986 was in a suite on NCL.  It was $4,000. That's $11K adjusted for inflation. I was in a Neptune Suite on NS this past December for $6kish.

 

So, we understand that some things have to change to keep costs down.  My challenge to you is, not in a bashing way, name something from "back in the day" that you kind of miss and something you can live without.

 

I'll start:

Back in the day, we were sent travel documents including baggage tags in a nice, pretty blue satin lined wallet.  I miss that.

Back in the day, there was personalized stationery in the suites.  That was a nice touch, but I never used them I can live without that.

 

Have fun,

Trout

[3rdGenCunarder]

Dutch night in the MDR. I still make the mashed potatoes with carrots and onions in them.

 

Sailing out of NYC!

 

There were pool games. I can live without those.

Edited March 7, 2023 by 3rdGenCunarder

[POA1]

I always kind of liked the ice carving demos at the pool.

[SilvertoGold]

I miss the chocolates and coffee drinks nightly in the Explorers Lounge.  Not that I need the calories, but it was a very elegant room and service then.

[trout62]

Somewhere a long time ago, someone had a midnight buffet and someone else had a midnight chocolate buffet...can't remember who had what but both were unbelievable.

 

Now that my bedtime is 9:30, not such a big deal...

 

Trout

[Shippy]

Midnight Buffets

Leather case for your key card

Assigned dining with others

Chocolates on your pillow

No extra charge for fresh squeezed orange juice, specialty coffees or soda

No pay restaurants

The bingo prize was the amount they took in each game

pictures were $4.98 for an 8x10

Real ice cream was free

There were wine stewards in the main dining room

 

 

[Shippy]

Forgot to add...

on Holland, one night at dinner they gave you a Dutch Hat !

[POA1]

Piling on @Shippy the blue document wallets are truly missed. We still put our sad, inkjet-printed-at-home paperwork into an old one. Invariably, someone notices the nauga-blue portfolio and asks how we got it. We look both ways, making sure that we're not overheard, and explain that, "We're kind of a big deal."

 

 

Edited March 7, 2023 by POA1

[syesmar]

3 hours ago, SilvertoGold said:

I miss the chocolates and coffee drinks nightly in the Explorers Lounge.  Not that I need the calories, but it was a very elegant room and service then.

Yes! And the flambé desserts!

(I must admit, I never could have “just one” of those crispy chocolates😀).

[Nanner]

How about the "yum yum" man with his uniform and the dates, figs and candied ginger after dinner in the dining room? 

We received chocolates on the pillow 2 nights on our recent 10 day voyage. I do miss those, even if I didn't need them

The bubbly when you got on the ship

Real ice cream is still free, but it has to be vanilla, chocolate or strawberry. At least that's true on the Pinnacle Class ships

I miss the fruit crumble being listed on the menu. I was told on the final day of our recent voyage that you can get it if you ask for it.

I have several of the leather and pleather document pouches and a fabric one. I still use them for my papers, too!

The old laminated luggage tags that HAL provided with photos relevant to the cruise. I remember bears on the Alaska tags

 

 

[robotpony]

5 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

Dutch night in the MDR. I still make the mashed potatoes with carrots and onions in them.

 

This would be fantastic. One of our favourite homemade Dutch dishes is Boerenkool Stamppot, which is a similar hearty dish (potato, kale, and onion I think with rookworst). What a treat that would be on a cruise! We're going to try to sample all of the Dutch Café dishes on our next trip as we haven't found the time or space to do so on previous trips.

[syesmar]

Back in the day, I enjoyed

-the Rijsttafel lunch

-Indonesian Tea

-Royal Dutch High Tea

-Dutch Chocolate Extravaganza

-complimentary cappuccinos after dinner (I’d always get decaf:>)

-Tamarind lunches

-Cooking Demos with food samples

-Barbecues on the Lido deck

 

Back in the day, all passengers gathered shoulder-to-shoulder on deck for the safety drill (I have a medical condition that has an intolerance for standing still, I nearly fainted more than once:>). I can live with the updated way it’s done now.

Edited March 8, 2023 by syesmar

[Crew News]

Hotel Managers (Directors) at the CC Meet & Greets.

Live piano at dinnertime in the MDR.

Baked Alaska parade.

Salmon cookouts.

Pink envelopes with excursion tickets on Embarkation day.

Lobster on Gala Nights

 

 

[OlsSalt]

Fresh baked bread, from scratch. Not frozen pre-made bread dough that is use now.  Still good, but not the variety, texture or taste of days gone by. 

 

The cold soups. The dinner salads. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

4 hours ago, trout62 said:

Somewhere a long time ago, someone had a midnight buffet and someone else had a midnight chocolate buffet...can't remember who had what but both were unbelievable.

 

Now that my bedtime is 9:30, not such a big deal...

 

Trout

 

Lots of cruises had the midnight buffet. And I recall a chocolate themed buffet around the pool on Veendam, back around 2010 or so.

 

I haven't been on NCL in 20 years, but I remember a fabulous chocolate extravaganza. DH, SIL, Niece were all seasick. Ex-navy BIL and I chowed down on the chocolate. 

[RuthC]

I miss the intimate Piano Bars, with musicians who knew music that covered many eras, in various genres, and played until 2:00 AM every night. Without a break. Someone who somehow made a party every night, and wasn't there to 'perform'. 
I miss the 'Dutch Girl' with her basket of flowers who greeted every embarking passenger. 

I miss the Rosario Strings. 
I miss the chilled soups, made with fine ingredients like sherbet, and tapioca, as thickeners. 
I miss the great dance bands in the Ocean Bar, who played for every cocktail time, right up until the chimes called us to dinner, then again until 1:00 AM. Every night, without a break. 

I don't miss the days when there was no TV in the cabin. 
I don't miss needing to go to the Radio Room to place a call home, as there were no phones in the cabin at all. 

[I like vacation]

skeet shooting off the stern in 1979

[BetsyS.]

My happy memories are from the Veendam. 

I miss:

Crew shows

Cruise Director singing "Love in Every Language" on 

  stage at end of cruise

Crews smiling faces (pre-covid, so no masks)

Yum Yum Man playing chimes to announce dinner 

    and then giving out mints and ginger after dinner in MDR

Chocolate buffet late at night 

Towel animals and chocolates on bed every night

Huge library with librarian

         Those were the days! 😊

 

 

[ski ww]

Thanks for posting it sure brings back lots of good memories of cruises past.

[shippmates]

I loved the Dutch hats given by the crew.  I was going though my things the other day and I found my hat signed by a crew member from when we were on the Maasdam in the early 2000's.  I can still see my husband trying to find the Yum Yum guy to take his picture because I wanted one with him playing the chimes.  He finally did find him and I still have the picture.  I wish I still had my leather document holder we were sent with the cruising paperwork back then.

[HALcruiser2001]

14 hours ago, trout62 said:

I was reminiscing with Mrs. Trout about changes we have seen over the years with HAL.  Not in a negative way.  We understand that the price we pay now, is in many cases less than we paid 10, 20, 30 even 40 years ago adjusted for inflation.  My first cruise in 1986 was in a suite on NCL.  It was $4,000. That's $11K adjusted for inflation. I was in a Neptune Suite on NS this past December for $6kish.

 

So, we understand that some things have to change to keep costs down.  My challenge to you is, not in a bashing way, name something from "back in the day" that you kind of miss and something you can live without.My

I'll start:

Back in the day, we were sent travel documents including baggage tags in a nice, pretty blue satin lined wallet.  I miss that.

Back in the day, there was personalized stationery in the suites.  That was a nice touch, but I never used them I can live without that.

 

Have fun,

Trout

My neptune suite on 2/18/2023 was $10k

[trout62]

2 hours ago, bdd123 said:

My neptune suite on 2/18/2023 was $10k

I was comparing two 7 night eastern Caribbean cruises nearly 40 years apart.
 

I am sure you could spend 10K on a NS, but I sure hope it wasn’t for a 7 night eastern Caribbean!

 

edit - just saw yours was Western. That’s pricey!

 

Mine was SB (love corner afts) so that’s part of the difference, but dang!

Edited March 8, 2023 by trout62
Clarification

[trout62]

11 hours ago, I like vacation said:

skeet shooting off the stern in 1979

 

Shot skeet off the NCL Southward in 1986.  Or should I say shot AT skeet.  I was 0 for all,  I think it was the first time I had held a shotgun but I grew up watching "The Love Boat" and I had seen them do it so I had to give it a try.

 

Trout

[rafinmd]

Love in Any Language and Cold Soups.  The in-person disembarkation talk where Love in Any Language was done is NOT something I miss.

 

Roy

[Avery's Gram]

“Dam dollars”. Were fun to collect for prizes, given for participating in activities.

 

We miss the Piano  Bar and the excellent players.  We we’re always happy to find we were on a Jimmy Maddox cruise!

 

Barbara M. In NH