Remember when Carnival did.............

[e150club]

The cabin key was a key. Cash bars. [Mardi Gras 1985]

[trock]

No matter what cruiseline.. I miss the glass Glasses!!

[Cotton]

I've been cruising Carnival ships since 1987 - and things have changed a great deal. It was a whole different cruise world back then.

 

My first cruise was from San Juan on the Festivale. Just prior to leaving Martinique, they arranged for a dance group from the island to come on board and entertain us...and the dancers would motion passengers to join them on stage. I was among the ones picked to dance with them; what fun!

 

There were so many silly contests they've had over the years. I think the most gross was the hairy chest contest. The galley tour was a real tour back then, and we could also take a bridge tour, w/the Captain letting us "steer" the ship.

 

The Promenade was on outside decks (very wide decks), and like in the old movies, there were lots of lounge chairs in a row, small tables, etc. Folks seems to be walking out there all the time, or sitting just enjoying the sea view. Waiters were there taking drink orders, white gloved, and not constantly asking.

 

About drinks: Passengers were offered a rum punch (comp) or something similiar on deck just after boarding. There were rum swizzles (comp) on deck the first evening. There was no charge for Cokes and other soft drinks at any time during the cruise. The bars had lots of good snackies all around, not just peanuts. Also - the officers of the ship were always around in the evenings, mingling, chatting, and dancing w/passengers. They were much friendlier, I think .

 

The Captain walked through the dining room in the evenings to chat w/passengers. There were smoking and non smoking sections in the dining room.

 

If someone brought you to the terminal, they were welcome to come on board and have lunch or a comp drink. There was almost always some type live music on the main outside deck near the pool. The casino was very small, but then the ships themselves were smaller. There were no balcony cabins back then.

 

We were given a card of 'suggested' tips, and envelopes. All tipping was at our discretion, and we handed the envelopes to the staff.

 

I'm sure there have many more changes...but my memory fails me.:rolleyes:

[G'ma]

1. Soft drinks were free

2. Drink of the day was $1.00

3. Purchased drinks were 1.75-3.00. They bought their alcohol in duty free ports to stock the ship. The savings from not paying taxes was passed on to the passengers.

4. Every plate, glass, bowl, ashtray, napkin, tablecloth, sheet, towel was emblazoned with the Carnival logo and usually the name of the ship.

5. Beer was 1.00

6. First night rum punch party was free.

7. REAL steel bands playing on the Lido deck during the day.....

8. Weekly costume party for the passengers with great prizes.

9. Midnight buffet every night...and again about 3-4:00am for the late night partiers.

10. Being escorted to your cabin when you boarded.

11. Before towel animals, the stewards would find your nightgown or jammies and turn them into a piece of art. Because I sleep in the buff, one time a steward (obviously frustrated to not find anything) took the time to creatively peel 2 oranges and made the most lovely floral presentation out of them.

12. There was no room service except when you ordered a bar set-up.

13. There were no chair hogs. Some cruise lines actually CHARGED for a lounge chair - Home Lines used to charge .50 a day.

14. Bingo was $1.00 a card....6 for $5.00. It was always cash prizes -- and was progressive. The biggest jackpot was on the last night. I once won almost $4000.00!!!! The cards were the ones with the red sliding markers.

15. Scrabble and Monopoly tournaments in the library.

16. No TV's in the cabins. The ship had a movie theater where first run films were shown...and it was open nearly all the time.

17. Mickey Arison used to cruise on one of his ships every week, unannounced. He didn't cruise all week but would board somewhere along the line, stay a night or two and get off. He kept a close eye on everything..and when he was on board, it was open bar for everyone.

18. Cabin stewards, wait staff, bartenders and most others were all from the Caribbean.

19. There were no children's programs...none. Bringing children was discouraged because there was nothing for them to do. You rarely saw a child under 16/17 years old. It was definitely an adult atmosphere.

20. There were only 2 venues for dining. The main dining room and the grill on Lido Deck.

21. Shorts, jeans, t-shirts and other such wear was not permitted in the dining room anytime for dinner.

 

I'm going back to the late 70's - early 80's when Carnival was the new kid on the block and the other cruiselines mocked it and looked down their noses at the young upstart. Interesting that Carnival now OWNS most of those snobby companies.......:D

[luvmex]

Streamers over the side as the ship sailed

[luvmex]

Streamers to throw over the side as the ship sailed:)

[southbayer]

Wow, I had no idea this thread would take off like this! You all have great memories!

One that was touched on was the seperate charge for port charges... That is now included in the one price now... They SHOULD just do that with the fuel surcharge fee. Get's peeps mad when an "all inclusive" price is not that anymore.... You listening airlines!!

Another was the safe. You had to request a key for it, and pay a deposit of $10.00.

And another was, and I do remember this one - Is when they used to hold the whole ship up at debarkation, cause they were trying to get One Passenger on the PA System to come to the pursers and settle a misc charge.

Keep em coming, brings back memories, some good, and some not so good, lol:rolleyes:

[dclark]

I started sailing CCL bit late, first cruise was on the new Elation, back in '98. Back when Camp Carnival was new, they had a table on the gang way when you entered the ship where they gave a goody bag to the kids with crayons, coloring book, etc and even a free helium balloon. On formal night, before dinner, they had a "mocktail" party for kids with free sodas and finger foods. I remember admonishing my 8 year old not to eat the chicken nuggets, or else she won't have an appetite for her lobster!

Miss the rum swizzles and parade of flaming deserts.

We had lobster two nights in '99 on that ship, with prime rib served one night in the buffet. One thing I really miss- they had an o.j. squeezer machine in the buffet area- you took oranges out of a basket and put them into the machine and squeezed fresh juice for you-yum!

I miss assigned seating for breakfast and lunch, getting your dinner waiter and awesome service. I was on the Ecstacy in '03 and they still had it. The waiter said that they were the last ship to have it and would switching to open seating.

We we got our last water color print of a ship I think in '06, not last month though. We have them all framed like a little armada!

Presidente butter was last seen by us on the Victory back in '04.

[Laurab23]

Yup-I remember the real glasses and the hairy chest contest and the pillow fights.Also the beer drinking contests and the free pop.The mens nightgown contest was the funnies thing I have ever seen in my entire life.I was almost rolling on the floor,it was so funny. Guess they thought it was too crude and tasteless to continue but it was FUNNY! especially when John Heald went right along with the men in sexy nightgowns making passes at him!!Too funny.

Laura

[keene state mom]

OMG that brought back memories yes... they made crepes at 2:00am to order with fresh fruit in them, and that and that was after the buffet at MN.

[Fergus]

Oh my gosh, I had forgotten about them putting your nightgown on your turned down bed......that creeped me out a little bit! :eek: I distinctly remember the waiters with the flaming desserts on their heads dancing around - even then I remember thinking that was a little dangerous! And the dining room was completely closed in, no windows. There was a movie theater and my husband was just talking about that recently - he remembered what movie was playing, but I can't remember. I remember the carpet in our cabin (we had portholes, which I was too short to see out of!) was the really thin indoor/outdoor type carpet, and you had to step INTO the shower and close the bathroom door to get to the toilet. And I remember stepping over the high thresholds in some places. Wow! That was on the Mardi Gras in mid 80's.

[carnivalkim]

Remember when the cabin steward would make something with your sexy nightgown...:eek: ...That always seems strange to me..:eek:

[DebChosenOne]

I remember when we cruised the first time on the Carnivale, you still had to step over the lip to enter and exit cabins & public rest rooms. The bathroom was so small you could Sh*t, Shower and shave all at the same time!

 

The thing i miss most is the male nightgown contest...always guaranteed to crack you up. One time we dressed my brother up..he is 6'4" and over 250lbs...in a short pink nightie with clip on earrings & pearl necklace. We just about died laughing at the whole thing! They would ask them questions as if they were in a Miss America contest and award a Miss Congeniality award and a final winner. Guys would dress up early and hang out at the bars on board ship...it made for an interesting evening! Some guys got a little too much into it, fueled by alcohol no doubt.

 

Cabin keys were KEYS which my sister managed to drop in the pool and had to chase it around while they were draining the pool.

 

No Sail & Sign cards...EVERYTHING was paid with cash. Tipping the bartender was at your descretion, not an automatic 15% added on even if the service sucks. Glass Glasses to drink out of, even by the pool.

 

Another game I remember was Identify your husband. They would line guys up by the pool and blindfold the wives. Then add a few other guys. The blindfolded wife would go down the line, guided by the CD, and touch either chest or butt of each guy and try to pick her hubby out. I participated once and it was fun feeling up all those guys, many oily from sun tan oil.

 

Beer chugging. First men competed against men. Women against women and then the winning guy against the winning gal. If you made it through a few rounds (of free beer) out in the Caribbean sun, you could get a great buzz. Free alcohol...when you boarded and during the week usually at the Captains party and one other time.

[davy jones]

I didn't sail Carnival back then, but I recall many of the same thing on the other lines.

 

I remember when the prize for winning onboard games and contests was a bottle of wine or bubbly. Defninitely better than today's trinkets.

 

However, I also recall the the fares weren't much different 20 years ago than today's fares.

[dan40]

A 2:30 AM breakfast buffet outside the casino.

 

 

Costume parties.

 

Dan

[ratherBcruizin']

I remember on my first cruise you got free drinks in the casino while you were playing. I also liked being escorted to my cabin upon boarding.

 

These are fun to read. My how things have changed, some for the good and some for the bad.

[Cotton]

A 2:30 AM breakfast buffet outside the casino.

 

 

Costume parties.

 

Dan

 

I had almost forgotten about the costume parties. If you didn't have a real costume (hardly anyone did), you could go to a big supply closet they had with tons of junk - crepe paper, all kinds of stuff, and make your own.

 

I've mentioned this on another thread like this one - awhile back - that I knew there'd be a costume party, so I brought my "Lady Godiva" costume. Full nude-colored body suit, long long blonde wig, and guess what.......I WON!:eek:

[mustwork2cruise2]

I sailed the CARNIVALE from Miami to San Juan, St Thomas and Nassau. I remember having to pay cash for drinks. They served our group, even though we were under age, I guess because we were on INTERNATIONAL WATERS? I remember that the pictures were not in a "secure" location. I miss the glass - glasses! I bet I still have one at my parents house. I remember that the ship's photographer took a picture and Carnival sent it to our local newspaper. We were ALL holding drinks!!

[xz3k3x]

The pillow fights and beer drinking contests on the Lido deck. OMG - those were so much fun!

[LHP]

Tours of the BRIDGE!!!

 

Really miss that!!!

[Jrabbit128]

They used to let you tip your staff yourself.

 

Used to drive Golf balls into the ocean.

 

Bingo was a better payout

 

They had horse racing. (I don't think they still have it:confused: )

 

Steve

 

They still do have the horse racing as they had one on a cruise a co-worker went on. It reminded me of the final goodbye show they do on the last night of the cruise. It was my first cruise and they had horse racing. One of the "10 stupid questions people ask" questions was "where do they keep all the horses during the rest of the cruise?? :p

[MarylandLady]

I sailed the CARNIVALE from Miami to San Juan, St Thomas and Nassau. I remember having to pay cash for drinks. They served our group, even though we were under age, I guess because we were on INTERNATIONAL WATERS? I remember that the pictures were not in a "secure" location. I miss the glass - glasses! I bet I still have one at my parents house. I remember that the ship's photographer took a picture and Carnival sent it to our local newspaper. We were ALL holding drinks!!

 

When you mentioned under age, it made me think of when I took my daughter on the Mardi Gras -- she was 12 at the time. They had a small area away from the casino that had some nickel slot machines. Sort of like today's arcades. All the kids on board were playing them. My daughter would come to me in the casino and ask me to get her change for them. Like you said, it probably had to do with being in international waters! LOL

[deepnite10]

the only thing that come s to mind..was the

topless sun deck..big sign said *NO CAMERAS ALLOWED* :o

[okgirl]

Formal night on the Festivale 1984. The dining room looked like New Year's Eve. Balloons, streamers, hats, noise makers, and Baked Alaska, that was on firefor dessert. Very festive!!!

 

Yep, I remember the Baked Alaska on fire on the head of our waiter as they paraded through a nearly dark dining room.........the midnight and 2am buffets we're extremely elaborate by today's standards.......The Casino on the Festivale was tiny and you had to walk up 3 steps to get to the Lido deck from the mid-ship elevators........

Not at all uncommen to have the crew swimming or sunbathing.......oooo....all those lean tan Italian officers in their speedo's...:p

Shore excursions always had a crew member that lead the tour.........When we we're in San Juan for the evening (until midnight I think) the MD went to the disco with us.

[Cruisin2Sun]

I havent' seen this here yet (unless I missed it)....

 

When the water slides dumped you into the pool! Loved the water slide on the Celebration, my first cruise.