....you had cheap fares, spacious cabins with private bathrooms/many with balconies, and dozens of ships to choose from, with excelent facillities.....that's now!

I agree that many modern ships lack character, but it's unlikely that I would not have been able to afford to cruise on the great Ocean Liners, if I had been around then.

[ 12-19-2005: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

******

Is cruising better then or now?

Malcolm is correct in that the amenities and costs are much better now.

Back then we had the quirky and characterful classic liners converted to cruiseship. Today's boxboats just don't measure up for personality. It is comparing a Toll Bros. McMansion to a Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian home.

One thing I have noticed in 3 decades of cruising is that passenger behavior has not changed.

My Regatta cruise had 350 passengers on a 30,000 ton ship, Stella Oceanis on 1974 had 300 passengers on a 5000 ton ship.

Both cruises: pompous middle aged women trashed other passengers behind their backs. The ones who were trashed [both were long haired men] I got to know better were not the devils they made them out to be, BUT the gossiping gorgons had these negative quailties themselves: The lady doth protest too much.

Both times on the Olympia/Regal Empress, the crowd was loud and uncouth: 28.5 years apart they were the same characters in different bodies.

We still had then as now

*musicians
*dancing
*gymnasium
*deck games
*quizzes
*great food
*screaming children
*kid's programs
*cranky seniors
*fighting over deck chairs
*lounge lizards
*passenger crew romance
*sea-sickness
*movies on board
*zen with the sea

same play different actors

I got into cruising as an adult at a time needed to re-visit my childhood. I have been on more adult cruises than child and have no need to revisit, it is a new set of memories.

In conclusion the scenery has changed, situation the same

[ 12-18-2005: Message edited by: desirod7 ]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Jepp:
Cruising times where better when:
the ships had quiet engines..

---

Big modern ships with 'pods' almost have SILENT engines!

[ 12-19-2005: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

quote:

---

Originally posted by DAMBROSI:
#1.We had smaller ships...
#2 It was more personal...
#3.When you did'nt have to be in a long, long line for the buffet.
#4. No cell phones.
#5. You had French Service.
.....can't think of anything else....
But, I do long for the times; when the cruise lines had smaller ships. Instead, they just keep building them better....sigh...I want the smaller ships for a change.

---

#1 You still have small ships to choose from; the majority are just not offering 2-7 day mass market cruises from Florida. You just need to look beyond the "masses" such as Carnival and RCI and you'll find them.

#2 I've found personal service on today's larger, modern ships as well. Certainly, not every crew member knows your name, but overall, very good.

#3 Why go to the buffet when you have the Dining Room? I've always found that eating at the buffet an hour or so after it opens, the lines have died down.

#4 The same could be said for all aspects of life.

#5 Not necessarily a plus in my book. "French Style" service is too stuffy and pompous for my taste and I've found the majority of French servers to be aloof.

Again, Dambrosi, look beyond the mass market and you'll find plenty of smaller ships:

HAL has the S-class, R-Class and Prinsendam.

Princess has the Pacific, Tahitian and Regal Princesses

Oceania Cruises has the three O-Class and more on the way

Swan Hellenic has the Minerva

Discovery World Cruises has the Discovery (ex-Island Princess), a real gem in my book

MSC has a gaggle of smaller, mid-sized ships

Celebrity has the Zenith along with the slightly larger Century, Galaxy and Mercury; the last two being among my favority ships and fairly close to "perfect" in my book

Orient has the Marco Polo

Costa has the Classica, Romantica, Allegra, Marina and Europa

Fed Olsen has the Black Watch, Black Prince, Braemar and Boudicca

NCL has the Crown, Majesty, Dream and Wind

Crystal has the Symphony and Serenity

RSSC has the Navigator, Mariner, Voyager and Paul Gauguin

Louis Hellenic has numerous smaller ships of varying vintages

And Silversea and Seabourn offer smaller ships; albeit expensive ones.

So there you go, there are still plenty of small and smaller ships around offering cruises of 3 to 100+ days and ranging from budget to ultra-luxury. And the majority of these ships are in what I would consider the "affordable" range with plenty of cruises that range from 7-10 days long.

--Tim

[ 12-26-2005: Message edited by: Tim in 'Lauderdale ]

...and some others, like Europa, Hanseatic, Bremen, Columbus, Maxim Gorki, Albatross, Astor, Deutschland....

[ 12-26-2005: Message edited by: Ernst ]

Dambrosi, you are very right. The overall tendency is bigger, uglier, less personal, and the level of service and style becomes lower and ever lower.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Clad:
becomes lower and ever lower.

To add:
Cruising times were better when
... the cruise director was always available for passengeres wishes and needs
... the cruise director, the hostesses and even the captain or some officers knew your name
... all passenger knew how to dress and to behave
... there was no gold by the inch
... there were no sales on board
... your steward cared about your well-being not only the cleanliness of your cabin
...........

---

As Tim, myself, and others have pointed out in this thread and others: the above requisites still exist on a number of ships and cruise lines. You will likely NOT find them, however, on the very ships you are bemoaning, the big, mass-market resort ships.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Clad:
Sorry Ernst "crusing is better than ever" ???
It seems to become worse every time. (Even it obviously still has something that keeps us cruising.)

Dambrosi, you are very right. The overall tendency is bigger, uglier, less personal, and the level of service and style becomes lower and ever lower.

To add:
Cruising times were better when
... the cruise director was always available for passengeres wishes and needs
... the cruise director, the hostesses and even the captain or some officers knew your name
... all passenger knew how to dress and to behave
... there was no gold by the inch
... there were no sales on board
... your steward cared about your well-being not only the cleanliness of your cabin
...........

---

All this still exists - and I expierienced it aboard a nearly 75 years old ship just two months ago. It might be against the trend, but I do not care about that. (I am really not sure, but I guess it is easier today to get aboard a ship - even aboard a proper ship)

Don`t complain about NCL, Carnival or RCCL go with the Sea Cloud. There not only some but all crew members - including the officers and the cruise director - know you by name and are always ready to help you. You will most likely find a very pleasent 'crowd' aboard (who knows how to dress ) and your cabin will be - like the whole ship - in pristine condition. Nevertheless, as there is not enough space for a shop - you will encounter two 'sales' to allow passengers to buy souvenirs.
Beyond that, all this will be on a very, very proper ship.

[ 12-26-2005: Message edited by: Ernst ]