What was it like in the Old Days ?

[CJC, Dunfermline]

I know some people have been cruising for a great many years long before it became a "mass market" holiday choice.

What was it like to sail 20 or 30 years ago before the "proles" started invading (like myself)

What have been the biggest changes.....

Food - lower quality ???

More optional extras rather than inclusive items ???

Excursions ???

Staff nationality and standard ??

Any other areas where things have got better or worse:D

[Bill Blyth, Dundee]

We have only been cruising 13 years, unlucky for some. The oldest ship we were on was the SS Norway and formerly the SS France and the space allocation in your cabin was not very good as we were on the ship for 18 days, but we managed nevertheless. The facilities were much more limited than on the new ships but as the cruise was in 2001 the food;entertainment and all other ship like things were very good although the average age group on that cruise was 71, made us feel much younger !!!!!!!

[Bradbury, Coventry]

[Wilba]

The Old Days

[redwinegirl2, Lake District]

Thank you both for those reviews, fantastic and very interesting to read.

However you should both correct your typing errors on the dates, obviously with you both being in your early 30s, you could not of possibly been on a cruise in those years (I will accept cheques).

Thank you.

[Aplmac, Barbados]

just serving lunch, help yourself. <===== What?!
No security issues, no questions asked,
just the hope that next time you chose their company over the current cruise line you were on.

Quite astonishing!

Try that one today! :D




.

[Wilba]

Quite astonishing!

Try that one today!

If I remember correctly AplMac it was the early 70's before they issued any form of card at all, a small half printed, half handwritten thing just for use to get back onboard in port. It was rarely asked as prior to that they just accepted you were a cruise passenger if you walked up the gangplank. No Boink! Machines in them days, and a lot less bad people, Albert Pierrepoint saw to that!

[Aplmac, Barbados]

The history of cruise cards...hmmm...

If I remember correctly AplMac
it was the early 70's before they issued any form of card at all,
a small half printed, half handwritten thing just for use to get back onboard in port.
It was rarely asked for, as prior to that
they just accepted you were a cruise passenger if you walked up the gangplank.

No Boink! Machines in them days, and a lot less bad people,
Albert Pierrepoint saw to that!

Interesting post.

Since I collect cruise cards
I've often wondered just when security cards with mag.stripe and bar code came into effect.

I have two cards (1995 and '98)
which are basically like today's cards -except a bit thinner and more flexible
but would appreciate any input from others as to when they remember cruise-cards coming into play.




Did anyone ever keep their (pre-card) "small, half printed, half handwritten things" as souvenirs??
What did they look like? Any pics?

btw.. who's Albert Pierrepoint?
.

[Wilba]

I think you're about right with your dates 95-98 for the plastic cards. The first one I recall was a P&O brown card, no name of ship, just the company logo. They were just door keys (magnetic strip). For drinks etc. you just gave your cabin number & the chitty was handwritten by the waiter.The paper cards(for port entry only) from memory were CC size white with blue writing with P&O, the ships name with space for your name, cabin number & cruise number to be hand written in. The cabin keys on some of the P&O ships were the plastic strip with punch card holes, pre magnetic strip & prior to that it was a good old fashioned key......... Albert was Britain's Hangman!

[Aplmac, Barbados]

A message now sadly missing!

Albert was Britain's Hangman!

Ah yes, we sadly miss Albert around here too!

Much of our crime problem
(Caribbean islands "have no crime problems" don't you know..)
is due to a chronic lack of Albert's 'message' just after 0600 hrs. some mornings
-a message not heard now for several decades, up and down these once-idyllic islands

Thanks ever so much, Amnesty International :mad:
.

[donald, darlington]

[Castle, Sawbridgeworth]

This is all very reminscent for me. I started working on the ships 47 years ago but then we didn't call them cruise ships. They were generally called passenger liners. I can't be sure of a lot of the things because 'senior moments' now come along more frequently.

Here is a view from the 'other side'.

In those days most ships had 'first class' and 'tourist class'. Depending on which country the ship was going to, 'tourist class' could contain a high proportion of emigrants. Virtually everyone working on the British owned ships (most of them in those days) was British. Everyone working on board, apart from officers, had to be a member of the "Seamen's Union" and I still have my 'Seaman's Book' (equivalent to a passport) and my union card.

First Class had airconditioning (apparently requiring alternating current electricity) and 'Tourists' and crew had blowers and direct current. There was separate dining for first class and even the workers were segregated.

Senior Officers ate with first class passengers (at least one per table in order to be their host). Other officers sat with tourist class passengers. 'Leading Hands' (Petty Officers) had a separate dining room used jointly with civilian workers (shopkeepers, photographer, entertainers, hairdressers etc) and any female who was not an officer (nurses, children's carers etc). All other workers (seamen, stewards, waiters, cooks, butchers, bakers etc - except chief butcher etc who were 'leading hands'). Political Correctness wasn't in existence in those days.

Officers, when off duty, were 'on duty'. They were supposed to be available to entertain passengers in the evenings. Particularly to be dancing partners.

Leading hands and crew were not allowed to mix socially with passengers. The technical reason given was that it was because of insurance rules!!! Passengers were entered on the manifest as 'damageable cargo' and only officers were allowed to handle damageable cargo :D

Officers had their own social club and anyone in the classes below them could only go there by written invitation. Leading hands also had their own social club and the rest of the crew had the 'Pig and Whistle'. Also with invitational restraints except that females were strictly forbidden to frequent the 'Pig and Whistle' - even by invitation. Very reminiscent of John Cleese and the Two Ronnies in their 'I Look Down On Them' sketches.

I have probably bored you enough so shall stop now :o :D

[Lizzie, Lymington]

You certainly have not bored me, I think its a fascinating account of working on a 'Liner', maybe there's a book waiting to be written?

Also interesting to read that "Officers had their own social club and anyone in the classes below them could only go there by written invitation. Leading hands also had their own social club and the rest of the crew had the 'Pig and Whistle'." The Royal Navy is still the same today!!
Also enjoyed the posts by Wilba, Bradbury and Donald on this thread.
Thanks
Lizzie

[Castle, Sawbridgeworth]

Thanks Lizzie ,

There's lots more where that came from and plenty of interesting practices and incidents from those days but I'm not sure that this thread is the right place for them.

e.g. what happened about tips (not that again! :D), all the bonuses and fiddles, union problems, incidents at sea, jobs that no longer exist etc

[CJC, Dunfermline]

Fire away Castle...

Thanks Lizzie ,

There's lots more where that came from and plenty of interesting practices and incidents from those days but I'm not sure that this thread is the right place for them.

e.g. what happened about tips (not that again! :D), all the bonuses and fiddles, union problems, incidents at sea, jobs that no longer exist etc

I for one would love to hear your anecdotes - was it better when the riff-raff were kept in seperate parts of the ship ?

Fiddles - seem to be plenty today (excursion prices !!!)

And tips :D - go for it my son....