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After five cruises in a short period this year, I've come to the realization that much has changed in the cruise industry. Some changes are completely understandable, others are more like "huh?" For example...

 

Whatever happened...to the Passenger Talent Show? This used to be a staple in the 80's and 90's and I never missed it (even participated a time or two). Some were hilarious, others grotesque, and some of the singers were amazing. The modern replacement is karaoke, which I despise.

 

Whatever happened...to the parade of singing waiters bringing in the Flaming Baked Alaska/Cherries Jubilee? This one's easy. I'm sure that modern fire regulations killed the dessert parade..but how dif it morph into a bunch of waiters standing on bus tables and shaking their bootys?

 

There are a lot of these. What is it about the "good old days" that you most miss when cruising, and why do you think it disappeared?

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Miss the male nightgown, the captain ball room dancing, the rum swizzle party, the pillow fighting, the pie eating contest, the yard of ale contest, Simon says, the deck party, the deck band with talent, the room designs of your clothes and not towel animals, the waiter and asst waiter at all three of your meals, the getting to know all the other passengers, if not simply by facial recognition.......

Edited by TPFKAH
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Miss the male nightgown, the captain ball room dancing, the rum swizzle party, the pillow fighting, the pie eating contest, the yard of ale contest, Simon says, the deck party, the deck band with talent, the room designs of your clothes and not towel animals, the waiter and asst waiter at all three of your meals, the getting to know all the other passengers, if not simply by facial recognition.......

 

+1 for the rum swizzle party...haven't seen as happy a bunch of passengers on the first night of the cruise since then.

 

How much extra play do you reckon they got in the casino because they were serving free booze?

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Miss the male nightgown, the captain ball room dancing, the rum swizzle party, the pillow fighting, the pie eating contest, the yard of ale contest, Simon says, the deck party, the deck band with talent, the room designs of your clothes and not towel animals, the waiter and asst waiter at all three of your meals, the getting to know all the other passengers, if not simply by facial recognition.......

 

All good ones, and low or no cost to the cruise line. As with my two, I wonder WHY they faded into history?

 

As to seeing your wait team at all three meals, that's a kinda for me. I loved the continuity, but always felt bad for the staff. They had to work some *brutal* hours to pull that off.

 

I DO miss walking into the cabin and seeing my pajamas doing the humpty dance with my wife's nightie, though. We giggled for hours.

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I miss the Red, White, and Blue color game. No, I don't miss it because it's gone, I missed the whole point of it while it was here.:rolleyes:

 

Stupidest thing I ever saw on a cruise ship. Or anywhere other that Kindergarden.

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I miss the crumb sweeper the servers used in between courses. Something so silly but so special.

 

It's dumb, but we miss that too--and the standing wine buckets the sommeliers used to bring over.

 

I'd love to have seen the Rum Swizzle party, but that didn't exist when I started cruising Carnival.

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I miss the "good old days" when cruisers enjoyed themselves on board and didn't wax nostalgic about what had gone downhill and what was missing from their cruise. :rolleyes:

 

Then you're really gonna HATE my upcoming review of Glory 4/20/14.

 

Seriously, while I can and do enjoy 'contemporary' cruising, I wonder why some of the things that used to comprise a positive part of the experience have gone by the wayside, even though imposing little or no cost burden on the cruise line. Secondly, it's my hope that by opening a discussion about these things the cruise lines (specifically Carnival) might consider re-introducing some of them to improve the cruise experience.

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Then you're really gonna HATE my upcoming review of Glory 4/20/14.

 

Seriously, while I can and do enjoy 'contemporary' cruising, I wonder why some of the things that used to comprise a positive part of the experience have gone by the wayside, even though imposing little or no cost burden on the cruise line. Secondly, it's my hope that by opening a discussion about these things the cruise lines (specifically Carnival) might consider re-introducing some of them to improve the cruise experience.

 

Like!

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I miss the "good old days" when cruisers enjoyed themselves on board and didn't wax nostalgic about what had gone downhill and what was missing from their cruise. :rolleyes:

 

Then you may hate it when I tell you that I love to cruise (I do about two a year), yet I lament the loss of some of the minor, little or no cost things that used to make cruising very special. I also miss the days when you could post an opinion without someone posting a "rolling eyes" icon.

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I miss the "good old days" when cruisers enjoyed themselves on board and didn't wax nostalgic about what had gone downhill and what was missing from their cruise. :rolleyes:

 

 

Never yet has there been a modern days generation that hasn 't 'waxed poetic' about their 'good old days' and likely it shall always be.

 

Those who sailed the Norway when she was the ss France surely waxed nostalgic about how it used to be. ;)

 

Someday when you are aged and in a rocking chair, :D think back to this thread and wonder if maybe some of that nostalgia isn't niggling a bit at you. :D

 

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Then you're really gonna HATE my upcoming review of Glory 4/20/14.

 

Seriously, while I can and do enjoy 'contemporary' cruising, I wonder why some of the things that used to comprise a positive part of the experience have gone by the wayside, even though imposing little or no cost burden on the cruise line. Secondly, it's my hope that by opening a discussion about these things the cruise lines (specifically Carnival) might consider re-introducing some of them to improve the cruise experience.

 

 

Some of the things that have gone by the wayside on cruise ships didn't seem to cost the cruise line anything EXCEPT for the larger cruise director staff. When we started cruising (about 1991), there were around 10 or so members of the cruise staff and they had plenty of crew to conduct the games. Now, there are two or three people at most. Larger ships, more guests, fewer crew.

 

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My first cruise was in 2010 and I don't know what most of those things are, but my imagination doesn't find them enjoyable. I must be part of the riffraff that came aboard when it went inclusive rather than exclusive like the Titanic.

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Besides the more elegant dining room experience in the 'old days' (early 1980's), one of the things I miss most is the pre-9/11 sail-aways. Hundreds of well-wishers standing on the dock to cheer and watch you sail, bands playing both onboard and on the dock, ship whistles blowing, multi-colored flags flying, thousands of streamers & balloons, free drinks....there's just nothing to compare to it today. Obviously the heightened security needs, as well as some environmental issues, caused the changes.

 

I DON'T miss the tiny, paper-thin walled cabins, soup can size bathrooms, and comparatively high cruise prices of those early days. Everything changes, some things for the better, some for the worse.

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My first cruise was in 2010 and I don't know what most of those things are, but my imagination doesn't find them enjoyable. I must be part of the riffraff that came aboard when it went inclusive rather than exclusive like the Titanic.

 

It's not an inclusive/exclusive thing. Some of the stuff they used to do was pretty lowbrow and still very fun. I think the best example was the one I used to start the thread: the Passenger Talent Show. It had everything: singers, dancers, jugglers, comics, some people used to bring their guitars, clarinets, trombones(!) with them. Some were good, others horrid and the horrid ones were usually the funniest.

 

The other poster's comment about smaller CD staffs is definitely salient. I think a lot of these activities may have gone away when the people directing them did. Perhaps it's time for the cruise lines to think more globally about their entertainment budgets and how they can get more bang for their bucks.

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I miss the midnight buffet of the nations. Also, the dessert nights.

 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

Our first cruise, way back in 1974, had a midnight buffet every night! Also the best food we've ever had on any cruise since.

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I miss paying the significantly higher prices for my cruises. (Yeah right)

 

It was mentioned that someone took 5 cruises in one year, could you have done that 15-20 years ago financially? Cruising has become more affordable over the years so of course the things offered have changed.

 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

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I miss the crumb sweeper the servers used in between courses.

We had one of those for 11 years. It was a Beagle.

 

 

 

I miss the live bands. Have not seen a good band since Blood Power was on the Elation several years back. Many times the dancer's had the last night of the cruise off and would party in the lounge. Man, could they put on a show when they were on their own time. Loved it!

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After five cruises in a short period this year, I've come to the realization that much has changed in the cruise industry. Some changes are completely understandable, others are more like "huh?" For example...

 

Whatever happened...to the Passenger Talent Show? This used to be a staple in the 80's and 90's and I never missed it (even participated a time or two). Some were hilarious, others grotesque, and some of the singers were amazing. The modern replacement is karaoke, which I despise.

 

Whatever happened...to the parade of singing waiters bringing in the Flaming Baked Alaska/Cherries Jubilee? This one's easy. I'm sure that modern fire regulations killed the dessert parade..but how dif it morph into a bunch of waiters standing on bus tables and shaking their bootys?

 

There are a lot of these. What is it about the "good old days" that you most miss when cruising, and why do you think it disappeared?

 

Whatever happened to people smoking everywhere, even in the dining rooms?

 

Whatever happened to the small staterooms with only tiny a porthole for a view - if you could afford one of those rooms?

 

Whatever happened to men having to wear suits and ties and women having to wear gowns at every evening meal?

 

Whatever happened to only having only one dining room for every meal - breakfast, lunch and dinner?

 

Whatever happened to the limited selection of ships to cruise on?

 

Whatever happened to having very few places you could visit on a cruise ship?

 

Whatever happened to cruising being affordable only to the rich?

 

Whatever happened to ...... - well, you get the picture!

Edited by boogs
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After five cruises in a short period this year, I've come to the realization that much has changed in the cruise industry. Some changes are completely understandable, others are more like "huh?" For example...

 

Whatever happened...to the Passenger Talent Show? This used to be a staple in the 80's and 90's and I never missed it (even participated a time or two). Some were hilarious, others grotesque, and some of the singers were amazing. The modern replacement is karaoke, which I despise.

 

Whatever happened...to the parade of singing waiters bringing in the Flaming Baked Alaska/Cherries Jubilee? This one's easy. I'm sure that modern fire regulations killed the dessert parade..but how dif it morph into a bunch of waiters standing on bus tables and shaking their bootys?

 

There are a lot of these. What is it about the "good old days" that you most miss when cruising, and why do you think it disappeared?

 

As Billy Joel once said, "The good old days weren't always good, and tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems."

 

I'm a very late comer to the world of cruising (just took my first one last month). I missed the "good old days", and while I think there were some things that I missed about them, I like where the industry is now and where it seems to be heading. Well, most of it anyway.

 

As for the passenger talent show, the ship I was on (Carnival Valor) had a variation of this called the "Carnival Legends". Passengers had auditions to play the role of certain famous singers (e.g. Ricky Martin, Garth Brooks) and there was a big show featuring them on the last night. The auditions were held in the room where they had - gasp! - karaoke.

 

My view on this AND passenger talent shows AND singing waiters AND dancing waiters is that I'm impressed by (some) professionals, but amateurs... not so much. Unless they happen to be friends or family.

 

Whatever happened to people smoking everywhere, even in the dining rooms?

 

Whatever happened to the small staterooms with only tiny a porthole for a view - if you could afford one of those rooms?

 

Whatever happened to men having to wear suits and ties and women having to wear gowns at every evening meal?

 

Whatever happened to only having only one dining room for every meal - breakfast, lunch and dinner?

 

Whatever happened to the limited selection of ships to cruise on?

 

Whatever happened to having very few places you could visit on a cruise ship?

 

Whatever happened to cruising being affordable only to the rich?

 

Whatever happened to ...... - well, you get the picture!

 

I'm sure there are ardent supporters of #1 and #3 above, and maybe the others.

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