Carla C who remembers her !!

Glad to hear from you!

Here is a link on facebook if anyone who used to work on the Carla C would like to join. Would be nice to see what everyone is doing now!

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001675846971#!/profile.php?id=100001675846971&v=wall

The "Carla C" was originally a French Line ship in transatlantic service. She was the first new ship for the French Line after WWII and served alongside the "Liberte" and the "Ile de France". On her maiden voyage to New York she lost power upon entering New York Harbor and had to be towed in to port. It was a great embarrasment to the very proud French. As a result she was nicknamed "Flounder". In the 60's she was the "Princess Carla" and did 3 and 4 day cruises from Los Angeles to Mexico for the fledgling Princess Cruises. We sailed on her as the Carla C in the 70's out of San Juan. She was originally a 3 class ship and her decks were choppy. She also had a lot of formica paneling on the walls that made her look a bit tacky but Costa line was a lot of fun and we enjoyed the Italian crew and atmosphere.

I only wish we could hop a jet down to san Juan to get on the Carl C .We had a great time on her .better then the new ships of today .There was more great feeling on the Carl C .Costa is just not the same anymor .

 

Mr veendam

Oh yes I agree! 1974

The "Carla C" was originally a French Line ship in transatlantic service. She was the first new ship for the French Line after WWII and served alongside the "Liberte" and the "Ile de France". On her maiden voyage to New York she lost power upon entering New York Harbor and had to be towed in to port. It was a great embarrasment to the very proud French. As a result she was nicknamed "Flounder". In the 60's she was the "Princess Carla" and did 3 and 4 day cruises from Los Angeles to Mexico for the fledgling Princess Cruises. We sailed on her as the Carla C in the 70's out of San Juan. She was originally a 3 class ship and her decks were choppy. She also had a lot of formica paneling on the walls that made her look a bit tacky but Costa line was a lot of fun and we enjoyed the Italian crew and atmosphere.

Quite a history

I was on Carla C in 1983 about 5 weeks before the invasion of grenada, had a blast, I was one of about 50 people from singleworld, I had just moved to texas the year before so this was my 1st cruise that was not from nyc, we had a great beach party on Grenda with the ton of booze an beer.

What a riot! I too cruised with Singleworld! My first cruise! I had a blast! My assigned room mate was from Kentucky. We kept in touch for a while but stopped.

We had the best time ever! The Singleworld escort was wonderful! He made our trip! I had traveled alone a lot but my room mate was on her very first trip traveling alone!

I was on Carla C in 1983 about 5 weeks before the invasion of grenada, had a blast, I was one of about 50 people from singleworld, I had just moved to texas the year before so this was my 1st cruise that was not from nyc, we had a great beach party on Grenda with the ton of booze an beer.

I did about 20 cruises on Singleworld all with a single room. They had some great hosts, even asked my then girlfiend to marry me on a singleworld cruise. Stopped using them in 1990 since we got married in 1991.

Oh man Carla C! My first cruise. I was just a little kid back then but I remember her fondly. I would LOVE to see some pics of her interior. Bring back memories!

I sailed on Carla C 4 times in the 1980s. Had a great time each time. She was a FUN ship.

Is this her? This is a film capture from a 1981 Movie Absence of Malice (filmed in 1980 in Miami)

EDIT: Now that I looked closer it looks more like the Flavia

Our honeymoon cruise was on the Carla C leaving from San Juan on May 18, 1974. It was a wonderful cruise, and the ship was perfectly reliable (at least that one time...)

is this her? This is a film capture from a 1981 movie absence of malice (filmed in 1980 in miami)

 

 

 

edit: Now that i looked closer it looks more like the flavia

wow!

Wow this thread brings back memories! My first cruise, I was 13 and we were stopped by soldiers with guns in Grenada by the time we got back to the US there was a full fledged invasion.:eek:

Loved the Italian waiters, the Baked Alaska parade. So fun! Thanks for the trip down memory lane.:rolleyes:

After seeing the recent tip over of a Costa ship I thought about the Carla Costa as was sad to read she was destroyed by fire.

My wife and I flew from Logan to Kennedy to San Juan. It was my wifes 1st cruise. We met many wonderful people who were interesting and kind. We had a wonderful group of people at our dinner table.

I remember smuggling some local beer and alcohol from of the islands on board, sharing it with our table. We hired a limo driver Mario Valente along with an older couple and spent a wonderful day in Caracas.

We visited a salt plantation and an old man's house in Curacao. In Grenada we swam, did the rum boat thing and bought spice baskets from the locals. We still have one!!

They had spagetti western night, toga night, and a bunch of fun things. I remember you had to walk down a mirrored starcase to the dining room. I remember that they put everything in Jello!!

We didn't have much money then and we didn't know about tipping everyone. On one of our last nights my wife found a quater in her bag and put in a slot machine and won something like $75 and everyone got a tip.l Of course it was maybe 1988 then???

I remember the inside cabin being so small it had mini chairs in it like they may of been made for Snow Whites Dwarfs. I would do sit ups in the room every morning. My feet were in the shower/bathroom and my head was aginst the desk.

The itenerary was awesome. We were on an inside cabin a floor down from where there was music playing in the lounge. It was near where you got the pizza I think. The band only new maybe 3 songs and they played them over and over again. We could hear it in our cabin and would laugh.

This was our honeymoon cruise so everything made us happy. I must confess we took 2 towels with the Costa logo on them and we still have them. We put them over a table in our den when we put snacks out in front of the TV.

We have many fond memories of the Carla Costa!

Best Wishes to all.

I loved reading this! I cruised with SingleWorld out of NYC. Best cruise of my life! I still have three little spice baskets!

After seeing the recent tip over of a Costa ship I thought about the Carla Costa as was sad to read she was destroyed by fire.

 

My wife and I flew from Logan to Kennedy to San Juan. It was my wifes 1st cruise. We met many wonderful people who were interesting and kind. We had a wonderful group of people at our dinner table.

 

I remember smuggling some local beer and alcohol from of the islands on board, sharing it with our table. We hired a limo driver Mario Valente along with an older couple and spent a wonderful day in Caracas.

 

We visited a salt plantation and an old man's house in Curacao. In Grenada we swam, did the rum boat thing and bought spice baskets from the locals. We still have one!!

 

They had spagetti western night, toga night, and a bunch of fun things. I remember you had to walk down a mirrored starcase to the dining room. I remember that they put everything in Jello!!

 

We didn't have much money then and we didn't know about tipping everyone. On one of our last nights my wife found a quater in her bag and put in a slot machine and won something like $75 and everyone got a tip.l Of course it was maybe 1988 then???

 

I remember the inside cabin being so small it had mini chairs in it like they may of been made for Snow Whites Dwarfs. I would do sit ups in the room every morning. My feet were in the shower/bathroom and my head was aginst the desk.

 

The itenerary was awesome. We were on an inside cabin a floor down from where there was music playing in the lounge. It was near where you got the pizza I think. The band only new maybe 3 songs and they played them over and over again. We could hear it in our cabin and would laugh.

 

This was our honeymoon cruise so everything made us happy. I must confess we took 2 towels with the Costa logo on them and we still have them. We put them over a table in our den when we put snacks out in front of the TV.

 

We have many fond memories of the Carla Costa!

 

Best Wishes to all.

Ah, yes - the Carla C. :eek: The ship that almost cured me of cruises! Maybe I'm not much of a cruising fan - but our cruise in 1978 almost kept me from ever doing it again. My wife and I went from San Juan to Venezuela, ABC, Trinidad, etc. Imagine my bemusement to read that the ship burned up when I Googled all the other Costa disasters. Although the weather was great, can't say I remember much about the food, the service, or the comfort... meaning they weren't great by any means. Of course, one of my other cruising ships was the Fantom (Barefoot Windjammer), but I'll bet some of you out there know what happened to it. The BW cruises (also sailed on the Flying Cloud the next year) were great, though - much more casual and relaxed than the Costa cruise. Too bad they are out of business - I'd love to do another cruise like those. Maybe someday soon I'll charter a sailboat in the BVI - that's on the bucket list!

Have you looked into Windstar Cruises,kind of similar to Flying Cloud

Ah, yes - the Carla C. :eek: The ship that almost cured me of cruises! Maybe I'm not much of a cruising fan - but our cruise in 1978 almost kept me from ever doing it again. My wife and I went from San Juan to Venezuela, ABC, Trinidad, etc. Imagine my bemusement to read that the ship burned up when I Googled all the other Costa disasters. Although the weather was great, can't say I remember much about the food, the service, or the comfort... meaning they weren't great by any means. Of course, one of my other cruising ships was the Fantom (Barefoot Windjammer), but I'll bet some of you out there know what happened to it. The BW cruises (also sailed on the Flying Cloud the next year) were great, though - much more casual and relaxed than the Costa cruise. Too bad they are out of business - I'd love to do another cruise like those. Maybe someday soon I'll charter a sailboat in the BVI - that's on the bucket list!

Carla 'C' was my first ship. I worked on her in 1982 from april. Great time ,Lovely people and I fell in love with her. I worked in the casino with 6 other Brits. We joined her just at the start of the Falklands war and were not able to go ashore in Caracas as they were allies of Argentina. So we met up with a lot of other cruise ships and had a party every Monday! I had to go into the city once to get my visa renewed and ran the gauntlet of demos against Margaret Thatcher, burning the British flag and effigies of her. Scary times!

That was also the year Italy won the world cup and the whole crew jumped into the pool! Captain was Aldo Nardini , whom we nicknamed Big Al,and purser was Atillio Cesar who is still working for Costa as he was featured on a National Geographic documentary.

I remember the rude Italian wordsI learned to make the sailors backoff as we had to use the crew gangway to go ashore. Wonderful memories .

HA ... I believe I was on the same cruise with you! We missed Granada ... some little invasion there, I believe ... and went to St. Vincent instead. We walked around this small island and noticed people had no doors or windows on their homes, but it seemed every house had a goat tied up in the front yard. Great cruise ...

OH YES! I do remember Carla C. She was my first cruise around 1980. As a single college aged guy traveling alone, I found I was not alone for long! So strange that she actually felt large to me at the time. Today she would fit in the engine room of the Oasis of the Seas. I do remember the song----CCC Si Si Carla C.....

I also remember the Carla C, was my second cruise, but the first one that I remember, because my first was a TA to Europe when I was two y/o. I had so much fun at the Carla, the food was incredible, the best soufflé and bake alaska I ever had on a cruise. I also had so much fun at the toga party the had the last night of the cruise:)

Oh yes, I remember her often and fondly after all these years. I was 20 years old in October 1980 when I took my first cruise aboard the Carla C out of San Juan to the Eastern and Southern Caribbean. I've taken many cruises since then, but I still find myself singing that happy song today. Glad to know there are others who have great memories of her too.

Did anyone ever envision the mega ships of today 30 years ago? I sure didn't.

The mega ships offer no service like the Carla C. Years ago the service was incredible! now even in a suite it is like basic tourist class! Carla C was all first class!

Oh yes, I remember her often and fondly after all these years. I was 20 years old in October 1980 when I took my first cruise aboard the Carla C out of San Juan to the Eastern and Southern Caribbean. I've taken many cruises since then, but I still find myself singing that happy song today. Glad to know there are others who have great memories of her too.

 

Did anyone ever envision the mega ships of today 30 years ago? I sure didn't.

Let me tell you how great the Cara C was we have been on 76 cruises all over the world since 1981 ..But i remember the cruise on her back in july 4th cruise 1982 as if it was yesterday ! Oh by the way the first time we ever flow to the cruise !! And we love that fact that all the pools were on the stern !! So you could see and feel like you were on the ocean !! But when Costa got the meager ship"s and when Carnival took them over they are more or lest a European version of Carnival !! Just not the same :(:(:(:(