Boarding before computers

I'm writing some fiction, and a couple of my characters take a cruise....in 1984.

Now adays we print our boarding passes and luggage tags before we even get to port, then they give us our Sign and Sail card for ID and all charges on the ship. I've only taken a few cruises so far, and I have photo albums with keepsakes from our cruise with itinerary, boarding passes, Sign and sail card, port info, photos etc

How was the process in 1984, before everything was computerized? Basically, if you had a cruise memorabilia photo album from 1984, what might be in it? TIA

In 1984, the cruise line mailed boarding passes and luggage tags a few weeks before the cruise. Seems this method continued in to the 2000's.

The cruise card was cardboard and given to you at check in. There was a separate door key. I don't recall any photo id check getting on and off.

In 2007 I cruised with HAL to the Western Caribbean. I was mailed a very nice fabric embroidered 9x5 wallet filled with everything we would now find online in our cruise planner.

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Often you'll see the term "doc dance" on Cruise Critic. That's because, back before everything was electronic, the cruise lines mailed your documents to you.

In a cruise memorabilia scrapbook from 1984? There's a good chance you would have copies of the dinner menus, because I remember getting those up until 1999 or so....

About the door key -- you were expected to turn it back in when your cruise was over. I forgot one of mine, though, in my handbag. No repercussions ....

When my real-live, real-life travel agent handed me my lovely pouch that had my cruise ticket in it, the pouch ALSO contained information on life on the ship, and a thick full-colour brochure of the shore excursions that were available.

I will try to remember the actual process for boarding. But I'm not hopeful on that ;)

The packet also included luggage tags...

We did our first cruise on RCCL in l982, then cruise Princess (then Sitmar) did not cruise on HAL until a few years later, on the Norway... we had a cabin with 3 large windows, kind of a mini suite, my dH had been on the Norway when it was the SS France, he said our cabin was originally the MDR, that was why we had these wonder large windows.

Board was not anything out of the ordinary, do recall visiting St Marrtin on that cruise and the Norway had its own tenders, we off loaded them on the beach, no dock then. It was fun.

How was the process in 1984, before everything was computerized? Basically, if you had a cruise memorabilia photo album from 1984, what might be in it? TIA

It would include paper copy of tickets (with prices , adjusted for inflation, far more $$ than today) ,extra luggage tag or 2, photos of friends/relatives, from the Bon Voyage Party onboard), postcard photo of the ship (from your cabin drawer).

In 2007 I cruised with HAL to the Western Caribbean. I was mailed a very nice fabric embroidered 9x5 wallet filled with everything we would now find online in our cruise planner.

 

 

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Remember the buttons HAL sent out with the docs. Anybody ever wear those?

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Our TA often put together a group. She would have everyone over for drinks to distribute the package with tickets, luggage tags, etc.

our first cruise would have been from Miami in 82 or 83 .. by then end of 85 we'd taken a half dozen - they were all booked at the last minute, and used 3 different lines that I remember (Costa 1, Commodore 4, NCL 1). actually we were being comp'd by a travel agent that owed us money ... the cruise line thought Mrs was a travel agent . .

- we arrived at the terminal with some sort of paper ticket and luggage tags ... the required ID, we used voter registration cards and a military ID (photo).

- you got to an agent at a counter and they checked a list and gave you a key ... a real metal key (later plastic with punched holes .. may have been a ship difference). I don't remember any sort of a cruise card. I don't remember showing anything other than the room key to reboard at a port. {actually in Nassau which I also visited for business, we sometimes put on uniforms and went to the ships and they would let us party on board. Other times we'd meet a ship's officer in town and he'd bring us on board and tell us to stay as long as we liked .... cash bar ...}

- I don't remember giving a credit card for an account but that may have happened {I don't think I HAD a VISA or MC yet!}. Back then the ship bars and stores took cash and we usually paid as we went ...meaning you also tipped as you went and it was easy to establish a relationship with a pool waiter! In retrospect there must have also been an account for shore excursions and the like. This part escapes me ... but dw is an accountant so money issues are moot for me . . .

- I remember ordering wine for the first nite's dinner in the terminal while waiting to board ... big set up .... I think I have a picture

- on most of these cruises we were driven to the port by a friend and he was able to board with us and hang out ... we'd have a couple of drinks poolside until they finally announced "all visitors are now asked to leave the ship. All ashore that's going ashore." {He was also our CFS ... certified ferret sitter }

- in the photo album have one of my invites to the Captain's table for dinner ... hand typed . . . even as a junior officer, wearing a CG uniform on formal night had its benefits as did making the same cruise several times in a year. On our 3rd Commodore trip the Captain introduced me as part of the crew at the Captain's reception and I ended up dancing with ladies who wanted to dance with ship officers. Later one asked him why I had medals and he did not ... and we partied with him in the ports of call .. our next trip my parents came with. Captain let dad and me accompany on his daily inspection. 3 hours, stem to stern .... same as I did when I was a ship Captain (later). My dad freaked .... he was a WWII Merchant Seaman . . .

We started cruising in 1997 and for our first few cruises, like others have said, we got a packet in the mail (or I picked it up at the TA's office if we booked through a TA). It included our tickets, luggage tags, boarding instructions, and the cruise contract. You had to bring the tickets with you to the port. There was a form included that we filled out to indicate how we wanted to pay our on-board charges.

When we boarded, there was always information in the cabin that included envelopes to use for handing out tips on the last night of the cruise. :D There was also a printout of all the shore excursions you could book.

Capt BJ's post reminded me of a couple of things.

I used my driver's license as ID to board. After standing in line to be checked against the passenger list :)

And this

- I remember ordering wine for the first nite's dinner in the terminal while waiting to board ... big set up .... I think I have a picture

reminded me of how often a table of strangers, or a few couples, or couples and singles unknown to each other pre-cruise, would take turns treating the table to wine with dinner. I miss that.

In 2007 I cruised with HAL to the Western Caribbean. I was mailed a very nice fabric embroidered 9x5 wallet filled with everything we would now find online in our cruise planner.

 

 

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Our first cruise was 2003 with Carnival and I seem to recall we also received a "wallet" filled with everything we needed. We only needed a DL for ID to board, even though it was after 9/11. I *think* we had a key card for everything onboard though.

Just dug around my archives and found a photo from our first cruise lol That was our 15th wedding anniversary

our first cruise would have been from Miami in 82 or 83 .. by then end of 85 we'd taken a half dozen - they were all booked at the last minute, and used 3 different lines that I remember (Costa 1, Commodore 4, NCL 1). actually we were being comp'd by a travel agent that owed us money ... the cruise line thought Mrs was a travel agent . .

 

- we arrived at the terminal with some sort of paper ticket and luggage tags ... the required ID, we used voter registration cards and a military ID (photo).

 

- you got to an agent at a counter and they checked a list and gave you a key ... a real metal key (later plastic with punched holes .. may have been a ship difference). I don't remember any sort of a cruise card. I don't remember showing anything other than the room key to reboard at a port. {actually in Nassau which I also visited for business, we sometimes put on uniforms and went to the ships and they would let us party on board. Other times we'd meet a ship's officer in town and he'd bring us on board and tell us to stay as long as we liked .... cash bar ...}

 

 

- I don't remember giving a credit card for an account but that may have happened {I don't think I HAD a VISA or MC yet!}. Back then the ship bars and stores took cash and we usually paid as we went ...meaning you also tipped as you went and it was easy to establish a relationship with a pool waiter! In retrospect there must have also been an account for shore excursions and the like. This part escapes me ... but dw is an accountant so money issues are moot for me . . .

 

- I remember ordering wine for the first nite's dinner in the terminal while waiting to board ... big set up .... I think I have a picture

 

- on most of these cruises we were driven to the port by a friend and he was able to board with us and hang out ... we'd have a couple of drinks poolside until they finally announced "all visitors are now asked to leave the ship. All ashore that's going ashore." {He was also our CFS ... certified ferret sitter }

 

- in the photo album have one of my invites to the Captain's table for dinner ... hand typed . . . even as a junior officer, wearing a CG uniform on formal night had its benefits as did making the same cruise several times in a year. On our 3rd Commodore trip the Captain introduced me as part of the crew at the Captain's reception and I ended up dancing with ladies who wanted to dance with ship officers. Later one asked him why I had medals and he did not ... and we partied with him in the ports of call .. our next trip my parents came with. Captain let dad and me accompany on his daily inspection. 3 hours, stem to stern .... same as I did when I was a ship Captain (later). My dad freaked .... he was a WWII Merchant Seaman . . .

Your photo made me smile. My husband served on the Morgenthau and the Munro.

I'm writing some fiction, and a couple of my characters take a cruise....in 1984.

 

Now adays we print our boarding passes and luggage tags before we even get to port, then they give us our Sign and Sail card for ID and all charges on the ship. I've only taken a few cruises so far, and I have photo albums with keepsakes from our cruise with itinerary, boarding passes, Sign and sail card, port info, photos etc

 

How was the process in 1984, before everything was computerized? Basically, if you had a cruise memorabilia photo album from 1984, what might be in it? TIA

Good luck with your book .If you are not using a major publisher be sure that your book gets a Library Of Congress number.

My first cruise was in 1973. Our TA gave us a voucher to take to the cruise port.A representative from the cruise line took our voucher and we boarded the ship.

The ship did not offer Shore Excursions .There were very few activities on board:shuffleboard and skeet shooting . There were shows every evening with well known entertainers as well as movies.

Aside from getting feedback on CC you can google your question.

I always do a lot of research before writing a book .

Back in the 70s we used to get pretty thick packets from the cruise lines which included leather folders, multi-page tickets, and all kinds of instructions. DW used to complain that it was all so silly...especially when you had at least half a dozen different forms you had to complete and sign before you got to the port. There are still some luxury lines and specific cruises on mass market lines (like the Grand Cruises on HAL) where you do get a large pre-cruise mailing including a nice folder and tickets.

Hank

My first cruises were in 1971/73. Everything onboard was cash. No credit cards. No optional dining, just the MDR with two fixed seatings, including lunch. I believe breakfast was open seating. I believe there were a few excursions offered. There were chimes played over to PA system to signify dinner was served. And yes, back then tipping was standard.

I didn't cruise again until 1999. By then, there might have been a possibility of booking by phone, but most people used travel agents. In 1984, I don't believe anyone could book by phone. There was no buffet, just three meals a day in the MDR. Pools were small, and in 1971/73 you could reserve a deck chair in a set position for $5 for the cruise. No chair hogs...I think there was a place to get pizza late at night. There were more formal nights, and people dressed up. EM

In 2007 I cruised with HAL to the Western Caribbean. I was mailed a very nice fabric embroidered 9x5 wallet filled with everything we would now find online in our cruise planner.

 

 

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Are you still have my HAL wallet

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I started cruising as a kid in the 1970s. Some things that my parents saved as souvenirs from those cruises:

-- photo with the captain from the Welcome Aboard party (he actually shook everyone's hand and posed for a photo).

-- drink coasters and/or matchbooks with the ship logo.

-- a set of menus for the entire cruise.

-- a piece of ribbon or confetti from the sailaway party

-- your name card from your cabin

I'm not sure when they stopped doing it (probably before the mid 1980s), but a one point we also used to get a full directory of the names of all the passengers aboard the sailing.

I'm not the OP but just wanted to thank everyone who's responded to this post, it's been a great read this morning.

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Are you still have my HAL wallet

 

 

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Saved mine with all of the contents. It was only my second cruise and I was really impressed with it.

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We began cruising in 1989 and I remember walking up to the counter where our names were checked off a typed list (passenger manifest), and were handed 2 keys for our cabin. Our Sail & Sign cards were cardboard with our names and cabin number hand printed on them. At the end of the cruise we left our keys on the desk and the steward collected them.

Like another poster, I also remember some of the onboard activities which included skeet shooting and driving golf balls off the top deck.

Photos were taken as we crossed the threshold of the ship; on the door frame above our heads was the name of the ship and the sailing date.

Smooth Sailing ! :) :) :)

My husband served on the Morgenthau and the Munro.

I was Captain of MUNRO from June 2000 til July 03 .... we operated from Alameda CA

for him - MUNRO in Kodiak 2002

Trivia: because this ship's namesake replacement is being built now and will enter service with THIS ship is still in service, this one was recently renamed DOUGLAS MUNRO, a new "national security cutter" MUNRO is expected to be delivered next year.

My first cruise was in 1988. I don't remember separate keys for the cabin door, but maybe it's because we had too much fun on that cruise. I do remember passengers being able to shoot skeet and golf balls off the back of the ship. Anytime dining had yet to be invented. Vegetables were served by the waiters instead of being put on the plates in the galley. I remember tossing paper streamers at sailaway.

Our first cruise was a back-to-back out of San Juan for 14 days. We got 2 separate thick packet of tickets, information, etc.

We were on the Cunard Princess -- no stabilizers. Near the front desk was a stand with all the names of the passengers and cabin numbers. We couldn't board until 4 PM -- had to stay in an unconditioned terminal. When we checked in we were each given a key for the cabin door and paper ID cards.

Yup -- open seating for breakfast, but fixed seating for lunch and dinner. There wasn't any Lido or alternative restaurants. Cunard did set up a table on one of the lower back open decks early in the morning for coffee and pastries for a couple of hours before the dining room opened.

Also in those packets were tiny booklets that had a few shore excursions which could only be booked once on the ship. No safes in the cabin but some cabins had a key locked drawer. Otherwise you went to either the front desk or a small room nearby during certain times for safety deposit boxes.