Mariner Mike

For those of you who may or may not remember...

Sometime around '82 the Skyward was refitted with stabilizers. When I was on the ship in '81 there were no stabilizers. I distinctly remember having the early dinner seating when the ship first sailed from Miami. We were in the dining room and the vibrations from the engine not only shook the ship, but rebounded off the bay floor to FURTHER shimmy the ship. I was getting sicker and sicker and the ship hadn't even hit the open waters. Thankfully, that vibration was gone as soon as the ship exited the bay and I was fine the rest of the ship.

In '83, when the Skyward had stabilizers, we hit very rough seas. The ship was very small and...well, the tiny ship was tough, if not for the courage of the fearle...wait, that was the three hour tour we had taken out of Hawaii. Where was I? Oh yes, we hit rough seas trying to get into some port so the captain took the ship WAY out of the way (the Caribbean is way bigger than you think) and we wound up headint north to Nassau. However, getting there was the adventure.

Back then, the ships moved enough (even with stabilizers) that the halls by the rooms all had handrails. The crew slipped airsick bags in that rail, across the ship. And, above the railing, where the wall met the ceiling, the crew strung ropes. Yes, ropes. They were expecting rougher seas than they were letting on.

I vividly remember sitting at the back of the lounge for the show (facing forward I think) and every time a monster wave hit, the ship severely pitched and every last passenger groaned as they rose up and crashed down. That night, after the show, my dad and I were the only non-crewmembers walking the ship. The movement didn't bother me and my dad needed a cigarette. They did have the midnight bufett, but it was really small and there were only a dozen people who showed up.

Yeah, the big ships with stabilizers are very different.

Oh, and here's another treat. Those last pics were from January 1981. Here are two from January 1983 when the ship was "redecorated" for the Yucatan itinerary. Not only did they put up cheesy decorations, but they built temporary sets for themed shows. One night they brought in local traditional dancers to perform by the fake pyramid assembled on the deck. And, of course, the dinner menus were specially set up to have meals that matched the local "cuisine"...the way Americans may have imagined it in 1983.

I'm late to this post, but I just found it so...excuses. I, with my grandparents, parents, and brothers were on the Skyward in January of 81 and then again in 83 (My brothers and I were between 9 and 17 and were the only kids on the ship for the first cruise and just three of 4 kids for the second). In 81 it was still doing the same San Juan, St. Thomas, Cape Hatien, and Puerto Plata ininerary. The next year NCL experimented by opening up the unique and unvisited (at the time) yucatan including Cancun, Cozumel, Playa Del Carmen, and another port I don't remember (Grand Caymens maybe?) because weather diverted us and we wound up in Nassau. We loved the hanging chairs and, while too young to gamble, I snuck into the slot machine closet (yea, it was small) enough times to make 10 bucks (which was the world to me back then). I do know that between 81 and 83 the slot machine closet was converted to a logod merchandise store/closet, and the card/game room (starboard side, Atlantic deck I think???) was reset at a casino with slots and two or three tables. A couple weeks ago I had my pictures from those cruises digitized, so I'm going to share with you all pics of those things you were all talking about...and a treat, one of the wall hangings from the stairwells.