CruisinSinceAge5

I flew down to Miami for the parties the week SOA was christened. It was my future husband’s intro to my world of cruising. My father who passed away in 2022 was one of the last living modern cruise industry pioneers. 
The reason the Viking Crown wasn’t removed when it was sold was that, unlike with the previous 3 ships, it was so much larger that its removal would make the ship structurally unsound. Enjoy your poster. 

On 4/10/2021 at 11:54 AM, norboy76 said:

I see the Nordic Price was scrapped in Alang India 2015, and she went under a few names:

Nordic Prince, Carousel, Aquamarine, Arielle, Ocean Star pacific, Pacific. She sailed from 1971 - 2015.

I only have a couple of items from the Nordic Prince. 

 

I have lots of the glassware as well as ashtrays, plates, etc. Great memories.

On 12/19/2009 at 11:16 AM, Bimmer09 said:

My first cruising experience was on the Song of Norway in August 1985

when I did 12 back to back cruises on her. Then in March 86 I began a run of 32 cruises, this time with Labadee added to the itinerary of Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman and Cozumel.

 

I was a musician on board so the cruises were free!

 

Unlike many of the crew (deck crew, waiters etc) I was in a position to mingle with the passengers and I don't recall hearing any complaints from them over such a long time span. They were having the time of their lives it seemed and many were repeaters.

 

I was very impressed by the food and service in the MDR where myself and my colleagues were served. Even though our three tables were non-tipping the waiters assigned there acted otherwise. Back then guests paid the tips on their last evening aboard and had comment cards to grade service in all areas of the ship (including the musicians) and a waiter with a low score would find himself working as a busboy the following trip or find himself serving us. This dip in his income (they were all male) would make him strive to regain his former status. As the Dining Room manager-a wonderful guy called Roberto- had his small office next to our table he was there to see, first hand, that his staff were offering the same service to us as the guests were to expect.

 

There were themed nights in the MDR- I recall Italian night with the waiters in red hooped tee shirts and straw boaters singing O Sole Mio;

French night had them in blue hooped shirts and berets, with members of the Polish dance band walking among the tables playing accordians and Caribbean night with the bar waiters dancing through the room spinning their trays. The guests loved these fun touches as did I. There was a midnight buffet that looked just like the photos in the brochure and wowed the guests. ( I have a copy of the RCCL brochure from 86 which gets the whole fleet of 4 ships into one booklet).

 

The staff on board were all of the same mind in my long experience-they were all upbeat, happy to be working there as part of a well -lead team

and it showed in their interaction with the guests.

 

The CD I remember most fondly was Greg Maxwell a jovial and very witty

Australian. Does anyone recall sailing with him?

 

I could go on and on but as this is my first post on CC I'll stop here.

 

I just wanted to stop by and salute what was a wonderful old ship made even better by the people I was fortunate to work with for so long.

 

Bimmer09 (who alas has ZERO cruises planned but I am working on it!!)

Do you remember Alexander Butterfield? He was an entertainer from that era. His shows were reminiscent of Engelbert or Tom Jones. 

On 12/19/2009 at 11:16 AM, Bimmer09 said:

My first cruising experience was on the Song of Norway in August 1985

when I did 12 back to back cruises on her. Then in March 86 I began a run of 32 cruises, this time with Labadee added to the itinerary of Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman and Cozumel.

 

I was a musician on board so the cruises were free!

 

Unlike many of the crew (deck crew, waiters etc) I was in a position to mingle with the passengers and I don't recall hearing any complaints from them over such a long time span. They were having the time of their lives it seemed and many were repeaters.

 

I was very impressed by the food and service in the MDR where myself and my colleagues were served. Even though our three tables were non-tipping the waiters assigned there acted otherwise. Back then guests paid the tips on their last evening aboard and had comment cards to grade service in all areas of the ship (including the musicians) and a waiter with a low score would find himself working as a busboy the following trip or find himself serving us. This dip in his income (they were all male) would make him strive to regain his former status. As the Dining Room manager-a wonderful guy called Roberto- had his small office next to our table he was there to see, first hand, that his staff were offering the same service to us as the guests were to expect.

 

There were themed nights in the MDR- I recall Italian night with the waiters in red hooped tee shirts and straw boaters singing O Sole Mio;

French night had them in blue hooped shirts and berets, with members of the Polish dance band walking among the tables playing accordians and Caribbean night with the bar waiters dancing through the room spinning their trays. The guests loved these fun touches as did I. There was a midnight buffet that looked just like the photos in the brochure and wowed the guests. ( I have a copy of the RCCL brochure from 86 which gets the whole fleet of 4 ships into one booklet).

 

The staff on board were all of the same mind in my long experience-they were all upbeat, happy to be working there as part of a well -lead team

and it showed in their interaction with the guests.

 

The CD I remember most fondly was Greg Maxwell a jovial and very witty

Australian. Does anyone recall sailing with him?

 

I could go on and on but as this is my first post on CC I'll stop here.

 

I just wanted to stop by and salute what was a wonderful old ship made even better by the people I was fortunate to work with for so long.

 

Bimmer09 (who alas has ZERO cruises planned but I am working on it!!)

You may remember Jesus Moreno and his band from RCCL 1970s and 1980s. He lives back in Spain and twice a year still calls my father to say hello. Dad is almost 95 and one of the few remaining cruise industry pioneers still

living. Jesus was such a talented musician and a lot of fun. Great memories from growing up

in that industry. 

4 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Possessing unique items from specific sailings or items that mark a significant event in a ship's or cruise company's history is important to collectors.  For me, to know that I received such because I was a part of that particular cruise or marking a historical event for the company makes the item more dear to me.  

 

You are fortunate to have such  items in your collection.  

Yes, each has a great deal of meaning. 

I posted this in response to a question in another forum but it applies here:

My first cruise was 1964/65 onboard the Nili out of Miami for a 3-4 day cruise followed by Nordic Prince, Sun Viking, Song of America, Sovereign of the Seas, Windstar, Sea Escape, Century, Regatta, Nautica, Insignia, Marina, World Explorer, and many, many others. A total of 52 cruises. Looking forward to the cancelled ones we’ve rebooked during this pandemic. 

On 5/18/2015 at 11:16 AM, macnicol said:

Our cruise did go to Aruba, we have the pictures and remember clearly swimming on the beautiful beaches with water that was a warm as bath water.:)

 

Went back to Aruba 2 years ago spring as our last port on a Panama Canal cruise from LA to Ft. Lauderdale and was very disappointed as we took an excursion to a "resort island" that turned out to be a small sandbar offshore of a beer brewery. It was a local holiday and the place was too crowded with no place to sit on the limited beaches and the beaches were covered by rocks underwater making it very difficult to wade without turning an ankle or falling down.:mad:

 

Do you recall the name of the Cruise Director on the Nordic Prince at that time? He was very good and set the bar high for later Cruise Directors for us on other cruises.:D

I sailed on the Nordic Prince maiden voyage in late July 1971 - it was my fav ship for many years. It was a two week itinerary. Was Tony the CD and his wife the hostess (Shari?). Went again in July 1973. Also in 1985 on one of two honeymoon cruises. The suites in those days had numbers (deck 😎 and also prints of old ships in the suite itself  and we found the print of the ship Lightning that hung in our suite in a store in Alexandria, VA and it still hangs in our home.

In the early years of RCCL each passenger received a VERY large stem glass (imagine huge red wine stem) during the maiden voyages with the ship’s name and date; I still have Song of Norway, Nordic Prince, Sun Viking, etc. Passengers also received glass ashtrays or glassware sets as souvenirs with the crown and anchor. I have these as well. Another unique piece was a diamond/platinum crown and anchor pendant designed by the original owners for the 10th anniversary celebration and only about a dozen were made and gifted.

A piece of trivia: the bottle of champagne now known as a Sovereign contains 35 standard bottles of champagne. It was created for the christening or naming ceremony of the Sovereign of the Seas and was manufactured by Taittinger. Only 10 were made. One was kept on display onboard the Sovereign and I’m assuming that RCI kept it for their archives; 2 broke; 1 was used at the ceremony; I’m sure Taittinger kept one. 

On 1/7/2021 at 12:46 PM, pe4all said:

Definitely was real.  Did it on my first cruise in '84.

My sister and I did skeet shooting and golf every year on RCCL - Nordic Prince and Sun Viking - as far back as 1971.

On 3/18/2007 at 8:47 PM, Philly Steve said:

I had the pleasure of cruising her when she was known as MS Carousel and sailed for Sun Cruises. We did the southern Caribbean and our fellow passengers were mostly from the Uk. I wonder why, unlike the former Song of America, her Viking Crown Lounge did not survive.

On 3/18/2007 at 8:47 PM, Philly Steve said:

I had the pleasure of cruising her when she was known as MS Carousel and sailed for Sun Cruises. We did the southern Caribbean and our fellow passengers were mostly from the Uk. I wonder why, unlike the former Song of America, her Viking Crown Lounge did not survive.

When each of the first three RCCL ships were sold the Viking Crown lounge was removed because it was such a symbol of the cruise line that they didn’t want it associated with any other company. When SOA was sold it couldn’t be removed because the ship would not be structurally viable. The crown on SOA was much larger.

On 8/29/2020 at 3:17 PM, rkacruiser said:

 

Sovereign of the Seas was transferred from Royal Caribbean to Pullmantur which was a Company under the Royal Caribbean International umbrella.  Not sure that would be considered a new "purchaser".  

The reason that the lounge was not removed from the SOA when it was sold was that it structurally could not be removed without damaging the viability of the ship. 

On 8/23/2020 at 4:06 PM, rkacruiser said:

 

I didn't find it, but a friend found at a church's thrift shop an old candy tin from the Queen Mary.  It's part of my collection now.

 

Flea markets and churchs' thrift shops are good places to go looking for memorabilia.  Unused baggage tags and a glass mug from Tourist Class on Queen Elizabeth are a couple of things that I have found.  

 

 

You have me wondering if my memory is correct about the Carter's connection with Song of America.  I was not aware that there was a connection to the Sovereign of the Seas.  

Rosalynn Carter was the godmother of Sovereign and they sailed on the maiden voyage. 

Beverly Sills, the opera star, was the godmother of the Song of America. It cruised as part of RCCL only until 1999 when it became Sunbird. I believe it is still cruising in Europe as part of Louis Cruises under another name.The Viking Crown lounge, now referred to as sky lounge in many articles, was not removed when it was sold as had been done with its sister ships. The lounge of the SOA was the first one to be completely circular and was higher than in the past. Enjoy!

I have no idea about private messaging. If you provide your email I’m happy to reach out to you.

I’ve got a lot of info from the 70s and 80s - my father was an executive who helped found and ran one of the largest F&B cruise companies in the world. I’d be happy to speak with you.

The six of us who took the Koh Samui tour were pleasantly surprised. We thought that it would be what we call “ a throwaway port” yet we had a fantastic day. The tour guide we had made it very pleasant. Whilst I wold agree that it’s not a picturesque island paradise all of the things we did were interesting and fun.

tks@tourskohsamui.com

Hi ruisin

great info

 

do you have contact info?

 

I think we're good for HCMC' date=' Nha Trang and Bangkok

but the others

 

appreciate it[/quote']

 

 

For Cambodia: www.sihanoukvilleguideservice.com

and the email is walberermanfred@gmail.com

For Ha Long Bay: for junk - thanh@indochina-junk.com

Saigon 2 days - dungzoom@gmail.com

Koh Samui - tks@tourskohsamui.com

Hue/Da Nang - Tommys Tours - tommyxuanha@gmail.com

Hope this helps.

 

Fantastic tour. We did a private tour with Zoom. Make sure that if you book him you tell him that you don’t want anyone but him as the guide.

We just cruised Singapore to Hong Kong for 16 days in February and on 2 of the 4 days at sea it was quite choppy. I’ve taken 48 cruises and I’m rarely bothered by choppy seas and this time found that going to bed early and lounging in the morning was a plus to deal with it. I think it’s just luck. Be sure and get a midship stateroom.

We were there in February for 2 days. On day 1 did the junk tour but didn’t overnight, didn’t think it was needed and we all agreed that that was the better option. No hassles of bringing a bag, etc. on Day 2 took the only ship’s tour to Hanoi because it was too far to go via private tour and risk missing the ship.

On junk tour went to Sung Sot caves- one of the 7 natural wonders. Simply amazing - breathtaking.

We just returned from a 16 day Singapore to Hong Kong cruise on Oceania. I organized private tours for almost every port except a day trip to Hanoi. We took some of the tours with 2-3 couples we met on cruise critic and had a blast. EVERY single tour was perfect which is a rare occurrence. We visited Singapore, Koh Samui, Bangkok, Cambodia, multiple ports in Vietnam and HK. I’m happy to share details. I just posted details about our tour in Koh Samui and will be posting about each tour this week.

Singapore - hop on, hop off bus; plus visit to Long Bar for a Singapore Sling at Raffles, lunch in the courtyard at Raffles.

Bangkok - Tours with Tong - she takes a while to respond but 2 days of great tours; one in the city and one to train and floating markets which was a great experience.

Sihanoukville - tuktuk tour by AYA; not a lot to see but it was worth the price

Saigon - book early as he’s a one man show - Zoom - excellent 2 day tour - city tour and amazing Mekong Delta tour - fantastic lunches included

Hue/Da Nang - loved the tour guide - My Son Land and walked around Hoi An - a perfect day - Tommy Tours

Ha Long Bay - private junk boat tour to Sung Sot caves - a not to miss experience - one of the 7 natural wonders of the world - a great day

Hanoi - ship’s tour; it’s too far to go on your own; our bus arrived over an hour late because of traffic but ship had to wait since it was a ship tour

Hong Kong - hop on hop off bus; stayed at Island Shangri La Hotel - a perfect ending to a perfect cruise.

Check with Tours by Tong. She’s slow to respond but we just did a 2 day tour and it was excellent. Ask her for a bid.