Do you remember? Celebrity Nostalgia

[TroubleT]

I just used this quote on another thread about forgetting or remembering a certain experience on a Celebrity cruise from ten to twenty years ago.

Do you have pictures or memorabilia from a Celebrity cruise in the 90's or just a picture of an event that will help us remember the old days... (Please, this is not meant to be another attack on Celebrity or "Modern Luxury" but a stroll down memory lane).

 

Arno,

 

Great thread! Kind of bitter sweet, but brings back good memories. We started cruising after 2000, but if you look at the pics below - what a difference! And it was less than 10 years ago! For those who don't miss the Gala Buffet:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And remember a complementary cake? It was amazing (in 2005)! Just one year later Celebrity substituted that cake with something "icky" and was charging $25 for the "original" cake.

 

Edited April 13, 2014 by TroubleT

[Kirsten T]

Our first cruise, on our 10th anniversary, was Century to the Eastern Caribbean. Fast-forward to this past January - while on Equinox, we were thinking back to the dinner time live music from the top of the MDR's grand stairway, the exclusively male waitstaff and sommeliers, and the time USAir lost the bag with the "informal" dinner outfits, which meant on nights designated Informal, we felt decidedly under-dressed. We decided we missed the music, but not the rest.

 

Anyone with Amazon Prime can have a nostalgic evening by searching for "cruising Bermuda" - there's a video named "A Doug Jones Travelog - Cruising To Bermuda" featuring Horizon and a whole lot of "OMG - did we really wear stuff like that???" moments. Horizon, (and Zenith, Galaxy and Mercury) you're gone but not forgotten. :)

Edited April 13, 2014 by Kirsten T

[wvufan]

Remember Happy Happy?

 

Great thread-will look for some old photos in a day or two.

 

OOOEEE :D:D Bob and Phyl

[mylove]

Loving this thread.....oh the memories.

[duck512]

I remember the afternoon sorbet march where the servers would appear with full suits and white gloves and serve sorbet on the pool deck in the afternoon.

[wallie5446]

Still learning this picture posting thing. The baked Alaska parade.

[wallie5446]

And when my kids and the wifester were still wide at the sight of a cruise ship.

Sailing on the MV Zenith in 1993.

[Texed]

I don't know but I'll bet it has something to do with waffles...

 

Not this time! ;)

 

Nikki was hired away from Celebrity for a while by a guy from Houston to be his personal butler because the man was so impressed with Nikki as a butler when he sailed on Celebrity. And one of the perks Nikki received was a car, a Mercedes. Well, to shorten the story, Nikki SMASHED it. :D

[Loracpin2]

Flaming Crepe Suzettes and Cherries Jubilee made tableside!!!!

[Mapleleaf5]

That's Mark! Love his voice. I think he's the best singer/entertainer at sea. Thanks for posting that photo. Awww, the memories and the good ol' days!

 

He was on the Royal Princess this past October.

 

Joanne

[virginialucy]

I only started cruising last year, but before my first cruise I came across this essay:

http://harpers.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/HarpersMagazine-1996-01-0007859.pdf

 

I always think of this whenever I read posts about the good old days on Celebrity. I think some of the things are a bit over the top (was it really necessary to have TWO crew members escort people to their cabin?) but some things might be nice if they made a comeback (flambeed desserts in the MDR maybe, although I could see that being a fire hazard.)

[CathyCruises]

You guys are all a bunch of babes in the woods! I started cruising in 1982 on the then-12 year old Norwegian Southward, 16000 tons. A true rust bucket compared to ships of today. We paid $995 for a guarantee inside cabin that was miniscule. We had our 4 month old daughter with us. Let me tell you, it was like a Motel 6 compared to a cruise on an S class ship today.

 

I also sailed on the maiden voyage of the Galaxy, a gorgeous ship at the time. Many other cruises on just about every cruiseline from the Marco Polo (:eek:) to Crystal (:D).

 

There are just as many BAD things about the good ol' days as there are good things--for what we pay today, cruising is a huge bargain, especially in light of all the amenities and the luxurious surroundings.

 

I for one am thrilled that there are no more hokey Baked Alaska parades!!

[daisymay1960]

You guys are all a bunch of babes in the woods! I started cruising in 1982 on the then-12 year old Norwegian Southward, 16000 tons. A true rust bucket compared to ships of today. We paid $995 for a guarantee inside cabin that was miniscule. We had our 4 month old daughter with us. Let me tell you, it was like a Motel 6 compared to a cruise on an S class ship today.

 

I also sailed on the maiden voyage of the Galaxy, a gorgeous ship at the time. Many other cruises on just about every cruiseline from the Marco Polo (:eek:) to Crystal (:D).

 

There are just as many BAD things about the good ol' days as there are good things--for what we pay today, cruising is a huge bargain, especially in light of all the amenities and the luxurious surroundings.

 

I for one am thrilled that there are no more hokey Baked Alaska parades!!

 

That must have been quite a lot of money then . Does anyone know what that would translate into today's money? Or for that matter what these previous quoted cruises cost then

[upwarduk]

'Jane Anne McDonald is a British singer, actress, media personality and broadcaster, who rose to fame after her appearance on the BBC show The Cruise. '

 

This was how I was introduced to Celebrity Cruises.

The series was filmed on the Galaxy.

Did anyone see Jane sign live?

We sailed on a TA on the Galaxy in 2005, but had left well before then.

[dkjretired]

Not this time! ;)

 

Nikki was hired away from Celebrity for a while by a guy from Houston to be his personal butler because the man was so impressed with Nikki as a butler when he sailed on Celebrity. And one of the perks Nikki received was a car, a Mercedes. Well, to shorten the story, Nikki SMASHED it. :D

 

Good story....

[drfun48]

Must have been the ships...

in the "old days" it was much easier to climb the stairs,they must have been smaller,I was one of the youngest people,that was nice ,now I'm one of the oldest and in those days I don't remember having to use the restrooms as often,they seem further apart too.

[dkjretired]

You guys are all a bunch of babes in the woods! I started cruising in 1982 on the then-12 year old Norwegian Southward, 16000 tons. A true rust bucket compared to ships of today. We paid $995 for a guarantee inside cabin that was miniscule. We had our 4 month old daughter with us. Let me tell you, it was like a Motel 6 compared to a cruise on an S class ship today.

 

I also sailed on the maiden voyage of the Galaxy, a gorgeous ship at the time. Many other cruises on just about every cruiseline from the Marco Polo (:eek:) to Crystal (:D).

 

There are just as many BAD things about the good ol' days as there are good things--for what we pay today, cruising is a huge bargain, especially in light of all the amenities and the luxurious surroundings.

 

I for one am thrilled that there are no more hokey Baked Alaska parades!!

 

Here is one of those bad things. In 1994 Celebrity had a legionnaires disease outbreak on the Horizon in which people died. Was all over the news then.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/20/nyregion/ship-is-evacuated-to-be-disinfected-for-legionnaires.html

[C 2 C]

Here is one of those bad things. In 1994 Celebrity had a legionnaires disease outbreak on the Horizon in which people died. Was all over the news then.

 

 

Many passengers got sick but only one passenger died. Tragic event related to the whirlpool but not widespread death.

 

http://www.oginski-law.com/news/193-million-awarded-to-celebrity-cruise-line-for-outbreak-of-legionnaires-disease-20060630.cfm

[hcat]

Lots of nice pictures,,,,and good memories....the harpist, crepes table side , baked alaska....grand buffet, sorbet.....real T pools Our older photos are in albums so can't post them...but will look through for other memories

 

Our first Celebrity cruise was on Mercury...at that time sleekest in the fleet...she became our fav....sad they sold her....

[KEN31VA]

To those "old timers", I remember being on many of the early "one class cruise ships". Starting with the S.S. Nassau in 1952 from New York to Nassau. Talk about "no balconies", many of the cabins didn't even have private bathrooms and the swimming pool was a converted cargo hold. But it was a great product for a one-week vacation. At that time there were few "cruise itineraries", except for New York - Bermuda, and almost all the large ships were multi-class designed for "transportation". As the New York single class cruise market developed, the Chandris Britannica came along followed by the Royal Caribbean Nordic Prince. Soon Chandris replace the Britannica with the Horizon to be more competitive with the Nordic Prince.

[Caribbean Chris]

The most amazing thing is how Chandris reinvented itself into a more upscale company to get into the Bermuda market and turned into Celebrity. I worked as a cruiseline sales rep for Royal viking Line (now defunct) in the 1980s, when Chandris Cruises was considered bottom of the heap by travel agencies, (although we sailed on the Amerikanis once and it wasn't bad at all.)

[twobluecats]

I remember the afternoon sorbet march where the servers would appear with full suits and white gloves and serve sorbet on the pool deck in the afternoon.

 

Me too! Me too! Such a simple but very well received and appreciated touch! It's always the little things....

[NLH Arizona]

That must have been quite a lot of money then . Does anyone know what that would translate into today's money? Or for that matter what these previous quoted cruises cost then

It would be $2,466.85.

[C 2 C]

 

 

And on Infinity: Casual Dining Rodisio around S. America

[BEAV]

Great thread.....

 

Our virgin Celebrity experience was in February 2000 aboard Mercury. It was shortly before Millie hit the scene and Mercury was Queen of the fleet. Having previously sailed Princess, NCL, RCCL, etc, our cruise aboard Mercury was a decidedly upscale experience by comparison. Yes, dinner in the MDR was truly a grand, first class affair.

 

BTW, putting cutbacks over the years into perspective, we paid $2500 per person for 7 days in a Sky Suite aboard Mercury back in 2000. In contrast, just yesterday I placed a hold on a Sky Suite on Century (7 day sailing) for $874 per person.....