Who Here Remembers 1990 and the Ships?

[Mrs. Walkinman]

They were truly special back then and we had no idea the changes that were coming. I sailed both the Song of America and the Nordic Prince.

 

It is a hoot to get out the old photos and really see the difference.

 

Back then you could hear the sea rushing by and dinner was the main event, the shows... well again we were on a ship then, not a floating city.

 

Also, on the original ships there were NO casinos! They had a little walkway into the dining room which had about 6-12 slot machines, which you needed quarters to play, and that was it.

 

They did have a "Sun Worshiper's Lunch" up on the Lido deck. It was hamburgers, hot dogs, and a very few other items. No Lido buffets at all. Most everyone went to the dining room for lunch, which was a multi course meal.

 

There was not all that much to do, but what there was, it was fun! I used to love the horse races with the little horse heads on poles.

 

One thing I don't remember is room service. These days, I have breakfast in my room every day, but don't remember doing that once on the Song of Norway or Song of America. Did they even offer it?

[ksmcdonald]

My sister and I are wracking our brains trying to remember my first cruise celebrating her MBA graduation on Royal.

 

We left at the end of May, 1990 out of San Juan. The itinerary was going through the Panama Canal with stops in Costa Rica, Cartagena , and Aruba, (almost missed the ship at this stop, first and only time. Boy did I learn a lesson.

 

But, we cant remember the exact name of the Ship? We had a wonderful time, I especially remember the great staff, officers, and emeralds! As well as a lot of Champagne.

 

cj

 

 

How about Song of America? I sailed that boat in 1982. It is no longer in service.

Edited February 17, 2016 by ksmcdonald

[cjmx]

funcruiser56,

do you remember what the four stops were for that cruise. Was it in 1990?

 

I know after that cruise, I was hooked with Royal, but back then we compared ships not brands. Obviously, less ships to choose from, in those years.

[loubetti]

How about Song of America? I sailed that boat in 1982. It is no longer in service.

 

She's still in service, but not with RCI. She is now MS Celestyal Olympia.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Celestyal_Olympia

[WyKnott]

My 1st cruise was on the Viking Serenade for 4 days fron San Pedro. It was amazing & I got hooked. Have been on many ships since but Viking Serenade will always be special to me.

 

Ditto!

For a few years running, each Memorial Day weekend, it was a 4-day cruise on Viking Serenade. Those short cruises helped me get to my Diamond status because back then the point system counted each cruise, not the days cruised. :D

[coast2coast]

My first cruise was on the Song of Norway in December of 1979. There were over 50 kids on the cruise (!), so they hired 2 children's cruise directors. I was 9 years old at the time. The kids actually got their own tours of the islands- still remember going to the aquarium in St. Thomas with the kids' group. Can't believe my parents allowed us (my brother was 14) to go without them! DD is going on 16, and there's no way I'd let her do that now! "Serge" was our headwaiter, and he would come over to our table and give me a kiss on the cheek every night (although he smelled like cigarettes- blech!:eek:) Looking back at pictures, dressing up every night was more of the norm. Huge midnight buffets every night (I still remember the incredible ice sculptures and an eagle made out of butter). Skeet shooting off the back of the ship. Won a tournament for ping pong and just got rid of the trophy a few years ago when my parents packed up their house and moved out here. Each cabin received a list of passengers, too, with home addresses, etc. so people could stay in touch. Wouldn't dream of having that nowadays... Weird to think how small the ship actually was when I thought it was huge back then. In 2004, we were on the Mariner and docked behind SON (sailing under new name for different company). It was amazing to see the difference in size.

[jmf123]

I am really enjoying this thread, it's fun to read everyone's experiences. I just want to mention a book that cruisers may find interesting: The Cruise Ship Phenomenon In North America, by Brian J. Cudahy. It's currently available on amazon (new and used) and has about 360 pages. I haven't seen the book, but recently came across a preview of it that includes photos- just google the name of the book. The preview link begins with 'books.google'. :)

[cruisegal40]

We did Song of Norway 9/15/1990. Our honeymoon out of SJ. You had to go outside the ship and clime metal stairs to get to the VCL. Now that's old.

 

Yes, we just hit our 25th year anniversary last September 15th and still going strong.

[FunCruiser56]

funcruiser56,

do you remember what the four stops were for that cruise. Was it in 1990?

 

I know after that cruise, I was hooked with Royal, but back then we compared ships not brands. Obviously, less ships to choose from, in those years.

 

Our stops were Antigua, St. Thomas, St Martin and Martinique. Feb 1989.

We walked down to the ship from Old San Juan and we're amazed by the size; ) We had a tiny cabin on deck 4 with 2 plate size portholes and a aqua blue bathroom.

For the poster asking about room service, yes there was we ordered snacks and sandwiches a few times.

Bev

[canadiangirl2]

I am trying to find out what ships sailed out of San Juan in December 1990. It did the ABC islands.

[George C]

I know there is a way to see your past voyages on the rccl site , just don’t remember how to access them , I know mine showed cruises going back to late 1980’s.

[Biker19]

6 hours ago, canadiangirl2 said:

I am trying to find out what ships sailed out of San Juan in December 1990. It did the ABC islands.

Welcome to CC.

It is unlikely to be more than one, if any - if you sailed and got credit for it on RCI, it should be in your past sailing history under your C&A account.

[Harrisonkid]

oh the memories but im sure some are foggy. First cruise was on Sovereign in 1992. They Still greeted you as you boarded in Dress Whites and a beverage, had Midnight Buffets, published Book of all passengers, ice sculptures on deck, and $.75 cent Drinks of the Day

[cruiseguy1016]

14 hours ago, canadiangirl2 said:

I am trying to find out what ships sailed out of San Juan in December 1990. It did the ABC islands.

 

8 years after the previous post?!? How the hell did you even find this thread?

[George C]

58 minutes ago, Harrisonkid said:

oh the memories but im sure some are foggy. First cruise was on Sovereign in 1992. They Still greeted you as you boarded in Dress Whites and a beverage, had Midnight Buffets, published Book of all passengers, ice sculptures on deck, and $.75 cent Drinks of the Day

Sovereign was a very special ship , sailed her a few times and we got engaged on her in 1990.

[canadiangirl2]

2 hours ago, cruiseguy1016 said:

 

8 years after the previous post?!? How the hell did you even find this thread?

I typed in the question and it popped up, so you don't have to be rude about it.

[George C]

55 minutes ago, canadiangirl2 said:

I typed in the question and it popped up, so you don't have to be rude about it.

I blame cruise critic for allowing 8 years or longer posts from being updated, not a new user, welcome to cruise critic 

[GimmeOcean]

13 hours ago, George C said:

I know there is a way to see your past voyages on the rccl site , just don’t remember how to access them , I know mine showed cruises going back to late 1980’s.

It shows them, but it doesn't go into any details regarding the itinerary.

[SeaHunt]

Sorry not much help, but here's a couple Tampa Bay Times Cruise Guide articles published February 1990, October 1990, March 1992 and September 1992 showing some sailings that might ring a bell (I only copied the RCI cruises and only the ones from SJU, but it's interesting to read the rest of the articles to see what other lines were sailing from Florida too - so many old ship names I still remember!) 🙃

 

"This is a list of major cruises departing from ports in Florida and San Juan, Puerto Rico, through July 1990, as reported to the Times by the cruise lines. 

 

https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1990/02/18/cruise-guide/

 

RCI From San Juan

 

SONG OF NORWAY

(1,022 passengers)

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line

Every Sunday _ 7 days, St. Maarten, Martinique, Barbados, Antigua, St. Thomas. $1,145-$2,630.

 

SUN VIKING

(726 passengers)

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line

Every Sunday through Arpil 15 _ 7 nights, Barbados, St. Lucia, Guadeloupe, St. Barthelemy, St. Thomas. $1,145-$2,835.

 

April 22 _ 12 nights, Barbados, Las Palmas (Canary Islands), Funchal (Madeira), Lisbon (cruise ends). $2,285-$5,078.

 

Through February 1991

CRUISE GUIDE (tampabay.com)

RCI From San Juan

 

SONG OF NORWAY

(1,022 passengers)

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line

Every Sunday _ 7 nights, Martinique, Barbados, Antigua, St. Maarten, St. Thomas. $1,145-$2,680.

 

SUN VIKING

(726 passengers)

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line

Every Sunday beginning Nov. 18 _ 7 nights, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Barthelemy, St. Thomas. $1,145-$2,885.

 

March 1, 1992 article

https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1992/03/01/cruise-guide/

 

"This is a list of major cruises departing from ports in Florida and San Juan, Puerto Rico, through Sept. 30, 1992, as reported to the Times by the cruise lines."

 

RCI From San Juan

 

MONARCH OF THE SEAS

(2,354 passengers)

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line

Every Sunday _ 7 nights, Martinique, Barbados, Antigua, St. Maarten, St. Thomas. $1,245-$3,530.

 

NORDIC PRINCE

(1,012 passengers)

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line

March 25 _ 10 nights, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, St. Lucia, Trinidad, Grenada, St. Kitts, Labadee, Miami (cruise ends). $1,730-$4,225.

 

April 22 _ 11 nights, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. George's, Hamilton, New York (cruise ends). $1,820-$4,125.

 

SONG OF NORWAY

(1,022 passengers)

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line

Every Saturday through April 4 _ Aruba, Curacao, St Maarten, St. John, St. Thomas. $1,260-$2,730.

 

April 11 _ 11 nights, Aruba, Curacao, Grenada, Barbados, Antigua, St. Maarten, St. John, St. Thomas. $1,820-$4,125.

 

April 22 _ 12 nights, Funcahl, Tenerife, Casablanca, Barcelona (cruise ends). $2,045-$4,835.

 

"This is a list of major cruises departing from ports in Florida and San Juan, Puerto Rico, through March 31, 1993, as reported to the Times by the cruise lines"

 

CRUISE GUIDE (tampabay.com)

 

RCI From San Juan

 

MONARCH OF THE SEAS

(2,354 passengers)

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line

Every Sunday _ 7 nights, Martinique, Barbados, Antigua, St. Maarten, St. Thomas. $1,245-$3,665.

 

NORDIC PRINCE

(1,012 passengers)

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line

Nov. 11, Dec. 9, Jan. 13, March 3, 31 _ 10 nights, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, St. Lucia, Trinidad, Grenada, St. Kitts, CocoCay, Miami (cruise ends). $1,730-$4,345.

 

Feb. 10 _ 11 nights, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, St. Lucia, Trinidad, Grenada, St. Kitts, Antigua, CocoCay, Miami (cruise ends). $2,045-$4,345.

 

SONG OF NORWAY

(1,016 passengers)

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line

Dec. 19 _ 14 nights, Curacao, Aruba, San Blas Islands, cruise Panama Canal, Limon, Ocho Rios, CocoCay, St. Maarten, St. Thomas. $2,495-$5,595.

 

Jan. 2, 22, Feb. 11, March 3, 23 _ 10 nights, St. Thomas, Curacao, transit Panama Canal, Caldera, Acapulco (cruise ends). $1,895-$4,095.

 

SUN VIKING

(714 passengers)

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line

Oct. 14 _ 10 nights, St. Thomas, Curacao, transit Panama Canal, Caldera, Acapulco (cruise ends). $1,745-$3,445.

 

Every Saturday beginning Nov. 7 _ 7 nights, Aruba, Curacao, St. Maarten, St. John, St. Thomas. $1,195-$2,965.