Celebrity Reflection January 14 to 21 2017

[Barky]

Norris I am enjoying this stroll back in time so much that I want you to write a book. The world needs to see your work.

 

I had my first cruise on Premier's Seabreeze in 1998 and it was docked next to the Song of America. I said to myself I want to sail on that ship too. I never did but I did have 6 other cruises to enjoy the Regal Empress, Pacific Princess, Norway, Grand Princess and Voyager of the Seas. I was on the Seabreeze twice in case you were counting. Loved them.

 

Anyway, thanks for the time and care you take with your reviews.

[Bimmer09]

Norris: thank you for such a thorough, and photographic review. I've been hesitant to bust into your thread, as I didn't want to slow you down. Hope to meet up with you on a big ship going anywhere sometime.

 

Santa Fe? One of our favorite cities ever. We've been there 8 times and usually rent a house out in the coyote-infested hills of Tesuque. We always drive North out of town for Mexican food at Gabriel's (the only time we eat Mexican) and we love to eat at Aqua Santa downtown (which I think has gone out of business, sadly). The Bullring is one of our favorite steakhouses anywhere. Love that city! I even have credit in the parking meters there!

I am happy to see your comments-there's no busting into any of my threads-the door is always wide open.

By the end of this you'll easily be able to recognize me if we are on the same ship one day but the camera bag will have grown. Come and have a drink with me if you see me.

Norris

[perfect match]

Norris, of course I've chosen Option 2! :D I am loving your account of life on SON in the mid 80's! Thank you for sharing your brochures, photos, and stories with us!

[Gabrielle R.]

FOOD, Glorious food! From Oliver!!!

My Husband & I did our first cruise in 1992 On a Carnival Ship... Bunk Beds... for our 5 year anniversary.... I remember best the midnight buffet. Fun reading this bonus cruise!

Gabrielle

[March Babe]

Amazing. Wonderful. What a superb story. Fantastic memories. I agree; you should write a book. I'll stand in line to purchase and meet the author.

[Bimmer09]

Wow!

 

Norris,

 

I am loving this description of days gone by. I can just pictures the ladies gowns and the gent Tues.

Where are the cigars?

Those brochures look soon.... elegant.

Judy

 

 

The gents in their tuxes? How about this guy?

 

Sadly I am working from 30 year old film photos taken on the Kodak instamatics of the day.

I did buy a Nikon SLR in Miami in 86 and will have some of those shots here and there. I still have it but now it's just an ornament. Digital rules!





Maybe I'll see cigars mentioned as I put up the brochure pics. I know that the whole ship was a smoking section.





I think the brochure is elegant too and very well written to entice you to book-the whole point of a brochure!





Thanks Judy!

Norris

[Bimmer09]

I mentioned Room Service and this couple sure took advantage!

 

 

An aerial shot of the Song of America shows two pools with a bridge between...



 

 

FLY ME TO THE MOON...ER, MIAMI

Free air fare must have been a great inducement to book







 

 



 

 















 

$30 per person for an overnight stay at a Miami hotel and free transfer to ship if you fly in on the day of sailing.

Norris

[Bimmer09]

 

 

RELAXING AT SEA

Here you'll see one of the pool games - trying to catch a suspended bagel in your mouth.

 











 

As food wasn't available all day long many people took to the pool to supplement their diet.

 

 

In the lower photo is one of the two Captains I worked under. I think it was Capt. Bang. He's pointing to the bridge wing controls. "Anyone know what this thing is? (silence) "I don't know either."

[Bimmer09]

THE PLAYERS IN 1985

A group photo from the 1985 contract. From L to R;

Geoff, Mark, Norris and John.

 

 



 

By the end of our 2nd week of our 1986 tour I was the only one still working for RCCL.

Yes we joined the ship-Me Mark Mike and Paul on March 29 but within the first week Mark was missing his home and his girlfriend back in England and decided to quit. However he had just the guy in mind to replace himself with, so that was a relief. Working on a ship is not for everyone.





The new bass player/singer to replace Mark was called Dave and he is a Facebook Friend to this day. I messed with him from day 1 which was the day Mark left the ship and Dave came aboard. We rehearsed in the disco during turnaround and after a lengthy rehearsal of umpteen songs and instrumentals I said to him "that was great Dave. We've got other people to see and I'll give you a call in the middle of the week". His face dropped for a second and then he burst out laughing. He became my best friend on the ship and my chief Scrabble opponent.





I'll have pics of the members of the band soon....oh, here's one! Taken in Labadee I believe, by a ship's photographer who gave us free pics.











 

 

Also from Labadee, the beach bums. L to R; Henry, a piano player from Poland, Dave and Norris

Left to Right; Paul (guitar) Mike (Keyboards) Dave (bass) and Norris (drums)

 

Norris in one of his disco shirts-my favorite fun shirt. On the sun deck where I had a view of the bow and played Scrabble. I loved it up there.

 

[Bimmer09]

Norris I am enjoying this stroll back in time so much that I want you to write a book. The world needs to see your work.

 

I had my first cruise on Premier's Seabreeze in 1998 and it was docked next to the Song of America. I said to myself I want to sail on that ship too. I never did but I did have 6 other cruises to enjoy the Regal Empress, Pacific Princess, Norway, Grand Princess and Voyager of the Seas. I was on the Seabreeze twice in case you were counting. Loved them.

 

Anyway, thanks for the time and care you take with your reviews.

 

Thank you for the kind compliments! I think I have a pic of me and the SS Norway in my collection and will dig it out during this account of 1986. My old pics are scattered between two homes and are in envelopes inside of boxes under other boxes behind sealed-up walls...you get the gist.

Cheers!

Norris

[pretty princess]

Wow What a nice throw back so enjoying this

[lola2013]

Wow Norris...this just gets better and better. Loving the pics from the 80s. I've sailed on both the Song of Norway and the SS Norway and will have to pull out my old photo albums to see when that was. I began my cruise addiction sailing on the old Cunard Countess in either '81 or '82 so it could have been shortly after that when I sailed on the other ships.

Keep the wonderful stories & pictures coming!!!

Susan

[silkismom]

Your photos from the SON prompted me to dig out my old albums, our first cruise was on the SS Norway in Dec 1980 for our anniversary, we had the tiniest ocean view cabin on the ship, bunk beds, DH literally had to go in the bathroom so I had room to open the suitcase on the bed and unpack. I don't have a photo of the room, couldn't get back far enough to see it. I do remember that there was a heated towel rack which impressed me. Our clothes were hung on hooks on the wall, no closet. I have a drink menu, the most expensive thing was $2.95 for the 15oz drink special with real glass souvenir glass, which got broken on the way home. Otherwise $1.60 was the highest for most drinks, $2.00 for Courvoisier VSOP & Remy Martin VSOP. We were at a table for 8, 6 widows spending their inheritance in the casino and us (high 20's), yes we got really bored at meals. But it hooked us on cruising and we have been on over 50 cruises now.:D

[camper51]

Love this! What happened with the girl from NJ? Did you marry her?

[Janet524]

Brings back great memories of our first cruise on Song of Norway for our honeymoon in 1986. Just celebrated 30th on Allure. Just a little bit bigger!

 

Sent from my Lenovo TAB 2 A10-70F using Forums mobile app

[easyboy]

Nice to see the good buddies years back and recent.

[Bimmer09]

Love this! What happened with the girl from NJ? Did you marry her?

 

Indeed-we got married in May 1987. No longer together but firm friends via Facebook as I haven't been back in New Jersey since 1998 when I moved to Chicago. All's well that ends well.

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Your photos from the SON prompted me to dig out my old albums, our first cruise was on the SS Norway in Dec 1980 for our anniversary, we had the tiniest ocean view cabin on the ship, bunk beds, DH literally had to go in the bathroom so I had room to open the suitcase on the bed and unpack. I don't have a photo of the room, couldn't get back far enough to see it. I do remember that there was a heated towel rack which impressed me. Our clothes were hung on hooks on the wall, no closet. I have a drink menu, the most expensive thing was $2.95 for the 15oz drink special with real glass souvenir glass, which got broken on the way home. Otherwise $1.60 was the highest for most drinks, $2.00 for Courvoisier VSOP & Remy Martin VSOP. We were at a table for 8, 6 widows spending their inheritance in the casino and us (high 20's), yes we got really bored at meals. But it hooked us on cruising and we have been on over 50 cruises now.:D

 

This is great- I was hoping others who had cruised in that era would come forward and fill in some detail. It was my job (and a great fun one at that) but I wasn't on vacation.

I'll have a pic of a crew cabin later-54 sq feet at most-like the size of a decent balcony. Bunk beds yes. No TV.

BUT regardless how spartan by today's expectations FUN was had and people kept booking and an industry grew to gigantic proportions since then. And we all benefit!

Thanks so much for the comment!

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Wow Norris...this just gets better and better. Loving the pics from the 80s. I've sailed on both the Song of Norway and the SS Norway and will have to pull out my old photo albums to see when that was. I began my cruise addiction sailing on the old Cunard Countess in either '81 or '82 so it could have been shortly after that when I sailed on the other ships.

Keep the wonderful stories & pictures coming!!!

Susan

 

Susan, I thought that posting just the brochure pics would be a bit dry and you know that's not my style hence the commentary and pics of me and the people I shared the ship and my life with. In a normal job you go home after your 8 hours-but on a ship you spend time after work with your colleagues and colleagues you don't work with. I spent a lot of time with a couple of Brit croupiers from the casino for instance drinking in their cabin after work or I would visit the Polish guys and sip vodka while they chugged it down or hung out with Jamaican bar waiters in the Crew Mess. It would have been impossible to be lonely there-unless you were missing home but that didn't apply to me. I laughed from the moment I got up until I went to bed as I was surrounded by fun people.

Do you remember SS Norway well? I always gazed on her from afar. Stunning ship from the outside.

Cheers!

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Oh- I forgot a fun story that happened coming back from Miami in November 85. I was in Miami airport in the public restroom and when I came out I heard my name being paged to the gate for my Virgin Airlines flight to Heathrow. Damn! I'm late! I got to the gate(about 3 miles away-have you been to Heathrow?) to be told that (1) we gave your economy seat away and (2) would you mind if we seated you in Business Class?

Hmmm....tough one. I paced back and forth for what must have been a second before answering in the positive. Leg room! Free drinks! A nice hot dinner and breakfast! Free cigarettes (it was 1985 after all). Best flight ever!

 

 

In red- should have said Miami not Heathrow!





Heathrow is a beast of an airport! Just how big and confusing is that thing?





LOL!

Norris

[perfect match]

Norris, I am loving this trip back into the 80's! This is a wonderful journey you're taking us on! :D

[Bimmer09]

SUN VIKING

 

DECK PLANS



 

HOW MUCH WILL IT COST ME?

 

Due to inflation over 30 years, something that cost $100 in 1986 now costs $220.89 so multiply each number you see by 2.2089 (or 2.21 to save a lot of calculator tapping).

Let's take the first number shown-the biggest cabin on the ship-deluxe promenade (includes a bathtub)14 days @ $3370 pp. In today's money that is equivalent to 3370 x 2.2089=$ 7444. (if you use the 2.21 factor as a shortcut the difference is $4 more-insignificant)

Now you have the multiplier you can check all the pricing you'll see going forward on each ship and its itineraries from 7 day to the longest 14 day. Remember in most instances RCCL will give you free air travel to Miami.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

SONG OF NORWAY

 

 



 

 



 

 



 

She did the same route week after week. Use 2.21 as your price multiplier.

Norris

[offnoncruiser]

Norris,

 

Another A+ review. I've thoroughly enjoyed every one of your reviews. I'm especially enjoying the 80's pictures and brochures.

 

It's amazing seeing these cruise fares from 30 years ago! Although we didn't take our first cruise until 1994, and if my memory serves me (which it doesn't very well anymore), you could get a cruise fare at about half (give or take) the "brochure" rate that was listed (post 1994 at least). I think we paid about $750 pp for an inside on a 7 nighter on Star Princess out of San Juan on that first cruise (no air included). So yes, cruising really is a bargain nowadays.

 

I think you mentioned earlier in this review that you and Carol have an Equinox booking for Jan 2019. We are also looking at the Equinox for around that timeframe, so it would be awesome if we'd happen to book the same cruise, and it would certainly be an honor to meet y'all. We've got a big group cruise on Liberty OTS this coming Oct, and the Equinox would be next after that (just about once a year for us to cruise unfortunately).

 

Looking forward to the remainder of the review and can't wait for the next one. Hope to see you in the future.

 

Thx.

 

Bruce

[Bimmer09]

The SS Norway has been mentioned several times....

 

 

as have small cabins with bunk beds



 

I estimate 54 to 60 sq ft including the tiny bathroom. Here Paul and I are hosting two friends from the Steel Band. Rum and coke evenings...they had an inside cabin, no porthole.

I was viciously attacked by a crocodile on the beach. I saved myself only by punching the beast in the stomach-that took the air out of him.

 

 

Between the Song of Norway and NCL Starward in Cozumel



 

 

Lunch at Sans Souci Hotel, Ocho Rios

L to R; Sue (Purser's Office from England), Oscar (Casino) from Ukraine, Patrick (Bass player in Steel Band) from Barbados, Cindy (Dancer) from Ontario and the Mahavisnu Orchestra fan in black from N.Ireland.