How is cruising now different from 25 years ago?

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, dkjretired said:

Someone mentioned earlier about the streamers as you pulled out of port.   It brought memories of when I was a kid going to New York several times  to watch my Aunt and Uncle go off on their latest cruise.  At the time, they were allowed to bring guests on board and you pretty much had the run of the ship until just before spillway time.  I think that's what made me want to cruise when I got older.  

 

My grandparents lived very near Port Everglades after they retired. I often spent several weeks with them in the summer (they also lived near the beach!).  My grandmother would take me to visit cruise ships -- if you were a past passenger you could usually call your TA and arrange for a "pass" to get on the ship.  We visited some really great older ships that were probably past their prime even in the early 1970s but were beautifully decorated, such as the 1937-build Nieuw Amsterdam, which for many years was considered the 'ship of state' of the Netherlands, much as the Normandie was for France. She was gorgeous, but then I've always liked vintage things....

 

Edited April 21, 2020 by cruisemom42

[George C]

1 hour ago, dkjretired said:

Someone mentioned earlier about the streamers as you pulled out of port.   It brought memories of when I was a kid going to New York several times  to watch my Aunt and Uncle go off on their latest cruise.  At the time, they were allowed to bring guests on board and you pretty much had the run of the ship until just before spillway time.  I think that's what made me want to cruise when I got older.  

When I lived and cruised from nyc I frequently had small bon voyage parties great way to show my friends and family the different ships . 

[ldubs]

3 hours ago, dkjretired said:

Someone mentioned earlier about the streamers as you pulled out of port.   It brought memories of when I was a kid going to New York several times  to watch my Aunt and Uncle go off on their latest cruise.  At the time, they were allowed to bring guests on board and you pretty much had the run of the ship until just before spillway time.  I think that's what made me want to cruise when I got older.  

 

Many many years ago we were invited guests for the sail away on our Aunt's cruise out of SF.  I remember we had to suit up. It was all a first for me.  I was very impressed with the terrific buffet spread and the ship in general.  It wasn't until a lot of years later that I was able to take my first cruise.   

[ldubs]

5 hours ago, Joebucks said:

These discussions always like to bring out a lot of negative tones. Yet, stay very light on anything that may have actually improved. The choices have increased to allow multiple products vs the expensive one-size fits all of the past.

 

 

I agree it may sound like that and I guess there is even some of that.  But really I think a lot of us are just discussing what is different.  I do agree with you that we have options now days that didn't exist back when.   I also think that is a very positive development, though there is a segment here on CC that put a lot of effort into ridiculing many of the options.  

[ldubs]

8 hours ago, c-boy said:

shazbot !   36.25% of the posts on this thread center on formal attire.  Certainly there has to be more than the ever present formal wear controversy that   is cruising now different from 25 years ago?"

 

Well yeah.  That would be the other 63.75%!  😄😄😄

[Cruzaholic41]

32 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

I agree it may sound like that and I guess there is even some of that.  But really I think a lot of us are just discussing what is different.  I do agree with you that we have options now days that didn't exist back when.   I also think that is a very positive development, though there is a segment here on CC that put a lot of effort into ridiculing many of the options.  

The problem is, too many people here - or rather a select few who repeat themselves over and over all day long - cannot accept that others have different preferences than them. What’s worse, they continually bash mass market cruising, which is what the vast majority of us do. 
 

I love nostalgia. I would turn back the clock and cruise an old experience in a heartbeat if I could. But that said, I also love the new stuff. I love the Broadway quality shows on RCI. I love the new ultra modern Celebrity ships. 
 

And to those who look down on mass market cruising, I also cruise premium and luxury lines. They’re not that great. In fact, I’d rather book a suite on Celebrity for the extra options and better entertainment. 

[kira5]

I've been on one Cunard cruise and it was different and more 'special.'   The speakers were excellent;   Jeffrey Archer (the author and politician) was one of them.      We did dress up more but I think it is maybe more fun/less onerous for some women as opposed to men.    The food was better;   our 8 person table had very educated people at it.   Because we booked a month prior (for a Baltic cruise) the price was very reasonable.    The only complaint was too much ballroom dancing.   Every evening and few could do it.   The rest of us watched.

[navybankerteacher]

3 minutes ago, kira5 said:

...

The only complaint was too much ballroom dancing.   Every evening and few could do it.   The rest of us watched.

Was the dancing compulsory?

[lenquixote66]

On 4/20/2020 at 2:24 PM, George C said:

Remember the horse racing? 

Oh ,wow,I remember that .

[George C]

1 hour ago, Cruzaholic41 said:

The problem is, too many people here - or rather a select few who repeat themselves over and over all day long - cannot accept that others have different preferences than them. What’s worse, they continually bash mass market cruising, which is what the vast majority of us do. 
 

I love nostalgia. I would turn back the clock and cruise an old experience in a heartbeat if I could. But that said, I also love the new stuff. I love the Broadway quality shows on RCI. I love the new ultra modern Celebrity ships. 
 

And to those who look down on mass market cruising, I also cruise premium and luxury lines. They’re not that great. In fact, I’d rather book a suite on Celebrity for the extra options and better entertainment. 

Entertainment is huge for us picking a cruise, that’s why rccl is in general our favorite line plus like there suites , love celebrity suite perks and restaurant but there entertainment is just so so, so we have been booking music charters on celebrity just did one in February in a Royal suite which was amazing eyewash definitely the best in last couple of years on these cruises we have seen Boz Scaggs, America a couple of times, Michael McDonald, B J Thomas , Rita Coolidge, Guess who, Foreigner, Gino Vanelli  , Steven Bishop , Randy Bachman and dozens of others , of course these are not cheap. 

[ldubs]

37 minutes ago, kira5 said:

  The only complaint was too much ballroom dancing.   Every evening and few could do it.   The rest of us watched.

 

 

Haha.  Well,  I know I couldn't do ballroom dancing.  If I tried it would be like a 40 car pile up on the dance floor!  😄

[cruisemom42]

Change is inevitable and I'm a "take it as you find it" kind of person. Yes, I enjoyed cruising 45 years ago as a kid, but I think most people have nostalgia for happy experiences in the past.

 

I wouldn't continue to cruise if I didn't enjoy it today as well. Some things are different, but others are still the same -- and as someone else said, there are enough different choices out there for most who enjoy cruising to find a line that appeals.

[clo]

46 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Was the dancing compulsory?

Yeah, couldn't one just 'slow dance'?

[ldubs]

1 hour ago, navybankerteacher said:

Was the dancing compulsory?

 

If it was they would not have just watched, would they.   

 

[Honolulu Blue]

Thanks, everyone, for sharing your experiences and opinions.  My first cruise was in 2014, so I can't intelligently speak of what cruising was like 25 years ago.  But I'll tell you this - cruising, when it resumes, is likely to change more in the next year than it has in the last 25.  Some changes I'll welcome, some I'm dreading, but radical change is a-coming.  Get ready.

[PORT ROYAL]

42 minutes ago, Honolulu Blue said:

Thanks, everyone, for sharing your experiences and opinions.  My first cruise was in 2014, so I can't intelligently speak of what cruising was like 25 years ago.  But I'll tell you this - cruising, when it resumes, is likely to change more in the next year than it has in the last 25.  Some changes I'll welcome, some I'm dreading, but radical change is a-coming.  Get ready.

 

Think prices will notably increase on Cunard, but happy to pay, to have the cruise I wish on the brand I want.  But do feel price increases with be accompanied with some reduction in menus in Britannia Restaurant and Buffet.  Hope Club and Grills menus are not greatly damaged because of the substantial premium additional paid.

Service quality will not be diminished.

Cunard has a substantial loyal clientel within over 50's age band and the LBGT+Queer communities, and it is these loyalists, mostly financially comfortable, who will assist greatly in Cunard's recovery.  

Therefore, Cunard should direct marketing towards these groups, and not the younger, Cunard one offs, every umpteenth year, pile it high, sell it cheap, dumb own of the dress codes groups.  These groups may have only short term me me me attitude, no brand loyalty, only interested in price, 

It will a great opportunity for true Cunard loyalists to come to the fore.

Edited April 22, 2020 by PORT ROYAL
Predictive

[PORT ROYAL]

Back to topic essence

Celebration Cake - previously large and complimentary - now small with a charge.

[K32682]

22 hours ago, Joebucks said:

These discussions always like to bring out a lot of negative tones. Yet, stay very light on anything that may have actually improved. The choices have increased to allow multiple products vs the expensive one-size fits all of the past.

 

Lots of those who complain about the "declining quality of service, food, entertainment, etc" for some reason, pass up the opportunity to do a "cruise of yesteryear" on one of the many lines that still offer that similar experience. In the end, what they really want is the price of today, and the nostalgia of yesterday. It actually just reaffirms the popularity of the mass-market product.

 

I think it's pretty safe to assume that people are cruising more often than they did 25 years ago. That is mostly because the product has become a lot more accessible. The market has decided against tuxedos and midnight fruit buffets.

 

There would be more negative tones because the cruisers who bemoan the loss of the more "refined" cruising environment have fewer choices than they once did.  There are fewer lines offering the bourgeois, rigid, class-oriented experience that demands conformity to a set of predetermined social expectations.   

 

Having little tolerance for artificial social environments and the officious busy-bodies that come with them  I abandoned cruising in 2004.  When convinced to return in 2017 what I found was a more egalitarian experience better suited to individuals that was much more enjoyable.

 

     

Edited April 22, 2020 by K32682

[marco]

Well, I guess "different strokes for different folks" is applicable because one of our complaints (if you want to call it that) is that there ISN'T any ballroom dancing on most ships anymore.

[Joebucks]

40 minutes ago, K32682 said:

 

There would be more negative tones because the cruisers who bemoan the loss of the more "refined" cruising environment have fewer choices than they once did.  There are fewer lines offering the bourgeois, rigid, class-oriented experience that demands conformity to a set of predetermined social expectations.  

 

Forgive me if I'm not aware, but are there really fewer options today for that type of experience? If so, does that really translate to a lack of choice? There is undoubtedly a much larger mix of a "different" product today. I don't think more choice means you can't find what you want.

[navybankerteacher]

1 hour ago, K32682 said:

 

There would be more negative tones because the cruisers who bemoan the loss of the more "refined" cruising environment have fewer choices than they once did.  There are fewer lines offering the bourgeois, rigid, class-oriented experience that demands conformity to a set of predetermined social expectations.   

 

Having little tolerance for artificial social environments and the officious busy-bodies that come with them  I abandoned cruising in 2004.  When convinced to return in 2017 what I found was a more egalitarian experience better suited to individuals that was much more enjoyable.

 

     

“bourgeois, rigid, class-oriented”, “predetermined social expectations”, “artificial social environments”, “officious busy-bodies” — a cluster of choice cliches.

 

Of course, some “individuals” have different definitions of “enjoyable”.

[ldubs]

1 hour ago, K32682 said:

 

There would be more negative tones because the cruisers who bemoan the loss of the more "refined" cruising environment have fewer choices than they once did.  There are fewer lines offering the bourgeois, rigid, class-oriented experience that demands conformity to a set of predetermined social expectations.   

 

Having little tolerance for artificial social environments and the officious busy-bodies that come with them  I abandoned cruising in 2004.  When convinced to return in 2017 what I found was a more egalitarian experience better suited to individuals that was much more enjoyable.

 

 

For some (and one or two in particular) I don't think it is a lack of choice so much as an opportunity to deride folks who do not share their view of "refinement".  Fortunately, a few trollish types are not representative of the nice folks normally encountered on any cruise ship.   

[cruizergal70]

1 hour ago, navybankerteacher said:

“bourgeois, rigid, class-oriented”, “predetermined social expectations”, “artificial social environments”, “officious busy-bodies” — a cluster of choice cliches.

 

Of course, some “individuals” have different definitions of “enjoyable”.

Some people believe cruising should make them feel like the rich, snobbish people from the Titanic movie. 😁

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, marco said:

Well, I guess "different strokes for different folks" is applicable because one of our complaints (if you want to call it that) is that there ISN'T any ballroom dancing on most ships anymore.

This was definitely my DW's complaint on our HAL Maasdam cruise. When we included that in our answers to the ship survey, they replied that on their larger ships there was ballroom dancing.

 

She also missed ballroom dance lessons.

[cruizergal70]

1 minute ago, ontheweb said:

This was definitely my DW's complaint on our HAL Maasdam cruise. When we included that in our answers to the ship survey, they replied that on their larger ships there was ballroom dancing.

 

She also missed ballroom dance lessons.

Sincere question.  You and your wife can take ballroom dancing classes in your local area. Why must cruise ships provide that service to you?