TA and Cruises "Back in the Day"

[Smitheroo]

Anyone on here who began traveling by ship post WWII  (other than military) ?  

 

My first TA was in 1966 when my mother realized that the option for this type of travel would soon be gone.  My next one was in 2013 when I was transporting my mother's ashes back to England for burial.  Large and small Cunarders (including the original QM) .    Big differences!   I always avoided cruises later due to the threat of norovirus which was unheard of in 1966  (and learned that TAs are not exempt when the QM2 had an outbreak the cruise before mine in 2013)  

 

One difference that stands out in my mind, at least with the Cunard line, is the make up of the crew.  For a 16 year old teen,  at the peak of the Beatles craze, a crew made up of mostly young British males was like a dream come true. And that is when I learned that you dont fraternize with the crew.  There were also the differences in cabins/classes (first, cabin, tourist or 3rd).  I remember there were cords across the hallways that lead to "first class passengers only". Now we have keycards to a few select areas. We used to scoot under the barriers and explore the ship.   Assigned meal sittings 3 times a day, passenger lists published listing everyone on board ship, visitors allowed on board before sailing. 

 

What was NCL like in its early days?   Was it always "freestyle?"     Early cruise experiences?

 

[Cruzinnana47]

No, NCL was not freestyle when we began cruising in 1993 on the NCL Seaward.  We had assigned seating for dinner.  If I recall correctly, our first "Freestyle" cruise may have been on the NCL Dawn in 2004.

We sailed twice on the SS Norway, originally the SS France, which NCL had acquired by the time we first sailed on her in 1995, and for a second & final time in 2001.  The dinners were still assigned seating and that ship was unique as it still had the feeling of a true "ocean liner".  It was lucky we had those 2 sailings on the Norway as we experienced some of the "old days" of cruising...midnight buffets, ice cream socials, skeet shooting off the aft and 1st class service at dinner.  No Freestyle then!

[Smitheroo]

18 minutes ago, Cruzinnana47 said:

No, NCL was not freestyle when we began cruising in 1993 on the NCL Seaward.  We had assigned seating for dinner.  If I recall correctly, our first "Freestyle" cruise may have been on the NCL Dawn in 2004.

We sailed twice on the SS Norway, originally the SS France, which NCL had acquired by the time we first sailed on her in 1995, and for a second & final time in 2001.  The dinners were still assigned seating and that ship was unique as it still had the feeling of a true "ocean liner".  It was lucky we had those 2 sailings on the Norway as we experienced some of the "old days" of cruising...midnight buffets, ice cream socials, skeet shooting off the aft and 1st class service at dinner.  No Freestyle then!

I remember the midnight buffets but and "tea time" on the Cunard shiips but we now have food just about 24 hrs per day.  I guess back then it wasnt the norm to eat around the clock lol!

 

Some features of current day cruising are an improvement.  I remember there wasnt a "menu" for meals like there is now. I dont even think there was  a menu on the QM2 in 2013 (athough there might have been a choice between one or two  entrees)  I also remember that every meal (well maybe not breakfast, at least I would hope not) had a FISH course. After awhile we joked about how they came up with so many different types of fish (well the adults did, a teen usually didnt participate in group talk with adults)  I feel sorry for anyone at the table who didnt care for fish as they were forced to look at it and smell it.   Current privacy laws would probably not allow passenger lists to be published.  And increased security vigilance means no more visitors on board before sailing.  I was told this stopped somewhere in the 1980's long before 9/11.

 

I think I visited the SS France although I dont remember much about it. After my trips in 1966 I became a ship "groupie" traveling up to NYC to visit the ships docked at the bottom of the 52nd street area, and later lower Manhattan. I wonder if this lower Manhattan area is the current "Manhattan Cruise Terminal".  Some of the other ships I visited were the SS United States, Rotterdam, Hamburg, QE, QE2. I'm not sure any of these are in operation now.   The SS United States was different, all chrome and linoleum which we now call vintage,  seemed  so stark compared to the new ships with their brass and carpeting.   I attended a lecture on the QM2 given by Bill Miller, who made a career out of his experience of following the ships as he grew up in Hoboken, NJ. Very interesting and I could identify.  He has also written books on the subject.

Edited August 25, 2023 by Smitheroo

[Smitheroo]

44 minutes ago, Smitheroo said:

And that is when I learned that you dont fraternize with the crew. 

I have to admit that I did end up dating a crew member, but not on board ship.  He was a chef on the SS Rotterdam and he and a friend from the same ship  "picked up" my girl friend and I in Greenwich Village, had a few drinks, walked down to the docks at which point they took us on board and showed us around the ship, mostly the crew quarters. It was completely innocent, as we intended it to be and apparently they did also.  The stupid things kids do!!!   I continued my relationship with him for the rest of the summer until he had to return to his native country.   Different times for sure.

[Karaboudjan]

I did a few TAs in the early 60's on Holland America - The Nieuw Amsterdam and Rotterdam.  Other things I remember that you don't see much, if at all, nowadays:

 

- Clay pigeon shooting
- Kennel
- Children's dining room
- Horse racing (the artificial kind)

 

I remember the QM passing us in the middle of the Atlantic one time.  Pretty cool.

[Smitheroo]

49 minutes ago, Karaboudjan said:

I did a few TAs in the early 60's on Holland America - The Nieuw Amsterdam and Rotterdam.  Other things I remember that you don't see much, if at all, nowadays:

 

- Clay pigeon shooting
- Kennel
- Children's dining room
- Horse racing (the artificial kind)

 

I remember the QM passing us in the middle of the Atlantic one time.  Pretty cool.

Another old timer!  I probably wouldnt have noticed  the shootings or horse racing but I dont recall a children's dining room in the 2 ships I was on in 1966. Interesting.  The small ship I was on did have a kennel (and I'm assuming the QM must have)  Me and some of the other teens I met went up to the deck to see the dogs being walked by their owners.  On the QM2 in 2013 there was a kennel but only owners were allowed access. 

[Raiders4Life32]

No TA cruises for our family, but we sailed on the MS Skyward in 1984 out of Miami on an Eastern Caribbean 7 day. We also used to sail on the MS Southward out of Los Angeles on the weekend cruises all the time. These were older smaller ships, but we always had a fantastic time. As a teen I used to love playing pickup basketball on the top aft deck on the Southward.  

[bonvoyagie]

6 hours ago, Cruzinnana47 said:

No, NCL was not freestyle when we began cruising in 1993 on the NCL Seaward.  We had assigned seating for dinner.  If I recall correctly, our first "Freestyle" cruise may have been on the NCL Dawn in 2004.

We sailed twice on the SS Norway, originally the SS France, which NCL had acquired by the time we first sailed on her in 1995, and for a second & final time in 2001.  The dinners were still assigned seating and that ship was unique as it still had the feeling of a true "ocean liner".  It was lucky we had those 2 sailings on the Norway as we experienced some of the "old days" of cruising...midnight buffets, ice cream socials, skeet shooting off the aft and 1st class service at dinner.  No Freestyle then!

We started crusing with NCL in 2002 and Freestyle was in full swing. We were on the Sky and it was touted as the first ship built for Frreestyle dining and it was completed in 1999.

[ExArkie]

My wife’s first TA was the SS United States in the late 1950s when her father was transiting between duty stations in Germany and the US. She was three years old, so doesn’t remember it.