What happened to awesome cruise experience?

[George C]

2 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise, Lois.  I missed your posts around these parts.  🙂

 

Since I expect everyone to scatter to the next post about the good ol' days and how everything since then has gone to you-know-where in a handbasket, I'll post about what I hope/expect will be awesome about the next six cruises I have booked.  This could be a little long; the two of you left have been warned:

 

• November 2023, Carnival Magic, Western Caribbean - I think it will be great to get back on Carnival again.  I've tried multiple times to do so, but they didn't work out.  Also, this will be my first stop in Belize since the restart.  I don't know what I'm going to do there (maybe nothing), but it's nice to have the option.
• January 2024, Carnival Dream, Panama Canal (almost) - I really like the longer sailings on Carnival, and this will be my first one in a while.  I get to visit Limon, CR and Falmouth, Jamaica for the first time in several years.  Again, dunno what, if anything, I'm going to do, but it's nice to be able to choose.  We'll be docking in Colon, Panama, which is as close as we officially get to the Canal.  Excursions are offered to do a partial transit in a smaller ship, which I may or may not do.
• February 2024, Mariner OTS, Southern Caribbean - The first of my music charter cruises.  This one is The 80s Cruise.  I love the music of the 80s, and some of the artists I love most will be onboard.  This will be an awesome experience.  I'm calling it now!
• March 2024, Celebrity Summit, Southern Caribbean - Another music charter, this time covering 70s music.  Lots of good music to be had here.  And as a special bonus, I get to finally meet one of my favorite CC posters!
• April 2024, Norwegian Pearl, Nassau - The last music charter of this group, this very short 3-nighter has Michael McDonald and Patti LaBelle and some other stuff.  I'm sure it'll keep me runnin'. 😁  This will be my first trip on NCL, which I'm excited to try out.
• October 2024, Ovation OTS, Hawaii to Australia - This is a BUCKET LIST extravaganza - to French Polynesia, New Zealand, and Australia on a transpacific cruise ticks off four boxes!  This will be my longest cruise ever, with the most sea days ever.  This is also my first voyage on a Q-class ship.  We'll have to see how it all adds up.

Drinks are a little more expensive now , they were under a dollar back in 1975 😁😁😁, we still love our cruises , normally cruise twice a year always in suites (had great cruises in inside cabins in 1970’s and 80’s) really looking forward to leave from Texas again on Harmony then looking forward to meeting you on our 70’s rock and romance music charter , we will give you a tour of our royal suite and we can listen to Don McLean singing American Pie along with many other great artists.

[Honolulu Blue]

59 minutes ago, George C said:

looking forward to meeting you on our 70’s rock and romance music charter , we will give you a tour of our royal suite and we can listen to Don McLean singing American Pie along with many other great artists.

All right, it's a date! 😜

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, George C said:

Drinks are a little more expensive now , they were under a dollar back in 1975 😁😁😁

 

Of course, given inflation, the buying power of $1 in 1975 would be the same as almost $8 in 2023.

 

[lenquixote66]

One of my very best cruises was on a Cunard ship in 1973. Entertainment was A+ .The entertainment on todays cruises is generally singers and comedians that are unknown.

The entertainers on the 1973 cruise were superstars.

There were no towel hogs by the pool.
The day we boarded the ship there were Bon Voyage parties for friends and family.

 

[Szt]

Personally I’ve always found the MainStage shows kind of cheesy. I love the comedians. Have never seen a bad one on a ship. 
But I have to say, one of the most fantastic entertainment experiences I ever enjoyed, on a cruise or anywhere, we the Cirque du Sole show on Norwegian a few years ago. The acts were breathtaking, downright inhuman. The costumes, music, even the food (it was a dinner show) was music for my mouth! Honestly best Filet I have ever had. It wasn’t cheap as it was not only specialty dining but a special show. It was worth every penny. So I actually think the caliber of entertainment has improved on some lines. I guess that’s a matter of taste. 

[ontheweb]

8 hours ago, Szt said:

Personally I’ve always found the MainStage shows kind of cheesy. I love the comedians. Have never seen a bad one on a ship. 
But I have to say, one of the most fantastic entertainment experiences I ever enjoyed, on a cruise or anywhere, we the Cirque du Sole show on Norwegian a few years ago. The acts were breathtaking, downright inhuman. The costumes, music, even the food (it was a dinner show) was music for my mouth! Honestly best Filet I have ever had. It wasn’t cheap as it was not only specialty dining but a special show. It was worth every penny. So I actually think the caliber of entertainment has improved on some lines. I guess that’s a matter of taste. 

How recent are you talking about? I agree the Cirque show on NCL was fantastic, but for us it was 11 years ago. I don't believe it is any longer on any of their ships. I don't agree about the included meal with the dinner theater. I do not remember it as special at all and much less choice than their main dining room's menu.

[shipgeeks]

Here's an enhancement that didn't exist more than 20 years ago: towel animals.  Personally, the first time or two I thought they were cute, then I really did not want them cluttering up my cabin every night.  But if a cabin steward misses doing one, there are lots of people who will complain on social media.  I guess they have become an essential part of cruise satisfaction.  I wonder, sometimes, who did the first one.

[donaldsc]

So do not cruise.  Pick 3 or 4 or 5 places that you would like to spend an extended period at and stay that each place for several days. You will have a more enjoyable time than on a cruise ship any day and you will get to know that places you stop at much better than on a 6 hour cruise stop.

 

DON

[Toofarfromthesea]

12 hours ago, ontheweb said:

How recent are you talking about? I agree the Cirque show on NCL was fantastic, but for us it was 11 years ago. I don't believe it is any longer on any of their ships. I don't agree about the included meal with the dinner theater. I do not remember it as special at all and much less choice than their main dining room's menu.

 

MSC Meriviglia (sp?) had a couple of different Cirque de Soleil shows, pre-pandemic, when I was on a Baltic cruise.  It was spectacular, and I can see why many people loved but it if I'm honest it wasn't at all my cup of tea.

Edited September 21, 2023 by Toofarfromthesea

[Szt]

12 hours ago, ontheweb said:

How recent are you talking about? I agree the Cirque show on NCL was fantastic, but for us it was 11 years ago. I don't believe it is any longer on any of their ships. I don't agree about the included meal with the dinner theater. I do not remember it as special at all and much less choice than their main dining room's menu.

I believe it was just before Covid. 2019 I think. 

[Szt]

45 minutes ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

MSC Meriviglia (sp?) had a couple of different Cirque de Soleil shows, pre-pandemic, when I was on a Baltic cruise.  It was spectacular, and I can see why many people loved but it if I'm honest it wasn't at all my cup of tea.

To each his own

[Szt]

49 minutes ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

MSC Meriviglia (sp?) had a couple of different Cirque de Soleil shows, pre-pandemic, when I was on a Baltic cruise.  It was spectacular, and I can see why many people loved but it if I'm honest it wasn't at all my cup of tea.

 

7 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

Here's an enhancement that didn't exist more than 20 years ago: towel animals.  Personally, the first time or two I thought they were cute, then I really did not want them cluttering up my cabin every night.  But if a cabin steward misses doing one, there are lots of people who will complain on social media.  I guess they have become an essential part of cruise satisfaction.  I wonder, sometimes, who did the first one.

The first cruise I saw this on was in 1991 on RC. We loved it and did look forward to what animal we were getting each night.
My husband’s kids had cruised with their mom several times. They really looked forward to the towel animals. 
Our last cruise on NCL our steward did the animals in our cabin (balcony) but not in our kid’s interior cabin. We asked our room steward several times if he could please do the animals in the kids cabin. He said sure. But it was never done. The last night was our son’s 21st birthday. We gave the steward an extra tip to cover the bed with towel animals. He did and our son loved it. I don’t know why they didn’t do it earlier. 

[Szt]

On 9/20/2023 at 11:11 AM, lenquixote66 said:

One of my very best cruises was on a Cunard ship in 1973. Entertainment was A+ .The entertainment on todays cruises is generally singers and comedians that are unknown.

The entertainers on the 1973 cruise were superstars.

There were no towel hogs by the pool.
The day we boarded the ship there were Bon Voyage parties for friends and family.

 

It also used to be that people dressed up to fly. Cruise travel was just for the elite, like in A Affair to Remember. Now it’s available and affordable for almost everyone. I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. I’m sure the very top tier of lines still has some of that. 

[Lois R]

1 minute ago, Szt said:

It also used to be that people dressed up to fly. Cruise travel was just for the elite, like in A Affair to Remember. Now it’s available and affordable for almost everyone. I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. I’m sure the very top tier of lines still has some of that. 

Oh, you are talking about a classic.....An Affair to Remember......Cary Grant was so good🙂

[Szt]

4 minutes ago, Lois R said:

Oh, you are talking about a classic.....An Affair to Remember......Cary Grant was so good🙂

I was also going to mention Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. But I don’t think many people would know that movie. That’s when cruising was a while different beast. If I had to wear gowns every night I don’t think I’d enjoy that much- unless of course there are men like Cary Grant on board. 😊

[Lois R]

16 minutes ago, Szt said:

I was also going to mention Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. But I don’t think many people would know that movie. That’s when cruising was a while different beast. If I had to wear gowns every night I don’t think I’d enjoy that much- unless of course there are men like Cary Grant on board. 😊

Baby Boomers would know it.🙂

[crystalspin]

What happened to awesome cruise experience?

 

I am having them on HAL! Sorry you aren't.

[Mary229]

5 hours ago, crystalspin said:

What happened to awesome cruise experience?

 

I am having them on HAL! Sorry you aren't.

So many dwell in the past and don’t recognize the benefits of the now.  We didn’t have internet and phone calls to shore were $30 a minute.  The rooms were tiny. You had to eat at a specific time with a specific set of people. The menus were much smaller with few to no choices.  And it was expensive.  For the inflation adjusted prices I paid on Princess in the late 80s I certainly could sail Seabourn or other luxury line today.  And we now have an abundance of cruising styles.  

[lenquixote66]

14 hours ago, Szt said:

It also used to be that people dressed up to fly. Cruise travel was just for the elite, like in A Affair to Remember. Now it’s available and affordable for almost everyone. I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. I’m sure the very top tier of lines still has some of that. 

Fifty years ago men did not wear jeans during the day nor did they wear tee shirts.

[ontheweb]

15 hours ago, Szt said:

I believe it was just before Covid. 2019 I think. 

When talking about cruise experiences NOW, anything pre-Covid is kind of irrelevant.

[DarrenM]

On 9/19/2023 at 12:51 AM, djdavis88 said:

My husband said last night, while discussing a possible Alaska cruise next….“ I’m just about done with cruising, this Nickel  and diming us is just about over the top.” 
We have been cruising since 1995 and it has changed soooo much, that we are loosing our enthusiasm for cruising. It use to be so price inclusive and feeling pampered, and just a total awesome vacation. Not so much any more. It’s so sad and we don’t know what direction we are going to go in. 🥺.

Not really complaining, we realize the cruise industry lost a lot during the pandemic. I am just sad, really sad. Food has declined, service has declined, paying extra for things that formerly were all included has changed. It’s just not as fun as it was, the “wow” has dissipated. 
Is annyone else sad of what use to be, mourning what once was?

 

Well having had 3 cruises on celebrity everything bar the speciality dining was included so not sure about this.

 

And we didnt need to use the speciality dining as all of the food on board was superb.

 

But we did anyway. Because we wanted to. We werent nickle and dimed.

[Szt]

We just booked a Celebrity cruise. We opted to buy the zero proof drink package and prepay the gratuities. I’m sure we will tip more on the cruise unless service is really bad. But that’s our choice. We may buy something in the shop (they usually have great deals the last sea day) but otherwise, don’t expect to have any other charges. 
One thing a lot of people may not realize is that many of the venues on board these days simply rent space in the ship. The cruise line doesn’t own those. That includes the spa, shops, some restaurants, Starbucks, etc. The cruise line doesn’t really have a say in their prices. It’s also why, though you may have an all inclusive drink package, you still have to pay for bottled water in the shops. But as the earlier post said, ships didn’t have all these options years ago. So you have a choice- use the third party and pay, or don’t. But don’t complain that you have the option. 

[mammajamma2013]

To me cruising is still an awesome experience because it takes me to places I would never otherwise get to go. I love the feeling of being pampered while on board. I'll live with whatever cuts there have been recently as long as I can go on a cruise to a different part of the world. Even if I'm there only a few hours, at least I'm there.

[Honolulu Blue]

33 minutes ago, mammajamma2013 said:

To me cruising is still an awesome experience because it takes me to places I would never otherwise get to go. I love the feeling of being pampered while on board. I'll live with whatever cuts there have been recently as long as I can go on a cruise to a different part of the world. Even if I'm there only a few hours, at least I'm there.

Well said, and I mostly agree with you except for the pampering part.  I don't react well to most forms of pampering - unless you call things like nightly chocolates, nightly newsletters, and daily English bacon at the trough pampering.

[Lois R]

19 minutes ago, Honolulu Blue said:

Well said, and I mostly agree with you except for the pampering part.  I don't react well to most forms of pampering - unless you call things like nightly chocolates, nightly newsletters, and daily English bacon at the trough pampering.

Hi, you must have a different way of thinking about pampering.......to me, it is the whole experience.

Having my bed turned down at night (for example) and having my bed made the next morning........that is all under the pampering experience (for me anyway).  And yes, what you mentioned can be classified under the same category too🙂