The Old Ships

[Mebert]

Hi CruiseCrazies,

I have noticed that some of you have sailed on some of the older and smaller cruise liners.

Can you write a little something about your experience on the older ships like the Mardi Gras, Carnivale, Regal Empress or any small ship with a similar configuration.

How do those ships compare to the ships today? Are they easy to get around? Do they have an equivalent "Lido Deck.?" What are the staterooms and the lounges like? What about the dining room and the crew?

I don't know if I will ever have the opportunity to experience the thrill of boarding an older ship like the above so I must live it vicariously.

I long to hear about or experience cruising the older ships.

Does anyone know if an old ship is still in commission in the U.S.?

Thanks

[Dan]

I'm sure when Jeff reads this, he will tell all about the Regal Empress. It's still doing Bahamas cruises out of Ft Lauderdale. We followed the Regal Empress into the Panama Canal 4 years ago, and it looked like a rusted old tub (and we were on the Carnival Tropicale, speaking of tubs LOL). But the pics I'e seen of the inside of the Empress look nice.

[Bibb]

We did NCL's Southward (16,ooo tons) in 1985 and her sister ship the Skyward in '91. They do the entertainment in Lounge-like areas instead of theater style rooms on the new ships. No 24 hour food areas but they all did the Midnight Buffet until 1:30 or 2:00AM. Big band sounds by the ship's band in the main lounge and guest bands in the nightclub area with DJ's playing during the band's breaks.

We did CCL's Festival (40,000) in 87 and she was huge until we did the Norway (72,000) in '89. The Norway was hard to get around because she was an Ocean Liner with class categories, not a cruise ship.

We did RCCL's Nordic Prince (22,000) in '92 and, with the exception of the age of the passengers (it was a 10-day cruise so the average age on the ship was "Feeble") this was a great cruise.. This ship was a lot like the small NCL ships above. The band in the nightclub was "the Northern Lights" from Toronto and they was outstanding.

Since '94, we have done the big ships (they offered the best bargains, they weren't necessarily preferred) except Dec 2003 when we did the Nordic Empress (48,000) and loved it. We are doing her again April 11. We've done CCL's Inspiration & Fascination, RCI's Monarch, Grandeur, Voyager & Adventure.

The best ship we have been on - the Voyager. The best cruise we've been on - the Skyward. The best port activities - on the Empress cruise, Grand Cayman, Belize & Cozumel.

[Mebert]

Thanks Dan and Bibb for your reply.

Bibb,

Your message was exactly the type of message I was looking for. I can just imagine what I must have been like to sail on the early oceanliners.

My only chance to try an old timer is to try to catch the Regal Empress out of Ft. Lauderdale. I hope I can catch her before she retires.

Wish me luck.

[sailinglisa]

Well, back in 2000, I had a chance to do a 2 night cruise on Premier's Rembrandt - better known as the old Rotterdam V. This was truly an ocean liner about 38,000 GRT launched I believe in the late 1950's (or early 1960.) This was also a "class" ship - hard to navigate, but oh the history on board her!

I took the "history of the Rotterdam" tour - I have to say that Premier did as much as they could to maintain the same decor (in compliance with SOLAS standards that came into effect well after the RV was built) - the color schemes, etc. were as identical as possible to the original ship.) One area that was new was the buffet (Lido) area - and I am sorry right now that I cannot remember what was in this place before. This was definitely a two class ship, designed that neither class should meet - mirroring staircases (and believe me, you could not tell that there was a staircase mirroring you!) The enclosed promenade, the indoor and outdoor pool, the teak decks, the different cabin sizes even in the save category, the old plumbing fixtures (our toilet looked just like one at home - and it did act up, but someone came at 2:00am to fix it!) The dining rooms were the same - nowhere near as opulent as today's multi level dining rooms, but with a charm and beauty of their own. I wish I could find the review that I wrote of that ship and 2 day trip. We were even allowed a bridge tour - minimal computerization - they still had the chalkboards and old navigation equipment, but with the exception of the chalkboard, the old equipment was rarely used. The ship's lobby was a small portion of one deck with the pursers office and "tour" desk. The Ritz Carlton Lounge - now when I was told the stories of who used to be in that lounge, I could truly see Cary Grant walking down the spiral steps to the first floor of the lounge! I wish she were able to sail again, but I am glad the she is being given a home in Rotterdam as a floating hotel and monument to the HAL line.

[Shari2]

Hi Mebert!

Things were very different when I first started cruising in 1979. My first cruise was on the, "Carnivale." She was built in the '50s and was a nice looking ship. She had a lot of nice woodwork. The pool deck had a few different very small pools, and no big Carnival slide. lol There were no big show lounges back then. The shows were held in the regular lounges, and they had short ceilings.

The entertainment was done mostly by the same crew that helped with shore excursions and other things around the ship. The cruise director also was in on the entertainment. On, "Carnivale," he did a great ventriliquist act. There was also a lot more audience participation, which was always fun(until they called me up to the stage lol).

We were able to take bridge tours and tours of the galleys back then, and also you could have guests on board before sailing. You could throw streamers on some of the ships. We did on Constitution.

The,"Carnivale," had a midnight buffet every night which was as big as some of the Grand Buffets today, and the food wasn't just desert or fruit or cold cuts, it was everything imaginable...even lobster thermidore. They also had another mini buffet at 1:30AM. They didn't have buffets during the day, though. You had all your meals in the dining room...very traditional. If you missed your meal during the day, except for tea time, it was hard to find anything until the next meal.

There were no balconies on the rooms back then, and some rooms were set aside for singles. I had a single on the,"Carnivale," and it was about the size of a walk-in closet. lol Carnivale, also had an enclosed promenade.

I also sailed on the SS Norway, and the Cunard Princess and the Constitution, which are all older ships. The Norway was a beautiful ship, and I really liked her. The Cunard Princess was only about 18,000 GRT and was the first fully computerized ship, I believe.

The,"Constitution," was in ill repair when we sailed on her in 1992. She was not in very good shape, but I'm still glad that we got to go on the very ship that Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr were on when they filmed, "An Affair to Remember." When I sat at the back bar where they had filmed one famous scene, I wondered if Cary had sat on the very stool I sat on. lol Princess Grace had also sailed to France with her wedding party on this ship, and Lucille Ball filmed an episode of,"I love Lucy," on this ship. This ship had a lot of history.

The ship itself was a little hard to navigate, and there was pretty much nothing but cabins from the mid section forward. All the public rooms were mid to aft of the ship. Although, I prefer many of today's ships, I am really glad that I had the opportunity to sail on some classics. They will always be in my memories.

[Lisa63]

Hi Mebert, and welcome home!

The only older liner I know of that still operates out of the U.S. is REGAL EMPRESS, circa 1953. I was onboard in 2001. I instantly fell in love with the ship. There was a lot of gorgeous wood with beautiful detailing, wonderful cascading aft decks outdoors, an indoor promenade, and a wrap-around outdoor promenade. There were a few tradeoffs -- cabins with fewer amenities than today's, single-level show lounge with poor sight lines, one-story lobbies instead of grand atrium, teeny kids room, small buffet area, and a very small outdoor pool. When originally built, the ship had a two-level theatre, but that was later chopped up to create separate spaces.

The ship was kept extremely clean, and it remains among our best cruises in terms of food and service. The dining room decor was exceptional. Lots of original craftmanship, artwork, etc. The crew we met took great pride in the ship and her history.

My all-time favorite ship was Dolphin (later Premier) SEABREEZE (1958). Although she had been refurbished numerous times over the years, it was still possible to catch remnants of her previous life as the 3-class FEDERICO C. There were hallways that came to abrupt ends, staircases that didn't go to all decks. We sailed this ship twice -- 1993 and 2000 -- and found little difference after those 7 years. In 2000, they still offered skeet-shooting as an onboard activity off the back of the ship. Like REGAL EMPRESS, the show lounge was one level, there were several lobby areas (which were once separate reception areas for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd class), and a small pool area.

Another favorite, Dolphin's OCEANBREEZE (1955) was completely different, although she was a couple of years older than SEABREEZE. OCEANBREEZE had been built as a one-class ship and most of her refurbishments wiped out her original decor. She was still a fine ship, and had a most intriguing sun deck. As the funnel was aft, the entire sun deck was wide open, and a beautiful teak. Great for sunning. There were a few other gems from her past that were virtually untouched, such as a midships lounge that appeared to be circular. Pretty neat. We enjoyed our 1996 cruise, and were so sad when we heard she was heading to the breakers last year.

Then there was ss NORWAY (1962), called the Grand Dame of the Seas by many who have had the privilege of sailing her. She was the last ship built for the French Line (who owned Normandie, Ile de France, and other legends), and was NCL's flagship for many years. She held the title of largest cruise ship for a couple of decades, and was the longest cruise ship in history until QUEEN MARY 2 debuted last year. As she was originally a two-class ship, she had several staircases that didn't service all decks, and her lower decks were difficult -- yet fun -- to navigate. The lido area, not original to the ship, was small. The Windward Dining Room, intact from its days as SS FRANCE's first class dining room, is the most gorgeous I've ever seen. It was circular, with a staircase leading down from the main entrance. She had a two-level theatre/show lounge that was perfectly fine despite lacking the many special effects that today's ships can offer. And Club Internationale was stunning. Like Lisa said above about the Ritz Carlton Lounge on SS ROTTERDAM, it was easy to feel transported back in time and expect Cary Grant to come in at any moment.

Goodness, I've gone on and on...

For more, click on the ship names below for a couple of reviews, including pictures:

SS Norway

Regal Empress

OceanBreeze

Edited as links I originally posted did not work.

[KeithnRita]

Does anyone know the history of this ship we photographed in Santa Domingo?

Caribbean Express

[Bibb]

Mebert,

Jeff Stern wrote a series of posts called "A Sea of Memories" on this board and they give a lot of first hand information and commentery of the old ships. They are full of nostalgia and even some tearful moments as you get absorbed in his cruises. You almost feel like you are cruising with him. I hope you can find them or that you can get together with Jeff.

Edit P.S. - I wrote a review on the Nordic Empress (Nov/Dec 2005)on this board if you are interested.

[Shari2]

This is a great post, Mebert...

It brings back a lot of memories. I have to correct something I said about the Cunard Princess. I said she was the first totally computerized ship. I'm not sure about that, but DH said that she was the first to be totally designed by a computer. She was built very light. I remember when we hit some rough seas along the Baja coast area, I was in the bow of the ship, and it would raise up and slam down against the waves, and you would hear the creaking of the ship. Hubby says it was, "stretching."