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January 27, 2025

I started cruising in the late 70’s when my grandmother introduced me to my first ship, the Leonardo Da Vinci of the Italian Line. I was 12 years old at the time, and it started a lifelong passion for ships, cruising, and the cruise industry. Some 45 years later it’s fascinating to reflect on the evolution of cruising.

Back in the 70’s and into the 80’s and even 90’s, the journey started with a visit to your local travel agent. The internet didn’t exist in those days so you picked up some brochures and started researching itineraries, cruise lines, and ships. Many of the lines that were popular back then no longer exist today. Home Lines; Chandris; Sitmar; Royal Viking; Royal Cruise Line; Dolphin; Majesty; Premier; Orient Lines; Epirotiki; American Hawaii; Sun Line; Commodore, just to name a few. Other lines have stood the test of time such as Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian, Princess, Costa, and Holland America. Mind you they are but a distant memory of their illustrious past, with many now operating under different ownership. Once you decided on a line, ship, and itinerary it was back to the travel agent to book your cruise and put down a deposit. Part of the fun was selecting a cabin as in those days many cruise ships were former multi-class ocean liners, and every cabin layout was different. Even within the same cabin category not all cabins were created equal, so it was great fun studying the very detailed deck plans to select that perfect cabin. The plans would often show where each piece of furniture was placed, including the bathroom layout. Cruises were far more expensive in those days and the industry had yet to open to the masses, but those days would come soon enough. Once paid in full (often by personal check), your paper documents would arrive by mail to the travel agent about 2-3 weeks prior to sailing. What joy to receive that phone call and collect those documents. Each cruise line had its own ticket packet, some more elaborate than others, but in all cases it was vital you had your paper ticket in hand to board the ship. Today the brick and mortar travel agency is a rare commodity, and most people book their cruise vacation online. Online agencies are abundant or you simply book direct with the cruise line. The internet has eliminated most paper brochures and all your research can be done online. Booking is as simple as a few clicks of the mouse and documentation is all electronic.

While itinerary probably remains the key factor in cruise selection both today and yesterday, selecting a ship 40 years ago involved some unique challenges. While today practically all ships are modern in design and construction, forty years ago that wasn’t the case. The cruise industry was evolving as were the ships, so you had a big choice to make. A new modern ship such as the Royal Caribbean trio, the three ships of Princess Cruises, the NCL White Ships, or any ship of the Royal Viking Line offered the latest amenities and style, but often lacked atmosphere found on the classic liners. The modern ships had low metal ceilings, and small modular cabins with incredibly small bathrooms. Your other option was a converted ocean liner and these were abundant at the time. Carnival was relatively new and offered three converted ocean liners. Mardi Gras, Carnivale, and Festivale. They were incredibly popular even though they lacked the modern amenities and style of new construction. Instead you had quirky layouts, beautiful inlaid wood bulkheads, cabins that were unique and not modular, twin beds that were truly twins and did convert to a king, and dining rooms deep in the hull. The reasoning for dining room placement was that low and midship offered the most stable ride. Not really a problem in the Caribbean, but remember the classic ships had prior lives that often involved very unpredictable seas. TV’s in cabins didn’t exist and many ships didn’t have telephones in the cabin either. On some ships you had to go down the hall to a hair drying room after your shower to style your hair, and it made for fantastic camaraderie with your fellow passengers. Perhaps more than one romance can be traced to those hair drying rooms. Cruising was much more formal and even on lines like Carnival people dressed in their finest on formal nights. Lines like Sitmar, Home Lines, Chandris, Costa, and Holland America exemplified the popularity of cruising on converted ocean liners. Over time most lines began to offer both experiences, as they built new ships but continued to operate their classics. Eventually all the classics were retired and what remains are the modern style cruise ships we have today. It was a fantastic era of cruising though, as you had a choice of two completely different styles of ships, sometimes even within the same cruise line.

The onboard experience represented the times, and that meant far less choice. The varied options we have today simply didn’t exist and were not expected. For instance on most ships you took all three meals in the main dining room, simply because no other options existed. Those three meals though were of a very high standard in terms of cuisine and service. Daytime activities consisted of deck games, bingo, a tour of the Bridge, trivia, maybe a movie, and pool festivities such as joisting over the pool on Holland America or a beer drinking contest on Carnival. Evenings meant dressing for dinner, a show (singer or comedian – often the Cruise Director) or a movie after dinner, the midnight buffet, and on the more active ships a disco that rocked into the wee hours. Children and families were not yet popular on ships and most passengers were coupled and of the older variety (Carnival was changing that). A children’s playroom and swimming pool were the extent of activities for kids, yet somehow at least speaking for myself I was perfectly content and just thrilled to be there. Additional dining options were few and far between, and we can thank Holland America for popularizing the casual buffet option. Their ships featured this concept even 45 years ago. It was to a much smaller scale than what we know today, but it was a popular option that all lines would adopt moving forward. Speciality dining options in the modern cruise industry can be traced back to NCL and the legendary s/s NORWAY. Le Bistro was added to her offerings during one of her early refits, and it remains a staple of the NCL experience even today. Special mention must be made of the s/s Norway as she was a catalyst to the modern cruising experience we enjoy today. Although a converted ocean liner, her extensive refit in 1979 from ocean liner to cruise ship transcended the barrier between classic and modern ships. She offered groundbreaking features we take for granted today such as headline entertainment, full scale Broadway shows in a true theater, multiple dining options such as a buffet and speciality restaurant, and most of all scale. She was by far the largest cruise ship in service when introduced in 1980, and the hottest ticket in town. It actually cost more to sail on her in 1980 than a typical seven day Caribbean cruise today, and it wasn’t unusual to book a year in advance in order to secure a cabin. Her milk-run out of Miami offered more sea days than port days, simply because she was the destination. She did stop weekly at one very unique port that would also transform the cruise industry. NCL pioneered the private out island concept and Norway stopped weekly for a beach party and picnic exclusively for her passengers. It was something that no one else offered and was incredibly popular, so much so that today every major line has its own island or private beach, in addition to cultivated ports of call that the cruise line fully controls. These are often the highest rated ports on any cruise line itinerary. During other port visits, my favorite activity was often visiting neighboring ships. It was fairly easy to just to work onboard the ship docked next to you, either by showing your paper boarding pass of the ship you were on, or just sweet talking your way up the gangway. The security that exists today was unheard of. Likewise you could easily obtain visitor passes to visit most ships during their turn-around days in New York and other ports. It simply meant writing the head office for a visitor pass in advance, or in some cases simply showing up and paying a small token fee that went to the local seaman’s fund. The Achille Lauro hijacking in 1985 put an end to all that.

There are many common shipboard items from 45 years ago you just don’t see on ships today, or at least rarely. Logo ashtrays & matchbooks were found on almost every cocktail table and smoking was prevalent. Cabins actually had keys and logo keychains. When you boarded the ship every cabin door was open and your keys were waiting on the dresser. This was a fantastic time for ship enthusiasts like me to check out various cabins, as remember they were all different back then and all the doors were open when you first boarded. On the Leonardo Da Vinci they had curio cabinets in the various corridors with glass doors, and you were expected to hang your cabin key in the cabinet each time you left the cabin. This would alert the cabin steward your cabin was vacant and he/she could service it. My grandmother never became comfortable with that concept, even in the 70’s. It would certainly never fly today. At the end of each cruise you were presented with a stack of menus from your voyage, each one different and each printed with the date. This was before the days of standardized menus dictated by head office. How about a printed directory of every passenger onboard and the city they reside in? Several cruise lines provided these and no doubt privacy laws would come into play today. Different times for certain. Onboard expenses such as drinks were paid for in cash at the time of service, and tipping was also done with cash and envelopes left in your cabin the last day of the cruise.

I spoke earlier of the s/s Norway but she wasn’t the only ship that revolutionized the cruise industry. There are many others and ship enthusiasts will have their preferences no doubt. Holland America’s Rotterdam V and Home Line’s Oceanic were catalysts in making the transition from classic liners to cruise ships. They were actually both and performed extremely well in both capacities. The Royal Princess of 1984 was revolutionary in a few aspects. Her design featured all outside cabins, many with balconies, and placed public areas on the lowest decks with cabins above. This design is still popular today and Royal Princess continues to sail some 40 years later as ARTANIA. That is a true testament to her forward thinking design. Private balconies have transformed the industry and having a balcony today is as common as a porthole was 40 years ago. The abundance of balconies drastically changed the appearance of most cruise ships from looking like actual ships, to floating high rise condo complexes. Interestingly enough private balconies on passenger ships are not a new or modern concept. Their origins date back to well past 90 years ago. The difference is the amount of balconies and the fact that they are now affordable. Princess Cruises was the pioneer that made balconies on cruise ships commonplace and affordable. The Norway remained the largest cruise ship for some time, and the first ship to eclipse her in size (barely) was Royal Caribbean’s Sovereign of the Seas. She was essentially built to take on the NORWAY and helped pave the way for the mega-ship era that was to come. The Carnival Destiny was the first cruise ship to exceed 100,000 gt and what is truly amazing is that today she is considered midsized. In terms of design the Voyager of the Seas was groundbreaking in offering a split superstructure that many Royal Caribbean and MSC ships have adopted today. To be fair the Silja Serenade, a European ferry was actually the first with this design, but Royal Caribbean had the vision to bring this now popular concept to the modern cruise industry. Today the largest cruise ship is Icon of the Seas at 248,663 gross tons. Compare with the s/s Norway of 1980 at 70,202 gross tons. Talk about evolution!

Technology and the environment are two standouts in cruise ship evolution. Ocean liners and cruise ships 45 years ago were no friend of the environment. They emitted heavy toxic smoke, often had oil or fuel spills, and dumped most of their garbage right off the fantail in the dead of the night. Sewage was simply pumped overboard into the ocean. I can recall many times strolling on deck late at night and witnessing crew dumping garbage bags off the fantail. Even back then it was an uncomfortable sight but it was commonplace. That is one aspect of a bygone era I do not miss. Today ships have adopted alternative fuel sources such as LNG, fuel cells, and even wind & solar power. There are scrubbers installed to clean engine emissions, and new more dynamic propulsion options such as Azipods. Nothing is thrown overboard, recycling is paramount, and all cruise ships have zero tolerance for anything, even the smallest item, going overboard. Cruise ships still pose environmental challenges but the industry is making great progress and taking their role seriously. It wasn’t even a consideration 45 years ago.

It’s challenging to summarize cruising’s evolution these past 45 years as there has been enormous changes and progress, but one key factor stands out. Cruising is now available to the masses. Even 45 years ago that wasn’t the case. Cruising was considered expensive, a product for the wealthy, and a small niche within the vacation industry. Opening up cruising to the masses has resulted in larger ships, more amenities, broader destinations, affordability, and more choice than ever existed before. There is literally a product and ship out there for every person and every budget. While the industry as a whole has adapted with the times, two standouts are top of mind for cruising’s evolution. The popularity of the TV show “Love Boat”, and Carnival Cruise Lines can arguably be credited as the catalysts that transformed cruising into an affordable, casual, and accessible vacation available to the masses. Carnival started with one converted ocean liner, the Mardi Gras back in 1972, with the ambition & drive to open up cruising to the masses and make it fun, laid back, and affordable. I’m uncertain even they knew the impact they would have on the industry some 52 years ago, but they have forever changed the industry and helped shape the ships and experiences we all enjoy today.

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Ernie Roller

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