Ref, I go back to 1969. I recall there being The Italian Line, Home Line,
and Holland America. To the best of my knowledge none of them were publicly
traded companies so perhaps there was no onus to turn a profit for the
stockholders.

That doesn't say that there were not money making things going on, only back
then the profits went to the purser. The purser owned the bingo game, all
of the liquor on the ship, and even the deck chairs. On The Italian Line
you reserved your deck chair for $1.00 a day.

But cruising was different then. People expected to dress on formal nights,
and they stayed dressed for the evening.

Sometimes I long for the "good old days" and other times I am thankful for
the conveniences that modern cruising offer.
--
DG in Cherry Hill, NJ



"RTCReferee" wrote in message
...
*bicker* wrote:

One of the things to keep in mind, when considering the
answers to your question, is that many cruise lines aren't
interested in providing an experience reminiscent of the
past. For example, there were no rock walls, rollerblade
tracks, or ice rinks on cruise ships of the past.

Our first cruise was in 1984. There was a jogging track on the top deck
and a
large, separate volleyball court with scheduled games. We didn't care
then (or
now) about jogging, but volleyball was definitely on our agenda.

I'm curious, when you speak of "the past," with regards to cruising, how
far
back do you look?