{"id":1125,"date":"2015-03-18T13:49:23","date_gmt":"2015-03-18T13:49:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awaywego-origin.carnival.com\/?p=1125"},"modified":"2017-10-05T16:43:51","modified_gmt":"2017-10-05T16:43:51","slug":"cruising-then-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carnival.com\/awaywego\/cruising-fun\/what-to-expect\/cruising-then-now","title":{"rendered":"Cruising Then & Now"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do you remember your first cruise or vacation?\u00a0I certainly remember mine, as it was one of my very first trips outside of the country — and it was on a Carnival<\/a> cruise that went to the Caribbean and Mexico. I recently stumbled upon an old college album filled with travel photos. The year was 1998, cell phones were a new thing, and we \u201csmart\u201d travelers took vacation photos on film with a disposable camera capable of a maximum of 36 pictures (the benefit being that if you lost the camera, you would only be missing a few memories along with the paper and plastic they were stored in).<\/p>\n

Rachelle & friends circa 1998:<\/p>\n

\"TB_Post7_IMG_1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Times have definitely changed, and in more ways than one. Now, I take hundreds of photos on multiple electronic devices, I don\u2019t have to wait for them to be developed, and I can share them instantly and easily online instead of passing around a photo album amongst my friends. Going through these old pics has certainly been quite a fun trip down memory lane and it\u2019s been fascinating to think back and realize all the differences in travel between then and today.<\/p>\n

Here are some of the key things I noticed (besides the lack of photos) \u2026

\n

Plan a getaway<\/h2>\n

\"TB_Post7_IMG_2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

On my recent cruise, the process is streamlined. There\u2019s a video in your stateroom that goes over all the important aspects of the ship. When it comes time for the safety drill, you locate your life vests, but you don\u2019t have to put them on or take them with you. Then you locate your muster station, check in, and once everyone is accounted for, we all went back to enjoying our first day at sea. Since we didn\u2019t have our life vests in tow, we didn\u2019t have to go back to our rooms, and instead immediately went back up on the top deck to enjoy the view. It was nice to get all the information we needed without it taking up too much of our vacation time.<\/p>\n

NOW:
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

\"TB_Post7_IMG_3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Dining and Entertainment<\/strong><\/p>\n

My palette has certainly changed in the last decade or so. My memory of cruise dining was that it was fancy schmancy with themed dinners and big buffets decorated with intricate ice sculptures. We’d get dressed up formally every night and dine at our assigned table mixed with other passengers who, by the end of the week, had become our friends. If Facebook had existed back then, I\u2019m sure I\u2019d still be in touch with all of them. We had one server who took care of us like we were his family, so much so that we had to have him included in our pictures on our last day at sea.<\/p>\n

THEN:<\/p>\n

\"TB_Post7_IMG_4\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Today, cruise dining<\/a> is all about choices and freedom. You can eat what you want, where you want, and there\u2019s multiple restaurants with a variety of cuisines. The only sad part is, we never really did get to know any of the servers because we dined at a different restaurant each night.\u00a0But the variety of food I got to try every night made up for it.<\/p>\n

NOW:
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

\"TB_Post7_IMG_5\"<\/a><\/p>\n

After dinner, back in the 90s, I remember hanging out at the piano bar all night or watching some interactive stage skits featuring passengers.\u00a0Today, the entertainment has been stepped up a notch. The shows we saw were all high quality, comparable to anything I’d buy a ticket to see on land (and thankfully, the shows are free on the cruise!). From live bands<\/a> to the\u00a0comedy club<\/a>, there was a variety of great shows<\/a>\u00a0to keep us going all night long.<\/p>\n

Fun Itineraries<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is one thing that thankfully hasn\u2019t changed. Back in my college days, we wanted to see as much as possible while sticking to a budget, and an all-inclusive cruise made it possible to do. Seeing the Mayan temples at Tulum back then was such a highlight that it sparked my wanderlust for more traveling.<\/p>\n

THEN:
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

\"TB_Post7_IMG_6\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The biggest difference I see now is that there is a lot more offered to customize the experience<\/a> and the only thing that\u2019s really changed at these destinations is quality of the pictures we\u2019re able to take and share.<\/p>\n

NOW:<\/p>\n

\"TB_Post7_IMG_7\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This post was created for<\/em> Away We Go with Carnival<\/a>, the destination for getting in the getaway state of mind.<\/em><\/p>\n

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