Over the past decade, the cruising industry has been transformed by innovation and technology.
Cruising was once considered a rather luxurious, traditional and exclusive experience. In fact, the cruise industry dates back to his 1901. Of course, the most notorious cruise ship was the Titanic, which was quite innovative for its time. The ocean liner was an impressive design with pools, restaurants and onboard activities.
In the 1960s, the cruising industry really started to emerge as a vacation destination rather than an ocean liner. Norwegian Cruise Line was one of the first cruise lines to establish itself as a vacation destination. Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruise Lines entered the market shortly thereafter. These two big names of his still dominate the cruise industry today.
Carnival Cruise Line was one of the first big names in the cruising industry with its first ship, Carnival Mardi Gras, and the name was recently repurposed for one of Carnival’s newest ships. I was.
The cruise industry became even more popular when The Love Boat, filmed on the Princess Cruises ship in the 1980s, debuted on television.
In 1988, Royal Caribbean was one of the first cruise lines to build a ‘mega ship’ with Sovereign of the Seas, the first in history to accommodate 2,850 passengers.
Throughout the 1990s, more cruise lines entered the market, establishing themselves as the largest cruise competitor. Since 1970, passenger numbers have doubled every decade compared to his previous decade. This shows how popular cruising has become.
Today, modern cruise ships are almost five times the size of the Titanic. These giant mega ships are designed as floating resorts.
New cruise ships are bigger than ever, and the onboard experience has definitely changed.
Activities once considered essential to cruising have been replaced. Cruise lines must keep up with trends to keep their ships popular.
Here are 10 abandoned cruise ship activities that longtime cruisers can remember.
1. Skeet shooting
Also known as trap shooting, guests used to be able to go skeet shooting on cruise ships. was
This beloved activity was very popular at sea during cruises in the 1980s and 1990s. While the cruiser held the loaded guns, the crew flew clay birds into the air to serve as firing targets.
Of course, it’s not hard to see why this activity was phased out. Carrying firearms on cruise ships has significant safety implications. Not to mention, passengers may be drinking all day before dabbling in skeet shooting.
In addition, it is strictly forbidden to throw foreign objects into the sea even on current cruise ships. Considering what it means to shoot a shotgun at sea, there could also be noise complaints.
2. Horse decoration
Another activity on the abandoned cruise ship was the practice of dressing up horses for shipboard derbies in the 1980s and 1990s. Remembered by many as a silly and fun activity, rocking horses were used for gambling derbies aboard cruise ships.
The wooden horse was auctioned early in the cruise and hoped to be completed at the Derby. These cruisers decorated wooden racehorses and paraded the horses around the cruise ships to gain support and interest.
These wooden horses were also named, and the cruiser came up with some sort of backstory about the horse that was shared with the spectators before the race. It is a humorous biography imagined.
The horses are then raced in a derby, usually held on the lounge or pool deck. Six horses will compete in the Derby. This was basically a game of dice betting. Passengers cheer on the horse they bet on, and the winning horse wins a lot of money.
This abandoned activity has not been seen on cruise ships for many years and has disappointed longtime cruisers.
3. Ice sculpture
You may still see ice sculptures on display on today’s cruises, but you’ve likely seen multiple ice sculptures and even demonstrations on cruises in the last few decades.
The ice sculptures on the pool deck used to make for a spectacular sight. Talented chefs demonstrate their expert carving skills on giant blocks of ice. To the excitement of the crowd, the chef created a beautifully intricate display of art in just a few minutes.
Ice sculptures have been seen around cruise ships. Most important is the popular midnight buffet.
It’s hard to imagine that this kind of abandoned activity would attract large crowds. These days, however, cruise ships are loaded with so many activities that these demonstrations aren’t popular with cruisers.
4. Midnight Buffet
Dining has always been one of the main activities on cruise ships. Over the past decade, midnight buffets have been phased out.
Once a daily ‘must-have’ activity onboard, the midnight buffet showcased sumptuous cuisine, fondue, ice sculptures, chocolates and more.
At the midnight buffet, the atmosphere of the buffet changes completely, and there are more dishes than you can imagine.
When cruising took a more traditional approach, guests could dine at limited times and places. Cruise ships had additional dining spots, with meals available almost 24 hours at a time. so guests don’t need a midnight budget for a late-night snack.
Plus, with these grand events happening every night, the midnight buffet was certainly a waste.
5. Onboard practice area
Similar to skeet shooting, cruisers can pay a few bucks to shoot a golf ball from the rear of a cruise ship.
By removing part of the railing, guests were able to use the ocean as their practice ground. With buckets of balls and clubs, people were somehow tethered to the boat so as not to fall from the top deck, where the railings had been removed.
An unobstructed section was used for the onboard driving range where guests could hit golf balls into the ocean.
Not surprisingly, environmental concerns have been raised about how long golf balls stay in the ocean. Unfortunately, most golf balls were not biodegradable, and the more eco-friendly ones were very expensive.
Eventually, this cruise ship activity was abandoned due to the emergence of more exciting things to do on board. Eventually, the magic of hitting a golf ball into the sea was replaced by an onboard golf simulator.
6. Sunbathing topless
A blast from the past, in the early days of cruising, passengers were allowed to sunbathe topless. Sunbathing topless was allowed.
Cruise ships usually had a special area on the top deck for women who were concerned about getting sunburned in their bathing suits.
For example, on the Carnival Cruise Line, the pool deck space surrounding the famous Carnival Tail was widely considered a topless sunbathing spot.
These days, most North American cruise ships completely ban topless sunbathing. Carnival Cruise Line has eliminated all topless sunbathing spots on its cruise ships. Additionally, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean state in their guest behavior policies that topless sunbathing is not allowed.
Today’s era of family-friendly cruising has eliminated this activity for good reason, but some European cruise lines still allow topless sunbathing.
7. Passenger Talent Night
Karaoke is still a popular cruise ship activity, but another abandoned cruising activity is passenger talent shows.
During this old tradition, passengers aboard cruise ships could go on stage and do almost anything they were brave enough to demonstrate to an audience. includes what he felt was his talent.
Many remember passenger talent shows as very entertaining with talent ranging from mediocre to outstanding.
These days, you can find karaoke and lip-syncing battles as activities on cruise ships. Some cruise ships also have crew talent shows, possibly more regulated.
8. Nightclubbing
Many ships built in the 1990s were able to find their own nightclubs on board. For late-night activities, the cruiser could head to a nightclub and dance the night away with drinks and a DJ.
On Royal Caribbean ships built in the 1990s, each of these nightclubs had its own name, such as Crypt and Labyrinth.
During the day, these spaces on board were not used until late at night when nightclubs turned into loud parties.
More recently, cruise lines have ditched dedicated nightclubs. Most of the nightclubs have been replaced on these old ships. For example, Royal Caribbean chose to replace these nightclubs with private rooms and specialty restaurants.
Since the nightclub space was not utilized during the day, cruise lines use lounges and other spaces onboard as nightclubs each evening.
9. Inline roller skates
I am 27 years old and may not be that old, but I remember some activities on cruise ships that were subsequently phased out.
One activity that I clearly remember is inline roller skating. In fact, there was one time when I brought my own roller skates on a cruise ship and participated in activities in comfort. I convinced my parents that I needed to bring my skates (along with ice skates for the ice rink).
All the kids were in loud awe of my cool roller skates that I bought all the way home. The sea view was nice, but quite lame compared to other activities on board.
Today cruisers can ice skate on many cruise ships, but the days of roller skating on the top deck of a cruise ship are long gone. The rink replaced an abandoned cruise ship activity with a waterslide.
10. Smoking on board
Just like restaurants, you used to be able to smoke anywhere you wanted on a cruise ship. This abandoned cruise ship activity is a welcome change for passenger comfort and onboard safety.
Of course, you can smoke on board the cruise ship, but only in designated smoking areas. You are not allowed to smoke in public places, and you are not allowed to smoke indoors, except when you are in a designated smoking lounge or casino.
Fires on board are the number one threat to cruise ships, so this activity had to be eliminated for the safety of the ship. Additionally, most non-smokers don’t want to be covered in smoke wherever they go on a cruise ship.