A question for long time cruisers (TVGUY maybe?)

[dzneprincess]

I was laying in bed last night, and a random thought popped in my head. ( This happens quite often, only I don't post every thought that does. Ok maybe, almost every ) In the times before key cards, were you given an actual key to your stateroom door? In todays convenience of key cards ( only having to have it on you) it seems like it would have been very cumbersome to carry actual keys around? So anyways, this enquiring mind would like to know

 

[WDWLVR]

Yep - they sure did. My first cruise was on Sitmar back in '78 and we had a key to our stateroom. Our "deluxe" outside stateroom had two twin beds, a radio that only had one channel, and a porthole the size of a dinner plate that you had to stand on a chair to look out of. Got me hooked on cruising however.

 

[tvguy]

Yep had keys. Amazing how much newer ships have become like hotels. And the addition of stabilizers has been a great addition. My first cruise was on the MS Mermoz, a small old ship, 500 passengers, without stabilizers. It was a 14 day cruise, and a couple of times it got so rough you literally were walking "uphill" down the hall way one minute, and then "downhill" the next.
The Norway was an even older ship, grand old lady, but the hot water surged on and off in the shower.
Nordic Prince was relatively new, but small. Soverign of the Seas was our first experience with a large modern ship, sailed on it in 1988 just after it went into service. Amsterdam was first new luxury ship we went on, and the Magic is a mix of old style with modern features.

 

[PlaneJoy]

We just got back last week from another cruise line, older ship where we had keys to our room as well as our on board account. The key we had was a little smaller than our cards with holes for the combination.

Hard to explain - but keys are still our there.

-joy