I graduated from Mulberry High School in 1975, or at least that's when they gave me a sheet of paper and told me not to come back anymore. It's hard to comprehend that was over forty years ago. That "time flies" stuff really is true, especially after a bunch of it has flown by!
While on the cruise last week Beth and I were talking about our first cruise. We weren't a couple back then, it wasn't at the same time but ironically it was on the same ship. For me, I can't remember the exact date but it was probably 1972 or 73. I used to have some pictures from that nautical event but they were probably tossed out a couple of years ago when we sold everything and became vagabonds.
My Mom, Dad and I joined about 20 other family members (Aunts, Uncles & Cousins) for a high seas adventure on the "Flavia" Nothing too extravagant by todays standards, probably 4-5 days at the most leaving from Miami and going to the Bahamas, a distance so close that if Sarah Palin was standing in Miami she would proclaim that she could almost see the Bahama's. Beth's was several years later when she was a Senior at Mulberry and the Senior Class trip was a Bahama's cruise.
Needless to say there have been a lot of changes in the cruise industry over the years. As we were talking we got to wondering about the size of the Flavia and other unique things we could remember. There are quite a few nostalgic folks out there so finding information about the ship wasn't very hard.
The Flavia was at one time a part of the Cunard Fleet but was later sold to the Costa Cruise Line. Costa Cruise Line still exists today. They had a very unfortunate event a few years ago when the captain steered the ship too close to the shore and hit the rocky shoreline. The ship capsized and 32 lives were lost. You can refresh your memory or learn more about this through the link below.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costa_Concordia_disaster
The Flavia seemed like a whopper the first time I saw it. It was 15,500 gross tons and carried 850 passengers. Coming from Mulberry it was not only huge but I'm sure it was one of the fanciest things I had ever seen. I got a kick out of learning that all the cabins were actually "one class" with either two or four beds. I'm sure there are guys in some of the federal prisons today who have rooms that are much nicer than what the rooms on the Flavia were back in the day.
Three other things I can remember about that first cruise:
First, there was no "cashless system" back then. The reason that was so meaningful for a semi-rambunctious 15 or 16 year old was that if you were tall enough to get your money on the bar they'd happily serve whatever you ordered. Today the age restrictions seem to be strongly enforced, although no one has checked my ID in a VERY long time. The "pay as you go" didn't produce a paper trail that forced any explanation as to who ordered all those beers and margarita's to Mom and Dad.
Second, saving the whales, dolphins, and environment wasn't very important back then. If you hung out on deck after the evening meal you could watch the crew dumping trash overboard. These days it's hard to even get a straw in a paper wrapper on a ship for fear the wrapper might blow overboard. This isn't a bad thing, just funny to reflect back on the change.
Third, the crew were mostly Italian. If you really wanted to make an impression on a teenager from the culturally deprived city of Mulberry just throw him on a ship with a bunch of folks either speaking Italian or with strange sounding accents. Amazing!
The Flavia was taken out of service in 1982. In 1989 it caught fire after being anchored and neglected for a number of years. It's final fate was really no different from a favorite old car you may have had growing up.........sold as scrap metal.
So today underage kids have a harder time getting alcohol, the environment is cleaner and the crews are from all over the world representing multiple cultures and languages.
By comparison, the Celebrity Eclipse we were on last week is 121,000 gross tons. It carries 2,850 passengers, has multiple classes of rooms including suites with their own personal butler (nope, we didn't have one of those). In addition to 2,850 passengers there are over 1,200 crew members on board. Needless to say there have been a lot of changes over the years but you never forget your first time!
While on the cruise last week Beth and I were talking about our first cruise. We weren't a couple back then, it wasn't at the same time but ironically it was on the same ship. For me, I can't remember the exact date but it was probably 1972 or 73. I used to have some pictures from that nautical event but they were probably tossed out a couple of years ago when we sold everything and became vagabonds.
My Mom, Dad and I joined about 20 other family members (Aunts, Uncles & Cousins) for a high seas adventure on the "Flavia" Nothing too extravagant by todays standards, probably 4-5 days at the most leaving from Miami and going to the Bahamas, a distance so close that if Sarah Palin was standing in Miami she would proclaim that she could almost see the Bahama's. Beth's was several years later when she was a Senior at Mulberry and the Senior Class trip was a Bahama's cruise.
Needless to say there have been a lot of changes in the cruise industry over the years. As we were talking we got to wondering about the size of the Flavia and other unique things we could remember. There are quite a few nostalgic folks out there so finding information about the ship wasn't very hard.
The Flavia was at one time a part of the Cunard Fleet but was later sold to the Costa Cruise Line. Costa Cruise Line still exists today. They had a very unfortunate event a few years ago when the captain steered the ship too close to the shore and hit the rocky shoreline. The ship capsized and 32 lives were lost. You can refresh your memory or learn more about this through the link below.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costa_Concordia_disaster
The Flavia seemed like a whopper the first time I saw it. It was 15,500 gross tons and carried 850 passengers. Coming from Mulberry it was not only huge but I'm sure it was one of the fanciest things I had ever seen. I got a kick out of learning that all the cabins were actually "one class" with either two or four beds. I'm sure there are guys in some of the federal prisons today who have rooms that are much nicer than what the rooms on the Flavia were back in the day.
Three other things I can remember about that first cruise:
First, there was no "cashless system" back then. The reason that was so meaningful for a semi-rambunctious 15 or 16 year old was that if you were tall enough to get your money on the bar they'd happily serve whatever you ordered. Today the age restrictions seem to be strongly enforced, although no one has checked my ID in a VERY long time. The "pay as you go" didn't produce a paper trail that forced any explanation as to who ordered all those beers and margarita's to Mom and Dad.
Second, saving the whales, dolphins, and environment wasn't very important back then. If you hung out on deck after the evening meal you could watch the crew dumping trash overboard. These days it's hard to even get a straw in a paper wrapper on a ship for fear the wrapper might blow overboard. This isn't a bad thing, just funny to reflect back on the change.
Third, the crew were mostly Italian. If you really wanted to make an impression on a teenager from the culturally deprived city of Mulberry just throw him on a ship with a bunch of folks either speaking Italian or with strange sounding accents. Amazing!
The Flavia was taken out of service in 1982. In 1989 it caught fire after being anchored and neglected for a number of years. It's final fate was really no different from a favorite old car you may have had growing up.........sold as scrap metal.
So today underage kids have a harder time getting alcohol, the environment is cleaner and the crews are from all over the world representing multiple cultures and languages.
By comparison, the Celebrity Eclipse we were on last week is 121,000 gross tons. It carries 2,850 passengers, has multiple classes of rooms including suites with their own personal butler (nope, we didn't have one of those). In addition to 2,850 passengers there are over 1,200 crew members on board. Needless to say there have been a lot of changes over the years but you never forget your first time!
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| The Flavia! 15,500 Gross Tons & 850 Passengers |
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| Celebrity Eclipse- 121,000 Gross Tons & 2,850 Passengers |
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| One of the "Single Class" cabins on the Flavia- Some rooms had two beds and others had four |
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| Our room on the Eclipse-Nice but no where near the nicest on the ship |
