Decline in quality?

Many people like to bitch about the good ol' days. It doesn't matter what the subject is ... there will almost always be someone complaining that at least some aspect used to be better. In health care, doctors used to make house calls. In schools, students used to respect their teachers. In cruising, it used to be classier with better food.

I really can't remember too much of my first cruise. I just know that it was on Premier (the Big Red Boat), had Disney characters, and had a last night so bumpy that we had to pack sitting on the floor. I also remember my firsts. It was my first time out of the USA, even if I didn't really experience anything truly different. It was the first time (actually ... and only, so far) I saw a water spout. It was also the first time I ever ate snails. Yup ... those lovely escargot made an appearance on our very short trip ... and ever since then, they've been a stand-by on every cruise I've been on.

The question is ... did they used to be better? Well, though I've eaten snails quite a few times in my life (from cruise ships to France to frozed ones out of the Marsh grocery seafood freezer), I've never really thought on a ship ... these used to be better. As a point of fact, I've only really ever compared the cuisine of competing lines as ... in my opinion, that is where better comparisons can be made.

Why do I think this? Well, for starters, I think that comparing my Carnival prime rib in June to my Royal Caribbean prime rib in May allows me to be much more specific in my memory than comparing my prime rib in May 2007 to my prime rib in May 1991. I also think there is a bit of a shine on the food the first time you cruise. After all, if it is your first food-inclusive vacation and you are a foodie, I think just about everyone finds stuff they like, tries stuff they've never had the guts to, and leaves with a good impression. By cruise 16, the shine is a bit tarnished ... but hey, I've never gone close to starving and never will on a cruise.

Have things gone down in quality over the years on mass-market lines? Probably yes ... but then again, pricing has also gone down as cruise ships have started to saturate markets. However, I try not to let "what used to be" get me down ... because if it does, it makes it that much harder to enjoy "what is now."