When musical variety show ‘Soul Train’ first aired in the 1970s, it inspired Capri Smith and thousands of other young girls to get out her dancing shoes.That’s perhaps why she jumped at the chance to relive memories from the era on board Holland America’s latest craze, The Soul Train Cruise.Fans of golden oldies from across the world partied away on the inaugural cruise from February 17 to 24; Ms Smith described the vacation as one of the highlights of her life.“It just brought back so many wonderful memories because in the 70s life was just so wonderful,” she said. “I had all the old school singing groups [to listen to] and could go to a house party without anybody fighting or stealing from you. In those days your mom would know where you were and didn’t have to worry about you getting shot.“That’s why I call them the ‘good old days’ and it just brought back so many old memories of my life because I had a very good childhood, in my opinion.”The vessel left Fort Lauderdale, Florida for ports in St Thomas, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas. When passengers weren’t sightseeing in those regions, they were on the boat movin’ and groovin’.‘Soul Train’ was a televised musical variety show that featured performances by R&B, soul and hip hop artists from 1971 to 2006.Don Cornelius created the show and was its first host. His idea was to have something on television that reflected positively on African American music and culture.Its success saw the launch of The Soul Train Music Awards in 1987 and The Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards in 1995.Ms Smith said there was mostly a “mature crowd” on board; episodes from the show were played around the ship throughout the day.At night guests were treated to live performances from some soul music legends: The O’Jays, Spinners, Main Ingredient, Patti LaBelle and Jeffrey Osborne.Ms Smith said her favourite part of the experience was dressing up for theme nights. There was an all white night, a 70s night and a pyjama party.Some of her outfits got the attention of other passengers; she even won the title of ‘Best Dressed’ for a disco-themed night. “I couldn’t go two steps without people stopping me,” she said.“I mean everyone on the cruise ship was dressed up in 70s clothes, you had [people in] afro wigs and bell bottoms, but I think my outfit stood out the most because it was silver and there was nothing else remotely like it on that ship.”She also got noticed for her dance moves and was approached by the event’s director to start the famous Soul Train dance line. “I am a dancing diva. I love to dance, it’s like second nature to me,” she said.“I got so popular for my dancing that the [cruise] director came to me and said, ‘You should be an activities director’. I looked at him and smiled and said ‘I am an activities director’.Ms Smith loved dancing so much as a child she considered pursuing it as a career but decided to become a recreational therapist instead.She is currently working in the Continuing Care Unit at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.She said she heard about the cruise and couldn’t resist the chance to step back in time. She’s already planning to go on another Soul Train cruise next year.She encouraged everyone to give it a try: “It’s an experience that you will never forget. If God told me today that is your last cruise I would be okay because I will never get that experience again.”Useful website: http://www.soultraincruise.com