Our first cruise, excited

Never been on a cruise and have heard mixed things about them. Some say not enough time in port, some say the ship seems real big at first but gets small after a day or two, some say too crowded.

We were reconsidering our decision to go on a cruise but then decided we just needed to experience it for ourselves. Nevertheless, I'm pretty excited. We are doing an RC on the Allure to the Eastern Carribean in October.

Welcome to Cruise Critic. It's a wonderful place for questions, opinions and reviews of the ships and the ports. It's also a place to talk about your excitement for your cruise. For a lot of us, we post here, because our friends and family get tired of hearing about our NEXT cruise :D

For the ports you love....there will never be enough time :) Same as on land vacations. I just appreciate the time I do have there and always say "well, I'll just have to come back"

I've never felt crowded on the ships. Even on the big Disney Dream with lots of kids. I try to go to lunch at a less popular time, etc.

I started cruising for my 50th birthday. Now, I kick myself for not going sooner. It's as relaxing as you want it to be, or as adventuresome as you want it to be.

Take the plunge! :D What's the worse that can happen...you might not like it.....but, you'll still be on vacation, no cooking or cleaning.

Please let us know what you thought of your first cruise.

On Allure, the ship will NEVER 'feel too small".....

While it's true that on most cruises you don't get tons of time in ports, what you're paying for is the ship and its amenities....the ports are simply bonuses! It will give you a "taste" of each place and if you fall in love with a certain country/port, you can always go back on a land-based vacation!

yes port time is a tease...just a little taste of the port but how many vacations can you visit so many different countries in one trip so that is awesome to me!

As far as being crowded the obvious places get pretty crowded..the pool/shows/windjammers but I have found that on any ship if you just walk around you can always find a nice quiet spot to just relax and enjoy the beauty and serenity of the atmosphere.

When I went on my first cruise I would read so many reviews and peoples opinions that I thought ok Im not going to go in with my expectations too high..there will be chair hogs, bad food, and drunk people everywhere.....well I WAS WRONG! The cruise was far better than I could ever imagine. I loved the food, the people, and even the cheesy belly flop contests.:D

My wife and I are going on our first cruise next summer, Carnival Spirit to Alaska in an aft wrap vista suite. Even though it is about a year away, I am still super excited about it.

Coming onto these boards was the best thing I did. So many of my questions have been answer just by going through and reading the different threads. I think I've only had to ask a couple of "new" questions......which I had I looked further down the line of threads I probably could have those questions already answered, HAHA!!

Welcome, and enjoy the wealth of knowledge you will find on these pages!

Cruising The Allure of the Sea on July 24! Super excited! Have a 17 & 14 year old so needed a ship full of things to do. Have not booked excursions yet. Not sure what to do.....want to Snuba, Snorkel, and beach it for the day. Jet skis would be fun, if they will let the kids ride. Suggestions?:p

We've cruised once and are booked for our second. Did the Western Caribbean and we loved it! We are not big travelers, so fortunately I found CC and got some great advice. We love the idea of experiencing different cultures, and having the opportunity to try new things. Found out we love to snorkel.

Take the time to ask questions and read what others ask as well. The great thing about a cruise is the flexibility with menus, activities, ports, entertainment and so much more! Have fun planning!:)

Never been on a cruise and have heard mixed things about them. Some say not enough time in port, some say the ship seems real big at first but gets small after a day or two ...

I've been on eighteen cruises. I ain't seen a ship shrink yet.

Never been on a cruise and have heard mixed things about them. Some say not enough time in port, some say the ship seems real big at first but gets small after a day or two, some say too crowded.

 

We were reconsidering our decision to go on a cruise but then decided we just needed to experience it for ourselves. Nevertheless, I'm pretty excited. We are doing an RC on the Allure to the Eastern Carribean in October.

Yes you are correct when you first entered in to the cruise you got excited by seeing the big hall and the thousand of people gathered under one roof, but after 2 days you got bored but the first time experience is nice and there is no words to say.

Never been on a cruise and have heard mixed things about them. Some say not enough time in port, some say the ship seems real big at first but gets small after a day or two, some say too crowded.

 

We were reconsidering our decision to go on a cruise but then decided we just needed to experience it for ourselves. Nevertheless, I'm pretty excited. We are doing an RC on the Allure to the Eastern Carribean in October.

Enjoy!!

My first cruise was a Bahama cruise on a small ship that at one time was the largest cruise ship in the world - Sovereign Of The Seas! It was my first cruise so I read a lot of reviews about it, and there were a lot of negative reviews about that ship (Too small, the cabins were to small, it smells on certain decks, crew not friendly, bad food, etc etc etc). The bad outweighed the good in the reviews I was reading (Didn't know about Cruise Critic back then) so I was thinking what in the heck was I getting into! We went on the cruise and had the best time on vaction in our lives back then. We thought we have been missing this all these years! We had a Ocean view staeroom, which by today's standards is small, but we were excited to be on the cruise and for the first cruise didn't have any other cruise or ship to compare it to and it turned us on to wanting to cruise all the time. We don't go every year but have vowed to go every other year unless I come into some big money to cruise more often.

The next cruise was on a larger ship (Serenade - review is in my signature below) and had a balcony this time and now that I had that and enjoyed eating breakfast as we pulled into port each morning as well as sitting out late at night, I could never go back to Oceanview cabins again. Although this was a bigger ship I still will always appreciate my first aboard the Sovereign and the next cruise booked for 2012 is on an even larger ship - Freedom Of The Seas! The size does not matter to us as long as we are cruising and having a good time! Oh and even on a ship the size of The Sovereign or the Serenade we never felt like the ship was shrinking as days went on!

Enjoy Your Cruise!

I always hear people say that a cruise doesn't give you any time to experience the ports. Years ago, we took a land-based trip to Hawaii. We spent a week and had a great time on the one island we flew to (Oahu). A couple of years ago, we did a cruise in Hawaii and if I had to choose, the Hawaii cruise was the winner, hands down. On the land-based trip, we couldn't afford to spend over $400 (family of 4) to island hop in a plane. On the cruise, we spent two nights in Maui, one night on each side of the Big Island, etc. Each island was unique and different. We saw everything from volcanoes, whale watches, etc. and would never have had this opportunity on a 7-night land-based vacation. You are going to have a wonderful time. I certainly understand your excitement. We are 3 days from our 10th RCCL cruise and we are just as excited for this cruise as we were the first.

Thanks for all of the encouragement and excellent advice. It certainly eases my mind and reassures that we made the right decision to give it a try for ourselves.

I tend to be more of a skeptic than my wife when it comes to trying new things so I generally reserve my excitement somewhat; however, she is completely giddy and my kids can't wait.

Noek, you are right, you must experience cruising for yourself, not live off what other say. But be warned: cruising is addictive :D

Thanks for all of the encouragement and excellent advice. It certainly eases my mind and reassures that we made the right decision to give it a try for ourselves.

 

I tend to be more of a skeptic than my wife when it comes to trying new things so I generally reserve my excitement somewhat; however, she is completely giddy and my kids can't wait.

Also keep in mind that if you hear a bad review by someone else, it doesn't mean it's all bad - as you said, experience it for yourself! People always tend to give Carnival a bad rap but in my opinion, I've always had a great time and will continue to go on Carnival (as well as RCI and Princess) which are my favorite lines to sail on at the moment.

Hope you have a great time! I'll be sailing on the Freedom of the Seas next month! Hope to experience the Oasis or the Allure in the near future!

Most people that write a review complain. You will soon find out that cruising is the greatest vacation you will ever take. I tell everyone that cruising is an addiction.Once you start you will never stop. You have made a great choice in ships. I have never had a bad cruise and i always take my kids. They love cruising more than i do. Have a great cruise, i'm sure you will. ;)

Have fun! I'm sure you'll have a blast. :D

Hi everyone! DH & I are planning our first cruise to the Mediterrean for next June. We are active baby boomers & are looking at Oceania or Azamara, as they have smaller ships. Not sure if this is the right choice for us, but somehow the thought of standing in line with 2100-3000 people, embarking & disembarking is not appealing to us. I am glad to have been advised on Trip Adviser to join this Board, I have learned so much in just a few short days! I am sure I will have more questions once the cruise is booked & am so glad to have CC to turn to!

Thanks to all you wonderful people who help "newbies" like us! :)

Hi everyone! DH & I are planning our first cruise to the Mediterrean for next June. We are active baby boomers & are looking at Oceania or Azamara, as they have smaller ships. Not sure if this is the right choice for us, but somehow the thought of standing in line with 2100-3000 people, embarking & disembarking is not appealing to us. I am glad to have been advised on Trip Adviser to join this Board, I have learned so much in just a few short days! I am sure I will have more questions once the cruise is booked & am so glad to have CC to turn to!

Thanks to all you wonderful people who help "newbies" like us! :)

You will find that not every one is trying to get off the ship at ports at the same time.....alot sleep in and eat a nice meal before getting off, and of corse, there are the early birds that leave at the crack of dawn...I think you will have a great time no matter what size ship you go on...cruising is the best!!!

I wanna go cruising!!!!!!! wahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!! I do remember the one thing I forgot to carry in my carry on to board the ship was my bathing suit on my first cruise.

Since you usually dont get your luggage until hours after you board, if you pack your swimsuit in your carry-on you can enjoy the pool or the free sauna, steam room and showers in the spa.