Your first cruise ship

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Our very first and last one was on the Ms Ryndam…..

We are immediately been affected and did never again stop to sail onboard of those marvelous Holland America Line vessels and there outstanding Crew…..!!;)

That’s why we do cruise next year even two times.

Happy cruising

G E R D

Our marvelous cruises : :)

MS Ryndam – Wayfarer – March 1997

MS Noordam - Transatlantic Island Hook - April 2001

MS Volendam - Southern Caribbean - April 2002

MS Volendam - Westfarer Caribbean - April 2004

MS Prinsendam - Windmills & Waterford – September 2004

MS Westerdam - Western Caribbean - April 2005

MS Statendam - Hawaii Circle - September 2005

MS Rotterdam - Vikings and Czars – July 2006

MS Veendam - Southern Caribbean – March 2007

MS Volendam – Panama Canal – April 2008

MS Noordam – Mediterranean Enchantment – September 2009

MS Nieuw Amsterdam - Mediterranean Inaugural Cruise - July 2010

MS Nieuw Amsterdam - Mediterranean Empires - July 2010

MS Ryndam – North Cape Splendors - June 2011

193 days - 42'587 Nm :

Future Cruises : :p

7 days MS Volendam – Glacier Bay Inside Passage, July 18, 2012

14 days MS Amsterdam – Alaskan Adventure, July 27, 2012

Thank you for your post. My Grandfather was Captain Mortimer Hehir, and it is lovely to hear memories of him since I do not have any of my own!

John- thx so much for the great pictures! Especially of the Song. beautiful ship.

 

My first cruise was at the age of 11 on the QE2. Not only do I have my memories, I also had a diary that I had to bring to school when I got back. I will never forget roaming the ship by myself, exploring every part of her. I watched Day of the Jackal in the empty movie theater at least five times. I was familiar with a lot of the presenters/instructors because they had shows on Boston public television- so, to me, they were movie stars! I fell in love with our dining room steward and have pictures to prove it (oh, the pain of the schoolgirl crush- on a British waiter :confused:). I will never forget rounding Cape Hatteras and going up to visit my little brother in the nursery. It was on the top deck and we had (to me) very rough weather. All of the wooden ride-on toys were rolling all over the floor and the block towers were crashing. The Captain, Mortimer Hehir, was great to me. Tour of the bridge? No prob. He signed my autograph book. It's funny- I asked Captain Scott (Noordam :)) if he had ever worked with him when he was with Cunard- yes, he worked with "Morty." My worlds collide.

My first cruise was on my honeymoon on the now nonexistent Seawind Crown. Great itinerary : Aruba , Barbados , Antigua , Guadaloupe , and Dominica .

We had no money and spent our honeymoon in a miniscule stateroom with bunk beds! Great memories!

Ours was on the Carnival Tropicale back in 1979. We thought that ship was sooooooo big! Many years later we saw it in port and it looked like a tug boat next to the others! We did the Mexican Rivera. We thought that was the best because they always gave it away on Wheel of Fortune! The best part of the cruise was we met some friends that we are still friends with today. Did we catch the bug? Well 41 cruises later you might say we did :)

P&O's Oriana, 1969, San Francisco to Sydney. Best memories are of the sailways with streamers and confetti and the Bon Voyage parties where

everyone could come aboard. As a start to that trip, a couple that was our best friends missed the last going ashore and were still aboard as left the dock.

I still remember the Captain's look of displeasure (to say the least) when it was arranged for them to leave on the pilot boat. It was

also my only look at first class since we were in cabin class. We called ourselves "back of the boat people." It was certainly a different time.

1972 Emerald of the Seas - Eastern Steamship line - 4 days 3 nights out of Miami - Nassau Freeport wanted to see if we would like cruising - we got the bug and are now looking forward to our longest sail - 88 days on the Rotterdam in Jan of 2013.

This is the Timex thread, it just keeps on ticking.

My first cruise was aboard the sternwheel steam ship Mississippi Queen out of New Orleans in 1979! It finally wore out and it is in mothballs somewhere.

Our first cruise was in 1991 aboard the Atlantic of the Premier Cruise Line (the Big Red Boat). Looking back on that cruise (a 3-dayer) and the next cruise two years later (4-dayer, also on the Atlantic), the Premier experience was terrific - great food and entertainment. I miss that line but am very happy and fortunate to have been able to sail on HAL, Princess, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, and MSC since then. I can honestly say that my love for cruising results from the wonderful experience on the Atlantic -- I was hooked from the first cruise and my enthusiasm for cruising only increases with time.

Our first was Statendam to Alaska in 1999. and we were hooked! :D We've been so happy w/ HAL that we haven't tried any others yet. I wouldn't say never, but why change? I've seen Statendam 3 times since 1999 on my other Alaska cruises and always smile when I see her. Last Summer (2011) we passed her coming into Glacier Bay and I got a beautiful pic & video of her. She will always be special as our "first cruise ship".

Planning on 2013, next year, just don't know which ship or itinerary just yet. HAVE to do something special for my 50th, right?? ;) Any excuse to cruise :)

Early 1980's. The Carnival Carnivale. St. Thomas, San Juan, Samana, DR. That sure was an old tub when compared to the ships of today.

One dining room, fixed seating, small cabins with even smaller bathrooms.

I remember the Seawind Crown. Nice little ship. We boarded her in Aruba many years ago and spent 7 wonderful days down around Grenada and along the South American coast. She's long gone now.

February, 1994-Niew Amsterdam-Western Caribbean.

Mine was the Regent Rainbow in June of 1993 of the Regency cruise line , long since gone . I haven,t stopped since

I was only 10 when I emigrated from Liverpool to Montreal in 1957 on the SS Empress of France. The scheduled 4 day crossing took 7 days. I was one of the only people in the dining room. Most of the passengers and crew were extremely seasick.

I'll list my first several:

Carnival Fantasy (12/93)

Regent Sun (9/94)

Crystal Symphony (4/96)

Caribbean Prince (Blount Small Ship Adventures, 7/96)

SS Rotterdam (7/97, Final Alaska season)

Roy

RCCL "Song of Norway 1978 to the Carribean.Only about 600 passengers and it was a grand style for sure. Yes it did hook us and we have been at it ever since. It has changed but its still a great way to travel and always get excited when we arrive at the port or pier and see the ship sitting there.:)

Just a further side note, when on Marinier of the Seas a few years ago, we had the good fortune of meeting the Captian and when talking to him at a private party he asked us our first cruise and we said Song of Norway 1978 and then he told us that was his first year on ships also and it was Song of Norway and he was a deck hand. Fast forward to 2010 and his is now a Captian of the Marinier of the Seas. That a rags to riches story for sure. he was a delightfull gentleman and really fun to talk to, we saw him and talked to him several times.:)

RCCL "Song of Norway 1978 to the Carribean.Only about 600 passengers and it was a grand style for sure. Yes it did hook us and we have been at it ever since. It has changed but its still a great way to travel and always get excited when we arrive at the port or pier and see the ship sitting there.:)

The former Royal Caribbean 'Song of Norway' is still around (we sailed her in FEB 96 to the Mexican Riviera). She arrived at the Wenchong Shipyard in China on April 29th of this year after she was purchased by Chinese interests who want to use her as a floating casino. in 2007 and 2008 she encountered lots of mechanical 'issues' so we'll see what the future holds for this almost 43-year old vessel

first cruise ever in March 2012 on Maasdam :)

first cruise ever in March 2012 on Maasdam :)

a nice cruise indeed - we had fun:D

Our first was the Dawn Princess out of Sydney Australia to the Pacific Islands. Absolutely perfect. The ship was sparkling, the crew happy, the captain a genuine and enthusiastic gentleman and the food was exceptional. We became addicted :)

Sadly our 3 experiences since then with the same line have not lived up to that first encounter with each trip being noticeably lower quality than the one prior. Standards have dropped in all areas to the point where it is now more like a cheap boarding house with staff that wish they were elsewhere and not afraid to let you know. There seems to be so much focus on maximising profit and much less on what caused the attraction to so many originally.

We are off again soon and ditching Princess for HAL to see if we can regain some of that special experience we encountered on our first cruise.

Whilst it is still a Carnival Corp vessel we have high hopes. :)

Ours was in 1987, the Carnival Festivale.

Our first cruise was back in February of 2002 on the Veendam! We cruised the Eastern Caribbean and fell in love immediately (with cruising) :D. We had in outside cabin on deck 4, I believe. Our TA suggested a Verandah on the next cruise on the Oosterdam... and we fell in love again (with verandahs) :D.

The next cruise was longer in duration (15 days)... and we fell in love AGAIN (this time with longer durations).

Now we have to take cruises of at least 10 days and love to be able to have a verandah (at least :D).... Oh, and we have fallen in love with each other as well (celebrated 42 years on 17 October).

Cheers to ALL... Happy Cruising!!!!

Denny (& Karen) ;):p

What was your first cruise ship? What cruise line, the year and the itinerary? (if you remember;) ) Did it get you hooked?

 

Westerdam - E. Caribbean at the end of October (1994). Never crossed my mind when mum and I booked that it was hurricane season. First three days we hit rough weather and mum stayed in the cabin with cans of Ginger Ale and crackers. On day four when she emerged from the confines of four walls, I found her lounging on the Lower Promendade deck. It was then that she told me that she was so sick she couldn't care if the ship sank and will never get on a ship again. I on the other hand became addicted to cruises. Two years later she asked me if I wanted to go to Alaska, to which I replied "I thought you told me you'd never get on a ship again." Well, we went to Alaska, she wore sea bands this time, and at the end I had to drag her off the ship as she didn't want to get off. Before we even made it to Vancouver airport she said "lets go to the Mediterranean next year." She is now hooked to HAL cruises:)

Ours was in 1987, the Carnival Festivale.

She's no longer around! Scrapped at Alang, India in 2004