How NCL has changed my life.

Before our first cruise I spent most of my vacations doing pretty much boring things. We would go to casinos and spend a couple of thousand dollars and leave with nothing but a few days away from home.

Our first cruise was on the Sun and it was 5 days full of so much excitement and fun that we got hooked on cruising! Since then, we have spent 52 days on cruise ships and really look forward to each of our next cruises. When I board the ship I let go of all my worries back home, no email, no cell phones, no job worries, just relaxation ahead for the next week or so.

I love the food in any of the places we eat, we never go hungry. The shows have always been great, the crew so friendly and I have had only one issue with a cabin once that was taken care of.

Lately I have been planning meet and greets, three completed and two scheduled ahead. For our December 1, 2014 cruise we have almost 200 people signed up! I print nice name tags for everyone with a picture of the ship and the date on it that people can keep as a souvenir of their trip. I also print a 4x6 color photo of the ship with the date on it for everyone. This gives me something to do for several months prior to my cruise, it just gets me more excited about my pending cruise.

So far we have had inside cabins, ocean view, balcony and a mini suite. One day I hope to be able to book a full suite, just too much for my budget currently. We did have an aft facing balcony on the Disney Dream and that was really special!

Being able to get away from home for a nice vacation is great, but being able to see so many different places and meet so many new people is really priceless!

To all my fellow Cruise Critic members, may your cruises be as exciting and plentiful!

Squidward

Sounds like you have found your ideal vacation in Cruising :D How nice of you to print out name tags & the photos for your fellow CC Guests :D

I enjoy many different types of vacations, but when I need to completely unplug & just get away from it all Cruising is my ideal too!

Before our first cruise I spent most of my vacations doing pretty much boring things. We would go to casinos and spend a couple of thousand dollars and leave with nothing but a few days away from home.

 

Our first cruise was on the Sun and it was 5 days full of so much excitement and fun that we got hooked on cruising! Since then, we have spent 52 days on cruise ships and really look forward to each of our next cruises. When I board the ship I let go of all my worries back home, no email, no cell phones, no job worries, just relaxation ahead for the next week or so.

 

I love the food in any of the places we eat, we never go hungry. The shows have always been great, the crew so friendly and I have had only one issue with a cabin once that was taken care of.

 

Lately I have been planning meet and greets, three completed and two scheduled ahead. For our December 1, 2014 cruise we have almost 200 people signed up! I print nice name tags for everyone with a picture of the ship and the date on it that people can keep as a souvenir of their trip. I also print a 4x6 color photo of the ship with the date on it for everyone. This gives me something to do for several months prior to my cruise, it just gets me more excited about my pending cruise.

 

So far we have had inside cabins, ocean view, balcony and a mini suite. One day I hope to be able to book a full suite, just too much for my budget currently. We did have an aft facing balcony on the Disney Dream and that was really special!

 

Being able to get away from home for a nice vacation is great, but being able to see so many different places and meet so many new people is really priceless!

 

To all my fellow Cruise Critic members, may your cruises be as exciting and plentiful!

 

Squidward

It certainly beats anything that Uncle Sam's yacht clubs were able to offer us, that's for sure:D. For us cruising is the perfect vacation.

I'll never tire of cruising. Been doing it since 1999.

It certainly beats anything that Uncle Sam's yacht clubs were able to offer us, that's for sure:D. For us cruising is the perfect vacation.

Very true, and no paint to chip!

Yep, sure does beat Uncle Sam's haze gray and underway cruises....:D

You mention the Dream aft cabin. Aft cabins do nothing for me. Reminds me of when I was a little kid riding in a station wagon in the rear seat facing the back....I like to look to the future, not the past....;)

Cruise cabins seem to draw me into afternoon naps on sea days...;)

Sparks1093, you sig says:

US Navy, too many to count but included 4 Med cruises (totaling 21 months) 1975-1992

I once took a cruise across the Atlantic on the USS Concord and back on the USS San Diego in 1975 when I was in the ROTC. We have sailed the same waters I would have to say.

Sparks1093, you sig says:

 

US Navy, too many to count but included 4 Med cruises (totaling 21 months) 1975-1992

 

I once took a cruise across the Atlantic on the USS Concord and back on the USS San Diego in 1975 when I was in the ROTC. We have sailed the same waters I would have to say.

Yes, it is a safe bet:). I can't say that I've always transited on the sea as I flew back twice (the first time missing 30foot+ waves for 8 of the days on a flat bottomed LST. Awwww.:D). My career started in 1975 and ended in 1992, so I probably sailed may of the same waters as FireEater as well. Never made it south of the equator though (we were within spitting distance of it once but the skipper was a pollywog so he wouldn't take us across).

Yep, sure does beat Uncle Sam's haze gray and underway cruises....:D

 

You mention the Dream aft cabin. Aft cabins do nothing for me. Reminds me of when I was a little kid riding in a station wagon in the rear seat facing the back....I like to look to the future, not the past....;)

 

Cruise cabins seem to draw me into afternoon naps on sea days...;)

You can also look at it as leaving all your worries behind you and watching them disappear.

But you are correct, a forward facing balcony cabin would be my first choice if at all possible.

That is exactly how we feel. We still love land vacations but cruising is our favorite. You really can disconnect with the rest of the world and connect with loved ones.

Thanks for posting something so positive on this rainy cold day, it brighten it up a bit for me

I keep trying to think of a better vacation. Nothing compares to cruising!

I have always been around boats and ships since a kid. I grew up lobstering in Maine. Been a shipyard worker on submarines and guided missile cruisers too.

About 25 years ago a co-worker told me about cruising. I thought he was nuts. I had in my mind that a cruise ship was nothing more than a floating Holliday Inn. He told me about all you can eat food, midnight buffets being on ship etc... I was like "Cruiseships are not real ships", how can you spend a whole week in a hotel in the middle of nowhere? Booooringgg! If it were a sailing ship or a destroyer or something I thought that would be fun though.

Ten years ago my wife surprized me with a 10th year wedding anniversary cruise. I wasn't overly excited, but it would make her happy.

When I first saw our ship (Explorer of the Seas) I was floored. Humungus and beautiful looking. The food, the shows, the ports, being treated like royalty. I was loving life. And was I wrong about my previous thoughts about a cruiseship.

The next year we went on a land based vacation to Florida. We felt we could save some money. We flew down, rented a car, stayed with family half the time, and ate out every day. Life was good... Then we went to Cape Canaveral. I saw a cruiseship in port. The fun was gone, I wanted to be on a ship. We eventually went home. One week land vaca ended up costing about the same as that awesome cruise the year prior. I was so mad we didn't cruise. Since then we cruise every year. I can't stand to be on a vacation and see cruiseships unless I am on a cruise myself. I feel this may be a sickness or an addiction. I do enjoy the cruises though. To be able to look forward to a cruise vacation is something that is hard to explain to non-cruisers.

Another thing I really like is that NCL has added a few new cruises. Next December I will be doing a partial Panama Canal cruise, this a new cruise for NCL and opened the door for a PC cruise. Before this I would have needed to buy two sets of one way tickets and that was an expense I could not afford. I also like the idea of a South America cruise, that sounds like a great cruise!

Yes, it is a safe bet:). I can't say that I've always transited on the sea as I flew back twice (the first time missing 30foot+ waves for 8 of the days on a flat bottomed LST. Awwww.:D). My career started in 1975 and ended in 1992, so I probably sailed may of the same waters as FireEater as well. Never made it south of the equator though (we were within spitting distance of it once but the skipper was a pollywog so he wouldn't take us across).

We had a bunch of wog Chiefs and Jr Officers when were crossed the line.......the CO was an "old school" skipper and it was a looooooooooong day for them. I remember he had three Lt's on their hands an knees blowing water out of the pad-eyes on the flight deck with a straw then they had to blow the water back in it again. over and over. :D

We had a bunch of wog Chiefs and Jr Officers when were crossed the line.......the CO was an "old school" skipper and it was a looooooooooong day for them. I remember he had three Lt's on their hands an knees blowing water out of the pad-eyes on the flight deck with a straw then they had to blow the water back in it again. over and over. :D

We also had a bunch of wogs in khakis (including myself) but I would have gladly entered the realm and was very disappointed that we couldn't. I imagine in today's Navy the crossing the line initiations and ceremonies pale in comparison to those of only 20 years ago.

Awesome. I wished I had the time to cruise more. Happy cruising everybody!

Very nice thread.

Keith

I wanted to climb a pyramid and ride a unicorn but now I've sailed the breakaway

Always wanted to say that!!

Happy Sailing!

~Robin

Every Day at Sea is a Great Day

Before our first cruise I spent most of my vacations doing pretty much boring things. We would go to casinos and spend a couple of thousand dollars and leave with nothing but a few days away from home.

 

Our first cruise was on the Sun and it was 5 days full of so much excitement and fun that we got hooked on cruising! Since then, we have spent 52 days on cruise ships and really look forward to each of our next cruises. When I board the ship I let go of all my worries back home, no email, no cell phones, no job worries, just relaxation ahead for the next week or so.

 

I love the food in any of the places we eat, we never go hungry. The shows have always been great, the crew so friendly and I have had only one issue with a cabin once that was taken care of.

 

Lately I have been planning meet and greets, three completed and two scheduled ahead. For our December 1, 2014 cruise we have almost 200 people signed up! I print nice name tags for everyone with a picture of the ship and the date on it that people can keep as a souvenir of their trip. I also print a 4x6 color photo of the ship with the date on it for everyone. This gives me something to do for several months prior to my cruise, it just gets me more excited about my pending cruise.

 

So far we have had inside cabins, ocean view, balcony and a mini suite. One day I hope to be able to book a full suite, just too much for my budget currently. We did have an aft facing balcony on the Disney Dream and that was really special!

 

Being able to get away from home for a nice vacation is great, but being able to see so many different places and meet so many new people is really priceless!

 

To all my fellow Cruise Critic members, may your cruises be as exciting and plentiful!

 

Squidward

I know what you mean about planning a meet and greet. I am currently planning our meeting greet for my November 30 sailing on the breakaway. Our meet and greet by no means is as large as yours we currently have about 85 people on our list. I only wish I was able to to pre-do the nametags with little pictures but I don't know how to do that LOL. I do have name tags to bring with me and we have several games to play like bingo, a little trivia and LRC. Several of the girls on my rollcall are celebrating birthdays so I decided to pre-order a birthday cake so we could all share in singing happy birthday to the one in celebrating. It was a small gesture on my behalf which I hope should go along way. For me half the fun of cruising is the planning stages. That's why I already booked another one for six months after this one and again I would like to host a meet and greet maybe I'll learn a little more from this one and make the next one even better.

Thank you for reminding us why we cruise.

Geri

I know what you mean about planning a meet and greet. I am currently planning our meeting greet for my November 30 sailing on the breakaway. Our meet and greet by no means is as large as yours we currently have about 85 people on our list. I only wish I was able to to pre-do the nametags with little pictures but I don't know how to do that LOL. I do have name tags to bring with me and we have several games to play like bingo, a little trivia and LRC. Several of the girls on my rollcall are celebrating birthdays so I decided to pre-order a birthday cake so we could all share in singing happy birthday to the one in celebrating. It was a small gesture on my behalf which I hope should go along way. For me half the fun of cruising is the planning stages. That's why I already booked another one for six months after this one and again I would like to host a meet and greet maybe I'll learn a little more from this one and make the next one even better.

 

Thank you for reminding us why we cruise.

 

Geri

FYI - The cruise ship provides 'Cruise Critic name tags". They also provide the markers for everyone to write their name on them. And.....I agree. The planning, researching, etc. helps with the anticipation and really adds to the cruise experience!

Harriet

I know what you mean about planning a meet and greet. I am currently planning our meeting greet for my November 30 sailing on the breakaway. Our meet and greet by no means is as large as yours we currently have about 85 people on our list. I only wish I was able to to pre-do the nametags with little pictures but I don't know how to do that LOL. I do have name tags to bring with me and we have several games to play like bingo, a little trivia and LRC. Several of the girls on my rollcall are celebrating birthdays so I decided to pre-order a birthday cake so we could all share in singing happy birthday to the one in celebrating. It was a small gesture on my behalf which I hope should go along way. For me half the fun of cruising is the planning stages. That's why I already booked another one for six months after this one and again I would like to host a meet and greet maybe I'll learn a little more from this one and make the next one even better.

 

Thank you for reminding us why we cruise.

 

Geri

I use a program called PrintMaster 18.1 to make the name tags and I print them on Avery pin style name badges 74540. They come out 6 to a sheet of paper, this is what they look like before I split them apart and put them in the plastic holders.

Have fun with your planning, that is one of the parts of cruising that be enjoyed for a long time at little cost.

We also had a bunch of wogs in khakis (including myself) but I would have gladly entered the realm and was very disappointed that we couldn't. I imagine in today's Navy the crossing the line initiations and ceremonies pale in comparison to those of only 20 years ago.

I bet they have changed a lot!

I use a program called PrintMaster 18.1 to make the name tags and I print them on Avery pin style name badges 74540. They come out 6 to a sheet of paper, this is what they look like before I split them apart and put them in the plastic holders.

 

 

Have fun with your planning, that is one of the parts of cruising that be enjoyed for a long time at little cost.

Omg they are so nice. Thanks for the tips.

And maybe after sailing to some ports you really enjoy, you'll do a week or two land vacation in one of them to get a deeper feel for the lay of the land. Sailing can be reconnaiscance for future endeavors.

I was always a 'stay at home mom' raising my 3 children - each two years apart from each other. When they finally were on their own I wanted to travel. As my husband is a workaholic he had no problem with that and I started cruising as I remembered cruising when I was young and always love it then.

It gives me peace, tranquility....and I get to see different places, people, customs, etc.

How did it change my life?

Well, my husband and I are no longer close, he realized that he can cook and enjoys cooking, he's hired a housekeeper so he doesn't have to clean, he started seeing someone else, he now doesn't work so much and seems to love to travel.....but not with me! We're getting a divorce and I'll have lots of money to travel even more now!

Just teasing!

He does now travel with me from time to time....we just came back from a week's vacation not long ago to Turks and Caicos. He now understands the 'getting away' feeling and we're as close as ever! 31 years married and looking forward to 32. LOL

Harriet