Your first cruise ship

[Jim Avery]

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

Ours was Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's m/s Viking Serenade, a converted car ferry, back in NOV 1991, a 3-day L.A. - Catalina Island - Esenada, Mexico - L.A. cruise. Never forget our first impressions - we were hooked from that day on!

 

Viking Serenade (still sailing today as Island Escape)

 

First time was Cunard's Queen Mary. 1950. I was 18 months old and yes, I do still have memories that hooked me. The thunder of the ship's whistle still makes me misty. Since then, several more Queen Mary/Queen Elizabeth Transatlantic crossings then 11 more on QE2 and Queen Mary 2's Maiden Voyage. First "cruise" was on the old Carnivale. To date, 42 and counting. Leaving in 6 days for Paul Gauguin and number 43, first time in French Polynesia. So many choices, so little time (and money).:eek::D

[thebts]

We too sailed on the Atlas out of Santa Domingo in 1985. It was 8 ports in 7 days and we had a blast for about $700 incl flight and taxes. The ship was a rust bucket but who cared. We got a flavour of the Caribbean and cruising in general. Those were the days my friend. You never forget your first cruise.

[DeeniEncinitas]

Our first cruise was on NCL out of Miami going to the Western Carribean on the STAR.

[Susie51]

NCL Southward Dec. 1993 3 night Catalina, Ensenada cruise. I'm hooked.

[scapel]

We too sailed on the Atlas out of Santa Domingo in 1985. It was 8 ports in 7 days and we had a blast for about $700 incl flight and taxes. The ship was a rust bucket but who cared. We got a flavour of the Caribbean and cruising in general. Those were the days my friend. You never forget your first cruise.

 

This June will be # 48 cruise. I guess I got hooked.

 

You are so right that you never forget your first cruise.

1975 CRUISE ON THE STELLA OCEANIS TO SOUTH AMERICA

We had planned to cruise to the Aegean and the Mediterranean but the war in Cyprus caused the cruise to be cancelled and the ship moved to the East coast of South America.

We flew on Trans International Airways; We flew into Montevideo, Uruguay to board the ship. We had an inside cabin and put our cabin key on a hook in the hall and the cabin steward then knew that we were not in the cabin and he could straighten it up.

We sailed to Buenos Aires, Argentina and had nice scenic tour also a lunch at a nice hotel with a beautiful view. Dr. Arthur Herald and his wife June were travelling with us. Arthur had a patient he had been managing her diabetes from the states and he finally met her in Buenos Aires. We visited a local hospital and when we asked about the medical system in Argentina a doctor said that in a country where dictators changed often it was hard to make steady progress. We sailed through the Rio Plata a muddy colored river that was the estuary formed by the Uruguay River and the Parana River on the border between Argentina and Uruguay. The estuary is about 1.2 miles wide when it starts and becomes about 149 miles when it meets the Atlantic Ocean. After Buenos Aires we went to th port of Santos where we docked to visit San Paulo, Brazil and saw many fantastic buildings, some very old. The cars were mostly Volkswagen beetles. We had a beautiful lunch high above this very large city reported to be on the top three for size along with New York and Tokyo. We visited a snake farm where they made snake anti venom. There were little mounds about a foot high round and domed in which the snakes lived in a yard with a little pond for them to swim. The largest buildings seemed to be government buildings. The large parks were beautiful. Santos being the port had a wonderful beach.

We then sailed into Rio de Janeiro. Rio is one of the most beautiful ports to sail into with the Sugarloaf Mountain and the Christ the Redeemer Statue being seen. We toured the city and went up on sugarloaf via a cable car and then went to the Christ the Redeemer Statue via our cab.

 

STELLA OCEANUS

The Stella Oceanus was built by Contierl Riunitio dell’Adriatico ; Monfalcone, Italy The Stella Oceanic (Star of the Ocean) was built as the Ferry Aphrodite in 1965 and the rebuilt for Sun Line in 1967 and refurbished in 1995.

The ship was 350 feet long and 5500 GRT- Passengers 159-300 and a crew of 140.I sailed this ship in 1975 to South America and in 1979 to the Crimean Peninsula in the Black Sea. There were many fine pieces of Art Work.

She arrived at Alang December 31, 2003 as S.Ocean and finished off by April of 2004

 

Alang is a census town in Bhavnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. In the past three decades, its beaches have become a major worldwide centre for ship breaking. The longest ship ever built 'Knock Nevis' was sailed to and beached here for demolition in December 2009. [1]

The shipyards at Alang recycle approximately half of all ships salvaged around the world.[2] It is considered the world's largest graveyard of ships.[3] The yards are located on the Gulf of Khambat, 50 kilometres southeast of Bhavnagar. Large supertankers, car ferries, container ships, and a dwindling number of ocean liners are beached during high tide, and as the tide recedes, hundreds of manual laborers dismantle each ship, salvaging what they can and reducing the rest into scrap.

On the Road to Alang,[6] a documentary on passenger ships scrapped at Alang, was produced by Peter Knego[7] in 2005.

Japan and the Gujarat government have joined hands to upgrade the existing Alang shipyard. The two parties have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which focuses on technology transfer and financial assistance from Japan to assist in the upgrading of operations at Alang to meet international standards

Edited February 26, 2015 by scapel

[mskaufman]

Carnival Imagination - 1998

[natski]

Wow Mem test

ok give it a try

First was RCI Grandeur of the Seas think 1999 or there abouts

Think the kids were son 5 , daughter 8 they loved the kids program kept waking us up at 6ish am to go too it .

I remember well that the CDN dollar was like today around 80 cents to the US lol was not a cheap holiday.

The crew was Awsome with the kids as they met new friends the dinning room set up a large table for them to have there own and alow the parents to sit at a large table all to our selves beside each other , the Crew told us not to worry that they would be well taken care of and they sure did , none of the parents ever had to move from our table was a wonderful thing to do .

I remember a convo with my daughter in Labadee as we walked up a path , you could look up and see the local people lining a barb wired fence , and My daughter asking why , not one of my fav places but was a good chance to explain and teach.

I remember our room stewart she so very much missed her son and daughter and fell totally in love with ours , she treated them so very well even bent the rules a bit .

We were hooked but moved to Hal as the kids got older beenthere ever since .

[Skoogs]

The SS Independence, American Hawaii Cruises, 1996? 7-day Hawaiian Island Cruise. DW and 2 kids, 8 and 12. Small cabin, basically just wall to wall bed! What fun we had, first time to Hawaii, all the different islands. We had a lot of fun on the ship, the crew was super friendly, the kids met other kids and had a blast. No gambling because it was an American flagged ship. I was fine with that (I'm a lousy gambler). It was something really special, it seemed very small, not a ton of people on board, and real personal, like you knew everybody, the people where real friendly. Great time!

[mysweetness]

Norweigen Dream..

Wonderful experience over 20 years ago.

Started out crazy when a hurricane was heading our way.

This was NY to Bermuda.

Our TA told us we may end up heading north instead and we wouldn't know until we got to the ship...lots of extra packing just in case.

Turned out we spent the first night in NY and the ship left early the following morning.

Bumpy first night, but smooth sailing after that.

 

25 cruises later.....:)

[rwams]

First cruise was 2006 Sapphire Princess Mexican Rivera after that I was hooked. Later that year my first Hal cruise was Ms Ryndam out of Vancouver for a 7 day Alaska Glacier Discovery.

 

Rick

[Harry1954]

DW and I had the pleasure of sailing on the (new) Bahama Star (originally the Jerusalem2 from Zim Lines that became Bahama Star (2) ) in the early 1970s with Eastern Cruise Lines) as our first cruise. It was a three day trip to Bahamas and back. Quite fun and taught us that we wouldn't get sea sick.

harry

[galensgrl]

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

 

Ours was Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's m/s Viking Serenade, a converted car ferry, back in NOV 1991, a 3-day L.A. - Catalina Island - Esenada, Mexico - L.A. cruise. Never forget our first impressions - we were hooked from that day on!

 

 

Viking Serenade (still sailing today as Island Escape)

 

 

Our first cruise was in 2009, Boston to Bermuda on the Norwegian Spirit. We LOVE that ship. The decor was elegant and based on Asian art. We took another cruise with the same ship\itinerary the following year. Then NCL took the Spirit for another itinerary and put the NCL Dawn on the Boston to Bermuda. We are not so thrilled with the Dawn, it is more contemporary with a neonish\vegas type decor and atmosphere. We are looking forward to cruising with HAL on the Veendam. I've wanted to cruise with HAL since the first time we were in Bermuda and saw the white and blue mid sized ship docked on Front Street. I didn't look at the name, but I knew it was a HAL ship because of the ship's colors and design. Finally we can afford a nice cabin on HAL, and we are thrilled to be taking our 20th Wedding Anniversary cruise with them. Can hardly wait for May!:D

 

Lorie

Lorie

[Folk Singer]

The oasis of the seas was the first, major cruise although back in the 70's did come over from the Uk on the QE.

[Palm Beacher]

My first cruise was November 2001. We sailed the Zaandam.

[Topsham]

R.M.S. QUEEN ELIZABETH..... June 1968 New York to Southamton. August Southampton to New York. Sat in the movie.... right in front of Liz Taylor and Richard Burton!

[Folk Singer]

My first cruise was November 2001. We sailed the Zaandam.

 

She is a wonderful ship.

[Jim Avery]

The oasis of the seas was the first, major cruise although back in the 70's did come over from the Uk on the QE.

 

If QE means Queen Elizabeth, you must have been earlier than the '70s. Queen Elizabeth left service in 1968.

[Traveling Dot]

My first cruise was on the Agean Pearl in 2008 with my daughter. It was a 5 day cruise of the Greek Isles and included a stop in Turkey. I wanted to see how I was on a ship (make sure I didn't get sea sick). :D

 

That summer my TA sent me an invitation to tour the Maasdam and I took my husband. He was impressed with the ship and his first cruise (on a cruise ship - ex-navy) was a round trip to Canada from Boston and he was hooked. We have sailed at least once a year since then. For our 45th anniversary and his 70th birthday we did two cruises that year (Hawaii and the Baltic). :)

 

My husband says we are working our way through every DAM ship.

Edited February 27, 2015 by Traveling Dot

[newcruisers2]

Norwegian Wind, May of 2006 to Alaska...and it got us hooked!

[brentp]

Our honeymoon cruise on Royal Caribbean's Song of America, June 1988 - Western Caribbean. Our waiter's name was Sydney from Jamaica. :)

 

Hooked, kind of. Every 3 years or so since, we return to the seas.

 

For what it is worth, the Song of America then became the MS Sunbird (Sun Cruises), . . . then MS Thomson Destiny (Thomson Cruises), . . . MS Louis Olympia (Louis Cruise Line), . . . and today is the MS Celestyal Olympia (Celestyal Cruises) - Whew, what a history.

 

Funny story - ~15 years after this cruise, we were sitting by the bridge/harbor gate in Curacao having a cold beverage and I was looking at the 'Sunbird' cruise ship parked in the harbor. She looked very familiar, and then I finally realized what she was and told my wife - I believe that is the old Song of America, the one we sailed on for our Honeymoon. Sure enough, when I got back I looked it up and so it was.

Edited March 1, 2015 by brentp

[LeDemonBlond]

It was Disney's Magic in January of 2008. It was a Caribbean Trip from Port Carnival.

 

My youngest (twin boys) were 7 and they were thrilled. There were not many pre-teens on the ship but my 12 year old had the best time as well.

 

Been on 5 other cruises since ( RCCL, NCL, Celebrity ), all enjoyable for different reasons, but that Disney Cruise was still the best cruise in terms of food. Not just quality but presentation and atmosphere. That is probably hard for some to believe but that is how I feel.

 

Cruising is not for everyone but I say, that is ok, more likely for me to get a cabin on the ship! Going to Alaska on HAL in May, can't wait!

[ghjcmo]

My first cruise was on the old Westerdam, (not the current one) and sailed out of Ft Lauderdale to Nassau, San Juan, and St Thomas during the last of Nov, first of Dec 2000.

 

And oh yes, it did get me hooked.

[WupperAV]

Norwegian SKY the Mcdonalds of the sea. Carribean but don't remember when.

[monl765]

June 1996, Carnival Fascination, Southern Caribbean Itinerary.

 

San Juan

St. Thomas

Guadeloupe

Grenada

La Guaira / Caracas

Aruba

San Juan

 

The all day excursion to the glass factory and downtown Caracas is still the most memorable trip I have ever been on.

[TravelRabbit]

Mine was May 1984---honeymoon with the love of my life. Stella Solaris (Sun Line). Mediterranean itinerary: Mykonos, Rhodes, and other islands--also included Jerusalem, Ephesus, Istanbul and Cairo. (It was 2 one-week back-to-back cruises, as I recall)

On that cruise, we daydreamed about doing a trip up the Nile on our 10th anniversary. Instead, we spent that anniversary in Galveston with our two young children.

Didn't cruise again until 2011 (Alaska-Volendam) and enjoying reconnecting with cruising!