Your first cruise ship

[TracieABD]

My first cruise was in college on Princess to the Bahamas. I can't remember which ship, but it was a very short itinerary. It would have been in 1986 or 87.

 

My first "grown-up" cruise was the Crown Princess in July of 2008 to the Baltic.

I am hooked...:)

[RBCL]

My first cruise was on Carnival Sensation, which in fact, was just 2 Months ago! :o

 

[SAN]

First cruise was on Island Princess in 1983.

[SAN]

Forgot to mention where we cruise Alaska 7 day inside passage.

[foodgirl]

First cruise was the MS Skyward NCL....it was what I wanted for my high school graduation in 1986. I fell in love with cruising from the very first time...I also got to see my grandmother get a little tipsy at the Captain's cocktail party which was great fun for a teenager. :)

[Taxguy77]

Yes, I believe once or twice! (the vast majority of this research is coming off the internet) But I also got the ss Minnow once;)

 

I thought the Minnow was a motor vessel. Am I wrong, or should it not be SS?:confused:

 

Great pics. Since ferries are included, my first voyage was 3 months earlier, on two different overnight ferries. The least expensive way to get from some points to some others, a bed was much less thaan a hotel and you had transportation. Have always slept well on trains and ships.:cool:

[Copper10-8]

I thought the Minnow was a motor vessel. Am I wrong, or should it not be SS?

 

Great pics. Since ferries are included, my first voyage was 3 months earlier, on two different overnight ferries. The least expensive way to get from some points to some others, a bed was much less thaan a hotel and you had transportation. Have always slept well on trains and ships.

 

Yeah, you're right about it being MV but, being Hollywood, they called it the SS Minnow

 

 

There were actually four S.S. Minnows used on the TV show. The first Minnow was purchased and towed out to Kauai, Hi and used in the beach scenes. The second one was a rental they used in the opening credits at the Honolulu Harbor. It showed the crew boarding and then showed it sailing out to sea. The third was filmed in the opening credits of the second season at Marina Del Rey in Los Angeles, CA. The fourth one was built for CBS Studios and is shown at the Lagoon in the second season opening credits. (See below for pics of all four boats.)

 

Minnow #1 - Towed out to filming site in Kauai

 

Minnow #2 - Rental in Honolulu Harbor

 

Minnow #3 - Marina Del Rey, CA

Second Season. "The Bluejacket"

 

Minnow #4 - Prop made at CBS Studios

 

Minnow #3 has been found and is now owned by a Scotsman named Scotty Taylor who resides on Vancouver Island in British Columbia (Canada). While Scotty was travelling in Hardwick Island in 1996 he noticed that a crew was pulling a capsized boat out of the water at Johnson Street, also known as the Johnson Reef. A storm had swept through this area and the individual who owned the boat piloted the vessell into the reef, sinking it. It was underwater for three days rendering all of the electrical equipment useless. After the boat was towed out of the water, it was easy to see that this boat would never set sail again. But Scotty noticed that this particular boat was a 1964 "Wheeler" built in Carson, New York. He knew that this model was very well made and had a good reputation. The owner sold the boat, called "The Bluejacket" to Scotty for $3,500. The owner told him that this particular boat was rumored to be the infamous S.S. Minnow. Scotty didn't pay much attention to this because he really wasn't a fan of the show.

 

After he purchased the "Bluejacket" though, he did his own research and found that the VIN number did indeed match the white boat that was purchased in 1964 for the second season of "Gilligan's Island." You can see this boat in the opening theme with the Professor loading something on it, Gilligan standing on it and then watching it go out of the Marina Del Rey in Los Angeles. It took Scotty two years to restore it and cost him a mere $150,000. He changed the official name to, what else, the "S.S. Minnow."

 

The specs on the Minnow: A 1964 "Wheeler" measuring 38'6" in a straight line from nose to tail. It's certified as a 40' boat because in the United States, the measurement is taken from the outline of the deck. It houses two Detroit Deisel engines @ 230 hp each. Maximum speed is 14 knots, with a cruising speed of 12 knots.

 

The Minnow is docked at Schooner's Cove Marina in Nanoose Bay, Vancouver Island and it available for public viewing.

 

So what is the Minnow used for? Not too much. Scotty takes it out fishing and parades the boat in a handful of shows at Maple Bay. An interesting story is that while Scotty was at Cape Beale a storm hit and a 40 foot wave knocked the dingy and zodiac off and almost capsized the S.S. Minnow, again!

[Copper10-8]

My first cruise ship was a fairly new one Carnival's The Miracle, 2008. I was so nervous to cruise but I put it on my bucket list. It honestly was through the generosity and paitence of the CC'ers that answered every question, over 800 post in my roll call, sooth every silly fear, and attended the meet and greet that I arranged.That I even went through with it.. and the moment, the second I walked on that ship I loved every single minute of it and could not wait to go back to sea..for me it is the sea & ship, and not so much the ports..and now I anticipate my newest journey on the Niew Amerstdam...in February 2011, and am taking my daughter on her first cruise..I hope she likes it as much as I do.

 

ms Carnival Miracle (2004-present) Built as ms Carnival Miracle in 2004 by the Kvaerner-Masa yard aka Helsingin uusi telakka or Helsinki New Shipyard (now known as STX Europe) at Hietalahiti in downtown Helsinki, Finland, for Carnival Cruise Line (CCL). She is the fourth and final vessel of Carnival’s Spirit class. Her sisters are Carnival Spirit (2001), Carnival Pride (2001) and Carnival Legend (2002) (plus two ships of the Costa Line; Costa Mediterranea and Costa Atlantica). The Spirit class of ships were built to Panamax specifications, allowing them to pass through the Panama Canal. Carnival Miracle is able to carry a total of 2,680 passengers (lower beds: 2,124 passengers) in 1,062 staterooms. Her maximum crew capacity is 961. Eighty percent of her staterooms have ocean views, and eighty percent of those feature private balconies.

 

The ship was floated out from Kvaerner-Masa’s covered new building dock in June 2003 and the successful sea trials took place in November of that year. At the completion and hand over ceremony held onboard Carnival Miracle at the Helsinki yard on 17 January 2004, Carnival Corporation chairman and chief executive officer Micky Arison noted that the ship was completed three weeks before schedule. After a transatlantic crossing without passengers, she was christened on 27 February 2004 in Jacksonville, Fl by her godmother, former U.S. Army Private First Class and 2003 Iraqi War POW Jessica Lynch. The occasion marked the first time a new cruise ship was introduced at Carnival’s newest cruise homeport of Jacksonville, Fl. That evening, the ship departed on her 3-day maiden cruise to the Bahamas. During her inaugural season, Carnival Miracle operated a series of 12 three- to six-day voyages from Jacksonville through 17 April 2004. The ship also sailed seven-day departures from Baltimore, Md and New York City, before repositioning to Tampa, Fl for year-round seven-day western Caribbean cruises beginning on 7 November 2004.

Carnival Miracle’s interior reflects a “famous fictional icons” theme, drawn from fantasy characters such as Batman, Superman, Robinson Crusoe, Robin Hood, Hercule Poirot, etc. Unique to the Miracle is her 11-story Superman-inspired Metropolis atrium/centrum with a ruby-red glass ceiling, which is also part of the Carnival-trademark "Y" shaped funnel, known in Carnival parlance as the “whale tail.” The ship’s amenities include the Bacchus main dining room, the Pacific Dining room, Nick & Nora’s reservation-only Steakhouse/supper club, Horatio (casual) Lido restaurant, the Phantom main show lounge, Mad Hatter’s Ball (smaller) show lounge, Sam’s Piano Bar, Maguire’s Sports Bar, the Batman-inspired Gotham Lounge in the ship’s foyer, Jeeves Lounge in the lobby (named after the fictional butler of P.G. Wodehouse’s novels), Mr. Lucky’s casino, Dr. Frankenstein’s Lab night/dance club, The Raven library & Internet Cafe (named after Edgar Alan Poe’s “the Raven” poem), The Joker card room, and a two-level Spa Carnival spa and fitness center.

In addition, Gatsby’s Garden interior promenade, a wedding chapel, a miniature golf course, a running track, Sirens forward pool, Ulysses main pool with a 3-deck high Twister water slide, Orpheus adults only aft pool and a children’s facility for kids ages 2 to 14 (plus Wizards arcade, plus Circle C), can be found on the ship.

During the first week of February 2005, Carnival Miracle as well as Holland America Line’s Zaandam, her sister Volendam, HAL's Vista class Zuiderdam and Radisson's Seven Seas Navigator were chartered by the Jacksonville, Fl. Super Bowl Host Committee as accommodation/hotel ships. Jacksonville, the smallest market ever to host a Super Bowl, rented the five ships for U.S. $11.5 million and "parked" them along the St. Johns River for five days to assist with hotel room space for National Football League affiliates and sponsors for Super Bowl XXXIX. Rooms aboard the five ships cost $200 to $550 a night. Carnival Miracle last underwent a refit/dry-dock in 2007.

Carnival Miracle currently sails in the summer months from New York City offering 6-day Bermuda cruises, 8-day eastern Caribbean cruises to Grand Turk, the Turks and Caicos, Nassau and Holland America Line’s private island Half Moon Cay, also in the Bahamas, 8-day eastern Caribbean cruises to Grand Turk, the Turks and Caicos, San Juan, Puerto Rico and Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, USVI, and 2-night cruises to nowhere.

During the winter season, she moves south to her home port of Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. From which she sails on 8-day southern Caribbean cruises with port calls at Grand Turk, the Turks and Caicos, La Romana (or Catalina Island), the Dominican Republic, Oranjestad, Aruba and Willemstad, Curacao or 8-day southern Caribbean itineraries to Phillipsburg, Sint Maarten, Castries, St. Lucia and Basseterre, St. Kitts.

Edited May 27, 2010 by Copper10-8

[Koshlong]

Copper, I just read your section on the Veendam and I hope you don't mind that I "borrowed" it for our upcoming South American roll call!?

 

I am constantly amazed at the extent of your repertoire ..........the Minnow, even!

 

Marnie

[Copper10-8]

Copper, I just read your section on the Veendam and I hope you don't mind that I "borrowed" it for our upcoming South American roll call!?

 

I am constantly amazed at the extent of your repertoire ..........the Minnow, even!

 

Marnie

 

Heck no, go right ahead Marnie. Thanks, but it's not my knowledge, just a bit of research. Anyone can do it;)

Edited May 28, 2010 by Copper10-8

[cruisepoor]

1975, Royal Viking Star, Fort Lauderdale to San Francisco

[Bill HaHa]

Mine was on the Statendam Nov. 1999 . 10 days to Mexico.. Had to talk my better half into it. She did not want to cruise due to sea sickness problem. It all worked out to the good. She is now a great fan to cruiseing. Have been to Hawaii twice, Panama Canal, Alaska and to Mexico seven times.

[Koshlong]

Copper, as a retired teacher-librarian, I've always felt that one of the best kinds of knowledge is the ability to find the information you want when you need it. I'd give you an A++.......and we didn't even have that grade!

 

Marnie

[Copper10-8]

Copper, as a retired teacher-librarian, I've always felt that one of the best kinds of knowledge is the ability to find the information you want when you need it. I'd give you an A++.......and we didn't even have that grade!

 

Marnie

 

Thank you Ma'am! I'll send an apple your way!;)

[johnjen]

ss Theodor Herzl (1957-1991) Built in 1957 by Deutsche Werft, Hamburg, Germany as Theodor Herzl, she was part of a special reparations pact between what was then West Germany and the state of Israel. She was designed for Mediterranean service

 

 

Named in honor of the founder of the Zionist movement, she operated for Zim Israel Navigation Company aka Zim Israel Lines on routes from Marseilles, Naples and Venice to Haifa, carrying both immigrants and budget tourists. In the winter season, she could be found on Mediterranean cruises. She also had at least one season to the Mexican Riviera as well as a celebratory maiden voyage to New York and, in later years, made several immigrant crossings to South America, to Rio de Janeiro, Montevideo and Buenos Aires.

 

 

 

During the 1958-1959 winter season, Zim entered the international cruise market from the United States to the Caribbean Islands with three cruises per season. In 1964, she was converted into a one-class cruise ship, which saw all cabins converted to two bedded/two berth cabins, all having private facilities.

 

 

She completed her final voyage for Zim on on 27 November 1969 and was sold to the American International Service Travel Services (AIST) - Yes, there is a Ted Arison/Carnival Cruise Line connection here - who renamed her Carnivale (not to be confused with the later CCL Carnivale, the former Empress of Britain) and employed her in the Caribbean as a floating luxury hotel. Nothing else came to pass for her and she did not sail again until late 1975, when she was sold to New Horizons Shipping Ltd. who renamed her Freeport, rebuilt her, and used her on the Miami-Nassau-Freeport run.

 

In 1976, she was renamed Veracruz I and was largely responsible for making New York via Eastern Canada to the St. Lawrence River cruises popular.

 

 

In 1978, New Horizons Shipping Ltd became Freeport Cruises Lines and she became Veracruz Primero and in 1985, under Bahama Cruises Inc./Bahama Cruise Line management, just plain Veracruz.

 

 

In 1987, Bahama Cruise Line became the Bermuda Star Line and in 1990 was bought out by Commodore Cruise line. That same year, Veracruz was sold to Festival Shipping & Tourist Enterprises and was renamed Sun Ambassador however this did not last long and she was laid up in Florida.

 

Then in 1991, newly-formed Greek-based Fiesta Cruise Lines came calling. She was brought over to Greece as "Fiesta" and, once moored in Perama Bay near Piraeus, her resurrection began. She was to emerge as yet another "new" cruiseship, taking travelers around the Eastern Mediterranean in summers and in Caribbean waters in wintertime. But it all went astray when on 24 October 1991, she caught fire, burned out and then, overloaded with firefighters' water, capsized.

 

This was the same ship I remembered seeing in NORSHIPCO's dry dock in Norfolk and it had fallen off of the blocks. That must've been around the mid-80's (83 or 84) and it was a heck of a mess getting her afloat again and reset in the upright position.

[rge]

My first cruise was on Sitmar's Fairwind in 1976, however my first time on a ship was in Feb. 1946 at 18 mos. old on the Vulcania as a war baby, from England to New York and then 3 round trip trans Atlantics on Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth between 1948 and 1962.

[RedmondCruiser]

Have absolutely nothing to add to this thread but I thought it would be shame to see the best thread that has ever been posted to drift away into obscurity.

This needs to be a sticky again.

[Copper10-8]

Have absolutely nothing to add to this thread but I thought it would be shame to see the best thread that has ever been posted to drift away into obscurity.

 

This needs to be a sticky again.

 

Hey thanks for digging this up out of the black hole! Gives me a reminder to dust it off and get going again;)

[RedmondCruiser]

Hey thanks for digging this up out of the black hole! Gives me a reminder to dust it off and get going again;)

 

Thought that you were busy perfecting your LeRoy Jethro Gibbs impressions but I, for one, would be very happy to see the thread survive.

Happy 4th - and from an old Army guy -- Hooo Rah.

Ron

[Copper10-8]

Thought that you were busy perfecting your LeRoy Jethro Gibbs impressions but I, for one, would be very happy to see the thread survive.

 

Happy 4th - and from an old Army guy -- Hooo Rah.

 

Ron

 

Likewise Ron - Hua;)

[HWY 101]

Happy Fourth of July in all Countries, although just 300 million of US celebrate it. We like the old footage of the Ms Nieuw Amsterdam presentation. http://www.bpib.com/illustrat/leyendec.htm

 

The fireworks presentations near the hwy 101 are about to begin...

Edited July 5, 2010 by HWY 101

[HWY 101]

The fireworks were fun along the 101 South. Happy Fourth of July...and please thank all our soldiers when you see them...

 

http://www.mydesert.com/section/videonetwork?bctid=106591318001#/News/The+National+Anthem/48300071001/48340548001/106591318001

[Copper10-8]

First cruise: October, 1955 on the Princess Norah/Queen of the North, from Ketchikan down the inside passage to either Prince Rupert or Vancouver (I forget which), and then by train back to Seattle. There were five of us sharing two cabins. My dad and I shared a room with bunk beds. Best (and only) memory: my little sister ordered the trout for dinner on board the ship one night and wouldn't eat it because, as she so eloquently put it, "it's staring at me".

 

ss Princess Norah (1928-1964) Built in 1928 as ss Princess Norah by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Ltd, Govan/Glasgow, Scotland for the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). Princess Norah set off on her maiden voyage on 20 December 1928 and, via the Panama Canal, arrived in Victoria, BC on 23 January 1929. She had been designed and built to operate on the coastal run for CP's British Columbia Coast Service (BCCS). BCCS operated a fleet of 14 passenger ships made up of a number of Princess ships, pocket versions of the famous ocean going Empress ships along with a freighter, three tugs and five rail car barges. Popular with tourists, the Princess ships were famous in their own right

 

 

Princess Norah was 2,731 gross registered tons, 262 feet long, licensed to carry 700 day passengers in 61 staterooms with 179 berths and also had room for some automobiles. Her forward hold handled freight. The vessel had a single four cylinder triple expansion steam engine and three Scotch marine boilers which made her capable of running at 15.8 knots.

 

[/font]

 

Equipped with a bow rudder to maneuver in confined waters, Princess Norah was used mostly on the Vancouver to Alaska run, along with the Princess Louise hauling passengers and freight, but she also relieved on the Gulf Islands and west coast runs (i.e. Prince Rupert, BC), when CPR’s Princess Mary and Princess Maquinna were in for refit. Every ten days, she brought mail. She was part of the CPR land, sea and air transportation service touted as the “World’s Greatest Travel System.”

 

 

In April 1943, Princess Norah ran up on Zero Rock en route from Victoria to James Island, one of BC’s Gulf Islands in Haro Strait. The collision took out some of her bottom and flooded her forward cargo hold back to the stokehold bulkhead, but she was re-floated, and repaired in the Esquimalt, BC (Victoria) dry dock.

 

 

In 1955, Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian National Railways (CNR) made an agreement to jointly operate a service to the north coastal settlements. The CPR provided the ship, Princess Norah, which was renamed Queen of the North. Starting in September 1955, she would operate weekly sailings calling at Westview, Ocean Falls, Kitimat and Prince Rupert in BC and at Ketchikan, Alaska. She was returned to the CPR on 31 December 1957 and once again assumed her original name of Princess Norah.

 

 

The ship was sold in July 1958 to the Victoria-based Northland Navigation Company Ltd. Who renamed her Canadian Prince. She was taken out of service in October 1964 and was sold, minus engines, to an Alaskan company. Using the ocean going tug Hecate Prince, they had her towed to Kodiak, Alaska where she was moored as the Beachcomber restaurant and hotel. Ultimately, her superstructure was cut to become part of a seawall and her tank bottoms and keel were buried where she was beached. Some of her parts are scattered around the town of Kodiak.

Edited July 6, 2010 by Copper10-8

[terigo]

My first cruise was on the Mardi gras in 1986, 4 day cruise to

the Bahamas, Freeport and Nassau.

i was on that sailing! i used to work for Liberty Travel, a jillion years ago, and the owner had an interest in Carnival, so we used to be able to cruise for the cost of port taxes... gone are the days!

but my first cruise was on the old Italian Line, the Leonardi Da Vinci, out of NY somewhere back in the late 60s, early 70s... darned if i can remember exactly when!

(getting old much? ;))

Edited July 6, 2010 by terigo

[Copper10-8]

i was on that sailing! i used to work for Liberty Travel, a jillion years ago, and the owner had an interest in Carnival, so we used to be able to cruise for the cost of port taxes... gone are the days!

but my first cruise was on the old Italian Line, the Leonardi Da Vinci, out of NY somewhere back in the late 60s, early 70s... darned if i can remember exactly when!

(getting old much? ;))

 

 

ss Leonardo da Vinci (1960-1982) Built in 1960 by Gio. Ansaldo & C. S.A.S Shipyards, Genoa, Italy as ocean liner ss Leonardo da Vinci for the Società di navigazione Italia, aka the Italian Line. She was a replacement for their ss Andrea Doria which had been lost after just three years of service on 25 July 1956 when she collided with the Swedish American Line ship ms Stockholm.

 

 

 

The ship featured numerous technological innovations, including provisions for conversion to run on nuclear power, an option discussed but never taken up. The other new innovations and safety features introduced on Leonardo da Vinci, all after the Andrea Doria tragedy, included extended watertight bulkheads, lifeboat davits capable of launching lifeboats against a 25 degree list, motorized lifeboats, and two completely separated engine rooms, each powering their own propeller and capable of powering the ship independently from the other. In addition, the ship had infrared-heated swimming pools (though only in first class), retractable stabilizer wings, full air-conditioning, and private bathrooms in all cabins in first and cabin class, as well as in 80% of tourist-class cabins.

 

 

 

However, like the Andrea Doria and Cristoforo Colombo, Leonardo da Vinci proved to be an unstable ship in rough weather. The problem was accentuated by her larger size, and as a result, 3000 metric tons of iron had to fitted along her bottom to improve stability. This in turn made the ship too heavy for her engines and led to extremely high fuel expenses

 

On 30 June 1960, she set out on her maiden voyage from Genoa to New York City where she received the traditional festive welcome of a liner arriving in the city for the first time. Soon after she entered service, the Italian Line announced that by 1965 at latest the ship would be refit to run on nuclear power. This, however, did not come to pass, and at the time it was already known to executives of the company that by 1965 the Leonardo da Vinci would be supplanted on the North Atlantic service by the new ss Michelangelo and ss Raffaello, the planning for which had already started in 1958.

After Michelangelo and Raffaello were delivered in May and July 1965, respectively, Leonardo da Vinci was used almost exclusively for cruising, mostly around the Mediterranean, but also sometimes to the Caribbean and to South America. The majority of her tourist-class cabins were considered too spartan for cruise service, and hence were unused while the ship was used for cruising, further cutting the profitability of the ship. In 1966 she was re-painted in the new livery of the Italian Line, a white hull with a thin green decorative ribbon, instead of her original black hull with a white decorative ribbon.

 

 

 

In February 1970 she departed on her most exquisite cruise, a 41-day journey from the Mediterranean to Hawaii via the Panama Canal and back again. During the 1970's, competition from jet-powered passenger aircraft became more and more pressing on the North Atlantic service. In 1975 the Italian Line decided to withdraw both Michelangelo and Raffaello from service. However, despite the withdrawal of state subsidiaries, the Italian Line did not withdraw from the North Atlantic service just yet, and Leonardo da Vinci returned to her original route for a short period until June 1976, when she too was withdrawn from service and laid up. Doing this earned her the distinction of being the last Italian Line passenger liner to be used in service across the North Atlantic.

In 1977 she was brought back into service, this time for cruising under the banner of Italia Crociere (also known as Italian Line Cruises International), a newly formed subsidiary of Società di navigazione Italia. The ship was used for cruising from Miami to Nassau, Bahamas, but proved too large and expensive to operate on this service. In 1978, she returned to La Spezia, Italy and was laid up again.

 

 

Despite numerous rumors the ship never saw service again. After being laid up for two years, a fire started onboard on 4 July 1980. The ship burned for four days and eventually capsized. The burnt-out hulk was later righted and towed to the scrapyard at La Spezia where she was broken up in 1982.