Your first cruise ship

[janneke]

Remember the Sceet Shooting on the aft of the ship with real buckshot? We'll never forget being on the lido and hearing the shot guns going off. First Cruise...had no idea...sprang out of our loungers and hurried to the aft railing only to see several men holding shot guns and a staff member launching clay disks off the aft of the ship. Fantastic...this image will forever be ingrained in my mind...wonderful!

It is actually called SKEET shooting, and yes i have actually done that on my first cruise back in 1976. It was not cheap, though, it costed 1 usd per shell. This was on a cruise on the Victoria, en route from Athens to South Africa thru the red sea. But we disembarked at the Seychelles to extend a land vacation of one week and then to return to London by plane.

I still remember the poor AC in the cabin : in the Med sea it was bloody cold and we stuffed the air diffuser with toilet paper to block the cold air, only till in the Red sea, where it was bloody hot, so we removed all the toilet paper from the air louvre to get as much as possible cooling. Dancing in the lounge wearing a tux was murderous in these hot conditions.

The Victoria went to Alang 10 years ago. The cabins were not very large and old style with lots of wood ( there was no SOLAS yet in those days)

Later we did numerous cruises with Epirotiki, Sun lines , Royal Olympic cruises, Ocean Majesty, etc ..., but i remember the old Vic the most.

Jan

[tapdancemom]

DH and I took our first cruise in November 1995. We were on the Celebrity's Century. It was a Western Caribbean cruise stopping in Ocho Rios, Cozumel, Grand Caymen and Key West. We were hooked and have taken eleven more cruises. Going on HAL this June to Alaska, the Dancing With The Stars cruise.

[gelo7]

Emerald Seas.

[GulfShoresCruiser]

My first cruise was on Carnival's Mardi Gras in 1989. I went with my soon to be DW. The cabin was on the "Riveria Deck" right next to the dining room. Ports were Nassau and Freeport.

 

We were hooked on cruising since....think we are up to cruise 15. We have "evolved" to become Holland America cruisers.

[carri cruiser]

Our first cruise was on the "old" Noordam, we boarded in LA and went to Alcapulco, 7 days, that was in 1986 (?). we had an inside cabin, and I had

just lost 47lbs, so walked the promanade deck 3 miles per day/ 3mi pr hr.

my cousin sat in one of the deck chairs to count the rounds.

I woke up one morning, and wondered what the whether was like, so I thru open the curtains to see................ just a wall!!!!

there were no showrooms back then, and the passengers were usually the entertainment. I was in a fashion show, modeling a bathing suit cover up.

and they had a costume parade, with prizes. We made our costumes with

supplies given in the library, it was an early December cruise, and there

were no Christmas decorations.... So i entered the parade as a Christmas tree......... I won 3rd place!! Cruising has changed a lot, but I still love it!!:D

[Scrapnana]

My first cruise was at the age of 3 going to Panama to visit my aunt and uncle who were stationed there. I remember nothing of it - not even the name of the ship. The first cruise I remember was in 1960 on the Evangeline. She was sailing 3 day cruises from Florida to Nassau. I got hooked on cruising then and have yet to recover (and really don't want to:D).

[Ashryn]

First cruise was on the QE2. I have never wanted to cruise, husband always wanted to. Saw a 5 day cruise that went from Bangkok to Phuket, nice and close to shore. Booked it for our anniversary as a surprise. Surprise was I found out I LOVE CRUISING!

[Joe Schmoe]

Learned how to post pics now...practicing for my upcoming Nieuw Amsterdam trip report?

 

At any rate..Y'all are in trouble...hahaha

 

 

First cruise was in a suite on NCL's new and short lived Leeward one of only ten Balcony cabins on the ship...We were a couple of spoiled 20 somethings I guess.... But it hooked us on cruising. It was the wrong ship for us..in every way..but hearing the ocean at night while underway..and spotting flying fish by day...was priceless.. were were regulars on NCL in suites for about our first five cruises or so..till we had a real bad experience... Even back then..NCL had nice suites...

 

 

Ive probably got more pics from back then...Just dont know where they are right off hand....

 

These two are from 1994/95

 

Heres the view from the balcony on our suite on Norway. We used to love that ship...If you remember..Norway had a couple of P2 suites...that had Balconies that looked over the rear...this is the view from ours... Cant find any pics of the room just yet..

 

 

 

A

[ChiSloop]

My first cruise was on the old Noordam in 1985. 12 days LA to Acapulco and back. Won on Wheel of Fortune, inside cabin lowest deck forward.

[amster65]

My first cruise, or sea voyage, was in 1952. The SS Avalon Castle, Union Castle Mailship Company. Southhampton to Cape Town. It took 14 days and only had a port stop in the Canaries. We made the return trip in 1959 on the SS Stirling Castle and then transfered over to Holland America, the SS Ryndam, 27,000 tons, which took us to New York, Hoboken. It was the voyage from hell. We were tourist class, had a cabin with only a sink. Bathrooms/Showers were down the hall. I remember the hallways were all linoleum. When we left Holland, the first two days were not to bad, but then we hit the North Atlantic and we were rocking. The dining room was very empty during the middle point of that voyage. Still loved being out at sea....................;)

[sail7seas]

Wonderful reading all these stories. :)

[Copper10-8]

Our first cruise was on the "old" Noordam, we boarded in LA and went to Alcapulco, 7 days, that was in 1986 (?). we had an inside cabin, and I had just lost 47lbs, so walked the promanade deck 3 miles per day/ 3mi pr hr. my cousin sat in one of the deck chairs to count the rounds.

 

I woke up one morning, and wondered what the whether was like, so I thru open the curtains to see................ just a wall!!!!

 

there were no showrooms back then, and the passengers were usually the entertainment. I was in a fashion show, modeling a bathing suit cover up.

and they had a costume parade, with prizes. We made our costumes with

supplies given in the library, it was an early December cruise, and there

were no Christmas decorations.... So i entered the parade as a Christmas tree......... I won 3rd place!! Cruising has changed a lot, but I still love it!!

 

ms Noordam III (1984-present). Built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard, St. Nazaire, France as ms Noordam and delivered to Holland America Line on 31 March 1984 as the second of two identical sisters which would be known as the "N"-class with HAL. Her older sister, Nieuw Amsterdam III had preceded her on 17 June 1983 from the same yard. They would be the last new-builds for the, at that time, Dutch-owned Holland-Amerika Lijn and both were designed in the Netherlands.

 

She was the third ship to bear the name Noordam in Holland America Line’s then 111-year history. Her name, Noordam, refers to the compass heading "North" as "Noord" in Dutch, stands for "North". Noordam I operated for Holland America Line from 1902 until 1923. She was built by Harland & Wolff Limited in Belfast, Northern Ireland and launched in 1902. After delivery to HAL, she operated on their regular Rotterdam to New York run. She was one of the few trans-Atlantic liners to maintain regular sailings during the First World War. In doing so, she was damaged by mines in the North Sea in October 1914 and in August 1917. As a result, she was laid up for the remainder of the war until 1919 and the resumed service. From 1923 until 1926 she was chartered to the Swedish American Line and renamed Kungsholm. Noordam I was scrapped in 1926 at Hendrik Ido Ambacht in the Netherlands.

 

The second Noordam was built by the P. Smit Jr. Machinefabriek & Shipyard in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and served the line between 1938 and 1963. She departed on her maiden voyage in September 1938 and marked a new era in trans-Atlantic travel; the “combi” liner combining deluxe one-class accommodation (all but one cabin outside and all with private facilities, the first on the Atlantic) and substantial cargo capacity. After the outbreak of World War II, HAL transferred Noordam to a New York to Java (Dutch East Indies) via Cape of Good Hope, South Africa service in February 1940. From 1942 through 1945 she served as a U.S. troopship and in July 1946 resumed her traditional Rotterdam to New York service. In May 1963 she was purchased by Cielomar S.A. who chartered her to France-based Messageries Maritimes under the new name of Oceanien on a Marseilles, France to Sydney, Australia service. In 1967, she was scrapped at Split, (then) Yugoslavia.

 

 

Noordam III ran her technical trials between 16 and 20 February and on 5 and 6 March 1984 in the Atlantic Ocean and English Channel. After her acceptance by her new owners, Noordam sailed from St. Nazaire to Le Havre, France, arriving there on 6 April. The next day, she was named by her godmother, Mrs. van der Vorm-van der Wall Bake, the daughter of then HAL president and CEO Nico van der Wall, and sailed that afternoon with for VIPs, travel professionals and media representatives on a one-day cruise to ’nowhere’. On 8 April 1984, Noordam set off on her maiden voyage, a trans-Atlantic crossingfrom Le Havre, France to Tampa, Fl with stops at Horta, The Azores and Hamilton, Bermuda. After reaching Tampa, she transited the Panama Canal on her way to Los Angeles (San Pedro), CA from where she sailed a Mexican Riviera cruise. Noordam spent the 1984 summer season operating Alaska Glacier route cruises from Vancouver, BC and Seward, AK. That same winter, she sailed Mexican Riviera itineraries from San Pedro. During her HAL career, she could also frequently be found in the Caribbean, i.e. sailing 7-day cruises to the Western Caribbean out of Tampa, Fl. with port calls at Playa del Carmen and Cozumel, Mexico, Ocho Rios, Jamaica and George Town on Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands.

 

Noordam's passenger capacity consisted of 122 deluxe staterooms, 235 large outside rooms, 32 standard outside rooms, 145 large inside rooms and 50 inside double rooms for a total of 584. The “N’s” did not have any large suites or private verandahs. When launched, Noordam came out with the two-tiered Admiral (main show) Lounge with, on its upper level, the Tasman Terrace (named for 17th Century Dutch seafarer and explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, think Tasmania) with the Tasman Bar, the Horn Pipe (night) Club with the Shanty Bar, the Explorers Lounge, the Piet Hein Lounge (named for Pieter Pietersen Hein, Dutch naval officer and folk hero during the Eighty Years’ War between the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands and Spain, and the one who captured the Spanish “Silver Fleet” off Cuba), which was the main cocktail lounge with the Silver Bar.

 

The Crow’s Nest observation/dancing lounge with an inlaid-wood dance floor designed to resemble the face of a compass, the Book Chest Library (named after Hugo de Groot, a Dutch jurist, historian and author who escaped from Castle Louvestein in a book chest), the Card room, De Halve Maen (the Half Moon, named after the Dutch East India Company ship used by British sea explorer Henry Hudson) room, the Princess (movie) theater (also used for lectures, meetings and religious services), the Big Dipper lounge, the Fotoshop, the Canael Straet (Canal Street) Shopping Arcade (with Gift Shop, Boutique and Jewelry Shop), the Mint Casino (offering blackjack on six tables, Caribbean poker, roulette and slot machines), The Square (including the Main Lobby, Main staircase, elevators plus offices of the Hotel Manager, Purser, Cruise Director and Maitre d’ Hotel), the Barber Shop and the Beauty Parlor, the Ocean Spa (with massage room and dual steam saunas) and Gymnasium (with treadmills, rowing machines, stationary bikes, isometric pulleys and free weights), the Lido (buffet) Restaurant, the Amsterdam (main) dining room complete with two small and private dining rooms, known as the Kings (starboard) and Queens Room (port side), a paddle/deck tennis and a volleyball court and two outdoor swimming pools, one with fresh water and whirlpool/Jacuzzi on Navigation Deck, and the other with salt water and a small wading pool on Promenade Deck.

The tradition of exhibiting art objects on board the passenger ships of the Holland America Line began in 1938, during the golden era of leisurely ocean cruising. The company’s first grand collection was displayed on the second Nieuw Amsterdam. Noordam III’s theme paid tribute to the Dutch East India Company or Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC) in Dutchof the 17th through 18th centuries, with more than U.S. $2 million worth of art and artifacts displayed throughout the ship. The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia. The VOC made regular voyages from Holland to the Cape of Good Hope (present-day South Africa and from there to Ceylon (Sri Lanka), India, Indonesia, Siam (Thailand), Japan and China to trade spices, silk, porcelain and other luxury goods. Its territories became the Dutch East Indies and were expanded over the course of the 19th century to include the whole of the Indonesian archipelago, and in the 20th century would form present Indonesia.

 

 

Noordam followed Holland America Line’s tradition with a historical collection of her own. The ship’s collection of paintings, sculptures, art objects and artifacts were from the 17th and 18th centuries, an era when commercial and cultural ties were being formed between Holland and other countries all over the world. The center piece inside the Piet Hein main show lounge was a scale model of the stern of a 17th century trading vessel. Across the dance floor of the Crow’s Nest was a large showcase of 18th century nautical equipment, while in another case was an antique model of a sailing vessel. There was also a 17th century painting of a naval engagement. Walking from the Tasman Terrace to the Mint Casino, her passengers were able to see a unique leather folding screen illustrating Marco Polo’s travels through Asia while a wooden showcase displayed wood carvings used for display on the rudders and helms of the ships that sailed the inland waterways. A third showcase displayed 17th century weapons, an antique strong box and various period helmets.

 

Inside the Horn Pipe Club, an authentic horn pipe (an obsolete musical instrument), as well as display of 17th century household utensils could be found. Among the other pieces of art that could be found inside the ship were a large painting of the city of Amsterdam with sailing ships in the foreground in the Explorers Lounge, card tables decorated with the coat of arms of the Dutch East India Company in the Card Room, a model of Henry Hudson ship “de Halve Maen” (the Half Moon) in the Half Moon Room and showcases with ship models carved from bone in the central staircase.

[url=http://boards.cruisecritic.com/"http://media.shipspotting.com/uploads/photos/rw/1117137/Ship+Photo+Noordam.jpg&quot][/url]

 

Noordam III was a very popular ship for the guests of Holland America Line and had a large following. She made her final cruise for HAL from Barcelona, Spain to Lisbon, Portugal where she arrived on 12 November 2004. She then sailed to Falmouth, England, where she received a five-month refit and repainting at the A&P Shipyard. On 30 November 2004, Noordam III was placed on a long-term bareboat charter to British travel operator Thomson Holidays, managed by their subsidiary Thomson Cruises.

 

On 8 May 2005, she began operating for Thomson Cruises under her new name Thomson Celebration and re-registered at Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, sailing a 14-day maiden voyage to the Mediterranean from Southampton. Things went badly wrong however, when just three days later, a large number of cabins and public restrooms experienced major plumbing problems. When the 33,930-ton ship docked at Bilbao in northern Spain on Tuesday 10 May, her first scheduled stop, all passengers were taken off and put up overnight in local hotels while engineers worked to repair the broken system. The passengers returned to the ship on Wednesday and the vessel sailed that evening, heading for her next port of call, Lisbon, Portugal. However, on Thursday evening the problem struck again, leaving the majority of passengers without plumbing. When the ship arrived in Lisbon, Thompson Cruises management took the decision to cancel the rest of the maiden cruise.

Thomson dispatched a fleet of three commercial aircraft to Portugal to pick up more than 600 passengers from the ship to fly them back to Bournemouth and London Gatwick airports. About 500 passengers not accommodated in cabins affected by the plumbing problem opted to stay onboard for the return voyage back to Southampton where Thomson Celebration arrive on Monday morning, 16 May.

 

 

Currently, Thomson Celebration sails mostly on low-price cruises around Europe, ranging from Norway to Greece, Turkey and Croatia. She has also operated 7-day Red Sea cruises from Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt with a port call at Aqaba, Jordan. Thomson Celebration remains the property of HAL Antillen N.V. and their subsidiary, Holland America Line.

[innlady1]

Interesting, John. Thank you for taking the time to provide such great information.

[solocanadian]

Thanks John. Loved the Noordam. One of my all time favourite ships.:)

[Travelbug 2]

First cruise Ryndam, short Pacific coastal cruise to "test the waters" so to speak, have been hooked ever since. Loved every minute. She was not big but she was, and still is, a traditional cruise ship for sure.

From that day on I have been a HAL lover and have never been dissapointed. Strayed to NCL once ---- never again!!

Edited March 14, 2013 by Travelbug 2

[teachtocruis]

Our first cruise was for my parents' 50th anniversary, the summer of 1999. It was on Royal's Sovereign of the Seas. It was a four day and we were hooked.

[blacksand]

HAL's Zuiderdam in 2004, with family (all adults). I was solo, and had originally booked an inside cabin, was upgraded to a balcony. Now I don't think I will ever cruise without a balcony! I love early morning room service on the balcony, watching the sunrise, and we all enjoy spending nights there with a bottle of wine (or 2!). That was also my first visit to the Caribbean, and I enjoyed every port.

 

My second cruise (my husband's first), was on the Eurodam, December 2012. He is an even bigger fan of the balcony than I am.

 

Now I'm a bit afraid to try another line, since we enjoy HAL so much. I'll guess I'll have to try eventually :D

[Crown Vic]

Very interesting thread! First voyage was a 1963 Southampton to New York transatlantic crossing on the ss United States. I was on my way to do undergraduate work in Boston, Massachusetts. The crossing was very rough but the ship completed the trip in 4 1/2 days. Managed to frequent the dining room as well as a number of bars. Sailed back four years later on the 16,000 ton Maasdam from Montreal to Southampton with a degree and an American wife after a visit to Expo67 in Montreal. The nine day trip back was described in the log, of which I still have a copy, as 'glassy and smooth'. Great times. We continue to cruise to this day...

Edited April 2, 2013 by Crown Vic

[lovely_serenity]

First cruise was on the Carnival Jubilee :) September 1997, 7 night Mexican Riviera.

Thinking back, we were so awkward and new to cruising! Haha :D

Were we hooked? Well let's just say that upon leaving the ship, we booked a 4 night Bahamas cruise that sailed 2 months later!

[cubfan63]

First cruise was Caribe I, July 1984. Week-long Eastern Caribbean cruise from Miami to St. Thomas, San Juan and Puerta Plata.

 

First Holland America cruise was April 1986, the prior Noordam for a week from Acapulco to San Francisco. It was billed as a Halley's Comet cruise.

[Murphycat1]

Nice to Athens, via the Greek islands. Had a porthole (that opened!) and bunk beds and my husband and I thought we were in heaven.

 

 

Janet:)

[jeff4la]

My first cruise was in August, 1988 on RCCL`s Song of America. Tiny inside cabin. WesternCarribean. Remember going to Labadee as a stop.....Wasnt anything there yet...just bathrooms, a shade structure and plastic chairs. Oh, and yes.....I was hooked!

[itravelalot]

Our first cruise was RCCI and have no clue what ship it was.. It was 1996 and we left out of Los Angeles... It was a 7 day to Mazatlan, Cabo and Puerto Vallarta... We were not hooked. Our room was very small with just a port hole and the weather was cold half the time.. (not the ship's fault).. We didn't cruise again until we could do it in style, 10 yrs later, NCL 12 day Med in an Owner's Suite...

 

I am now very much hooked on cruising... :)

[peaches from georgia]

My first cruise was in August, 1988 on RCCL`s Song of America. Tiny inside cabin. WesternCarribean. Remember going to Labadee as a stop.....Wasnt anything there yet...just bathrooms, a shade structure and plastic chairs. Oh, and yes.....I was hooked!

Our first cruise was also on Song of America in the mid 80s- NYC to Bermuda. Went with family, loved the ship, and loved cruising.

[Copper10-8]

Our first cruise was RCCI and have no clue what ship it was.. It was 1996 and we left out of Los Angeles... It was a 7 day to Mazatlan, Cabo and Puerto Vallarta... We were not hooked. Our room was very small with just a port hole and the weather was cold half the time.. (not the ship's fault).. We didn't cruise again until we could do it in style, 10 yrs later, NCL 12 day Med in an Owner's Suite...

 

I am now very much hooked on cruising... :)

 

 

Back in 1996, RCCL (now RCI) was sailing Song of Norway on 7-Day Mexican Riviera cruises. Starting in late November 1996, she was replaced by the larger Song of America