Your first cruise ship

[pmjnh]

Ours was in 1990, RCCL's Song of America to the Western Caribbean. Great little ship, capacity 1200 . Sold to the Thomson line and now owned by a small Greek line and is named MS Louis Olympia. http://louiscruises.com/en/cruise-ships/cruise-ship/LO/louis-olympia.htmlWe loved it! Our next cruise was on a 3600 mega ship. Had that one been our first cruise, we probably would have been turned off.

Love the smaller ships!

Edited August 3, 2014 by pmjnh

[Davidson Duo]

Our first cruise ship was the Ithaca. She started out as the Zion built in 1956, and went through many changes in her lifetime. She finally ended her life as scrap!

 

Our cruise was two weeks in July 1977 on our postponed honeymoon. I was 6 months pregnant by then, but there were no issues with flying (18 hours) or cruising in those days.

 

The ship was part of the Ulysses Line, chartered by Strand Cruises. It was Greek crew, and we were in heaven! We embarked in Palermo Sicily, with stops in Malta, Rhodes, Athens, Mykonos, 2 days in Piraeus Israel (overnight), Kusadasi Turkey, Crete, and disembarking back in Palermo.

 

The food was amazing. We had 4 couples at a table, then our steward brought a huge platter for each course (7-8 every night!), and served us all with his two spoons in one hand. There was always a bit left over, and he kept trying to give it to me "cause I was eating for two"!!!! Boy did I have to be strong so as not to become a blimp. :)

 

Looking back on our pictures, our cabin was very small and basic with a tiny porthole, but we remember it as the height of luxury.

 

Quoits, pool games, golf driving off the aft of the Lido deck, a casino, and so much more made life on board as much fun as the ports of call.

 

Our biggest chuckle was with the crew last night at dinner. To set the scene, one must understand that my husband turns another shade darker any time he LOOKS at the sun. So the Meditteranean in July is a sure bet that he was very dark. Wherever we went, they thought he was native. The Turks thought he was Turkish, Greeks thought he was Greek, Israelies thought he was Palestinian. The last night we noticed all the Diningroom Stewards kept whispering together and looking at our table. It became more intense as the meal progressed. Finally, at the end of the meal, our steward came over to us while all the others huddled together with baited breath. He turned to Ken and said they had a betting pool going as to his heritage, so did he mind telling them what it was. As they all held their breath in great anticipation of the answer (we think there was a lot of money riding on this by now), my husband smiled and said ------ Scottish! With a very confused look he asked my hubby to repeat it, and when he again said "Scottish", he shook his head and slowly shuffled away. We watched him repeat the answer to all the other Stewards who were anxiously waiting to see who one the bet. We all laughed and laughed as we watched every one of them react in the exact same way. Confusion, then totally crestfallen. But once it set in, they all came by the table to shake my husband's hand. From what we could tell, no one won, but they certainly appreciated playing the game. Such a great memory from one of our most memorable cruises.

 

And yes, we were hooked on cruising from the moment we set foot on board. We were pampered and treated like Royalty. A very special experience for two newlyweds. Needless to say, we still cruise as often as we can.

[Davidson Duo]

Oooops! Make that Haifa Israel! Piraeus is the port at Athens. :)

[tinlizzie123]

My very first "cruise" was when my family immigrated to Canada in 1957 it was the Cunard Ivernia left England July 17, 1957 docked in Montreal. It was the best holiday for a youngster, my mother liked the dancing each evening. Wonderful food, it was the first time I had fish that I liked - dover sole. Lots of people got seasick though, including my sister.

First actual cruise was HAL Zaandam circle Hawaii, 2011. Got upsold to a suite - fabulous.

Will be returning to Montreal on the Maasdam this month, it will be interesting to see the port. I remember rows of luggage, large sea chests, etc, don't imagine we will see that this time.

[pitcrew]

Our first cruise was on P&O's Victoria in January 2002. An old ship with a fair bit of vibration.

Our next door neighbour was the comedian on the ship, Jimmy Cricket, a comedian who I did not rate, I regarded him as a children's entertainer, but he was brilliant! He never put a foot wrong, his jokes were clean( for want of a better word ) his timing was great and he was a really nice genuine guy. The entertainment was first class and although the theme of the cruise was classical music it did not dominate.

Our table was made up of some really nice people, a hotelier from Morar, a couple from Bournemouth a nice couple from Falkirk and ourselves.

The cruise was Barbados,Grenada, Panama, Ecuador, Costa Rica and Acapulco.

I had been through the Panama Canal as a young seaman and sailing through as an adult was tremendous, reliving my youth.

We have averaged a cruise a year since then and regard cruising as perhaps the best holiday available BUT it depends very much on the company on the table at dinner.

[scapel]

I skimmed through this thread that started in September of 2008 and found the earliest cruise to be about 1955. That was 20 years before my first cruise.

Does any know the oldest first cruise on this thread.

I saw copper-10-8 in 1955 on Homeric and a Mr.Green in 1955. I just don't have time to view all 2000+ post.

[JB&JLG74]

First cruise was on Royal Caribbean's Song of Norway in April 1971. It was a 7 day RT out of Miami to Nassau, San Juan, and St Thomas. It did get me hooked, and I took my second cruise (same ship, same itinerary) for my honeymoon in May 1974. Been cruising ever since -- mostly on HAL as they were the first to sail out of Tampa.

[Copper10-8]

I.................I saw copper-10-8 in 1955 on Homeric .......................

 

In 1955 I was mere a glimmer in my Dad's eye ;)

 

My first one was in November 1991 on then RCCL's good ol' Viking Serenade

Edited August 30, 2014 by Copper10-8

[mame42]

I skimmed through this thread that started in September of 2008 and found the earliest cruise to be about 1955. That was 20 years before my first cruise.

Does any know the oldest first cruise on this thread.

I saw copper-10-8 in 1955 on Homeric and a Mr.Green in 1955. I just don't have time to view all 2000+ post.

 

My first cruise was at age 10 with my parents, at that time Capt. Mel and Jackie Ouder, USAF, in April 1954 aboard, I believe, the General Patrick in route from San Francisco to Okinawa. I have a Certificate and photos of myself and the ship commemorating the Golden Dragon Ceremony when we crossed the International Date Line.

[Himself]

In 1955 I was mere a glimmer in my Dad's eye ;)

 

My first one was in November 1991 on then RCCL's good ol' Viking Serenade

 

At the end of Summer of 1955, I was entering the Sophomore year of High School.

[KruzPrincess]

My first cruise was on the Costa Carla C in 1974. Loved it and cried when they made me get off the ship!

[St. Louis Sal]

This is a great thread; I haven't read all the posts but I'm working on it.

 

My first cruise was 2002 with my 2 grown daughters. The teeniest, tiniest cabin on the 3rd deck all the way forward on the Monarch of the Seas. We could hear the anchor being dropped when we arrived at Grand Cayman because we were practically sleeping next to it. The next night was bad weather and we tossed and the ship creaked a lot. Three adult women in such a little cabin was an adventure. My youngest (28 at the time) drew the short straw and slept in the bunk. But we were definitely hooked on cruising on our first formal night. 3 women dressing; we left the cabin looking like a disaster. We returned to find perfection with the lights dimmed, chocolate on the pillow and our darling towel animal waiting for us.

 

I took my husband to Alaska the next summer on the Ryndam (his first cruise) and as you can tell from my signature we've never stopped. Despite just returning from our Bermuda cruise on the NCL Breakaway earlier this month my daughters are on another cruise right now, on the Carnival Splendor.

 

Not sure what's the best, remembering my past cruises or dreaming about the future ones.

 

St. Louis Sal

[Sir PMP]

First Cruise:Ms. Nieuw Amsterdam, built in France, now called the Patriot, august, 1991, Alaska. "Did it get you hooked?" Well, now, 51 cruises later and 700 some days, all on Hal, I guess Hal hooked us...

[Snook]

In the early 70's we were on the Boheme, or maybe the Bolero out of Miami. It was a great cruise and actually got me hooked on cruising. We have been doing it ever since, now, always on HAL.

Edited August 31, 2014 by Snook

[Iggysue]

Fun question and good memories! My first cruise was on the Disney Magic in 2000. We were big Disney fans, and always looking for an excuse to make a Disneyworld run. Disney Magic was only about 2 years old, and Disney was offering a Land-and-Sea package (4 days in park, 3 days at sea). We decided to try it out, as we thought if we hated cruising, we could stand it for 3 days. The ship want to Nassau and the private island, Castaway Cay.

 

The ship was beautiful, the service outstanding, and Disney 'Magic' was everywhere. We absolutely loved it, and did two more Disney cruises after that. Then, I decided I really did want to try a cruise line that had entertainment that didn't involve animated characters, and that's how we found HAL.

 

I must say, I'm a died in the wool HAL fan, but I do think HAL can take some lessons from Disney on the entertainment front, as I do think the singers/dancers/stage production was superior on DCL, but not enough for me to throw down the Dam ships in favor of The Mouse

[shirleygallegos60]

First Cruise was on RCCL Song Of America 1997.... have not been on a cruise since and this November we are on FOS!!! so excited!!!

 

Sent from my SM-G900T using Forums mobile app

[scapel]

My First cruise Ship off the Eastern Coast of South America

 

[scapel]

My first cruise was at age 10 with my parents, at that time Capt. Mel and Jackie Ouder, USAF, in April 1954 aboard, I believe, the General Patrick in route from San Francisco to Okinawa. I have a Certificate and photos of myself and the ship commemorating the Golden Dragon Ceremony when we crossed the International Date Line.

 

1954 Thanks for the post.

[kiwijohn]

My first cruise was on the ss Nevasa owned by the British India Company around the Mediterranean in 1970. She was an ex World War 2 troop carrier and carried British schoolchildren on cruises with a few adult passengers.

[gottagoacruzn]

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)

 

Hi Cooper, mine was on the Boheme Commadore line, in 82. Was a 7 day Caribbean cruise, was a banana boat, as referred by the waiters on Rcl. Have been hooked since!!!:)

[qsuzi]

September 1991, 10 night RT San Francisco to Alaska on the Sky Princess with my husband, best friend and her mom. Alaska is a great first cruise.

 

FairSky was built in 1984 in France for the Italian cruise company Sitmar Cruises. In September 1988, when Sitmar was purchased by P&O Cruises, she was renamed the Sky Princess. She was 40.4 metres (789 ft) in length and 29.8 metres (98 ft) in width at her widest point and measured 46,087 GT. The Sky Princess was powered by steam turbines and was one of the last steam turbine cruise ships in the world.

[Danni3ll3]

For us, our first cruise was on the Carnival Breeze in July/Aug 2012. We did a Mediterranean cruise out of Barcelona to Venice passing by Dubrovnik and back to Barcelona. It was an amazing trip with friends. The food, the service and the ship were all fantastic as were the ports. My second trip with Princess to Alaska was a bit of a let down compared to the trip on the Breeze. I hope our upcoming trip on the Nieuw Amsterdam is just as fantastic.

[tommui987]

Our first cruise was on the Carnival Triumph. This was years before it became infamous as the "Poop Cruise".

 

It was a pleasant cruise but we never got back on a Carnival ship again.

 

We have sailed many times on NCL, Princess, HAL and Azamara.

[Copper10-8]

Hi Cooper, mine was on the Boheme Commadore line, in 82. Was a 7 day Caribbean cruise, was a banana boat, as referred by the waiters on Rcl. Have been hooked since!!!:)

 

mv Boheme, built in Finland in 1968 is still sailing today as mv Freewinds for the exclusive use by the Church of Scientology. She can often be seen in Bridgetown, Barbados and or Oranjestad, Aruba in the Carib

[kindling maker]

For about 5 years a group of friends had tried to convinced us to join them on the annual January cruise but we were die hard all inclusive island vacationers. We broke down at the last minute and joined the gang on Mariner of the Seas in 2004, think it was her 6th time out. We were completely WOWED...and my affinity for black jack started at the same time! Cruising at least once a year since. Ships with the open center promenade are still my favorite design.