Anyone else do this?

[Firepath]

Anyone else book a second cruise before you even went on your first one? Hope we like cruising!

[ger_77]

We often have a second cruise booked before taking our original one - it's always nice having something to look forward to as your current cruise comes to an abrupt end.

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

[reeinaz]

✋

I go on my 1st cruise in December. I have 3 booked for 2020 and 4 booked for 2021. I REALLY hope I like cruising LMAO

[Firepath]

2 hours ago, reeinaz said:

✋

I go on my 1st cruise in December. I have 3 booked for 2020 and 4 booked for 2021. I REALLY hope I like cruising LMAO

Now I don't feel so bad! But I hear this is a kind of sickness (in a good way). Where are you cruising?

[reeinaz]

Dec 2019 - Carnival Valor- Western Caribbean (Cozumel and Progreso)

May 2020 - Carnival Legend- Eastern Caribbean (San Juan, St Maarten, St Thomas, Grand Turk)

Sept 2020 - NCL Encore - Bermuda

Dec 2020 - RCL Anthem - Eastern Caribbean (San Juan, St Maarten, Antigua, Barbados, St Lucia, St Kitts)

Jan 2021 - NCL Getaway - Bahamas (Nassau, Freeport, Great Stirrup Cay)

Feb 2021 - NCL Escape - Western Caribbean (Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Ocho Rios, Great Stirrup Cay)

April 2021 - RCL Anthem - Bahamas (Port Canaveral, Perfect Day at Coco Cay, Nassau)

Oct 2021 - NCL Escape - Baltic  (Berlin, Tallinn Estonia, St Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm)

 

For 2022 I want to do either a Mediterranean or a Suez Canal cruise for my 50th birthday. If I like cruising, that is

[Firepath]

What amazing adventures! Have fun!

[getting older slowly]

Welcome to the world of cruising

 

I think the main thing..... of booking a second cruise before doing your first one ....

 

Is go with an open mind..... Don't worry about little things ( or missing a port due to weather )..

... and enjoy yourself,,,, you will have a great time.

 

It was about a bit over a year between our first and second cruise ( it was a long wait )

 

We now do generally two a year... which is great

 

 

Cheers Don

 

Ps     and be warned do not go in suite.... as you will always want one
 

[Aquahound]

On 9/15/2019 at 1:18 PM, Firepath said:

Anyone else book a second cruise before you even went on your first one? Hope we like cruising!

 

Is it the same cruise line?  Just a suggestion....if you book your next cruise while on board the ship, you can usually get some pretty good deals, like on-board-credit, etc.   Just food for thought.  

[clo]

On 9/17/2019 at 10:43 AM, reeinaz said:

Oct 2021 - NCL Escape - Baltic  (Berlin, Tallinn Estonia, St Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm)

 

Glad to see you branching out 🙂

[SRF]

On 9/16/2019 at 5:05 PM, ger_77 said:

We often have a second cruise booked before taking our original one - it's always nice having something to look forward to as your current cruise comes to an abrupt end.

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

 

??????? 

 

How can you do this, after you have taken at least one cruise?????

 

You have already cruised.

 

The OP booked a second cruise, before taking THEIR FIRST CRUISE EVER.

[ger_77]

6 hours ago, SRF said:

 

??????? 

 

How can you do this, after you have taken at least one cruise?????

 

You have already cruised.

 

The OP booked a second cruise, before taking THEIR FIRST CRUISE EVER.

Okay.  I interpreted it to mean they had a cruise booked (didn't read it as THEIR FIRST CRUISE EVER), and booked another before the first one came around.

 

Smooth Sailing! 🙂🙂🙂

[SRF]

OK, I was just checking.

 

Or maybe, like me, you forget things.  So you next cruise is your first cruise, because you forgot the previous ones. 😄

 

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Our first cruises were a back-to-back.  And yes, before we sailed, we booked a couple of cruises for the next year.  I knew that we would love cruising.

[CarolinaGirl2010]

Gotta have a cruise to get you through to your next cruise! 😉

[angie7911922]

Kudos to you!! total dedication to a cruising life!! you will love it, enjoy

[RSLeesburg]

On 9/15/2019 at 4:18 PM, Firepath said:

Anyone else book a second cruise before you even went on your first one? Hope we like cruising!

 

I can still remember back to our first cruise in 2013.  We did not book our second cruise before completing the first one, and we did not book our second on board - but driving home from Port of Baltimore, my wife turned to me and said - I want to go on another one.  So, I booked our second cruise as soon as we arrived home and unpacked the car...lol  

 

Hopefully your first cruise will just be the first of many...

 

[Kate P.C]

Why not! We haven't done it, we are taking it one by one 🙂 But we know we are always going to end up going on one, becasue it's the best way to travel!

[clo]

6 hours ago, Kate P.C said:

becasue it's the best way to travel!

With all due respect - for you but not everyone. I can imagine all our travel being via a cruise ship.  Too many places they can't go.

[ldubs]

On 9/15/2019 at 1:18 PM, Firepath said:

Anyone else book a second cruise before you even went on your first one? Hope we like cruising!

 

Now days it isn't unusual for us to have more than one cruise booked into the future.  But having a second one booked before taking our very first cruise?  No, we did not do that!   All I can say is good for you.  

 

Enjoy.   

[lifes-a-beach]

Our first cruise was aboard Carnival Carnivale in 1992 from Florida.  The cruise itself was awful for a couple of reasons.  It went to Freeport and Nassau which were worse then than they are now.  The trip back was in 30 foot seas and, on such a small ship with none of the modern stabilization ships have now, everyone, including the crew, was seasick.  Then our flight home turned terrifying when we experienced system failures that caused us to have to land on the emergency runway in Houston after the pilot told us we had no steering or brakes.  There were fire trucks and ambulances everywhere.  Foam all over the runway and the plane after we got stopped.  I can’t even begin to describe the sounds of both the engines and the terrified passengers.  Then we sat on the runway for an hour in Houston September heat before they towed us to the terminal, which took another hour and a half.  

 

So so we didn’t cruise (or fly) for a few years.   Now that there is a cruise terminal less than a 2 hour drive from our home we go 4 or 5 times a year.  But it took a bit to get us back after that first experience.  

[crystalspin]

Wow, what a story!

 

For the OP: It was four years between my first cruise and my second. Both were trans-ocean with tea-totalling seasick travelling mates -- I was bored senseless!

 

Ten years before my next ocean cruise (there was a Yangtze cruise in there, but not really the same). Then another 4.5 and the discovery of Cruise Critic (!) -- maybe I just grew (aged) into liking the experience, but after 2013, it's been about one a year, and we have 3 booked between now and January 2021!

[SRF]

On 10/17/2019 at 8:59 PM, clo said:

With all due respect - for you but not everyone. I can imagine all our travel being via a cruise ship.  Too many places they can't go.

 

Exactly.

 

And times in locations are too short.

 

We spend a week in Sicily alone, and it was not long enough.  A week on Mykonos, and wanted more.

[clo]

24 minutes ago, SRF said:

 

Exactly.

 

And times in locations are too short.

 

We spend a week in Sicily alone, and it was not long enough.  A week on Mykonos, and wanted more.

I should have written "can't" but you got it.

 

I'm guessing that the only thing that will keep us (back) cruising is if there are enough pre/post cities that we're interested in. And as long as we're healthy enough we'll continue to do land trips.  This week we're going Reno to Vegas to Malibu to Death Valley and home in our RV.

[Schlinger]

On 9/15/2019 at 10:18 PM, Firepath said:

Anyone else book a second cruise before you even went on your first one? Hope we like cruising!

 

Yep, I booked a Celebrity cruise and a Carnival cruise that leaves the day after the Celebrity cruise gets back to FL !  And I've never been on a cruise ship in my life. 

 

I really do I hope I don't get seasick, but having read a lot of stuff on here I'm going with an essential oil mixture and Antihistamine just in case.  I have read that alcohol increases the sedative effect of Antihistamine, so I really hope I can do with the essential oil mixture (I got the beverage package 😁).  Otherwise I'll just take half a pill and let the booze do the rest 😁

 

The only other thing I'm worried about is waiting in lines.  Not used to it, usually I just leave if they don't move quickly enough.  And leaving can be difficult on a cruise ship.

 

Almost booked a third cruise (hesitating between Oasis of the Seas and the Norwegian Encore) but eventually decided to be more reasonable and wait to see if I like the 2 first ones.

 

Also slightly worried about food quality.  Read so many conflicting reviews on how great or bad the food on this or that ship is supposed to be.

[Jana60]

On 9/15/2019 at 3:18 PM, Firepath said:

Anyone else book a second cruise before you even went on your first one? Hope we like cruising!

Looking back to the very first cruise I took In 1999 I mainly remember finding it difficult to find my way around the ship and there was seemingly no one who spoke English and worse than that everyone seem to not care whether I understood them. They just shrugged their shoulders.  Despite this inauspicious beginning I did develop a love of cruising and since that time have completed a total of 38 different cruises on four different cruise lines. The main suggestion I would make to anyone taking their first cruise is to look up as much information as you can about the ship you will be on. You have already made a good start by coming here to cruise critic as you are unlikely to find any better source of information. I would also suggest that you study the deck plans of the ship you will be on. This will typically not only show you where things are on the ship but even many times what purpose each of the main entertainment venues is used for. Then once you get on board maybe take a general walk-through of the ship to see if your studies were a success.  Next study the daily bulletin for the cruise.  It will tell you everything that’s going on on the ship on any given day. I even bring a highlighter and highlight the entertainment options that I am especially interested in. Other than these recommendations if I were you I would simply read and ask questions here at cruise critic.  
I would not have been brave enough to book additional cruises before my very first cruise only because some people find they are very easy to become seasick and until you experience a cruise you don’t really know if you are prone to that weakness.  Just to be on the safe side pick up some over the counter meclizine from your local pharmacy and bring it with you.  it is also wise to book your cabin in the center of the ship at the lowest level offering the cabin type you desire. The bottom middle of a cruise ship has the least rocking and will therefore be better tolerated should you be one of the people who become seasick easily.  

I have found through the years that my own attitude has the biggest influence on whether I’m going to have a great time on a cruise.   So most important of all is just have fun!