First cruise

[lenquixote66]

What was it on your very first cruise that made you decide to go on more cruises ?

[tropicalkerry2002]

Oceania Regatta, Venice to Barcelona, then on to London and Paris. Heaven!

[laudergayle]

Dining…not having to cook or clean up.  Room attendant making up your room each day with fresh towels.  Entertainment galore.  Bar drinking with no fear of DUI…lol.  Beautiful destinations without a hassle of driving or flying to each.  Gosh, I hadn’t realized why I love cruising so much.

[lenquixote66]

Just now, laudergayle said:

Dining…not having to cook or clean up.  Room attendant making up your room each day with fresh towels.  Entertainment galore.  Bar drinking with no fear of DUI…lol.  Beautiful destinations without a hassle of driving or flying to each.  Gosh, I hadn’t realized why I love cruising so much.

That was the same for my better half and I

[GrammieK]

Home Lines Oceanic-1978. Loved every minute of the hurricane cruise, even the water spout that traveled over the stern taking lounge chairs with it!  We were hooked!

[StollyBolly]

The dining, the dressing for dinner, the hotel moving with me instead of me unpacking again and again, feeling spoiled.   An altogether happy atmosphere. 

[mrgabriel]

A number of things.

 

First - I get horribly motion sick but was not sick because I found an anti-nausiant that worked for me.

 

Second - the space on the ship. I didn't feel claustrophobic.

 

Third - and  most importantly, there were fewer stresses than when on a land vacation. We didn't get into an argument when we got lost on the way to a restaurant. No one was a designated driver all the time. And we have really different interests but could both do what WE wanted on a ship. He likes to read. I like to swim or go to trivia. Meet in the room an hour before dinner! 

[9tee2Sea]

not having to drive anywhere, but yet see exotic places.

[YourWorldWithBill]

Everything taken care of once I as onboard. Visits to wonderful sites, a different site each day, great attentive service, no packing and unpacking, great food, nice entertainment on board....

[navybankerteacher]

8 hours ago, tropicalkerry2002 said:

Oceania Regatta, Venice to Barcelona, then on to London and Paris. Heaven!

Not surprising -- once you've sailed Oceania, you are not likely to switch to NCL.

 

I'll be on your Bermuda sailing in September.

Edited June 13, 2023 by navybankerteacher

[Honolulu Blue]

19 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

What was it on your very first cruise that made you decide to go on more cruises ?

Several things:

• It didn't cost that much
• The crew seemed happy and were willing to please
• There were lots of nice ports to look at and explore
• There was plenty offered to do on the ship
• Immigrations and Customs were easier than I'd seen with land trips
• There was a casino onboard with some pretty slot machines

 

Fun note I mentioned a time or two here... my second cruise was exactly the same as my first, but three months later.  Same ship, same ports.  We did have a different CD and I did different things off the ship.

[KP@Sea]

I was able to unpack once and travel to a variety of wonderful new places.

 

The fabulous views of the huge expanse of nothing but ocean. It always makes me realize how much more there is to discover. 

[cruisemom42]

Didn't have any choice on my first few cruises (I was a kid), but I loved them anyway -- Sitmar Fairwind; the Italian crew spoiled me rotten as there were not that many kids aboard. Sitmar cruises in the Caribbean were our family go-to vacation for years. I was a quiet kid and enjoyed reading on deck along shaded Promenade, and sunbathing (in the day before we knew its effects!) as well as the activities on board ranging from the "horse racing" to limbo to steel drum lessons. Also loved their real Italian brick-oven pizzeria. Don't think I've ever had pizza so good on the seas in the 40 years since!

[lenquixote66]

6 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

Several things:

• It didn't cost that much
• The crew seemed happy and were willing to please
• There were lots of nice ports to look at and explore
• There was plenty offered to do on the ship
• Immigrations and Customs were easier than I'd seen with land trips
• There was a casino onboard with some pretty slot machines

 

Fun note I mentioned a time or two here... my second cruise was exactly the same as my first, but three months later.  Same ship, same ports.  We did have a different CD and I did different things off the ship.

My first cruise was on a ship without a casino,only going to one port,although it was a 7 day cruise.The only activities on the ship were skeet shooting and a pool.

The crew was great

[Mike981]

2000 Celebrity Mercury. It was our honeymoon trip, 10 years late. The only vacation I had as a kid was to  my grandparents home in a town of 1,000 people(it got very boring) . My wife grew up going on summer car vacations around the USA, but they were very mild and frugal.

 

We met working in the restaurant business, the level of service we got was just amazing and we took it all in. I found out that I absolutely love being on or near the ocean. We both love the ability to just relax and not worry for a while. I often tell staff that I look at a cruise as 'adult daycare' and I will try my best to not get a timeout.

[YourWorldWithBill]

1 hour ago, Mike981 said:

I often tell staff that I look at a cruise as 'adult daycare' and I will try my best to not get a timeout.

😃

[SPacificbound]

I was hooked before we even left Sydney on our first cruise. I loved everything about it, the ship, the crew, the shows, it was a TP so lots of sea days. 

[crystalspin]

11 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

What was it on your very first cruise that made you decide to go on more cruises ?

First and second cruise: Nothing.

 

Basically the opposite of @Honolulu Blue:

• It seemed expensive, especially the shore excursions in Hawaii on cruise 2.
• The crew (and other passengers) were largely snobby, except when the dining stewards cozied up at the end.
• First cruise: no ports (just the two ends). Second cruise: a few Hawaiian ports in middle of lots of ocean views sharing an inside cabin with two seasick tea-totalling companions.
• There was nothing to do on the Marco Polo if you didn't gamble or drink. I learned several ways to tie a sarong on cruise 2.  
• Don't remember Immigrations and Customs.
• I presume there were "casinos" onboard; no interest.

[Honolulu Blue]

1 hour ago, crystalspin said:

First and second cruise: Nothing.

 

Basically the opposite of @Honolulu Blue:

• It seemed expensive, especially the shore excursions in Hawaii on cruise 2.
• The crew (and other passengers) were largely snobby, except when the dining stewards cozied up at the end.
• First cruise: no ports (just the two ends). Second cruise: a few Hawaiian ports in middle of lots of ocean views sharing an inside cabin with two seasick tea-totalling companions.
• There was nothing to do on the Marco Polo if you didn't gamble or drink. I learned several ways to tie a sarong on cruise 2.  
• Don't remember Immigrations and Customs.
• I presume there were "casinos" onboard; no interest.

After reading this, it's a bit of a surprise that you made it to cruises #3 and beyond without either being a hopeless optimist or being dragged kicking and screaming onboard. All I can say is I'm glad you did, and I'm glad you're here. 🙂

[lenquixote66]

11 hours ago, crystalspin said:

First and second cruise: Nothing.

 

Basically the opposite of @Honolulu Blue:

• It seemed expensive, especially the shore excursions in Hawaii on cruise 2.
• The crew (and other passengers) were largely snobby, except when the dining stewards cozied up at the end.
• First cruise: no ports (just the two ends). Second cruise: a few Hawaiian ports in middle of lots of ocean views sharing an inside cabin with two seasick tea-totalling companions.
• There was nothing to do on the Marco Polo if you didn't gamble or drink. I learned several ways to tie a sarong on cruise 2.  
• Don't remember Immigrations and Customs.
• I presume there were "casinos" onboard; no interest.

Does that mean that you only cruised twice ?

[crystalspin]

4 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

Does that mean that you only cruised twice ?

No, but it took a few more before it became my preferred mode of travel! As @Honolulu Blue guessed, it was close to kicking and screaming. 

 

The original question, though, was about "first cruise", and I didn't want to lay out my total cruise history unasked! My husband REALLY wanted to cruise, so I begrudgingly said I would, if it was someplace you only could see from a ship.

 

Under that criterion, we cruised to Seward AK (with my mom who had always wanted to go) and did the full transit of Panama Canal (one and done with NCL)(this cruise was also the first one where I found Cruise Critic).

 

Then came a 14-day South America also with my mom -- we had fun on a combination of ship's excursions, private ones, and DYI! When we got back from that trip, we were sitting in the living room, everyone on their own computer, and DH silently sent me an email from a large agency for a transAtlantic+Mediterranean on the Nieuw Amsterdam; I said outloud -- "You're just trying to tease me, but the joke's on you, because I will go!"

 

The rest is history: two more Alaska cruises (with increasing numbers of family), two more transAtlantics, and a B2B on the Mexican Riviera. What I like is: "being forced to do nothing", only unpacking and repacking once, and all the choices of things to do (besided nothing)!

[Capt_BJ]

first cruise summer 1974 'crew' on a square rigged ship

 

 

I found I had a liking for the sea and its lore which led to 30 years in the Coast Guard serving on 7 ships not including training rides ... and 4 years sitting in the Captain chair. It was not unusual to come in from patrol on one day and get on a cruise the next for 'vacation' and return home just in time for another patrol. Have 60+ cruises in the books (actually kinda lost count after 60) with two more booked (Norway/Iceland and Rhine River). Who'll go to the top of the main mast and change that burnt out light bulb ......

[CPT Trips]

🤦🏻‍♂️Asked by someone else about three weeks ago. Answer remains the same. 

[ceeceeDee]

Good value for money compared to land-based holidays, unpack once, wake up and you're in a different port, total relaxation, no cooking or cleaning, exploring new cultures, entertainment on tap, dress up or down as the mood strikes. Even just watching the waves on sea days is great.

[cruiserking]

I've been cruising since I was a boy with my folks on ships like the QE2 and the Leonardo Da Vinci. I just fell in love with the thrill of being on board a ship, the excitement of arriving into a new port, the general feeling of camaraderie amongst our fellow cruisers. 

 

Cruising is unlike any other form of travel, because as you sail away from port you leave all of your stresses behind and immerse yourself in this other world of pub trivia, productions shows, shop browsing, swimming, meeting new friends, specialty restaurants and enticing new ports. 

 

Happy cruising everybody.