What made you 'choose to cruise'?

[howsthis]

I think it would be interesting to find out what it was that got you 'into' cruising. Was it friends, family, advertising etc etc. For me it was my daughter after she cruised by herself on the Pacific Sun. After seeing her photos etc. and finding a little spare cash I thought I would give it a go once. Well thats all changed, I want to go every year maybe twice like next year if possible. I am well and truly hooked.

[Skyrules]

I think it would be interesting to find out what it was that got you 'into' cruising. Was it friends, family, advertising etc etc. For me it was my daughter after she cruised by herself on the Pacific Sun. After seeing her photos etc. and finding a little spare cash I thought I would give it a go once. Well thats all changed, I want to go every year maybe twice like next year if possible. I am well and truly hooked.

 

My partner got me into cruising. He'd been on 3 cruises before we met, 2 on Fair Princess and one on Pacific Sky, and he was hooked. It took about a year of convincing me, and then 11months between booking and sailing, but once I was onboard Pacific Sky and were away from Brisbane I was hooked too, which I guess is why 6 months later we were on another one, and we'd only been back a month from that one and we'd booked a third one!

 

He got hooked after he took up a staff special (he worked for P&O Containers in NZ at the time) and went on Fair Princess out of Sydney. Within 3 months he'd done a second cruise on Fair Princess, but didn't do another one until Pacific Sky had started sailing, in 2001.

 

Unfortunately the staff specials and discounts are a thing of the past - but then again P&O are offering deals to the General public that rival the old staff specials, in fact our cruise on Pacific Star had a bigger discount than he would have got if he'd still been able to get staff discount.

 

Kym

[qld cruiser]

Hi howsthis,

I started my lifelong love of the sea, when as a 21 year old I went by a passenger/cargo vessel (M.V AUSTRALASIA) to visit my boyfriend, he was in the army, stationed in Malacca, Malaya. . .. and I have been addicted ever since.

I love seeing other cultures etc, especially Papua New Guinea . on board ships as well, you meet such nice people and friendships that have lasted years.

since retiring we cruise about 4-6 times a year..........and love every day .

kindest regards, Lorraine:) :)

[Star-Man]

I didnt choose to cruise personally. We got roped into a 3 nighter earlier in the year with some of the extended family. It didnt mean much to me in the time leading up to it, but once i was half way up the stairs to get on the Star at Pinkenba i knew i was hooked.

 

Even when i was terribly sea sick the first morning i was still planning when the next cruise was going to be :cool:

[Brushtail]

We sailed P&O Oriana to Australia in 1964/1965, when I was 8 years old, as immigrants. (We had Christmas and New Year on board)

 

Our family of 6 spent 3 weeks cruising to Oz via the Suez Canal for the whole sum of 9 pounds. (Hey, I've just discovered that there is no pound symbol on my keyboard :eek: )

 

Ever since then, I have wanted to cruise again but was hampered by low income and a bunch of kids.

 

But now, the kids have left home, we have double income, and cruising here we come. :D

 

We loved our first cruise on Pacific Sun in June 2006 and promptly booked two more.

 

Jenny

>^..^<

[Kazza1]

My husband and I were trying to decide where we wanted to go for a holiday. Hubby wanted to go to Fiji so I suggested we go on a cruise to Fiji. Two cruises later and a booking for next years P&O 75th Anniv on Pacific Dawn and we will finally get to Fiji:p.

 

Karen

[sheba376]

Husband joking ask what I wanted for an important birthday and I said a cruise!. My absolutely fabulous TA managed to get us on the Oriana Fremantle to Sydney. Although Hubby was so sick had to get the jab, was okay the next day and we've been on 6 cruises so far (one was on Virgo during the SARS outbreak). We have a permanent cruise fund setup in the budget.

Karen

[Tikibird]

I saw an ad for 40% off in the RACQ mag for the Christmas cruise back in Feb. I was so shocked at getting a deal for a high season cruise plus the fact we are getting an 11 night cruise for only 5 business days off work!

[Ransome]

For us it was a fantastic deal on the Norwegian Star (which ran out of Australia a few years back under the Norwegian Capricorn Line for a short while). Until then everyone in our family said that cruising would be boring; nothing to do etc. Of course it turns out that none of them had ever cruised before! We took our (then much younger) children in a four share cabin and absolutely loved it. Since then we've been on the Pacific Princess (December 05) in two outside twins, and we are booked on the 3 Feb 07 Pacific Star departure out of Brisbane - this time a 4 share inside cabin (it was dirt cheap) with our now much older (20 and 17 yo) "children" for what will probably be our last family cruise together before they flee the coop. Then my wife and I will be free to spread our wings on many more cruise options. We are totally hooked - for me being in a very busy job it is a forced way of relaxing; no mobile phones, no email.

[howsthis]

Welcome Ransome, feel free to tell us all about your experiences, we love to hear from new cruisers to the board. Don't get to hopeful about having the time to spread your wings. Mine have left home but still regularly need my 'services' which I love of course. My first cruise was with my daughters and my next one is with them and my mum (her first cruise) and even our Nov 07 cruise is with my hubby and our daughters. It makes it a lot cheaper of course but it is still so much fun having family with you. Would love to hear more of your NCL and Princess cruises too.

[epal]

In 1968 I lived in England ,South Sheilds I used to watch the Cargo /passenger ships go by and dreamed of one day travelling on a ship

 

In 1992 I went on my first cruise to try and save a marriage!!! I had so much fun and fell in love with the cruising,and the sea (It didn't save the marriage) But I returned 1993, I'd go every year finances permitting . I recommend it for every one Its a real Holiday even when I'm sea sick, I too, start to think about the next cruise.

[Ransome]

Thanks Howsthis. I see you are on the Pacific Star in April '07. I'll make sure to post a review after our adventure on her next month (Feb 3). Really looking forward to this one.

[AuzzieCruiser]

I've always been interested in doing a cruise, and we used to pick up the brochures, and pick cruises we'd like to do, even the cabin that we wanted. Suffice to say it never happened. At that stage, we were surviving on only one wage, and mum was virtually just scraping through from pay to pay.

Once my brother and I left school and went and started working fulltime, the pressure eased. In September of 03, my mum saw an ad somewhere for a cruise expo being held down at the Quay. I agreed to go in and pick up some 'info'. Initially I was disappointed, as it was alot smaller than I imagined, and it was packed. I grabbed literally what I could, not caring what it was.

I got out of there as quick as I could, and went home. On the train trip I home I was reading the various brochures and flyers, not giving them much thought at all. I was still dreaming...

I got home and handed the 'crap' as I called it, to my mum. She had a look through, and I thought that like everything else, it would end up in the bin.:p

On the Monday morning at work, I got a phone call from my mum asking whether I'd like to go to Alaska with her. I said sure, thinking she was joking. Later than afternoon I got a phone call from my mum that she had booked.:eek:

I asked her how much it would cost me, and she said that this one would cost me nothing!! Boy was I lucky or what!!

The next 8 months flew, and once I saw all of those ships at Canada Place in Vancouver, I knew I would be hooked.

The seven nights flew, and was a bit sad to leave, but was already looking to my next adventure.

And YES I did have to pay for my last two cruises myself.

[rockie]

As I HATE flying with a passion, even though I have to next week,:( when the Sky started sailing out of Auckland and back to Auckland, I thought all my Christmases had come at once. Didn't have the money for the first couple of years, but now I am well and truly hooked. I like it because you don't have to do anything and are waited on hand and foot. I would do more than one a year if I could. Mind you, it is the worse holiday to come back from because there is nobody to clear up after you or bring you food and drink. Hubby isn't as hooked as me but I come home from town and tell him which one we are going on. He is resigned to it now.:D We lead a busy farming life and it is good for him and me to 'get away' from the smelly sheep and cattle for a while.

[Aussie Gal]

My parents took my sister and I on our first voyage by sea way back in the late fifties on the MV Kanimbla which used to voyage between Perth and Cairns stopping at Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Townsville.

 

It was passenger/cargo ship with two classes of cabins, dining rooms etc.

 

We went from Melbourne to Perth, had 5 days in Perth while the ship unloaded and loaded its cargo and then returned home.

 

We had the best time and met so many wonderful friends. We were adored the ship and being on the sea and since then my sister has done nearly 40 cruises all around the world.

 

My DH wasn't so thrilled about cruising but after many years has finally come to like it and we have now done around 10 cruises all over the world and seen the most wonderful sights, from the Fjords of Greenland, Iceland and the Arctic Circle to Antarctic, South America and the Galapagos Islands to Russia and the Scandinavian Countries to the Panama Canal and the mighty Amazon River.

 

I love being able to unpack knowing that the ship is your home for the next so many nights. I adore being at sea and find it is a great way to relax and enjoy the world.

 

Jennie