what was your 1st cruising experience?

[melika091900]

I like to do these to see what people say , but when was your 1st cruise ? to where ? and what did you think? just curious to see if everyone is like me and got hooked,,,,

post as much info as you wish...

happy cruising

Melissa

[melika091900]

ours was in 2003.. i was 25 , my DH was 27. we were finally old enough to book a cabin LOL, we booked celebrity mercury from SF since we live in the bay area.

it was 7 days , ports included monterey, ca catalina island and cabo san lucas

everything was great about the cruise, and since then weve been hooked on it, theres no better way to see places and take a vacation,

and the food, service etc makes you feel like royality..

so post away .

take care everyone

Melissa

[Host Kewlguy]

My first cruise was on the Carnival Destiny back in 2000 and we were sailing a five night Canada/New England cruise. On the third night of the cruise a woman had a heart attack in the casino and we had to turn the ship around in the middle of the ocean and go back towards St. John, New Brunswick to meet the Canadian Coast Guard to evacuate the woman. This event caused us to be six hours late for our next port of call which was Halifax, Nova Scotia. After leaving Halifax heading back to New York we ran into probably the worst storm I've ever experienced, and I cruise quite often. I won't go into details regarding the severity of this storm except to say nearly everyone on board was feeling sick. It was like a scene from the perfect storm. It was quite an experience for a first time cruiser and if I said I wasn't nervous I'd be lying. My DW was convinced I'd never cruise again after that cruise. I think I've proven her wrong.

[morriscats]

My first was Carnivale in 1980 - newly divorced and a new member of Parents Without Partners. My 3 girlfriends were going and I wanted to go so bad. I sold my piano and got another person kicked out of their quad room (they went somewhere else, not off the ship) and we had a ball. I think we were below sea level and the room was so small but we had so much fun. The ships are bigger and grander now but I will always remember that trip.

[melika091900]

My first was Carnivale in 1980 - newly divorced and a new member of Parents Without Partners. My 3 girlfriends were going and I wanted to go so bad. I sold my piano and got another person kicked out of their quad room (they went somewhere else, not off the ship) and we had a ball. I think we were below sea level and the room was so small but we had so much fun. The ships are bigger and grander now but I will always remember that trip.

 

 

hey you were getting on mercury as we were getting off, how funny,

we live in hercules,,,

 

i think a storm is coming ,,, to the bay area.

 

 

i love you sold your piano to go , sounds like what i would do LOL

 

take care

Melissa

[bubbles1209]

Our first cruise was on Elation, in June of 2006. We went to Half Moon Cay,St. Thomas, San Juan, Grand Turks & Caicos. That did it, I fell in love. We were on Liberty last week (Feb.11) to Freeport, Grand Cayman, and Costa Maya. We got home Sunday, and on Wed. at work, booked the Valor for the week of my birthday in June going to Nassau, St. Thomas, & St. Maarten.:D Yes, I've fallen in love with cruising.

[morriscats]

Melissa,

I think Mercury is our favorite ship so far. That was a great cruise - 11 days and our first balcony. Have not gone back to an inside yet. It was a Valentine present for my new DH - his first cruise and now he is hooked.

[Cathy p]

Our first cruise was in 2005 on the Holland America Zuiderdam. I remember that I was so excited we got up to the check in and I could not find my credit card. I finally dumped everything all over the counter and it ended up on the floor. I started crying and the woman was so sweet. She told me to take a deep breath and start over. It ended up being where I orginally put it except it slid down in my wallet. When I finally found it people started clapping. Of course I did not ask DH for his that would have been too easy.:eek: Well after that it was wonderful. I could not imagine that it took us that long to start cruising.

[Spikesgirl]

Our first cruise was back in 1996 aboard the Sky Princess to RT to Alaska. What an incredible adventure it was - we knew nothing about cruising and everything was an experience, from our tiny cabin (no balconies back then) to the exterior buffet (food got cold really fast in those day) to the 4' x 8' outdoor swimming pool)it was only used once by some courageous kids. We loved the ship and have sailed with Princess ever since - with the exception of joining some friends on Carnival once.

 

Cheers!

 

Charlie

[Happy ks]

I've been a huge Disney fan all my life and when Disney opened up in early 1997 for reservations on Magic, I think I was first in line. It was a long wait, as the ship was delayed a couple of times, we didn't sail until August of 1998

 

My husband had cruised a couple of times before we were together and always told me how much I would like it. He had no idea what an addiction I would have :)

 

We've now been on 11 cruises, a little one this year and next year will probably cruise the Med, a big dream for both of us.

[BrianMD]

Our first cruise was in May '89 on Carnivale Festivale for our honeymoon. We sailed out of San Juan to St. Thomas, Martinique, St. Marteen and Barbados. Needless to say the ships have changed quite a bit since then but we had a great time.

[cruisetwin]

BrianMD - Our first cruise was on the Festivale also - we were a little ahead of you, we sailed September 1983. It was great fun - we were 23 and clueless, free airfare from Portland, OR plus a free hotel -we thought we were definately getting royal treatment, then off to the ship for our little stateroom at the bottom inside with bunk beds!! We had a blast - but after that had 3 kids and cruising wasn't in the budget.

 

Flash forward to 2007 and we are off and running for our March 5th cruise on Brilliance of the Sea for a partial transit of the panama canal - the same for of us. Yahoo!! Oh yeah - and the kids are not going, they are 16, 20 and 22.

[ddonalds]

OK - my first time on a ship wasn't a good one..... In 1969, I was coming from France to New York via ship. At the same time, Hurricane Camille was coming up the Atlantic. Since I have an issue with motion sickness anyway, needless to say I had issues. I lost 22 pounds in about 5 days (it was not a pretty sight). Understandably, it was years before I went back on a cruise ship. In the late 80s, I went with my mother on a Caribbean Cruise (I had learned about the patch - LOVE IT). It was a Carnival cruise - and not a particularly nice one - but I didn't get sick. Then, I decided to give it one more chance, and my boyfriend (at the time) and I booked a Crystal Mediterranean cruise in 1999. It was absolutely AWESOME (he proposed in Venice, on a gondola at sunset). Since that was such an amazing experience, we booked a Princess cruise to the Panama Canal last year - this was not a great experience at all, most miserable bed I've ever slept in, and I hated the Open Dining (we did love the Panama Canal, though). The only cruise destination we were considering in the future is Alaska, and one of my neighbors hooked us up with a travel agent that had a package for this year - so we're going to Alaska on a Celebrity ship, which hopefully will be better than the Princess experience..... I travel extensively for my job - all of it International, so I'm actually getting to the point where I just want to stay home - but the concept of the cruise appeals to me because I don't have to go through all the airports. However, in my travels, I've also learned that sometimes it's way better to stay in a place than cruise through it (Tahiti - stayed there for 3 weeks, a cruise couldn't touch the experience of staying on Bora Bora for a week....) - I also probably wouldn't cruise the Caribbean again - I enjoy staying in a place there.... The Amazon sounds like a great cruise choice, and maybe one that hits some of the countries in the Middle East...... I just want the ship to be wonderful, and the service to be excellent (and of course - NO HURRICANES)....:D

[sunnyshine]

My first cruise was in May of 2003 on the Carnival Imagination. Ocho Rios Jamaica and Crand Caymen. I was hooked. I did have one bad experience. In Grand Caymen, I went into the restroom right at prt when we got off the ship. I had hung the waterproof thing carrying all our belongings on the little hook in the rest room. Big mistake. I was so excited and in a hurry that I left it hanging there and ran out to meet my excursion group. I realized about a block from the restroom that I had left everything. Our ID's, our cash, our sea passes, travelers checks. I ran back as fast as I could to find it gone. I burst into tears with everyone staring at me. One of the Carnival staff came up to me and said "is this yours"? I couldnt believe she had been the one to find it in the restroom. Talk about lucky. Needless to say...I'm not allowed to hold the money anymore on vacations. Other than my stupidity, the cruise was amazing.

[melika091900]

My first cruise was in May of 2003 on the Carnival Imagination. Ocho Rios Jamaica and Crand Caymen. I was hooked. I did have one bad experience. In Grand Caymen, I went into the restroom right at prt when we got off the ship. I had hung the waterproof thing carrying all our belongings on the little hook in the rest room. Big mistake. I was so excited and in a hurry that I left it hanging there and ran out to meet my excursion group. I realized about a block from the restroom that I had left everything. Our ID's, our cash, our sea passes, travelers checks. I ran back as fast as I could to find it gone. I burst into tears with everyone staring at me. One of the Carnival staff came up to me and said "is this yours"? I couldnt believe she had been the one to find it in the restroom. Talk about lucky. Needless to say...I'm not allowed to hold the money anymore on vacations. Other than my stupidity, the cruise was amazing.

 

 

OMG im so glad you got it back, i bet you were a wreck...... there is a few honest people still left out there im glad she was one of them,,

Melissa

[momofmeg]

I like to do these to see what people say , but when was your 1st cruise ? to where ? and what did you think? just curious to see if everyone is like me and got hooked,,,,

post as much info as you wish...

happy cruising

Melissa

 

 

Melissa-our first cruise was on Carnival Tropicale, 4 days to Cozumel on an old ship and a not so great cruiseline-but it hooked us. We loved it! One thing I can say though-I can enjoy any cruise-I just expect more when I pay more-but I would still do a little cheapo cruise if the opportunity came up. i just don't expect as much but I still get my money's worth!

[jerseyjk]

1982(ish) ... Family did the Eastern Caribbean on the Norwegian Caribbean Lines m/s Sunward II. Participated in the Dive-In program and got hooked on both cruising and diving. Next one was 1987 on Carnival with a college roomate. Cruising has cost me a lot of money since then.

[momofmeg]

OK - my first time on a ship wasn't a good one..... In 1969, I was coming from France to New York via ship. At the same time, Hurricane Camille was coming up the Atlantic. Since I have an issue with motion sickness anyway, needless to say I had issues. I lost 22 pounds in about 5 days (it was not a pretty sight). Understandably, it was years before I went back on a cruise ship. In the late 80s, I went with my mother on a Caribbean Cruise (I had learned about the patch - LOVE IT). It was a Carnival cruise - and not a particularly nice one - but I didn't get sick. Then, I decided to give it one more chance, and my boyfriend (at the time) and I booked a Crystal Mediterranean cruise in 1999. It was absolutely AWESOME (he proposed in Venice, on a gondola at sunset). Since that was such an amazing experience, we booked a Princess cruise to the Panama Canal last year - this was not a great experience at all, most miserable bed I've ever slept in, and I hated the Open Dining (we did love the Panama Canal, though). The only cruise destination we were considering in the future is Alaska, and one of my neighbors hooked us up with a travel agent that had a package for this year - so we're going to Alaska on a Celebrity ship, which hopefully will be better than the Princess experience..... I travel extensively for my job - all of it International, so I'm actually getting to the point where I just want to stay home - but the concept of the cruise appeals to me because I don't have to go through all the airports. However, in my travels, I've also learned that sometimes it's way better to stay in a place than cruise through it (Tahiti - stayed there for 3 weeks, a cruise couldn't touch the experience of staying on Bora Bora for a week....) - I also probably wouldn't cruise the Caribbean again - I enjoy staying in a place there.... The Amazon sounds like a great cruise choice, and maybe one that hits some of the countries in the Middle East...... I just want the ship to be wonderful, and the service to be excellent (and of course - NO HURRICANES)....:D

 

 

I liked Princess but I do feel Celebrity has the edge-but Crystal is one of the best lines-and Celebrity is still a mainstream line-both Caviergal and Kitty9 have cruised both lines-maybe they will post and give you a comparrision.

[momofmeg]

Melissa-our first cruise was on Carnival Tropicale, 4 days to Cozumel on an old ship and a not so great cruiseline-but it hooked us. We loved it! One thing I can say though-I can enjoy any cruise-I just expect more when I pay more-but I would still do a little cheapo cruise if the opportunity came up. i just don't expect as much but I still get my money's worth!

 

I forgot to say that was back in Oct. 98 - we have been on 12 cruises total and 6 lines. all mainstream though-no Crystal!

[CatgirlNC]

My very first cruise was on the MS Boheme in 1986...summer between 8th and 9th grade. I went with my mother and grandmother. We stopped at Key West, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel.

 

I loved it, and thought I would go on tons more. The next one I did wasn't until January 2007, with my family, on the Carnival Miracle.

 

Don't worry, I won't let 21 years go by before another one. My mother booked another for just her and me in April. And then I'd like to go on one with friends sometime, too.

[izucker789]

1958 The now gone Liberte from NYC to Le Harve. My parents were in first class and I was in the bilge. My Papa bribed the guards at the doors so I was

able to freely go back forth to 1st class. My only memory of the trip was some rough weather and in the dining rook ( there was hardly anyone eating)

they had clamped to the table a metal device to set the plates in so they would not go flying. I was in the US Army on a thirty day leave at the time.

Next sail wasn't until 1990 The also "now gone" Celebrity Meridian from NYC to Bermuda. Have not stopped since 14 and 15 comin up in Sept.

[Gingee]

We went on our first one four years ago. We had thought about just going back to Disney but someone told us the price of their cruise (Sovereign) and I said that isn't much more than Disney. We went, got hooked and you can see by my signature, we love it.

[suezyq50]

Our first one was on Celebrity's Century for our 30th wedding anniversary. We did a Western Carribbean. It was awesome. I wonder why we waited so long.

[cruisinbuddy]

We had the quentisential (sp) perfect cruise, that we have compaired each cruise after to. A freaking tiny ship, 27,000 tons, the MS Carousel from Sunquest, man did it move, it was fun. Sunquest sold their ships so no longer available. All the service was just perfect. The staff were the frienliest of all. We got hooked on cruising on that cruise.

[liv2cruise4ever]

First cruise for me was in 1980 on the first ever Carnival ship. The Mardi Gras. Sailed out of Miami to Grand Caymen, Cozumel, and Ocho Rios. Tiny inside cabin. Still remember the shower curtain attacking me. Hooked and booked ever since. Next up....Golden Princess April 12. 6 weeks and 6 days and we're at sea again.:D