Your first cruise ship

[Copper10-8]

Fascinating thread John. Thanks for starting it.

 

Mine was the SS Ariadne, Eastern Steamship Lines, 1964 or 65. Followed the next year by either the Emerald Seas, or the New Emerald Seas, also Eastern Steamshp Lines if I remember correctly.

 

Then along came the Costa C, The Festival, and many many others, right up to the Eurodam next saturday 10/25. We've had great fun on all of them.

 

Interesting thing is that I'm not paying a great deal more per day of cruising now than I did way back then, but the quality of the cruise experience is light years ahead of the old days.

 

Thanks again for this interesting thread.

 

 

 

 

ts Patricia (1951-1997) Built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd, Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1951 for Swedish Lloyd/Rederi AB Svenska Lloyd for use as a passenger ferry on their Gothenburg-London (Tilbury) service. In the winter season, she was used for Caribbean cruising from New York. She proved to be too large for the route, and was sold to German-based Hamburg-Amerikanische Paketfahrt Aktien-Gesellschaft (HAPAG) aka Hamburg America Line/Hamburg-Amerika Linie in 1957, renamed Ariadne and used for luxury around the world cruising.

 

In 1961 she was purchased by Miami-based Eastern Steamship Lines, considered to be the pioneers of Florida cruising. She was used by them for longer, more diversed cruises into the Caribbean and became one of the first ships to sail to Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico. She carried only 239 passengers. In 1972, Eastern Steamship entered into an agreement with Greek-based Chandris Lines to exchange Ariadne for their Atlantis. Chandris promptly chartered her out as Freeport II from 1973 until 1974. Upon her return in 1974, she was renamed Bon Vivant and operated by Chandris Bon Vivant Cruises on Mediterranean cruises. In 1978, she was renamed Ariane and ran short cruises out of Piraeus during the summer of 1979.

 

After a lengthy lay-up at Eleusis Bay, Greece, she went to the Far East and was based out of Singapore. In 1989, she was sold to Tanfil Shipping & Trading SA who renamed her Empress Katerina. In 1997, she was sold to a St Vincent owner for breaking up. She was renamed Empress 65 for her final voyage to Alang, India, where she was broken up in December of that same year.

 

[serendipity1499]

John...Thank you Thank you Thank you ...Could not believe you found a picture of my "Orion" ...We had so much fun on that ship..I'll always remember my first cruise. Have downloaded your post for posterity..

 

But cooking on the Bridge? Oh my:eek: If the Crew can do it, what's to stop the Psgrs from cooking in their cabin's if Sail's prediction comes true..:eek: What a sad ending for my first Cruise Ship ..

 

She left Greece in June 2006 under the name Sun, heading for Port Said, Egypt and the Suez Canal on her way to India, however her Indian crew accidently set fire to the bridge while cooking there (on the Bridge:eek: ). This resulted in Egyptian authorities not allowing her to transit the canal with a damaged bridge, so she was resold to Turkish breakers. She subsequently arrived at Aliaga, Turkey on November 1, 2006 and was immediately beached for scrapping.

 

And another wonderful surprise..You found our first cruise together on the "Southward" ...:) Had our camera slung over the handle of our luggage...As we were checking out of our Hotel in Miami & it was stolen right behind our backs..Purchased a new one in St. Thomas..You pic is the only one we have of the ship...Tossed out the daily programs when we moved to Fla...Kept the programs from our other cruises though..If we ever move to a smaller house will have to toss it all again..

 

 

Have downloaded your picture of our "Southward"..It's really beautiful..Our friends, who were on this trip with us, have an Anniversary coming up..Will try to get DH to print up a glossy of it & we'll put it in a nice frame... Know they would love to have it..:)

 

 

Thanks again..Betty

[Copper10-8]

Here are some more for ya, Betty;) Funny thing is, when we started cruising on RCCL's Viking Serenade back in 1991, NCL's Southward was also based out of L.A. (San Pedro) running a similar itinerary. Every Saturday morning one would find Viking Serenade and Southward (it was a 3-day FRI-MON cruise) anchored off Catalina Island's City of Avalon.

 

[serendipity1499]

They are great..I'm impressed..You have such an extensive portfolio...

DH (my John) & I have been playing with your Picture all evening..I don't know how to use "Picture It" that well & he does...So sent your picture to his PC....He'll work with it & print it up for me..John thinks It's a little wacky, giving our Friends the picture, but it's for fun & I know they will love it..She's a Beautiful Norwegian Gal from Flekenfjord (sp?) (believe it's near Oslo) & she made quite a hit with all the Officers on that ship..

We've just been looking over the other pictures of this cruise & realized how young we both were & I was so thin then....Oh My... LOL;)

Thanks again...

Cheers...:) Betty

[Copper10-8]

My first cruise ship experience was in June 1960 on the Italian Line's SS Aurelia to LeHavre, as a student traveling to France for a summer of study and travel. I sailed home in September 1960 from Rotterdam on the Holland America ship Groote Beer. It was 33 years before I sailed on another ship but I never forgot how much I enjoyed being on the ocean and hoped I'd get another chance. In November 1993 I sailed on the MS Statendam in her inaugural year. For the past 15 years I've enjoyed indulging my passion for cruising every chance I could get. Fortunately, my DH also became addicted to cruising.

 

Deleted

[the2ofus]

Oh, John, I was so hoping you might find pictures or information about my two ships. I keep thinking I'll come across pictures in a box of memorabilia but so far all I have found are some daily programs written by students.

 

My most amusing memory was of our embarkation day on the Aurelia. We were four girls sharing a cabin, probably on the promenade deck. I had the top bunk right next to a porthole which was swung open and latched to the ceiling above the bunk, if I recall correctly. Anyway, we were all shocked and amused when a sailor stuck his head through the porthole to say 'hello'. Needless to say, after that, we made sure the curtain was drawn whenever we were in the cabin.

 

Coming home, our cabin was below water level and we could hear the water against the hull right next to our bunks. Except for sleeping I didn't spend any time in that cabin. Even way back then HAL ships had comfy chairs and a pretty good supply of books in the library.

[Copper10-8]

Oh, John, I was so hoping you might find pictures or information about my two ships. I keep thinking I'll come across pictures in a box of memorabilia but so far all I have found are some daily programs written by students.

 

My most amusing memory was of our embarkation day on the Aurelia. We were four girls sharing a cabin, probably on the promenade deck. I had the top bunk right next to a porthole which was swung open and latched to the ceiling above the bunk, if I recall correctly. Anyway, we were all shocked and amused when a sailor stuck his head through the porthole to say 'hello'. Needless to say, after that, we made sure the curtain was drawn whenever we were in the cabin.

 

Coming home, our cabin was below water level and we could hear the water against the hull right next to our bunks. Except for sleeping I didn't spend any time in that cabin. Even way back then HAL ships had comfy chairs and a pretty good supply of books in the library.

 

I've got something;) Working on it

[coolcat12]

My first cruise was on one of the HAL Statendams. We went from NY to Bermuda in 1974 or 75. I was in 6th grade so what ever year that was! I remember we had a porthole and bunk beds. It was fantastic. I remember standing by myself on deck as we came into Bermuda and was in awe of the docking procedures! (Dork alert needed...even then.;) )

 

I still have a little platter that my mother won at bingo.

[Copper10-8]

My first cruise ship experience was in June 1960 on the Italian Line's SS Aurelia to LeHavre, as a student traveling to France for a summer of study and travel. I sailed home in September 1960 from Rotterdam on the Holland America ship Groote Beer. It was 33 years before I sailed on another ship but I never forgot how much I enjoyed being on the ocean and hoped I'd get another chance. In November 1993 I sailed on the MS Statendam in her inaugural year. For the past 15 years I've enjoyed indulging my passion for cruising every chance I could get. Fortunately, my DH also became addicted to cruising.

 

 

Huascaran (1939-1997) Built by Blohm + Voss GmbH, Hamburg, Germany as passenger freighter Huascaran. Her maiden voyage departed on April 29, 1939 from Hamburg to Genoa, Italy and back and she was then placed on the South American west coast service. During the Second World War she served as a submarine depot and repair ship for the German Navy.

After the war she was handed over to the Canadian Government on November 14, 1945 and managed by Park Steamship Co. On September 2, 1947 she was sold to Canadian Pacific and refitted at Sorel, Quebec increasing her accommodations to 775 passengers. On February 7, 1948 she was renamed Beaverbrae to become a immigrant ship repatriating displaced persons between Germany and St. John, Newfoundland. She continued on this service until 1951 when she entered a new service from Bremen, Germany carrying immigrants to Canada and cargo on the return journey.

She was sold in November 1954 to Italian-based Cogedar Line who renamed her ss Aurelia. She was taken to Monfalcone (Trieste) and extensively rebuilt as a passenger liner. She departed Trieste for Sydney after which she operated on the Genoa to Australia and New Zealand and Australia run. In 1959, her home port shifted to Bremerhaven, from where she departed on June 12 for Sydney. In 1960, she was chartered by the Council on Student Travel for a round trip from Bremen to New York, arriving on June 27. This experiment was repeated in 1961 and twice in 1962 and 1963. From 1964 she made at least five transatlantic voyages from Channel ports to New York.

In September 1964, she once again departed from Hamburg via Rotterdam and the Suez Canal on her way to Australia and New Zealand. In the following years a number of transatlantic sailings were undertaken under charter and by 1969, she had made a total 34 transatlantic voyages. In 1968 she was refitted to carry 740 passengers in one class on a Southampton - Madeira service which did not prove popular.

Greek-based Chandris Lines purchased her in September 1970, and renamed her Romanza. She was refitted at Piraeus to become a full-time cruise ship. She was commenced cruising in 1971, and proved to be a great success in the Mediterranean. In 1983, she was chartered to Lloyd Brasileiro accommodating 707 passengers.

In 1991, she was sold to Cyprus-based New Ambassador Cruises and renamed Romantica to operate on a Limassol to Egypt and Israel service. Those cruises were successful, however competition from Louis Cruise Line ended this. New Ambassador Cruises went bankrupt in 1995 and Romantica was laid up at Piraeus, Greece. In 1997, she was bought by Cyprus-based Paradise Cruises and received yet another refurbishment. She operated short

Mediterranean cruises for them which enjoyed reasonable success.

On October 4, 1997, she caught fire off Limassol which totally gutted the ship. Her old Chandris running mate, now Louis Cruise Line’s Princesa Victoria, came to her aid and safely took onboard all passengers and crew. A scorched Romantica was towed to an anchorage just outside the harbour at Limassol. In April 1998 she was towed to Alexandria, Egypt for breaking up.

[Copper10-8]

My first cruise was on Costa's Carla C, it was in 1979 out of San Juan,

Not only my first cruise but I went solo, and stayed in a single inside cabin way up in the bow. I remember having to step up & over the door way. All of the announcements were several languages, Spanish, Italian, German and English.

 

As a young single woman cruiser it was an adventure for me.

 

I had a great time, learned the DUCK dance and the Carla CCCCCC song, and how to love cruising!

 

I was hooked on cruising from then on. The second was on the Old Pacific Princess ( the LOVE BOAT)!

 

Martini Cruiser

 

 

s/s Flandre (1952-1995) Built by Ateliers et Chantiers de France, Dunkirk, France as Flandre in 1952 for the French Line or Compagnie Generale Transatlantique (CGT). Originally designed for Caribbean service, she was modified during construction for services between le Havre and New York instead. In 1963, her hull was painted white and she switched to the West Indies service for which she was designed. Her last voyage was in January 1968 as she had been sold in 1967 to the Italian-based Costa Line who renamed her Carla C.

 

After a major rebuilt, she was handed over to Costa in November 1968 but was immediately chartered to Princess Cruises. Marketed as Princess Carla and entering service from Los Angeles, her official name remained Carla C throughout this charter. The charter was cancelled in 1970 and she finally appeared in her Costa colors operating Caribbean cruises until 1974 when she developed engine problems. After repairs, she returned to Caribbean cruises.

She received another major refit in 1984, but was sold to Greek-based Epirotiki Line in 1992 and renamed Pallas Athena. On March 24, 1994 while in Piraeus, a fire broke out onboard which caused her superstructure and funnel to cave in on themselves. She arrived at the Aliaga Company scrapyards in Turkey in December of that year and was broken up in 1995.

 

[Copper10-8]

My first cruise ship experience was in June 1960 on the Italian Line's SS Aurelia to LeHavre, as a student traveling to France for a summer of study and travel. I sailed home in September 1960 from Rotterdam on the Holland America ship Groote Beer. It was 33 years before I sailed on another ship but I never forgot how much I enjoyed being on the ocean and hoped I'd get another chance. In November 1993 I sailed on the MS Statendam in her inaugural year. For the past 15 years I've enjoyed indulging my passion for cruising every chance I could get. Fortunately, my DH also became addicted to cruising.

 

Delete

[the2ofus]

In 1960, she was chartered by the Council on Student Travel for a round trip from Bremen to New York, arriving on June 27. This experiment was repeated in 1961 and twice in 1962 and 1963. From 1964 she made at least five transatlantic voyages from Channel ports to New York.

 

John, Thank you for the great pictures and the history of the SS Aurelia. I believe our sailing was the return trip to Europe from Hoboken to Bremerhaven on June 27 or 28, 1960 We disembarked at LeHavre and I spent July as a student at the Universite de Caen in Normandy. I was supposed to be perfecting my French but most of the summer students were a mix from other European countries who all wanted to practice their command of the English language with me and the rest of the American and English students.

[Copper10-8]

John, Thank you for the great pictures and the history of the SS Aurelia. I believe our sailing was the return trip to Europe from Hoboken to Bremerhaven on June 27 or 28, 1960 We disembarked at LeHavre and I spent July as a student at the Universite de Caen in Normandy. I was supposed to be perfecting my French but most of the summer students were a mix from other European countries who all wanted to practice their command of the English language with me and the rest of the American and English students.

 

 

Cool beans et tres bien, Madame!:) Still working on the Groote Beer or Big Bear/Big Dipper

[Copper10-8]

My first cruise ship experience was in June 1960 on the Italian Line's SS Aurelia to LeHavre, as a student traveling to France for a summer of study and travel. I sailed home in September 1960 from Rotterdam on the Holland America ship Groote Beer. It was 33 years before I sailed on another ship but I never forgot how much I enjoyed being on the ocean and hoped I'd get another chance. In November 1993 I sailed on the MS Statendam in her inaugural year. For the past 15 years I've enjoyed indulging my passion for cruising every chance I could get. Fortunately, my DH also became addicted to cruising.

 

 

ss Costa Rica Victory (1945-1971) Originally built by the Permanente Metals Co, Richmond, California for the United War Shipping Administration as Victory-class (improved Liberty-class version) troop ship/freighter Costa Rica Victory. She was commissioned in 1945, towards the end of World War II and managed by the American Hawaiian Steamship Co, New York. Her war time service however, was short lived and she was laid up and placed for sale in 1946.

 

She was purchased along, with her two sisters, ss Cranston Victory (renamed Zuiderkruis or Southern Cross) and ss La Grande Victory (renamed Waterman or Aquarius) in 1947 by the Dutch Government and used a troop and civilian transport to and from the Dutch East Indies (present Indonesia) and Dutch New Guinea. She was renamed Groote Beer (Big Bear or Big Dipper) and, unlike Waterman and Zuiderkruis stayed under direct Dutch Government control (N.V. Scheepvaart Maatschappij Trans Oceaan/Trans Ocean Shipping Company Ltd) until 1952. She also made three voyages to Australia before her reconstruction commenced in November of 1951 in Amsterdam.

 

In November 1951, she was sent to the Nederlandsche Dok en Scheepsbouw Maatschappij (NDSM)/Netherlands Dry-Dock Shipbuilding Company in Amsterdam where construction started to rebuilt her for general passenger use. An extra deck was added, she received a new bridge, and her original accommodations were gutted. In its place, she had cabins fitted to accommodate up to 830 passengers.

 

Still owned by the government but now managed by Rotterdam's Holland America Line starting in June, 1952, she was then used to transport thousands of immigrants to the United States (New York City), Canada and occasional runs to Australia from all parts of Europe. She made regular stops at Halifax, Nova Scotia's Pier 21 (Canada's Ellis Island), and to Quebec City and Montreal. In 1961, Holland America outright purchased the Groote Beer from the Dutch Government and also assumed control over Trans Oceaan. In 1962, she and Waterman, were chartered as accommodation ships for the Commonwealth Games in Fremantle (Perth), Australia.

 

In 1963, she was sold by the Dutch Governmentand purchased by Greek shipping tycoon Yiannis Latsis aka John Spyridon Latsis and his family-owned Latsis Shipping Company. She was renamed Marianna IV and operated on another immigrant service, this time from Piraeus to Australia and New Zealand. In 1964 and 1965, she was chartered by the Atlantic Educational Program for four round-trip student voyages between Rotterdam and New York. For this charter, she received her old name of Groote Beer and Holland America Line once again acted as her agent. Back under Marianna IV, she was laid up at Eleusis Bay, Greece in March 1967. She was sold for scrap in 1970 and broken up at Eleusis in 1971.]

 

 

 

 

[the2ofus]

John,

You are amazing! It must consume a lot of your time to dig up all this information and the great pictures. Sincere thanks. Have to admit that I was disappointed that in the summer of 1960 SS Groote Beer was not yet truly a HAL ship. I have always considered that my first HAL cruise.

 

I have to admit though, that with a huge complement of folks ages 12 to early 20s on board, the atmosphere was more Carnival than HAL as we know it. It was a lot of fun for sure!

Jane

[Copper10-8]

1973- graduated from colleage and recevied $300 in cash gifts from family,etc. Had to pay my sister $100 to go with me...on Sitmar Fairwind...total cost with airfare from Providence was $286..00 !!! As soon as she saw all the Italian crew lined up in the lobby she was a gonner... We loved Sitmar and sailed on Fairwind and Fairsea about 7 or 8 times until they were sold to Princess. Have since done Chandris, Celebrity, RCCL , Costa and will try HAL in April. I still like to cruise but boy, maybe because we were young and unsophisticated but I really loved the earlier days for me... smaller ships, less trying to sell you everything, more exotic food , continental service and nice dance music.

 

Now we go with our DH's and still nice but lost some of the excitement and the glamour.

 

 

Sylvania (1957-2004) Built by John Brown & Company Ltd, Clydebank, Scotland and delivered in 1957 to Cunard Line as Sylvania for secondary North Atlantic (Liverpool-Eastern Canada) service. She was sold to Sitmar Line in 1968 and was renamed Fairwind after rebuilding for U.S. cruise service. She was briefly renamed Sitmar Fairwind in 1988, before being purchased by P&O Group. She became Dawn Princess when Princess Cruises acquired Sitmar. In 1993, Princess sold her back to the Vlasov Group or "V" Group of Monte Carlo, the previous owners of Sitmar. Under that ownership, Phoenix Seereisen operated her under charter as Albatros for German tourist cruising. In 2004, she was sold for scrap and broken up at Alang, India.

 

[Copper10-8]

My first cruise was on one of the HAL Statendams. We went from NY to Bermuda in 1974 or 75. I was in 6th grade so what ever year that was! I remember we had a porthole and bunk beds. It was fantastic. I remember standing by myself on deck as we came into Bermuda and was in awe of the docking procedures! (Dork alert needed...even then.;) )

 

I still have a little platter that my mother won at bingo.

 

 

 

s/s Statendam IV (1957-2004) Built by Werfmaatschappij (Shipyard) Wilton-Feyenoord, Schiedam, the Netherlands for Holland America Line as Statendam III for Rotterdam-New York service. Her christening was by then Princess (now Queen) Beatrix of the Netherlands at Rotterdam on January 23, 1957. In 1958, she sailed a world cruise for HAL and in 1971, she was converted for full-time cruising. In August, 1981, she was sold to New York-based Artus Investors, Inc. and in December 1982, she made her first cruise as Rhapsody under charter to Paquet Cruises.

For the 1983 Alaska Summer season, she was chartered back to Holland America Line-Westours. In 1986, she was purchased by the Lelakis Group. After a refit at Piraeus, she was operated in 1987 by Regency Cruises as Regent Star for Alaska and Caribbean cruising. For the 1988 Alaska Summer season, she was once again chartered back to Hollnand America Line-Westours.

In August 1994, while sailing for Regency in Alaska, a fire broke out in her engine room that resulted in her passengers having to be evacuated. She was repaired and returned to service until Regency declared bankruptcy in October 1994. She returned to Eleusis Bay, Greece and was laid up there. In 1996, while still at Eleusis Bay, she was renamed Sea Harmony. The end came in March 2004 when she was sold for scrap. On her final cruise to the breakers, she received the name of Harmony 1. She was broken up that same year at Alang, India

[Wild Thing ~T]

 

John, ours was the Sea Princess south bound route Alaska out of Seward. I bought the cruise (for way to much) at a charity auction!

 

And yes my friend... WE ARE HOOKED!!:D

 

The Yum Yumm Man cruise will be our 10th cruise! :rolleyes:

 

I hope to meet you both onboard!

Teri ;)

[duck tune]

In June 1974 three of my college friends and I stayed on the Queen Mary Hotel in Long Beach while we took our California State Nursing Boards to become licensed as Registered Nurses. I remember how thrilled I was to be staying in a cruise ship and vowed that someday I'd take a cruise to Alaska.

That first cruise was in July 2002 on the NCL Star with DH - an Alaskan Cruise from Seattle to Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway and Victoria, BC. We had a balcony and will never forget that first impression when we walked in the cabin and thought we had died and gone to heaven. We figured it would be the first and only cruise that we would ever take. We had a great time but we weren't hooked on cruising - yet.

A year later while DH was sitting in a waiting room prior to having eye surgery to remove a cataract an old friend of his whom he hadn't seen in years came in and as they caught up on old times his friend told us that he and his wife were escorts for a travel agency and regularly took Holland America Line cruises. He said that Holland America was THE BEST cruise line and if we ever had the chance we had to take a cruise with them.

In August 2003 I ran across a continuing education class for nurses to be offered on the Ryndam out of San Diego - one in December 2003 and one 6 weeks later in January 2004. The first one went to Cabo, PV, Mazatlan and the second one went to Cabo, Loreto, La Paz and Mazatlan. The continuing education courses were both cancelled due to lack of interest but DH and I went ahead on the cruises since the prices were good and we were curious about HAL. We paid $849 pp for a B Veranda on each cruise. We both fell in love with HAL. Loreto and La Paz were just wonderful. We sat at tables for 10 at dinner and had great table mates both times. The crew on the second cruise remembered us from the first and that was so impressive. We were hooked for sure.

You can see the rest of the cruises we have taken since then. We have had to cancel 3 cruises - one due to bad weather and two due to illness. We were crushed when we had to cancel every one.

The one and only time that we had a suite with the Neptune Lounge perks was on the Amsterdam Alaskan Cruise from Seattle. We loved the suite but haven't been back at that level since. We've had an outside cabin once and enjoyed that but DH loves to have the balcony. Two days ago DH started this routine "I wonder what they are having in the Lido right now?" "I wonder how busy the Pinnacle Grill is tonight?" Yes we are in need of another cruise!

Thanks for starting a great thread!

[coolcat12]

Copper 10-8:Thanks for the pics and "obituary".;)

[Wild Thing ~T]

 

John, ours was the Sea Princess south bound route Alaska out of Seward. I bought the cruise (for way to much) at a charity auction!

 

And yes my friend... WE ARE HOOKED!!

 

The Yum Yumm Man cruise will be our 10th cruise!

 

I hope to meet you both onboard!

Teri ;)

 

OPPS!!

Sorry, I forgot the date of our first cruise! May 2000, soooo 10 cruises later YES WE ARE HOOKED!!

 

However, that first cruise was awesome! We have been back to Alaska 2 more times, only saw a moose and calf, mountain goats and grizzly bear on that FIRST cruise! But, there is no such thing, IMO as a bad cruise!!

 

A little history, the Sea Princess went to P and O Cruises and changed her look a bit, after our first cruise. According to the Princess website she is back as the Sea Princess!! I guess she has been around!:)

 

I would love to cruise on her again! Thanks for this thread, very interesting!;)

 

John are you onboard the Yummer's Cruise Feb. 14, 2009 with us? I thought so?:confused:

[tjcletsgo]

 

Sailed 3 days to Ensenada, with my three BFF's, all in one cabin w/o a window! :eek: We taped a picture where the window should be! This was approximately 1982 (?), during the Love Boat craze! We thought we were so all that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!;)

[donscomp]

Late 80's. Bermuda Star. Mexico. 2 lil portholes.

Don't remember a lot of it.:p But really liked shooting off the aft of the ship.

Didnt think I would cruise again. Till last year. Now? LOVE IT!!

[Cruise Organizer]

Was on the Atlantic - Home Lines - maiden year in August 1981 to Bermuda. Price was more than I pay now and the cabins are nicer.

Did not make an impression as I did not cruise for 8 years - Celebrity Horizon - maiden year - to bermuda -- loved that cruise (food was awesome), service was great - hooked after that.

Have gone on 18 in total, 7 different lines.

Favorite is HAL, first HAL ship was the Noordam (and 2nd also) in the 1990's. Small ship 32,000 tons, but loved it and yes my young children was catered to and had a great time.

Will all be on the Westerdam in January.

[Randyk47]

Not exactly a cruise but my mother and I joined my father in England via the United States out of New York. Now for my first pleasure cruise that would have been a "try it, you'll like it" cruise on the Carnival Fantasy in 1993. Loved it and next cruise was the then new MS Ryndam in 1994 and then I was really hooked. :D