Just for fun...what was your first cruise???

[amusea]

Our first cruise was on the QE2 in its inaugural year - 1969 from Southampton to New York. We really got hooked and now have completed

63 cruises. Actually the trans-Atlantic runs on Cunard are not really cruises but I counted them in the total. Number 64 is coming up in January to Mexico and #65 is to the Norwegian fjords in July. Talk about an addiction.

[jeanpatrick]

Explorer of the Seas/December 2001

[Trickie Dickie]

:D I love this thread! :D

 

Our first cruise was on Freedom of the Seas in February 2008. We purchased it entirely with Airmiles that I had been saving. We were sitting on Orient Beach in St. Martin and my hubby said how can we do this forever. Well we've adjusted the budget and we are going on cruises 7 and 8 in the next 5 months with no plans of stopping. It was an instant addiction and we don't want to go to rehab! :D

 

Cheers!

 

Upon sober second thought.... the reason we decided to do a cruise came from a visit to Orlando back in 2000. We drove to Port Canaveral to take a day cruise on the Ambassador II cruise ship - at the time, the world's largest casino cruise ship. When we were leaving port we saw all the other big cruise ships and decided one day we would try it. It took us 8 years but we did! :D I wonder if Ambassador II is still kicking around. I still remember those Bologna Sandwiches on the free buffet. :rolleyes:

[Bundles917]

Celebrity Summit, May 2010, as a birthday surprise for my partner. For my most recent birthday he booked the same cruise, May 2011, for us. I guess we're hooked.

[DFWGUYZ]

1993 Cunard Vistafjord

[CadillacRon]

My first cruise was my senior trip in high school on spring break 1981. Our cool English teacher organized it and with 4 in a cabin including airfair (Tulsa to Miami), it was a little over $500 p/p. It was the Costa Flavia, which was on her last legs as a passenger ship, but perfect for 150 high school kids from Oklahoma. Our teacher had high expectations of us and for the flight we all wore trousers and button down shirts for the guys, dresses for the girls. (The last gasp of civilized air travel).

We didn't go to a rich high school, as a matter of fact we were kind of on the wrong side of the tracks. The snooty schools in town were pissed that we got to go on a cruise while they went on bus trips to Six Flags.

There was another high school class on board from Georgia so there was much intermingling and bunk swapping. A few of us had our first same sex romance experiences.

Just a few years ago, some co-workers and I were talking about senior trips and it turned out one of them was on my ship from the school in Georgia. Small world.

From then on, I was hooked. I just took my 40th cruise in Oct 2010 on the NCL Epic and am going again on the Epic 11th. (My friend is paying my way) I've seen all different crew cabins, officer's quarters and other off limits to passengers spaces. I was really cute and trashy and that went a long way for a high seas on board "romance". Now I have to hope that 'trashy" and "well preserved" will get me some action on board. It does. :)

[Schplinky]

Ours was navigator of the Seas. Met some nice people and just cruised on Oasis with them. We've been on a bunch of lines now and have enjoyed most of them.

[chelseaguy]

It was Home Lines Oceanic in 1966 or 1967. I believe she was the first ship to have a sliding roof over the pool--actually two pools--which were open all night. A great ship with Italian crew and great entertainers who mingled with the guests. Not at all stodgy, just much fun! As I recall, it was her first or second season. We also sailed on the final cruise of the Homeric which I think was also, and sadly, the end of Home Lines.

 

Next cruise--number 37--is January 3, 2010 on the Queen Mary 2. Hope it is as great as the one we took on her in 2006.

[john0670]

Our first cruise was in '05 on Carnival Holiday as his college graduation gift. We had talked about cruising for years, but it took until '05 to do it, now we are addicted and usually try to go a couple of times a year.

[tiffy0428]

Mines was a 3 night Carnival Sensation cruise to the Bahamas. I did not like the Bahamas but I loved being on a cruise, which brought me to booking again this year for a 8 day Carnival Miracle Cruise.

[bkraft]

My husband's mother had cruised her entire life and, in fact, became the social director for all the ships on the old Matson Line. Until she was well over 80, she still hosted Mariner groups on hundreds of cruises (she lied about her age). So, of course, we were sure cruising wasn't for us - just old people...

 

Well, in 2003, for a bunch of reasons, we found ourselves on the Ryndam - 39 days - San Diego to Rio. And in a deluxe suite no less. Talk about being hooked. I don't think it would have been possible to have a better time. We became best buddies with the Hotel Manager and his girlfriend who was the Purser, the ship's nurse, the Maitre D', and the florist. Our suite looked like a funeral home there were so many floral bouquets showing up all the time. Eight years later and all of us are still friends.

 

For those folks reading this who still have concerns about being a gay couple on a "straight" ship: we were made to feel welcome by absolutely everyone, crew and passengers alike. In fact, especially in the early days, it seemed that passengers went out of their way to prove they weren't homophobic. I think being on a cruise brings out the best in most anybody.

 

Since then, we've done HAL another 3 times; Carnival once (I'll never make that mistake again!), Princess once, three Windstar (2 gay with Travelpride - great cruise, rotten company) and the end of the month, we're trying our first Seabourn - Istanbul to Athens.

 

I think I'll sign off now and see where I want to go in 2012...

 

Happy Cruising,

 

Brian

[Mermen]

First cruise was on Carnival on a ship no longer in their fleet now...a nice Riviera cruise. Cabin with a window and I remember seeing those waves come up and it scaring the crap out of me. Hooked me though...

[keithm]

Saw this on another thread - so Ithought it would be great to see everyones "First".......

 

Mine was on an old Italian Liner to the Caribbean.....both ship & line are no longer sailing.....

Our first was a QM2 voyage in 2004(5 more since)Thought I'd be bored, but absolutely loved it. Only real strange(and it was)thing was this (supposedly straight)guy hosting the FOD events that first trip.His wife seemed very nice, he on the other hand..really creepy. In Martinique he yelled up to his wife..that he was going into town for a "BJ". My god..hundreds of us heard that. He'd start playing "pocket pool" at the meetings. After the 4'th day we all decided to meet in various locations to avoid this guy. A lot of friendships started that cruise.

[SuiteCruzin]

1997...A cruise to No Where on the QE2 with Pied Piper and was solo. Was the most memorial and exciting cruise I've taken. After that I've cruised twice a year going every where except the Orient. My little solo cabin on QE2, Pied Piper personnel and others have opened up a world this landlocked Kansas man has entertained on a regular basis ever since. I've not stopped cruising or excursioning to new places and revisiting old.

[duck addict]

USS Stoddard DD566

First cruiseline. Disney Wonder

[jprs]

My first was Atlantis Events first cruise in 1995 on the Club Med I sailing ship.

[Hans1]

Ours was on the QE2 from Southampton to New York on the last transatlantic in December 1993. What a bumpy ride right when we were out of the harbour. We were holding on to our mattresses like monkeys in the night. Very high waves for three full days. But nevertheless we were fixed on cruising from that day on. ;-)

 

Oliver

[Brian2204]

1993; Carnival Festivale

7 Nights; St. Thomas, Puerto Rico, Nassau

Cost, including airfare (from SFO) and overnight in Florida: $1,200

Traveling companion was a guy I was dating at the time.

 

Met a group of 4 gay guys and a couple of older ladies on the plane that we partied with at the hotel in Miami and ended up requesting being sat together for dinner. Great traveling buddies!

 

Someone had a gay bar guide for Puerto Rico and we ended up at this little corner hole in the wall on my 23rd birthday; won't ever forget it!!

 

Things I remember specifically about the cruise:

Partying till late nite/early morning

Midnight buffet - just like you would imagine it to be

Loving the fact that someone cleaned up my cabin each day

[MDDCFlyer]

As you can see from my signature - my (ours) first cruise was only recently - on NCL to Hawaii. Needless to say that we are hooked by now.

[tony11727]

Norwegian Norway 1994. It seemed so big at the time. Sad that Norwegian let it deteriorate to the point of the fire and explosion. Such an elegant ship from the days of transatlantic sailing.

[new2cruise2011]

2/17/2011 on a four night western carribean cruise. It was short but very fun. Looking forward to our next cruise in 27 day-7night Eastern med. Can't wait!

[Blazerboy]

Was wondering why I had never seen this thread, and then realized that it started just after I changed jobs two years ago. Haven't been on CC much since. It was fun to read the last 8 pages.

 

First crossing was when I was four- 1967 on the France. We were supposed to sail both ways, book-ending a summer in Europe, but the long shoremen's strike in NYC caused us to fly over on BOAC. We returned on the France with my mother, four brothers, 27 pieces of luggage and the camper we bought in London.

 

 

My mother hated flying , so we did many more crossings, one more on the France, and a lot on various Italian Line ships. Our first official cruise was of the Greek Islands on a horrible ship - KNY Line, or something like that. No sprinkler systems, rusty, so-so food, but we had a good time(mostly laughing at the waiters doing a really bad job of the baked Alaska parade). Our reward was sailing back to the States on the lovely Christoforo Columbo- sister ship to the Andrea Doria.

 

I've been hooked ever since, and still favor crossings, but have taken some great cruises on Crystal, Cunard, Celebrity and Princess.

 

Next up is the Silhouette T/A in October!

 

Andrew

[Dia_mond]

2006 Costa Atlantica to Norway and Svalbard with family. Got to celibrate my birthday during the trip.

 

Setting foot on land at Magdalena Fjord was impressive. Froze my .. off on the North Cape.

 

Got bitten by the cruise virus and recently booked my 2nd cruise.

[donnatello]

First cruise was back in the late 70's with my parents on the Italian Line "Leonardo Da Vinci". We sailed out of NY and stopped in Fla for more passengers. Loved it, loved the Italian line!

[jjb415]

This is a fun thread. The Constitution was a fun ship with great Aloha spirit. The waiters were great and we had lots of fun seeing all of the Hawaiian Islands. We spent a wild night with the crew at Club Jetty on the overnight in Maui (I think, or was it Kauai).........