Your first cruise ship

Carnival Destiny 2008, left from San Juan went to St. Thomas, Dominica, Barbados, Antigua, St. Kitts I feel like it was another place but can't remember. I took a long break because 7 days is a long time. I'm down for the 5 day cruises. By the time I get bored it's time get off and I want to go on another. I hate sea days.

My first cruise was on Eastern Cruise Lines ship

"Emerald Seas" in Sept. 1974 a 4 day trip.

Were to go to Nassau and Freeport, Thank goodness Nassau was fun;but we couldn't dock due to rough seas in Freeport.

So we floated around and docked next morning in Miami per schedule,

This was booked by my brother and me - in the meantime I decided to get married and use this as a honeymoon trip. So as a good sister , we booked my brother his own room & the 3 of us had a great trip.

Now I'm up to my 23rd cruise set for this November.

Our first cruise was for our 15th anniversary and it was a 10-day circle the Caribbean on the Splendour of the Seas in February of 2000...we were hooked.

Our first cruise was in 1995 on the Regent Sun out of Puerto Rico for our 25th anniversary. We spent 7 days in St Maarten first, and then flew to San Juan, where we boarded the ship. On our second day at sea, we recieved an emergency phone call into our cabin that something had happened to our 15 year old daughter, who was staying with grandparents. The cruise line took care of everything to get us home----tendering us into a nearby island (St Kitts) where they had people waiting for us with tickets home. We flew from there to Antigua to Toronto. All turned out ok at home, once there, but we were so impressed with the level of customer service to us, and the desire to finish a cruise, that we booked our next cruise on the Carnival Ecstasy---and were "bitten" by the cruise bug!!

BTW--that cruise line went bankrupt the year after that, the ships were sold out, and I heard that ship was scraped. It was an old, very elegant ship--and crowd. Also--the resort we stayed in St Maarten (Mullet Bay Resort) prior to cruise was destroyed by a major hurricane that same year, and never rebuilt.

Admiral Cruise Lines Stardancer. Followed by RCCL Viking Serenade the following year.

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Carnival Destiny 2008, left from San Juan went to St. Thomas, Dominica, Barbados, Antigua, St. Kitts I feel like it was another place but can't remember. I took a long break because 7 days is a long time. I'm down for the 5 day cruises. By the time I get bored it's time get off and I want to go on another. I hate sea days.

Perhaps St Lucia? I cruised out of San Juan in 2001 on the Destiny, also, and I really can't remember what was on that itinerary or the following year on the Spirit. Both had Southern Caribbean itineraries that also went to Curaçao, Aruba, Martinique, St Lucia, Barbados, among other places.

My first cruise was in 1973 on the Costa Cruise Lines Flavia out of Miami. What a deplorable ship(compare to them now) but had the greatest time!! My next cruise 11/11/17 on Coral Princess will be #36.

NCL Starward, May 1980. Port Antonio, Ocho Rios, Port-au-Prince. DH and I were to be on the maiden voyage of the Norway, but that cruise was canceled as the ship wasn't ready. We wound up on the Starward instead.

My 2nd cruise was January 1979 on the NCL SkyWard doing the same itinerary as you. I so loved the ship and my 1st 7 day cruise. All the ports were great! Loved shopping the old Craft Market - making deals and conversing with the locals. In Haiti we toured a rum factory got a wonderful scenic tour from our bus driver and bought art [oil paintings] which still hang on my walls. Loved the old ships![

Remember when they gave you rolls of streamers to throw, drinks were $1.25, fabulous food, people dressed to the nines and they gave out a list of passengers and where they were from? The good old days!

My first cruise was 1994 on the MS Holiday ... June 1994. Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios. Was with a group of singles . Carnival used to match you up with a roommate that was age similar to you . My roommate .. what a joke ... never left the cabin . sick all the time. I had a such a good time now 28 cruises later still going strong .

Epirotiki cruise line. Can't remember the name of the ship. It was Christmas 1986 / New Year's 1987 and we had an amazing Caribbean itinerary out of Barbados to Grenada, Caracas, Curacao, Aruba and another Port in Venezuela. The staterooms were tiny, the twin beds bolted down and our porthole window at time.was under water depending on the wave action. Taking my first "new" ship cruise in just over a year and booked a balcony suite.

Epirotiki cruise line. Can't remember the name of the ship. It was Christmas 1986 / New Year's 1987 and we had an amazing Caribbean itinerary out of Barbados to Grenada, Caracas, Curacao, Aruba and another Port in Venezuela. The staterooms were tiny, the twin beds bolted down and our porthole window at time.was under water depending on the wave action. Taking my first "new" ship cruise in just over a year and booked a balcony suite.

Omg! It sounds like my first cruise line stateroom! We sailed the Regent Sun out of San Juan, and it had two twin beds bolted down like yours were (no making it a king!) and a port hole on a very low level also. But we had this little oval bathtub that you could only sit in with knees bent! The ship was filled primarily with elderly, and had older gentleman as part of the staff to dance with the single older ladies. The ship was very old and elegant, but the food was fabulous!

Big Red Boat 1997

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Remember when they gave you rolls of streamers to throw, drinks were $1.25, fabulous food, people dressed to the nines and they gave out a list of passengers and where they were from? The good old days!

Heinekens were 75 cents , but most people did not make that much , it cost me about a months pay for a 7 day cruise in 70's , way before specialty restaurants and also balconies , my next cruise is # 62

1997, SS Norway (it's a reef now) for 7 days. I don't know where it went. I brought all my clothes and about 20 pairs of shoes, mostly heels. I didn't consider seasickness. We were in a teeny tiny inside stateroom with bunk beds and one small hard chair. On the second day I found myself green on my bunk bed with blistered feet and surrounded by clothes. Halfway through the cruise my friends fed me seasick pills from the purser and dragged me up on deck. I lived to tell the tale! So 20 cruises later, here I am just off one and another booked for 2018. I still overpack, but at least I bring sensible shoes!

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1997, SS Norway (it's a reef now) for 7 days. I don't know where it went. I brought all my clothes and about 20 pairs of shoes, mostly heels. I didn't consider seasickness. We were in a teeny tiny inside stateroom with bunk beds and one small hard chair. On the second day I found myself green on my bunk bed with blistered feet and surrounded by clothes. Halfway through the cruise my friends fed me seasick pills from the purser and dragged me up on deck. I lived to tell the tale! So 20 cruises later, here I am just off one and another booked for 2018. I still overpack, but at least I bring sensible shoes!

 

 

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Lol! You probably read my paragraph above, which said I had twin bunks also on my first cruise in 1995! But I had to comment about your packing, as my hubby will never forget that first cruise, and lugging my whole 4 pieces of luggage onboard---with one whole suitcase of just shoes! I've learned to par down considerably since then. 😎

Spring of 2002. Nordic Empress (now Empress of the Seas)

It was a 10-day repo San Juan to NYC. Stopped in St. Croix, St. Thomas, St. Marteen, then to Bermuda for a few days (docked in Dockyard, Hamilton, and St. George's).

DW and I were in our early 20's at the time. Remember thinking to myself, "Wow! This ship is huge!" (Here she is docked next to Oasis. LOL. )

I can still remember so vividly many of the the little details from that cruise. Funny thing though, many of our cruises since then just seem to all run together and the memories start to get blurry. I guess it's true what they say about never forgetting your first.

Oh, and grandmarnnurse, you made me laugh when I read about 1 entire suitcase dedicated to only shoes. This was exactly the same for DW on our first cruise!

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1997, SS Norway (it's a reef now) for 7 days. I don't know where it went. I brought all my clothes and about 20 pairs of shoes, mostly heels. I didn't consider seasickness. We were in a teeny tiny inside stateroom with bunk beds and one small hard chair. On the second day I found myself green on my bunk bed with blistered feet and surrounded by clothes. Halfway through the cruise my friends fed me seasick pills from the purser and dragged me up on deck. I lived to tell the tale! So 20 cruises later, here I am just off one and another booked for 2018. I still overpack, but at least I bring sensible shoes!

 

 

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I cruised SS Norway 7 times from mid 1980's to mid 1990's went with girlfriend late 80's had bunk beds, but had junior suite for our honeymoon in 1991, never got seasick on a ship that big

I cruised SS Norway 7 times from mid 1980's to mid 1990's went with girlfriend late 80's had bunk beds, but had junior suite for our honeymoon in 1991, never got seasick on a ship that big

It was a beautiful old ship! I am prone to seasickness and was taking nothing at first. It was my first cruise ever and I didn't think about it. Now I know how to manage it. I also insist on an ocean balcony to be able to stare at the horizon. It helps.

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MSC Symphony in 1998, three day cruise from Durban, South Africa to Inyacha Island off Maputo, ran from a cyclone on the way back with the ship rolling 30 degrees all night. Great fun! No cruise has been as good, but I keep going back for more because all 13 cruises I've been on since have been (almost) as great

QE11

I still remember the surge of excitement we got when we saw it moored up waiting for us! I also remember the twin beds bolted to the floor on opposite sides. As I'm very tall my feet stuck out from the end of the bed Oh happy days:D

The Festivale in March 1989 out of San Juan doing the southern islands. Great experience, and started us on a lifetime of cruising, mostly Carnival. She went to the scrapyard in Alang a few years ago.

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The Carnival Jubilee in 1992, Mexican Riviera, it was awesome but for some reason we waited till 2005 to go on the next one. I do remember seeing a early Princess ship docked in Mazatlán, from looking at pictures it may have been the early Princess Carla or the Dawn Princess.

My first cruise was a 2 week Alaska adventure on World Explorer Cruises' S.S. Universe in 1987 with my mom. The ship was a floating university except during summers when it from passengers to Alaska so no casino, no shops, but fantastic staff . Ship was very small, so we got into places in the Inland Passage most ships couldn't get near. We had 4 specialists on board to talk to us about wildlife we were seeing, the culture and history of each port,etc. Each night we were treated to fantastic entertainment, including a slide show of Eskimo life photographed by a bush pilot accompanied by the original songs presented by the teacher he flew from village to village. Towards the end of the cruise, Shirley Jones came aboard to entertain us. After a Q&A session, she spent time on deck talking to many of us. Have photo of her and my mom in my album! After this cruise, it's been hard adjusting to larger ships where you're just one of the crowd, but it definitely sparked an interest in cruising vacations. Now that I'm retired, hopefully I can indulge more often [emoji3]

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Hi Copper

Our first cruise was on Ocean Village. Must be about 9 or 10 years ago. A wonderful first experience and we were bitten by the cruise-bug. We have just booked our 9th for next September. We only had one year without a cruise. Just done the Thomson Discovery last month.

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