How was it the first time you did it?

I was 17yrs old when I took my 1st cruise (Princess cruise line) and I was very excited. It was a graduation gift from my grand mother and it was 5 of us my grandparents, aunt, cousin, and I. Now here it is 35 years later i'm taking my 2nd cruise and my husbands 1st and I am OVERLY EXCITED! I feel like a kid in a candy store ;)

Why do I get the feeling you are 52? Lol. That's a long time between cruises. Did you not enjoy your first one?

My first time was in 2009 with my husband and our 2 kids. We all fell in love instantly. We'll be sailing for the 4th time in August. CANT WAIT!!

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My first time was with the wonderful woman who is now my wife of 22 years! We weren't actually married yet, but at the time we just went ahead and did it. We were both a bit anxious more so than nervous. We knew we were gonna want to do it for a long time.

Looking back from that day we never regretted it. It was awesome on has been since.

 

We are actually going to do it again on the Magic next weekend! I'm a lucky guy[emoji6]

 

 

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Hahahaha. I like how you go with the flow there. You said you both know you wanted to do it for a long time. I hope you didn't tell her after the first time that you can't go again😂

DH & I were married a year and had a travel agent for a friend who booked us on a 4 day aboard the RCCL Nordic Empress her maiden year. We booked the lowest interior cabin very late and our documents (mailed to us at that time) stated we were TBA on our cabin. Didn't understand cabin numbers worked like hotel numbers, so didn't recognize we were on the 8th (of 9) floors with a giant picture window! We thought we were the king & queen of the cruise! Had a blast! Did a few cruises every so often, but used most of our vacation time to travel in the US, Europe and Africa. Now we almost exclusively cruise for vacation as we've done the touring thing for awhile.

 

We will be moving to Portugal this year for retirement as soon as our house sells and will begin the touring of Old World Europe again after that. We will probably cruise less, but that's ok.

I find it hard to think of any other vacation than cruising. Today my wife was looking for a 2018 Mediterranean cruise because she is tired of Caribbean cruises. Maybe I will see in in Portugal. I hope you love football (soccer) because they are passionate about it there.

My first time was in 2009 with my husband and our 2 kids. We all fell in love instantly. We'll be sailing for the 4th time in August. CANT WAIT!!

 

 

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I am hoping my kids will fall in love with cruising as well because we want to travel as a family more often. I have a feeling they will. The 13YO is excited, but then again, maybe it is because she will be out of school for 5 days.

I was on the bottom, there were two holes, and it was loud when we arrived.

Lol. This cracked me up but I couldn't type my reply here or I may get banned. All I will ask is if you needed both.

Last year was our first cruise. 36 years old, and 36 years too late! I wish we would have done this all along! We were lucky that our first cruise was set up and paid for by my husband's work. Yes, we had to attend some meetings while on the ship, but it was a free trip and the meetings were only about an hour each day! They had everything planned, we just had to have fun! We booked our own excursions, but it was nice to be just us with no kids and figure out what cruising was all about. Now this year, we did all the planning, bringing the kids, and I feel ready for it because we did the trial run last year!

36 years before your first? Wow.😃

I like to do the planning. It's a part of the fun for me. I wouldn't want people to plan something that I don't want to do or places I have been before. I hope you guys and your kids have a blast.

I was ridiculously excited, to the point where I had set my alarm early so I could watch the ship come into the bay....my husband wasn't as excited but was looking forward to it too.

 

People wondered why I had booked a 12 day as my first one but to me...the more days at sea the better :), 12 stunning days in the Baltic.

 

I was in love the moment I stepped on board (Legend) even though it was a rather mild day in Dover in the UK.

 

I was 27.

I think that's chancing it to do a 12 days for the first time. What if you found out it was not for you after 3 days? That's just 1/4 of the way. I would say shorter cruises are ideal for first timers.

First time I was 13 and grandma said if I paid my way she'd take me and my brother to Europe for 3 weeks. I worked for my dad every Saturday and all summer so I had the money. She picked the Queen Elizabeth.

 

Our cabin did not have a bathroom in it, it was down the hall. We got lost after muster and ended up in the first class auditorium which was beautiful with red velvet drapes and seats like in a movie theater. We found our auditorium and it was a cabin sized room with metal folding chairs and a pull down screen on a stand.

 

Grandma made me play bingo after I had stayed in the auditorium too long watching a Peter Sellers movie. I let everyone go ahead of me hoping they'd run out of cards. I won $22.

 

Europe was fabulous. I took my kids when they were the same age on a near identical tour without the ship crossing.

I did not know that they never used to have bathrooms in all the cabins.

My first was with 3 friends and we shared a room. When open, the cot was half under the vanity! We had about 150 pair of shoes between the 4 of us. There was no Cruise Critic so we stumbled our way through each port. Back then they had the mints on your pillow when you came back to the room. My one friend woke up many mornings with that mint melted into her cheek!!! That was the start of my addiction :D

Damn. You guys really overpacked. I thought my wife was crazy with her packing. She always packs one suitcase just for shoes.

My first cruise was 2009 to Bermuda with my mother. It was her 67th birthday gift to her and her first real vacation. We had the time of our lives. Got home and talked the DH into trying it. Went on a 15 night cruise and he was hooked. We have now been on 8 cruises with 2 more booked. Mom has passed on but I know I gave her the best present ever. She talked about it for three years before she passed.

My first time was in 1973 .My wife and I booked a cruise on an Amerikanis ship ,7 days to Bermuda leaving from NY and disembarking in NY .The cost including all taxes was $699.00 for both of us.

On the way back to NY the ship had some mechanical problems.Our TA said the ship would not be sailing for a while.We were offered 2 options ,either a complete refund or a cruise on a Cunard ship for the same price .We opted for the Cunard .The ship was the Ambassador .There were only porthole cabins .The only ship activities were a pool,shuffleboard and skeet shooting .

There were no shore excursions . On sea days it was mandatory suits for men at lunch and dinner .On port days only dinner.

The food was first rate as was the live entertainment .There were also movies.

My wife and I were in our 20's at the time .

I think that's chancing it to do a 12 days for the first time. What if you found out it was not for you after 3 days? That's just 1/4 of the way. I would say shorter cruises are ideal for first timers.

With you on that one. 12 days straight right off the jump for the first time is definitely an all in gamble. Kind of like leasing a car, hard to,get out of it if you don't like the ride.

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Were you nervous? Were you excited? How old were you? How many people did you do it with?

 

 

This thread is awesome. I love how half the posts are jokes and the other half are serious.

I did not know that they never used to have bathrooms in all the cabins.

Didn't have a bathroom on Mardi Gras either.

Our first cruise was our honeymoon on Carnival Festivale in 1992 and I was 27 and DH was 29. It was our wedding gift from DH's parents. His dad was semi-retired and worked remotely through a travel agency that specialized in cruises and DH's parents had been on several cruises, so they overloaded us with information, so we were prepared in that way. I think DH's dad was just as excited for us going on our cruise as he'd be going on one himself. I wasn't nervous at all about the cruise OR about getting married to my DH (on "Cloud 9" to be marrying him)...but I was nervous about the wedding ceremony. Something to do with being on the altar in our church and the center of attention, so I was definitely nervous about that part. Once the wedding was over, we were both looking forward to our honeymoon cruise, were definitely excited and it did not disappoint. We've been on six cruises since, wishing it was more, but we have had family vacations and vacations with friends and only so much time off work. Before each cruise since, I have been pretty much as excited as a little kid anticipating Christmas.

Found this on the net:

http://www.usatoday.com/picture-gallery/travel/cruises/2014/09/15/cruise-ship-tour-the-early-icons-of-the-carnival-fleet/13892623/

Note the standing ashtray in the hallway of a cabin deck.

My "first time" will November 4 2018 on the magic, nervous no, I think I have watched every video on the ship. And read everything I can find to try and educate myself.

Didn't have a bathroom on Mardi Gras either.

Yes they do....It's called Bourbon Street.

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my first was a 3 day cruise to Bahamas. Our ship was late leaving so it seemed that the captain put the ship in full throttle, and there was a storm brewing so waves were high. The ship rocked some much that you crisscrossed walking down the halls. About half the ship was covered in vomit because so many people were getting sick. Not this chick. I figured that if I didnt get sick on this cruise, i was immune to it.

PS. I got the best nights sleep from all the rocking.

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Our first cruise was a Mother's Day trip. 9 years ago I believe??Bussed from Seattle to Vancouver WA, boarded the ship with DH, DS, and BIL for an overnight trip back to Seattle. Great Mother's Day trip for us. Now well seasoned and another 49 days booked over the next 2 years...Hooked I'd say...

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My first was in 2010 on the grand princess. I wasn't really sure if I would like it or not. But wow when you walk onto the ship and take it all in. We will be on our ninth cruise this year so needless to say I loved every minute of it

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I did not know that they never used to have bathrooms in all the cabins.

Yep was common upto, probably the 70s for some categories to share.

I dont remember how I felt for my first cruise. I was 17 and just out of high school, with my Grandparents to Freeport. It was pretty boring to say the least although I'm very grateful for the opportunity!

I have planned a cruise for my Hub & I for my 40th birthday and I'm so excited! I'm talking about it every day, researching every waking hour, watching youtube videos, joining facebook cruise groups, asking people I know...I have several lists going on for packing, ports, food, etc...I guess it will die down once I've figured everything out! We sail August 12th 2017!

Quick and rather unsatisfying. At least for me.

Oh wait...you're talking about my first *cruise.* It was incredibly awesome! [emoji16]

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