How did you catch the "cruising bug"

I was bitten in the summer of 87'.

It was a gift to myself for high school graduation. My cousin (more like a sister) and I decided at the beginning of our senior year that we would plan a special trip. We decided a cruise would be fun. We both had jobs during high school, so it was something we planned to reward ourselves with for graduating. For those that are from Florida, we went to Burdines and booked through the travel agent there. We made payments every week to make sure we had it paid for ahead of time and were so excited.

My first cruise was on NCL ~ SS Norway! :) .......had a great time and have been cruising ever since. I've cruised NCL, Carnival and for years now have found my niche' with Royal Caribbean.

My favorite cruise was October 2014. It was the Westbound TransAtlantic crossing on Oasis of the Seas. Love the ship! The ports of call were all great (Rotterdam~Netherlands, Vigo~Spain, and Southampton~England) and with the number of sea days on the crossing it just made the trip very memorable!

Thanks for the post OP....it has brought back some great memories!

Safe travels to all! :)

Close to 15 years ago, my MIL had died suddenly, leaving my Ex and I with the care of his father who had rapidly worsening dementia. It had been an incredibly stressful couple of months, and we wanted to take his father (who loved to travel) on one last trip while he could still manage it. Lindblad really worked with us on setting up an attendant to help with FIL and making sure he couldn't get off of the ship while in port unless we were there, too. A two week cruise through the Southern Caribbean was exactly what we all needed - all three of us had a fantastic time.

Time marches on, and I didn't have the opportunity to cruise again until years after FIL passed on, and my Ex and I divorced. I hopped on a Princess cruise to Alaska and had an absolutely fantastic time - although it felt extremely awkward being the only solo person on some of the excursions. Since then I've gone on another Lindblad cruise in Australia, solo. A Celebrity cruise through the British Isles, solo again. I have a cruise booked in March on Norwegian just because Flogging Molly and crew are taking over the ship - I'm doing that with my sister, but would have gone alone if she wasn't interested. And, I'm seriously considering a Lindblad expedition in August.

I love land travel as well. In particular renting an apartment or hotel room for several days to really get to poke around the area. Cruising and land travel serve different needs for me. Even when I'm cruising, I'm not particularly interested in sea days, I want to see new places and poke around the ports.

I sometimes think that solo cruising might be kind of nice in that you don't have to please anyone else with what you choose to see and do. I do like to share the experiences with DH but I kind of know which things he likes to do or can do, and so that eliminates some of the trips I would take. I hope we have many years of traveling together, even if we repeat itineraries. I think its great that you have continued to do what you love!

In 1997 my father died of a massive heart attack at 67 after only being retired for 18 months. He always talked about what he was going to do when he retired and never got to do any of it. 2 months later my husband and I went on our first cruise together and have been on 30 + cruises since then. I always carry a picture of my Dad with me and send up a prayer of thanks for his last gift to me.... The love of traveling.

My mom has it, so I think it's genetic. :) But I didn't enjoy cruises until I was an adult! As a child I was too much of a brat to enjoy anything.

Great thread! My parents won a cruise back in '79. When they got home we listened to all the wonderful stories of their cruise and I told myself "One day I want to take a cruise!" My husband and I finally were able to go on our first in 2000. We've been hooked ever since! :D

In Sydney's Harbour, Circular Quay.

We hadn't even had sail away yet and I was hooked.

We would drive the car onto a ferry and then tour Europe. Slowly we realised that one of the best parts of our holiday was the overnight ferry crossing, and so the seeds of cruising were sown....;)

We would drive the car onto a ferry and then tour Europe. Slowly we realised that one of the best parts of our holiday was the overnight ferry crossing, and so the seeds of cruising were sown....;)

Ah I just remembered taking a ferry from Dover to Calais the summer I spent in the south of England. I was 18 and it was the first time I had been on a ship except for a little paddle boat on the Mississippi when I was 15. Hmm, that may have been when my own interest was sparked:)

Ahh, my first time, my first cruise was as a favor to a friend that could not go because of business and he needed someone of age to accompany his son and future daughter-in-law. I was the lucky one and we cruised out of Port Canaveral to the Bahamas. I am a disabled veteran with a bad back and neck so I mostly stayed on the boat and out of the way of the kids so they could have fun. Now I'm ready for my second cruise and am taking my girl friend on her first cruise....maybe the first of many to come.

First cruise with the family out of Galveston...Caribbean cruise on the Mariner for Thanksgiving. Had a great time but made the mistake of booking In-laws into the connecting cabin. Not the most stress-free or private vacation! But we loved the relaxation, not having to worry about anything, great excursions.... We started talking about doing another cruise next summer and are booked on the Liberty. Can't wait!!! This time I feel so much more prepared for how a cruise works and what matters to us...and we have a balcony for us and an interior for our teens. Don't know who's more excited!!!

DH and I caught the bug from friends who had just returned from their first cruise. After seeing their pictures and hearing their stories, we decided that we would go with them on their next cruise. We did, e and we had a wonderful time. We have not gotten rid of the bug yet. Our 9th cruise is booked for May.

was eight years ago. I had wanted to take a cruise for at least ten years but my husband wasn't interested. He surprised me for our anniversary and I loved it so much more than I thought I would. I don't even know what caused me to want to cruise so badly. I used to watch The Love Boat and thought it was really dumb - especially the getting all dressed up just to stand at the railing!

Unfortunately, we've only been on two other cruises since then, the last one in August 2014, Grand Princess to Alaska. My husband took those three cruises for my sake so I was really excited when we sat down to lunch on the Grand after boarding and he looked at me and said "Why aren't we doing this more often?".

So now we have one cruise booked for March 2016 and another for February 2017 and I love watching The Love Boat, but only to look at the ship and the ocean. I still think it's a dumb show. :-)

Many, many years ago, before everyone had a cell phone or computers, I took a cruise to get away from my bosses. On every land vacation, they would call with questions regarding my account. My first cruise was a 4 day on Royal Caribbean's Nordic Prince and it was heaven. No calls from work and I was hooked!

Aaah yes...the Love Boat. Still know the words to the theme song.😄

Definitely sparked my cruise addiction which later became a full blown flame ignited by my boss at the time. He told stories about he and his fraternity brothers taking annual cruises for their reunions. He suggested I take one too. Isaid I couldn't afford it but he said I could and sent me to his travel agent. My first cruise was booked for me and my bestfriend and we had the time of our lives in the Caribbean.

Two years later, after my dad passed, I took my mom on her first cruise to help with the grieving process and because she had never been on a real vacation. It to this day remains the best vacation of my life. Mom had so much joy from the experience she booked another cruise to take my sister as well.

Due to circumstances I haven't cruised in 10 years. But I wanted to celebrate my 50th by doing something special so I booked on Allure for January 2016 for myself and the love of my life. He has never cruised or had a real vacation and he's beyond excited. I also have us booked for another in April 2017. A wonderful way to travel.

About 4 years ago, I was fortunate enough to win an award through work. It was sort of a cash prize, but it required that the winner use the money only for a vacation. Since it was "my" prize, my wife let me convince her to try a cruise. She always assumed she'd be bored getting stuck on a ship. We did a 10 day NCL cruise of the Eastern Med. Wonderful cruise. Loved not having contact with work. Loved seeing new places. All the usual stuff.

But I truly caught the but (as did my wife, I think) about 30 minutes after getting on the ship. We got on, then promptly ordered a drink in the first bar we came to. Then we wandered aft and found the outdoor seating area (The Great Outdoors). Managed to find a table. Grabbed some food. Sat down and just had this wonderful feeling of relaxation and contentment flow over me. The sea was calling. The food was great. The music lively and our fellow passengers were enthusiastic, energetic, friendly and all in a great mood. That almost instantaneous feeling of being put into a relaxed frame of mind! More addictive than any drug. While I don't have that many cruises under my belt (yet) I am a vocal advocate to everyone for the merits of cruising.

This ship, I was 11 and took a voyage to PR and the St. Thomas with my folks. It was 1967 and she was a petite but grand lady. If memory serves she carried less than 300 passengers. I spent a great deal of my time on the top deck watching the sea go by with the wind in my face. She was just launched less than a year earlier. I was hooked for life!