Your first cruise ship

[Copper10-8]

What was your first cruise ship? What cruise line, the year and the itinerary? (if you remember;) ) Did it get you hooked?

 

Westerdam - E. Caribbean at the end of October (1994). Never crossed my mind when mum and I booked that it was hurricane season. First three days we hit rough weather and mum stayed in the cabin with cans of Ginger Ale and crackers. On day four when she emerged from the confines of four walls, I found her lounging on the Lower Promendade deck. It was then that she told me that she was so sick she couldn't care if the ship sank and will never get on a ship again. I on the other hand became addicted to cruises. Two years later she asked me if I wanted to go to Alaska, to which I replied "I thought you told me you'd never get on a ship again." Well, we went to Alaska, she wore sea bands this time, and at the end I had to drag her off the ship as she didn't want to get off. Before we even made it to Vancouver airport she said "lets go to the Mediterranean next year." She is now hooked to HAL cruises:)

 

 

Still sailing as Thomson Dream for UK-based Thomson Cruises

[Copper10-8]

Our first cruise was back in February of 2002 on the Veendam! We cruised the Eastern Caribbean and fell in love immediately (with cruising) :D. We had in outside cabin on deck 4, I believe. Our TA suggested a Verandah on the next cruise on the Oosterdam... and we fell in love again (with verandahs) :D.

 

The next cruise was longer in duration (15 days)... and we fell in love AGAIN (this time with longer durations).

 

Now we have to take cruises of at least 10 days and love to be able to have a verandah (at least ).... Oh, and we have fallen in love with each other as well (celebrated 42 years on 17 October).

 

Cheers to ALL... Happy Cruising!!!!

 

Denny (& Karen) ;):p

 

Now has a somewhat different rear end

[Copper10-8]

Our first was the Dawn Princess out of Sydney Australia to the Pacific Islands. Absolutely perfect. The ship was sparkling, the crew happy, the captain a genuine and enthusiastic gentleman and the food was exceptional. We became addicted :)

 

Sadly our 3 experiences since then with the same line have not lived up to that first encounter with each trip being noticeably lower quality than the one prior. Standards have dropped in all areas to the point where it is now more like a cheap boarding house with staff that wish they were elsewhere and not afraid to let you know. There seems to be so much focus on maximising profit and much less on what caused the attraction to so many originally.

 

We are off again soon and ditching Princess for HAL to see if we can regain some of that special experience we encountered on our first cruise.

Whilst it is still a Carnival Corp vessel we have high hopes. :)

 

Still floating around in Oz & NZ

[Copper10-8]

first cruise ever in March 2012 on Maasdam :)

 

On her way for a TA to the Med, as we speak; then the holidays and January in the Carib and a nice trip to Rio de Janeiro and Back in February

[Copper10-8]

I'll list my first several:

 

Carnival Fantasy (12/93)

Regent Sun (9/94)

Crystal Symphony (4/96)

Caribbean Prince (Blount Small Ship Adventures, 7/96)

SS Rotterdam (7/97, Final Alaska season)

 

Roy

 

Now, the oldest vessel in the Carnival fleet, currently sailing year round, five and seasonal seven-night cruises out of Charleston, SC. The five-night cruises visit Nassau and Freeport in the Bahamas, and the 7-night cruises visit Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay, and Nassau

[Copper10-8]

I was only 10 when I emigrated from Liverpool to Montreal in 1957 on the SS Empress of France. The scheduled 4 day crossing took 7 days. I was one of the only people in the dining room. Most of the passengers and crew were extremely seasick.

 

Launched as the Duchess of Bedford in 1928 for Canadian Pacific Steamships, one of the several "sturdy Canadian Pacific liners which were known as "Drunken Duchesses" for their lively performance in heavy seas She was renamed Empress of France after World War II, taken out of service in 1960 and broken up at Newport, Wales in late December of the same year.

 

 

[Stpatsirish]

I came to Canada with my parents in 1961 on the Ryndam. I have a few memories of that voyage but that may just be from looking at the photos my parents took. One of the activities they have a picture of is standing with their hands tied behind their backs while trying to bite into a piece of cake dangling from strings above their heads!

[Copper10-8]

Mine was the Regent Rainbow in June of 1993 of the Regency cruise line , long since gone . I haven,t stopped since

 

Built in 1958 for Grace Lines as Santa Rosa, she served as Pacific Sun and Diamond Island for Greek interests, Regent Rainbow for Regency Cruises, then Emerald for Cyprus-based Louis Cruises. They chartered her to UK-based Thomson Cruises as The Emerald for which she sailed until November 2008. She has been laid up in Greece ever since, until sold for scrap. She arrived at Alang, India in July of this year, was beached, and is currently being broken up

 

[Alcarondas]

My first cruise had some interesting subsequent history.

 

It was the winter holidays of 1988; a 3-day trip from Port Canaveral to the Bahamas as part of a Disney vacation back before The Mouse had his own cruise line, and was partnered with Premier Cruises. My family (including parents and brother) managed to score one of the larger cabins on board, but we were wedged in pretty tight just the same. This was our last "family" vacation, as I was graduating college and my brother was graduating high school that coming spring.

 

The ship was the "Royale" - formerly the "Federico C" of Costa, and the trip we were on was the last cruise it made for Premier before being sold. As such, as the trip wound down the bar staff were giving away bottles of liquor (apparently the sale of the ship didn't include its contents), and roving gangs of staff and passengers (including my brother) were gleefully tearing down any signage and grabbing up any objects with the Royale name or logo on them as souveniers.

 

I can't really say that I was bitten by the "Cruise Bug" at this point - I was sort of pre-bitten, having been fascinated by ocean liners and seafaring from a very young age. Had it not been for 10+ years of constant pestering, I doubt if my folks would ever have even considered a cruise vacation in the first place.

 

I remember thinking that the ship must have been lovely at one time; it had beautiful, classic lines with lots of wood and brass fittings. Of course, Premier's livery was an all-over, eyeball-scorching red (i.e., "the Big Red Boat") which certainly didn't help, but inner beauty is hard to hide.

 

So the trip ended, all was well, and off I went into post-graduate poverty. :D I always promised myself that I'd do a cruise on my own at some point (parents can be such a drag, man!), but it was a few years before I was established enough to give it a try.

 

Fast-forward to 1999, when I stumbled on to a transatlantic itinerary on some Dutch cruise line (Holland America). I had been looking at Cunard, but the (then) QE2 was way out of my modest budget. However, the HAL offering (on the Maasdam V) was a sudden substitution; an unplanned repositioning cruise that they were offering dirt-cheap. I jumped at it, and long story short, had a great time and got a permanent affliction of the previously-incubating Cruise Bug.

 

I wasted no time booking another HAL cruise, this time a Canada/New England in the fall of 2000. Here's where things get interesting again...

 

While visiting Halifax, NS on that trip, I noticed a sad, tired-looking old liner shunted off into a corner of the port, lashed unceremoniously to several smaller ships and listing uneasily. It was the old Royale/Federico, now painted a peeling white, and re-renamed Sea Breeze. Earlier in 2000, its owner had been forced into bankruptcy by creditors, and the ship was seized by Canadian authorities in the middle of a cruise - the passengers and their luggage summarily ejected and left to find their own way home.

 

The sad ending gets sadder - the ship was eventually sold, and the new owner hired a skeleton crew to bring the ship from Halifax to Charleston (or Savannah, something like that), allegedly for "refurbishment". Along the way, it mysteriously sank... just outside of US territorial waters. Hm... The crew were all safely evacuated by the Coast Guard, who thought it strange that they never attempted to save the ship... Hmmm...

 

So there you have it. My first cruise ship is now at the bottom of the Atlantic. Let's hope that the subsequent ones all stay on the right side of the water! :eek:

[Copper10-8]

February, 1994-Niew Amsterdam-Western Caribbean.

 

 

Still sailing as Thomson Spirit for UK-based Thomson Cruises, sailing cruises to northern Europe from Harwich and Newcastle (North Shields), England this past summer. Currently sailing Western Mediterranean voyages until she will be laid up at Limassol, Cyprus for the winter. She will then restart sailing in March 2013

Edited October 22, 2012 by Copper10-8

[HMH G]

Our first cruise was Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas in 2011. Can't wait to sail again! :)

[Copper10-8]

I remember the Seawind Crown. Nice little ship. We boarded her in Aruba many years ago and spent 7 wonderful days down around Grenada and along the South American coast. She's long gone now.

 

Launched in 1960 as TS Infante Dom Henrique for Portugal-based Companhia Colonial De Navegacao, she then sailed as Greek-owned Vasco da Gama on charter to German tour operator Neckermann Seereisen. She then sailed as SeaWind Crown for SeaWind Cruise Lines, which eventually turned into Premier Cruise Lines who chartered her to Spanish operator Pullmantur Cruises until Premier went belly up in 2000. After she was laid up in Barcelona, Spain for three years, she was sold for scrap, made it to Alang, India, where she was broken up in 2004

 

[Copper10-8]

Early 1980's. The Carnival Carnivale. St. Thomas, San Juan, Samana, DR. That sure was an old tub when compared to the ships of today.

 

One dining room, fixed seating, small cabins with even smaller bathrooms.

 

Born in 1955 as the Empress of Britain for Canadian Pacific Steamships, she eventually became Queen Anna Maria for the Greek Line, ss Carnivale, one of the first ships for the then new Carnival Cruise Line (1976), Fiesta Marina, Olympic and Topaz. She was laid up, sold for scrap in 2008, sailed to Alang, India, and broken up that same year

 

[Copper10-8]

Our first was Statendam to Alaska in 1999. and we were hooked! :D We've been so happy w/ HAL that we haven't tried any others yet. I wouldn't say never, but why change? I've seen Statendam 3 times since 1999 on my other Alaska cruises and always smile when I see her. Last Summer (2011) we passed her coming into Glacier Bay and I got a beautiful pic & video of her. She will always be special as our "first cruise ship".

 

Planning on 2013, next year, just don't know which ship or itinerary just yet. HAVE to do something special for my 50th, right?? ;) Any excuse to cruise :)

 

Currently on the way back to San Diego doing roundtrip FLL-SD voyages through the Canal. In November, she will begin a 42-day voyage to Hawaii and the South Pacific (Tahiti)

[The Sunset Glow]

My first cruise was on RCI's Rhapsody of the Seas in February 2000 for a 7 night Mexican Riveria cruise. My now husband proposed to me on that ship so we are forever enamored with her. We were also hooked on cruising after that. A year and a half later we were married and heading off on our honeymoon - back-to-back cruises to Hawaii and the Panama canal on Rhapsody of the seas for another 25 glorious nights. Can't wait to sail on her again someday. She's a beauty.

[Bill Millam]

I got hooked on cruising in 1971 on the Uganda. Mediterranean cruise.

[Copper10-8]

Our first cruise was in 1991 aboard the Atlantic of the Premier Cruise Line (the Big Red Boat). Looking back on that cruise (a 3-dayer) and the next cruise two years later (4-dayer, also on the Atlantic), the Premier experience was terrific - great food and entertainment. I miss that line but am very happy and fortunate to have been able to sail on HAL, Princess, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, and MSC since then. I can honestly say that my love for cruising results from the wonderful experience on the Atlantic -- I was hooked from the first cruise and my enthusiasm for cruising only increases with time.

 

Built in 1982 as Atlantic for Italian Home Lines (1982-1988), she became StarShip Atlantic for Premier Cruise Lines (1988-1997), sailing the same 3-and 4 day cruise itinerary between Cape Canaveral, Florida to Bahamas for nine years, as Walt Disney official ship. She then sailed as MSC Melody for Italian Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC Cruises), until sold to new South Korean company Lotus Mine this year. She is due to start operating voyages for them in early 2013 in cooperation with Chinese Travel company CITS

Edited October 22, 2012 by Copper10-8

[peaches from georgia]

RCI's SONG OF AMERICA in the mid '80s to Bermuda. Loved that ship and it will always be special since it was our first cruise.

[Copper10-8]

This is the Timex thread, it just keeps on ticking.

 

My first cruise was aboard the sternwheel steam ship Mississippi Queen out of New Orleans in 1979! It finally wore out and it is in mothballs somewhere.

 

The Mississippi Queen was the second largest paddle wheel driven river steamboat ever built. The ship was the largest such steamboat when she was built in 1976 by the Delta Queen Steamboat Company at Jeffboat, Indiana and was a seven-deck recreation of a classic Mississippi riverboat. She was later owned by the Majestic America Line. The Mississippi Queen had 206 state rooms for a capacity of 412 guests and a crew of 157. When in service, the Mississippi Queen was a genuine stern paddle-wheeler with a wheel that measured 22 feet in diameter by 36 feet wide, weighing 70 tons. The steamboat also featured a 44 whistle steam calliope, which was the largest on the Mississippi River system.

After Hurricane Katrina struck on August 29, 2005, Ambassador Inc. bought the three Queen steamers (Delta Queen, Mississippi Queen, and American Queen) for about $47 million from the now-defunct Delta Queen Steamboat Company. But in late 2008, Ambassador put the trio up for sale and announced the end of paddle-wheeler cruises. The Mississippi Queen was laid up in New Orleans at Perry Street Wharf after being gutted, supposedly for renovation. Instead, however, the steamboat was sold for scrap in May 2009. She was towed for the last time to Morgan City, LA on May 11, 2011 where she was cut down.

Edited October 22, 2012 by Copper10-8

[Copper10-8]

1972 Emerald of the Seas - Eastern Steamship line - 4 days 3 nights out of Miami - Nassau Freeport wanted to see if we would like cruising - we got the bug and are now looking forward to our longest sail - 88 days on the Rotterdam in Jan of 2013.

 

Her keel was laid as General R. M. Blatchford but she was later renamed General W. P. Richardson and launched on August 6th 1944 as a troopship. She would sail between the USA and Europe carrying troops and returning with homebound troops and casualties. After the war and a period of lay-up, she was chartered by American Export Lines Inc. for use as passenger liner, refitted at Ingalls shipyard, Pascagoula, Mississippi at a cost of $5 million, and renamed LaGuardia with accommodations for157 first class and 452 tourist class passengers. After Korean War service and another period of lay-up, she was sold to the Hawaiian Steam Ship Company in 1955 and received another refit for California - Hawaii service, carrying 650 first class passengers, and was renamed Leilani. In July 1960, she was bought by American President Lines and after a refit for a luxury liner service, renamed President Roosevelt. In 1970, she was purchased by Greek-owned Chandris (later Celebrity Cruises), refitted at Perama (Piraeus) and renamed Atlantis.

 

In October 1972, she was sold to Eastern Steamship Lines and renamed Emerald Seas, cruising from Miami, Fl to Nassau, Freeport and Little Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas, later managed by Admiral Cruise Line. Her last cruise as the ss Emerald Seas left Port Everglades on February 20, 1992. She then went to Greek-owned Festival Cruises as Sapphire Seas until 1994, as Lisbon-based hotel ship Ocean Explorer 1 (1998) and operated one world cruise for the World Cruise Company in March 2000. In July 2001 she was used as floating accommodation for the G8 summit in Genoa, Italy, then laid up again. In July 2004, she was sold for scrap, towed to Alang, India, beached in December and broken up

[Copper10-8]

P&O's Oriana, 1969, San Francisco to Sydney. Best memories are of the sailways with streamers and confetti and the Bon Voyage parties where

everyone could come aboard. As a start to that trip, a couple that was our best friends missed the last going ashore and were still aboard as left the dock.

I still remember the Captain's look of displeasure (to say the least) when it was arranged for them to leave on the pilot boat. It was

also my only look at first class since we were in cabin class. We called ourselves "back of the boat people." It was certainly a different time.

 

ts Oriana (1960-2005) Built in 1960 by Vickers-Armstrongs, Barrow, England as ts (turbine steam ship) and ocean liner Oriana for British P&O Orient Line (originally Orient Steam Navigation Company) for their England to Australia service. She was delivered on 15 November 1960 to her new owners and, at 27.5 knots, she cut the travel time to Australia to three weeks. She departed Southampton on 3 December 1960 on her maiden voyage which would take her to Sydney, Australia, Auckland, New Zealand, across the Pacific to the U.S. West Coast, and via the Panama Canal and Atlantic back to Southampton. She would make additional journeys to Sydney and was also used on several cruises.

 

In 1965 Orient Line was fully absorbed into the parent P&O group (Prior to this, P&O had a controlling interest in the Orient Line since 1919). From 1973, Oriana was converted to operate as a full-time cruise ship for P&O Cruises and from 1981 until her retirement with P&O in March 1986, was home ported in Sydney. After a layup of two months, Oriana was sold to the Japanese Daiwa House Group and in 1987 moved to Osaka, Japan to become a floating hotel as well as a tourist center.

 

On 17 July 1995, she was purchased by Chinese interests and towed to Qinhuangdao, China to became a hotel ship. In November 1998, she was sold again, this time to the Shanghai Oriana Entertainment Corporation and towed to Shanghai for use as floating hotel, museum and exhibition ship. On 28 September 2000, she was sold for the third time in five years, this time at public auction, to the Shanghai-based Hangzhou Jiebaie Corporation. They would spent $375,000 to refit her as a tourist attraction in Shanghai.

 

On 17 June 2004, she was caught by a severe gale that caused her to take on water and resulted in a severe list. Subsequent repairs over another year failed to correct the list and in July 2005 she was sold for scrap and broken up at the Zhangjiagang shipyard, Jiangsu Province, China later that year.

 

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Edited October 22, 2012 by Copper10-8

[traveler111]

My first cruise was in 1982 on the Volendam to Bermuda. The last one was a TA on the Emerald Princess 9/2012. :)

[Copper10-8]

Ours was on the Carnival Tropicale back in 1979. We thought that ship was sooooooo big! Many years later we saw it in port and it looked like a tug boat next to the others! We did the Mexican Rivera. We thought that was the best because they always gave it away on Wheel of Fortune! The best part of the cruise was we met some friends that we are still friends with today. Did we catch the bug? Well 41 cruises later you might say we did

 

ms Tropicale (1981-present) Built in 1981 as Tropicale by Aalborg Værft A/S, Aalborg, Denmark for Carnival Cruise Line. She was delivered on 4 December 1981 as the first of Carnival’s “new builds”, as all Carnival ships before her were older ships, either purchased or chartered from other companies. Carnival commissioned naval (interior) architect Joe Farcus to handle the design and layout of the ship's passenger accomodation and the first true "Fun Ship" was born.

 

 

Tropicale became the prototype of all future Carnival ships and was also the first Carnival ship to feature their trademarks, a distinctive tall and winged “whale-tail” funnel painted red, white and blue, as well as a water slide into the midships pool. After a transatlantic crossing, Tropical was christened in Miami, Fl by Madeleine Arison, her godmother and wife of Carnival Corporation president and CEO Micky Arison. In January 1982, she departed Miami on her maiden voyage into the Caribbean. 17 September 1982 found her on the west coast in Los Angeles (San Pedro) from where she sailed a maiden cruise under charter to Westours, an Alaska-based tour operator. In 1983 she operated her first Alaska season on seven-day cruises from Vancouver, BC.

 

As the company expanded and acquired larger ships, Carnival decided that Tropicale would be their 'test ship' for new or revised cruise itineraries. As a result, in 1990 she was the first Carnival ship to be based in San Juan, Puerto Rico and in 1994, the first Carnival ship to sail from New Orleans, La. In September 1996, Carnival signed an agreement with the South Korea-based Hyundai Chaebol conglomerate in order to start to offer cruises in Asia. In February 1997, this initiative was christened Carnival Cruises Asia, and it was announced that Tropicale would be assigned to that joint venture. However, in August 1997, that enterprise was dissolved due to disagreements between the two parents over developments in the Asian market. Instead, a new market was opened from Tampa, Fl from where Tropicale began offering four-day cruises to Key West, Fl and Cozumel, Mexico and five-day cruises to Grand Cayman and Cozumel in April 1998.

 

On 27 September 2000, after the demise of Cape Canaveral Cruises, Carnival announced that Tropicale would begin operating two and three-day cruises from Cape Canaveral, Fl as well as a series of Panama Canal cruises from Port Everglades (Ft. Lauderdale) at the conclusion of her 2001 Tampa summer season. On 7 December 2000 however, Carnival Corporation announced the cancelation of the entire Cape Canaveral-based cruise program and the internal transfer of Tropicale to Italy-based Costa Crocieri/Costa Cruises in 2001 instead.

 

After her last cruise for Carnival on 10 February 2001, Tropicale crossed the Atlantic and entered the Mediterranean on her way to the Cantieri Temistocle Mariotti S.p.A. shipyard at Genoa, Italy for an extensive 30 million Euro refit (interior/exterior and technical) by Costa's own techical department. Over the course of the first half of 2001, Tropicale was customized there for a European client base including new fittings, furniture, carpets and toilets to all of her cabins. Her public rooms were renovated and a new alternative restaurant, the Bahia Club, and an internet/coffee lounge were added. On the technical side, her propulsion system (main motors, shaft lines, propellers, etc.) were overhauled and an additional aft thruster and new cylindrical stack installed.

 

 

On 23 June 2001, Costa Tropicale (her new name) was once again christened by Madeleine Arison. The complexity of the refit delayed her first commercial cruise by two weeks until 14 July 2001. Costa Tropicale sailed every Saturday from Venice to the Aegean Sea and the Greek isles, calling at Bari, Italy, Dubrovnik, Croatia, Kusadasi, Turkey and Katakolon, Santorini and Mykonos, Greece. In the winter of 2002, Costa Tropicale sailed from Brazil on cruises designed for the South American market and in the summer of 2003 she operated on year round 7-day Costa Riviera cruises from Savona, Italy. She served with the company until 2005, when replacement by larger, more modern cruise ships prompted yet another internal transfer to P&O Cruises Australia.

 

 

Before departing for down under, she was given another refit at Fincantieri's yard in Palermo, Sicily to the tune of $20 million in order to make her suitable for the Australian cruise market. Her new name would be Pacific Star and entered service as Queensland latest cruise liner in December 2005. Her home port was Brisbane and her itinerary included cruises along the tropical Queensland coast to various islands in the South Pacific, New Caledonia and to New Zealand.

 

 

In March 2008, the ship was acquired by Spain-based tour operator (and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd subsidiary) Pullmantur Cruises and after a refit in Singapore, began cruising for them in May 2008under her new name Ocean Dream. Her home port for Pullmantur was Barcelona, Spain from where she offered 7-day itineraries with port calls at La Goulette/Tunis, Tunesia, Valetta, Malta, Messina/Sicily, Civitavecchia, Italy and Villefranche-sur-Mer, France.

 

 

Due to the struggles in the Spanish cruise market as a result of the Euro-zone economic problems, Ocean Dream left the Pullmantur fleet in April 2012 after a charter to Brazil-based Viagens CVC. She was then chartered to the Japan-based Peace Boat organization. She departed Yokohama, Japan on May 8, 2012, sailed to nearly 20 different countries in 102 days before returning to Japan. The ship first sailed in Asia, then to North Africa, Europe, Scandinavia, Central America and South America, sailing through both the Suez and Panama Canals.

Edited October 22, 2012 by Copper10-8

[wander]

1963 Matson Line - s.s. Matsonia. Honolulu to LA. Aug. 11, 1963 Stateroom 315M.

 

After all these years I still have the luggage tag on my Baritone Uke case. I had a WONDERFUL cruise home after spending almost 2 months living 2 blocks off of the ocean in Waikiki and spending mornings at the Univ. of Hawaii taking Ukelele and Pottery for my mainland College art and music electives. (I rough summer I must say.)

[goodroe]

Thanks for the great picture of the Oriana. It certainly brought back :) some wonderful memories. Still have a P&O sticker from that trip.