Your first cruise ship

[Cindy]

Ours was Sea Princess to Alaska in June of 2000. We went northbound from Vancouver to Seward with stops in Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway, and then did a land tour. I spent the whole week with my mouth hanging open in astonishment and I almost cried when I had to get off the ship!:eek:

Edited August 30, 2013 by Cindy

[Duquesmom]

My first cruise was Sept, 1983 NCL Starward with my sister. We left from Miami (I think)

to Stirrup Cay, Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman & Cozumel. We cruised every couple of years together. Looking forward to my next with Mom.

[Hobcat]

1st cruise was Nov. 2002 Star Princess, Mexican Riviera. Not sure I was actually hooked at that point but the 2nd cruise did it.

May 2006 Westerdam, Alaska.

Four cruises later I am at the point where I almost need to be dragged off the ship kicking & screaming at the end of the cruise. Noooo, it can't be over yet!!

Can't wait for DH to retire so we can cruise more & longer.

[RJ2002]

My first cruise was the Carnival Mardi Gras, WAY back in 1976!

[rwams]

First ship Sapphire Princess in January 2006, first HAL Ryndam September 2006.

[2ndCitySue]

My first cruise was in 2000. We had all survived the hype of Y2K so it was time to be adventurous.it was a Baltic Sea Cruise on the Marco Polo. She was a small proud ship with a hospitable Filipino crew. On that first cruise we took an excursion, flying from St. Petersburg to Moscow for a day chock full with the Kremlin, Red Square and other iconic destinations. It was love at first sight and I sailed on her as often as possible. From the moment I embarked on those cruises, the staff remembered me by name and I knew I was home.

 

Sadly the Marco Polo was shut down due to age about 2007. But I shall never forget her.

[kenrod]

February 1991 my first cruise was on the Crown Princess. Not the Crown that is sailing now, but an older one.

 

This ship has gone through several name changes as it changed cruise lines. I have no idea if this ship is still sailing or not.

 

Anyhow, our 7 day itinerary was Fort Lauderdale, San Juan, St. Thomas and Nassau, then back to Fort Lauderdale.

[Copper10-8]

February 1991 my first cruise was on the Crown Princess. Not the Crown that is sailing now, but an older one.

 

This ship has gone through several name changes as it changed cruise lines. I have no idea if this ship is still sailing or not.

 

Anyhow, our 7 day itinerary was Fort Lauderdale, San Juan, St. Thomas and Nassau, then back to Fort Lauderdale.

 

Yes, she's still around, sailing as Pacific Jewel for P&O Australia out of Sydney, NSW. After leaving Princess in 2002, she spent time as A'Rosa Blu, AIDAblu and Ocean Village Two. She joined P&O Australia in 2009

[barbarah33]

Royal Caribbean's Song of America back in 1990. We went to the Western Caribbean because I had it in my head that I wanted to go to Jamaica. Our cabin was the lowest category outside on the ship and it was decorated in all orange! (That was a lot of color in a VERY small space.) :eek:

 

It was such a small cabin that during the day one of the two lower beds; which could not be converted to a queen, folded up into the wall so you could sit at the desk/vanity. We had a great time and instantly were addicted to cruising. Now it's been over 40 cruises, 6 lines, 5 continents and counting....Clearly my first cruise was great!!

[Copper10-8]

Royal Caribbean's Song of America back in 1990. We went to the Western Caribbean because I had it in my head that I wanted to go to Jamaica. Our cabin was the lowest category outside on the ship and it was decorated in all orange! (That was a lot of color in a VERY small space.) :eek:

 

It was such a small cabin that during the day one of the two lower beds; which could not be converted to a queen, folded up into the wall so you could sit at the desk/vanity. We had a great time and instantly were addicted to cruising. Now it's been over 40 cruises, 6 lines, 5 continents and counting....Clearly my first cruise was great!!

 

Still sailing as Louis Olympia for Cyprus-based Louis Cruises. After leaving RCCL in 1999, she had stints as Sunbird for Sun Cruises and Thomson Destiny for Thomson Cruises

[Copper10-8]

My first cruise was the Carnival Mardi Gras, WAY back in 1976!

 

Born in 1961 as Empress of Canada for the Canadian Pacific Steamship Company for their Liverpool-Montreal run. Ted Arison's first ship for his then brand spankin' new company, Carnival Cruise Lines in 1973. Thirty years later and 42 years after she was built, she was scrapped at Alang, India in December 2003

Edited September 6, 2013 by Copper10-8

[Copper10-8]

Sitmar's Fairwind (Ft Lauderdale - San Juan - St Thomas - Santo Domingo - Port Au Prince - Ft. Lauderdale) in 1974.

 

 

Built in 1957 as Sylvania for Cunard Line. She became Fairwind for Italian Societa Italiana Trasporti Marittimi or Sitmar Cruises in 1968 and operated for them for twenty years until Sitmar was sold to P&O and she became Dawn Princess for Princess Cruises. She was scrapped at Alang, India in January 2004

 

[Copper10-8]

1998 Norwegian Wind, Alaska Inside, and yes brother Marine, we were hooked :)

 

 

Now, since 2007, sailing as Superstar Aquarius for part-NCL owners Star Cruises out of Hong Kong, PRC. She was built in 1993 as Windward for NCL and lengthened in 1998 when she became Norwegian Dream

 

[Copper10-8]

My first cruise was Sept, 1983 NCL Starward with my sister. We left from Miami (I think)

to Stirrup Cay, Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman & Cozumel. We cruised every couple of years together. Looking forward to my next with Mom.

 

Now sailing as Orient Queen for Cyprus-base Louis Cruises. Built in 1968 as Starward for NCL. She also sailed as Bolero for Greek-owned Festival Cruises and, as Orient Queen, for Beirut, Lebanon based Abou Merhi Lines

 

[Copper10-8]

My first cruise was in 2000. We had all survived the hype of Y2K so it was time to be adventurous.it was a Baltic Sea Cruise on the Marco Polo. She was a small proud ship with a hospitable Filipino crew. On that first cruise we took an excursion, flying from St. Petersburg to Moscow for a day chock full with the Kremlin, Red Square and other iconic destinations. It was love at first sight and I sailed on her as often as possible. From the moment I embarked on those cruises, the staff remembered me by name and I knew I was home.

 

Sadly the Marco Polo was shut down due to age about 2007. But I shall never forget her.

 

Now, since 2010, sailing for UK-based Cruise & Maritime Voyages, still as Marco Polo. Built in then East Germany as Aleksandr Pushkin for Soviet Baltic State Sea Steamship Company/Baltiiskoe Gosudartsvennoe Morskoe Paroqodstvo aka Baltic Shipping Company of then Leningrad, now Saint Petersburg. Some say she wound up with another Soviet Line, Far Eastern Shipping Company. In 1991 she was sold to Orient Cruise Lines. In 2002 Orient Lines was taken over by NCL. In 2007, she wound up with German tour operator Transocean Tours

[Troyer5]

My first cruise was the Constitution around the Hawaiin islands in 1993,in 1995 I took a 3 night cruise on the Viking Serenade. I have done about 17 cruises on various lines.

[Copper10-8]

My first cruise was the Constitution around the Hawaiin islands in 1993,in 1995 I took a 3 night cruise on the Viking Serenade. I have done about 17 cruises on various lines.

 

ss Constitution was built in 1951 in Quincy, Mass by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation/Fore River Shipyard for American Export Lines. In 1974, she and her sister Independence were purchased by Atlantic Far East Line, however Constitution under her new name Oceanic Constitution, was laid up for five plus years in Hong Kong.

In 1980, both sisters went to American Hawaii Cruises to operate 7-day Hawaiian cruises out of Honolulu, Hi. American Hawaii Cruises took Constitution out of service in 1996. She was sold for scrap however, in 1997 while under tow by a Chinese tug and 700 miles north of her old operating area of Hawaii, she started to take on water and a decision was made to cut her lines. Constitution sank on 17 November 1997

 

 

[2ndCitySue]

How exciting to see your picture of my dear Marco Polo. The last cruise I took on her was Antarctica in 2007, her last season there. She was well qualified for that route with her reinforced hull and incredibly well trained staff. We took Zodiacs to make landings on the continent. Because of that magical trip, I can proudly say that I have set foot on all seven continents.

[Caroniaguy]

My first cruise was in April 2000 on board the Cunard Caronia. It had sailed as the Vistafjord for many years and was renamed about 6 months before I sailed on her. It was a 14 day cruise, "The Grand Gulf of Mexico". For whatever the reasons, the ship was only half full and there was more staff than passengers, so we were treated royally. We were in cabin #264 Main Deck. There were 3 of us, my mother, brother and me sharing the cabin. Surprisingly we had ample room. The trip was memorable for a variety of reasons, the food, the service, the many laughs and the stories we still tell. My favorite memory is sitting in a deck chair, watching the world go by, trying to read a book but always dozing off or having breakfast on the Lido Deck while watching the dolphins race alongside the ship as we travelled to our port of call or having dinner in the Tivoli Restaurant onboard and having food so good that it nearly made us cry ( the lobster stuffed ravioli with GIANT prawns comes to mind).

She was a beautiful ship, yes she was getting on in years but was very well maintained and had a clubby, intimate feel that is somehow lost on today's mega-ships. How I'd love to take that trip over again, it holds a very dear place in my heart. Yes, I was hooked and have cruised every chance I get. What a delight!

[scdreamer]

My very first cruise was in 1959 aboard the SS Chusan - a British ship built in 1950 for the P & O line. I was 11 years old, and our American family cruised from Tokyo to Hong King and the Philippines.

 

We had two small porthole cabins with bunks - my mother, sister and I shared one, and my father and younger brother shared the other - with an older gentleman, "Mr. Culpepper." He was a stranger when we boarded, but we ended up becoming fast friends and stayed in touch with him via mail until his death many years later.

 

Children were cared for in the "nursery," I guess the early equivalent of today's Kids Club. We were expected to be seen and not heard, and even dined in a special nursery dining room at a separate time as the adults on board. My sister and I - along with a few new shipboard friends - would escape the nursery and often roamed the ship at will, even down to the crew's deck, as I recall. Plenty of mischief.

 

Meals were very British - lots of unfamiliar foods, and I remember my sister and I ordering the weirdest stuff for our younger brother, who was only about six years old. Poor kid - he ended up with blow-fish, kidney pie, and other culinary oddities we were curious to see but not actually taste ourselves.

 

There were deck games that everyone took part in - I remember some sort of wooden frogs strung on a line that had to be nudged along a race course to a finish line. There were also talent contests - I sang "Molly Malone" in one of them and won a small prize. Hard to believe, as I am not known for my singing voice!

 

Cruising is quite different these days!

[nedward]

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

 

Ours was Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's m/s Viking Serenade, a converted car ferry, back in NOV 1991, a 3-day L.A. - Catalina Island - Esenada, Mexico - L.A. cruise. Never forget our first impressions - we were hooked from that day on!

 

 

Viking Serenade (still sailing today as Island Escape)

 

1998 HAL Veendam, Eastern Caribbean. Didn't want to go, REALLY didn't want to go, did go and was totally hooked!

Jane

[Copper10-8]

My first cruise was in April 2000 on board the Cunard Caronia. It had sailed as the Vistafjord for many years and was renamed about 6 months before I sailed on her. It was a 14 day cruise, "The Grand Gulf of Mexico". For whatever the reasons, the ship was only half full and there was more staff than passengers, so we were treated royally. We were in cabin #264 Main Deck. There were 3 of us, my mother, brother and me sharing the cabin. Surprisingly we had ample room. The trip was memorable for a variety of reasons, the food, the service, the many laughs and the stories we still tell. My favorite memory is sitting in a deck chair, watching the world go by, trying to read a book but always dozing off or having breakfast on the Lido Deck while watching the dolphins race alongside the ship as we travelled to our port of call or having dinner in the Tivoli Restaurant onboard and having food so good that it nearly made us cry ( the lobster stuffed ravioli with GIANT prawns comes to mind).

She was a beautiful ship, yes she was getting on in years but was very well maintained and had a clubby, intimate feel that is somehow lost on today's mega-ships. How I'd love to take that trip over again, it holds a very dear place in my heart. Yes, I was hooked and have cruised every chance I get. What a delight!

 

Still sailing as Saga Ruby. Built in 1973 as Vistafjord by Swan Hunter, Wallsend, Tyne and Wear on the River Tyne, England for Den Norske Amerikalinje or Norwegian American Line. She went to Cunard Line in 1983 keeping her original name. In 1999, however, Cunard decided to rename her RMS Caronia. In 2004, she was sold to Saga Cruises and became Saga Ruby for them. Saga Ruby will sail her farewell cruise on 13 December 2013 and will be taken out of service by Saga in 2014

 

[Copper10-8]

My very first cruise was in 1959 aboard the SS Chusan - a British ship built in 1950 for the P & O line. I was 11 years old, and our American family cruised from Tokyo to Hong King and the Philippines.

 

We had two small porthole cabins with bunks - my mother, sister and I shared one, and my father and younger brother shared the other - with an older gentleman, "Mr. Culpepper." He was a stranger when we boarded, but we ended up becoming fast friends and stayed in touch with him via mail until his death many years later.

 

Children were cared for in the "nursery," I guess the early equivalent of today's Kids Club. We were expected to be seen and not heard, and even dined in a special nursery dining room at a separate time as the adults on board. My sister and I - along with a few new shipboard friends - would escape the nursery and often roamed the ship at will, even down to the crew's deck, as I recall. Plenty of mischief.

 

Meals were very British - lots of unfamiliar foods, and I remember my sister and I ordering the weirdest stuff for our younger brother, who was only about six years old. Poor kid - he ended up with blow-fish, kidney pie, and other culinary oddities we were curious to see but not actually taste ourselves.

 

There were deck games that everyone took part in - I remember some sort of wooden frogs strung on a line that had to be nudged along a race course to a finish line. There were also talent contests - I sang "Molly Malone" in one of them and won a small prize. Hard to believe, as I am not known for my singing voice!

 

Cruising is quite different these days!

 

Built in 1950 by Vickers-Armstrong in Barrow-in-Furness, England for the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company or P&O. She was primarily used on the service from London and Southampton to Asia and in the Far East itself. P&O retired her in 1973 and her last voyage took her to Kaohsiung on Taiwan where she was scrapped

 

 

[pearliemae]

Thank you very much for posting a picture of my all time favorite ship, many fond memories from her when she was the Vistafjord.

 

Of all the ships we have cruised on since the early 70's, she is the only one we have a picture of framed on display in our home.

 

To this day, we still miss her.

[Copper10-8]

Thank you very much for posting a picture of my all time favorite ship, many fond memories from her when she was the Vistafjord.

 

Of all the ships we have cruised on since the early 70's, she is the only one we have a picture of framed on display in our home.

 

To this day, we still miss her.

 

I did a Panama Canal (FLL-LA) on her sister Sagafjord, back in 1993. Classic ship and classic cruising! If I remember right, out of 14 days, 9 or 10 were formal:)