Memories of your first cruise with Carnival

[MamaTene]

Our first Carnival cruise was on the Holiday...Halls were VERY narrow and they had like a beige canvas print on them. You would see the same prints throughout the ship. You could have "non sailing" friends aboard as guests until about 1hr before sail away.

Husband and son participated in skeet shooting on upper deck.

I remember packing soooo many clothes and racing back to the cabin at least 3 times a day to change into different outfit with matching shoes! LOL!

[yogimax]

Our first cruise was on Victory out of NYC. I was awed by the exterior size of the ship!

[azpilot]

Our first cruise was 8 days before Christmas.. very memorable... I was sick for 2 days of the cruise in bed. Yuck... Room service was pretty good however.

[astropilot]

Our first cruise was 8 days before Christmas.. very memorable... I was sick for 2 days of the cruise in bed. Yuck... Room service was pretty good however.

 

Our first cruise was on the Fantasy. I remember on the approach to Port Canaveral thinking -- Boy that ship is huge. We loved siting on the fantail with our morning coffee...

[lovecarnival]

My first cruise with carnival will be one I never forget. My friend at the time who is now my husband booked a balcony room for us. Two weeks before we cruised we received a call from Carnival asking us if we would like to upgrade to a suite. That was great;)

[family cruisers]

We have great memories from our carnival pride sailing last november 2009. We heard some negatives about the ship such as nudity / paintings, dark interior etc.

 

We found it to be Awesome.

I find it something offends us we don't look... simple.

 

Some areas were dark but it didn't bother us.

 

We found the service of every employee we ran into to be very friendly and always smiling.

Food was exceptional in the MDR for lunch and dinners.

 

Everything seemed to be very well organized and overall it was just a terrific cruise.

 

Loved it so much we'll be back on this fall...

[CorvetteLady]

Our first cruise was in 2003 on the Conquest out of New Orleans. We had the best table mates in the MDR, dinner everynight was a blast. We were hooked and couldn't wait to cruise again. That cruise ranks as one of my favorites.

[jules815]

We have great memories from our carnival pride sailing last november 2009. We heard some negatives about the ship such as nudity / paintings, dark interior etc.

 

We found it to be Awesome.

I find it something offends us we don't look... simple.

 

Some areas were dark but it didn't bother us.

 

We found the service of every employee we ran into to be very friendly and always smiling.

Food was exceptional in the MDR for lunch and dinners.

 

Everything seemed to be very well organized and overall it was just a terrific cruise.

 

Loved it so much we'll be back on this fall...

 

Ditto about our Destiny cruise this year in March.

[F22Smitty]

Our first cruise was in 1992 on the Holiday. It was the biggest ship I had ever seen.

 

It took me 3 days to find the topless deck :D. We packed way to much clothes. On the Lido deck during sea days they had pillow fights while setting on a slippery 8 inch PVC pipe.

 

But the one thing that I still remember vividly to this day was the beer chugging contest. They had that beer sitting out in the sun for an hour before they got 5 guys and 5 girls. They eliminated down to the last guy and last girl, and a girl that weighed less then 120 lbs. won.

 

This is also the cruise where I invented the "Bucket of Beer".:D

[jamers22]

My first was on the Holiday also.

I was awed by everything, size of the ship, the experience, being out at sea with nothing around, just everything.:)

After reading this, can you imagine how I'm going to feel seeing the Inspiration for the first time.

I guess it really doesn't take much to make me happy.:p

[Brian2204]

My first cruise was aboard the Carnival Festivale in November of 1984. Being from the West Coast we were given a room the night before our sail. I had met several people on the plane that were on the same ship as I and we partied like there was no tomorrow at the hotel that night!!

I do remember a long wait at the port to embark. But once on the ship I was awed. I don’t remember how large the ship was but I do remember that the hallways were curved. It seemed to me that no matter how hard I tried to “tie one on” it just never seemed to work. I attributed it to the fact that the ship was rocking back and forth so I just always felt drunk…LOL.

Our inside room was standard but it’s what convinced me to at least book OV’s from that point on because I didn’t like waking up and not knowing if it was day or night. I did enjoy the gentle rocking each night as it would put me to sleep. The bathroom was VERY small. In fact, I remember that the commode and shower shared a space. It was, however, the first time I had used a hand held shower and thought that was the greatest invention since sliced bread.

Our ports were Nassau, Bahamas (Did a city tour with a private taxi cab, bought a bottle of liquor which at that time you could take to your room), Puerto Rico (Spent my birthday here getting smashed at a gay bar) and St. Thomas (Scuba Diving excursion and shopping). This was my first time on the east coast and was floored by the color and temperature of the water, especially in St. Thomas!!

Ship life was great…activities all the time and the bars and clubs stayed open till the wee hours of the morning. The food and service were excellent. It was the first time I had experienced such service (I was only 23 at the time). Anything I wanted and as much of it!! I couldn’t get over the fact that I would leave my room a total disaster area and come back and it would be cleaned and everything put back in its place. Believe me I wanted to take my Room Steward home with me!!! This was at the time the Lines were still doing the midnight buffets. I’m so glad I was able to experience it that one time because the ships I’ve been on since no longer offer that entertainment. I had never seen ice sculptures, carved fruit or bread made into sea creatures. Just WOW!! And the buffet tables were huge to boot. They would let us in an hour before serving just to take pictures which I did.

This trip was what converted me to being a cruise fan!!

[RWolver672]

Our first cruise was on the Destiny when her home port was originally in Miami. We stopped at San Juan, St. Thomas and St. Croix. It was DW, SIL and myself. We stayed in an oceanview on the Riviera Deck.

 

Flew down the day before and stayed at a hotel real near the airport. We were so close that you could see the passengers in the windows of the planes when they landed. That lasted until 11:00 PM. One leg of the nightstand was missing and somebody put the phone book under it to hold it up.

 

The next morning we got to the ship and couldn't believe the size of her. Went inside the terminal and almost croaked at the amount of people waiting to check in. After about an hour, we were onboard and having a DOTD. By the time she made the turn-around and headed out to sea, I knew I was hooked. On the way out, we went by the Paradise and they both blew their horns at each other. DW was hooked by the second day.

 

We said the next time we cruised, it would be in a balcony cabin. Next cruise was a balcony cabin on the Empress deck, and all the rest have been balconies on the Panorama Deck.

[MrPete]

This takes me back to 1988, when I first stepped on the Jubilee.

Destination: Eastern Caribbean

 

I had longed to go on a cruise for years, as I was one of those unlucky kids who had grandparents and parents that cruised every year out of NY harbor. We were left on the dock. I hated to get off those ships after the Bon Voyage parties.

 

So, getting on the Jubilee, we were excited, tired, hungry, and overwhelmed by the first hours of experience on a HUGE cruise ship. We were like two kids in a candy store. After dinner, we skipped the welcome aboard show and eventually “retired early” the first night. It was our honeymoon.

 

I remember getting up the next day, and there were all these buzzwords flying about. Seems there’s something more to this cruise director thing other than Julie McCoy. It turns out, as most cruisers eventually do, that the cruise director, being the HOST, is setting the stage for “something” that happens on a ship over the course of the cruise. Even as the years go by, even though the banter is the same, it’s the interacting and the guest participation that makes these things work. I’ve seen the same old Bedtime story, not so Newlywed game, spoon and string thing, balloon in the overalls, pillow fighting, male nightgown pageant, game show, etc., but they’re different every time. And they make mini celebrities out of the participants. And all these things tend to make the total ship this living community for the week. You end up talking to these people or doings things without embarrassment, cause you’re never going to see these people again (although, I’ve made many life long friends over the past 22 years).

 

When I see questions about “does it matter who the cruise director is”, to me, the answer is yes. If the guy up on stage is Johnny Carson, the air is a bit more abuzz than if it was a David Frost. We found the more we went to the cruise director functions, the more involved we felt. When we hit upon a less than average cruise director, we would tone it down and do our own thing.

 

BTW, the reason for me sailing Carnival for my first cruise? A co worker had just sailed the Celebration and brought in a brochure.

Advertising at its best.

 

Here's some dork with his first straw market hat:

 

[dane225]

My first cruise on Carnival was in 1991 on the Carnivale. We left out of PC and went to the Bahamas. I was hooked on Carnival after that cruise. I had the most fun on that cruise.:)

[mykiddiewinks]

June 2008 - Inspiration

 

Direct flight morning of cruise, should have landed at 11am, landed at that time but in Orlando not Tampa as the airport had been closed due to a bad storm, several hours and A LOT of stress later we arrived at the port, they closed the gates down behind the bus we were on, this was 3:55 pm - sail away 4pm.

 

I just remember all the emotions as we stepped on the ship, I burst into tears, shear relief after a VERY stressful day I had convinced my self we weren't going to make it.

 

We had a wonderful cruise, so good that within 18 months we took 4, looking at the moment to book Christmas and Spring Break 2011.

 

We ALWAYS fly the day before now - live and learn!!!

[DavyB]

Oh WOW, one of my most fun memories of my first cruise on Carnival was during one of the adult comedy shows early in the week. The comedian asked if any of the women could recreate the restaurant scene from "When Harry Met Sally." Well, my then wife thought it would be fun to do it, so up on stage she went and proceeded to do her best Sally impression, which was pretty d@mn good. I was embarrassed at first but found the humor in it quickly. The following day people would pass us on the ship and just point and laugh. By the end of the week we felt as if we knew everyone on the ship that week. GOOD TIMES!!! :D

 

P.S. That is not the reason she is now my ex. hahaha

[F22Smitty]

Our first cruise was in 1992 on the Holiday. It was the biggest ship I had ever seen.

 

It took me 3 days to find the topless deck :D. We packed way to much clothes. On the Lido deck during sea days they had pillow fights while setting on a slippery 8 inch PVC pipe.

 

But the one thing that I still remember vividly to this day was the beer chugging contest. They had that beer sitting out in the sun for an hour before they got 5 guys and 5 girls. They eliminated down to the last guy and last girl, and a girl that weighed less then 120 lbs. won.

 

This is also the cruise where I invented the "Bucket of Beer".:D

 

We also never brought an alarm clock and we had an inside cabin. We slept the first day until 11 AM.:D

 

Our cruise director was John Heald.

[scchasgal]

First Carnival cruise was on the Jubilee to the Mexican Riviera early 90's. Two cabins four girls in their late 20's what a blast we had.

[b7440]

Our first cruise was on the Tropical in March of 1986. It was our Honeymoon. It got us hooked in the past 24 years we have taken a total of 14 crusies. I can still remember the midnight buffett!!

 

I also remember skee shotting off the aft of the ship, and hitting golf balls into the deep blue sea

 

Cruising has changed, but we still love it.

 

.

[PunkinsDad]

My first was on Jubilee out of Tampa, 9/13/2001. My DW had recieved the cruise as a signing bonus from the hospital she was working at. We paid extra to upgrade from and inside to an OV.

 

We sere supposed to fly from Louisville, KY the day before......obviously after the events of 9/11 that was not an option, so we got in the car and drove the 14 hours to Tampa. When we left, we were not even sure the ship would be sailing as scheduled.

 

Many of our friends and family were shocked and concerned that we were going. I have to say I am very glad we did. We had a great cruise. We missed the first port (Key West) due to a tropical storm, but other than that it was a fantastic experience.

[Jasperdo]

Our first cruise was on the Jubilee in 1991. I remember crossing the Vincent Thomas Bridge in Los Angeles Harbor and seeing the ship docked below us. I couldn't believe how huge it was!

[MamaTene]

Keep em coming folks! I am heading to the cabinet to get all my cruise albums out...this has been so great strolling down memory lane!

[MamaTene]

Keep em coming folks! I am heading to the cabinet to get all my cruise albums out...this has been so great strolling down memory lane!

[babies12]

July 13, 1995, Jubilee. With my boyfriend who is now my husband. We then honeymooned on the Elation when she was brand new, in May, 1998. Love the Fantasy class.

[freddymale]

my first cruise was on the carnival Ecstasy.

I remember the size, just blew me away.

and the best part was winning the ship on a stick in the black jack tournament.

 

and that was the firdt time i ever got pampered..lol

 

that was back in early 90's