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Just feeling a bit nostalgic today.


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It is 25 years ago today I took my first cruise with my 2 best friends; it was the Carnival Holiday to the Eastern Caribbean. We spent 2 days at sea and the first stop was St.Maarten, then on to St. Thomas and then to Nassau, Bahamas, one more day at sea and the best week a 23yr old could spend.

I am now about to make the final payment on my 14th cruise and third on the beautiful Serenade of the seas.

Now, 25 years later, my wife (11 cruises) and my daughter (5 cruises) will have the next time of our lives.

I cannot say enough about that first experience and the wonderful memories I have after all these years.

May God bless all the cruisers out there and may they have wonderful memories of the great gift’s the sea has to offer.

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i know just how you feel

 

i get the tinglies every time i cruise

 

my first cruise was in 2001 - when 9-11 happened - can you imagine

 

but aside from that and all the awfulness that goes with it -

 

i get excited every single time

 

we leave on liberty of seas on this sunday for7 days with 2 days in miami precruise

 

i actually get tears in my eyes while on ship and espcially when i have to get off - lol

 

you just leave all your cares and responsibilities behind

 

carol

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It is 25 years ago today I took my first cruise with my 2 best friends; it was the Carnival Holiday to the Eastern Caribbean. We spent 2 days at sea and the first stop was St.Maarten, then on to St. Thomas and then to Nassau, Bahamas, one more day at sea and the best week a 23yr old could spend.

I am now about to make the final payment on my 14th cruise and third on the beautiful Serenade of the seas.

Now, 25 years later, my wife (11 cruises) and my daughter (5 cruises) will have the next time of our lives.

I cannot say enough about that first experience and the wonderful memories I have after all these years.

May God bless all the cruisers out there and may they have wonderful memories of the great gift’s the sea has to offer.

 

Our first cruise was 21 years ago on Cunard Countess.

We have not stopped cruising since that first one and we hope to cruise as long as possible.

It is so nice to read happy posts like yours. ;)

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My first cruise was on the Carnival Ecstacy back in the 90s. I walked off that cruise, got home, called my mom and said "WOW!". And it was only 3 days! Within the week I had booked my mom and stepdad on a cruise..bought their airplane tickets and all. They didn't want to fly out of Chicago in the winter... but they went and were SOLD!

 

They went on to book a few cruises on their own. My mom and I took a few together (always special memories for me since she has passed away)..

 

Dragged my sister on a cruise when she recovered from chemotherapy. She's sold and just got off the Solstice. Her third cruise and already planning her next.

 

But my favorite memory if that of my mother in law! Woman DID NOT want to go on a cruise. It was a gift from us and she kept saying she would not go. My father-in-law threatened to take the girl who cut his hair.

 

She went.... it was only 4 days. But she thanked me in the end and said that was the most relaxed she had ever been in her whole entire life!

 

I get so excited I am like a kid going to Disney World for the first time all over again when I cruise! I feel so very blessed that I have been able to share that love and excitement with my family.

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My nostalgia is kicking in big time right now.

DH & I cruised for the first time 2/25/96 and took 15 more after that up till 7/29/07. DH passed away from brain cancer July of '08. I have not cruised since the final one with DH....I am leaving 11/14/10 with a group of friends and am VERY apprehensive about how I will feel getting on the ship without my DH. Our fiends we used to cruise with are going and said everyone will be getting on the ship smiling and laughing and the 3 of us will be crying!!! It will be strange without DH but he put the money down for a future cruise for me on our last. He knew 7/07 was going to be his last one. :(

I will get through being with friends but I am so sad to be without my DH!!!!

This is also a celebration for me as I was diagnosed with breast cancer 4 months after DH passed away. I really need this relaxation and time away!!! Cancer free and hope to stay that way so that I can cruise many more times!!

Cindy

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My nostalgia is kicking in big time right now.

DH & I cruised for the first time 2/25/96 and took 15 more after that up till 7/29/07. DH passed away from brain cancer July of '08. I have not cruised since the final one with DH....I am leaving 11/14/10 with a group of friends and am VERY apprehensive about how I will feel getting on the ship without my DH. Our fiends we used to cruise with are going and said everyone will be getting on the ship smiling and laughing and the 3 of us will be crying!!! It will be strange without DH but he put the money down for a future cruise for me on our last. He knew 7/07 was going to be his last one. :(

I will get through being with friends but I am so sad to be without my DH!!!!

This is also a celebration for me as I was diagnosed with breast cancer 4 months after DH passed away. I really need this relaxation and time away!!! Cancer free and hope to stay that way so that I can cruise many more times!!

Cindy

 

Congratulations on cancer free! Wow, what a battle you have had the last few years.

 

My DH passed away 9/30/08 and our last cruise had been in '07 as well. I had very mixed feelings on going on a cruise in 1/09. Sail away day was on the 4 month "anniv" of his death. I am so happy everyone talked me into the short 3 day cruise. It was very relaxing, emotional, etc. but it did help me to have "that" time. I am cruising again in Nov. and while there will be some "moments" I'm sure (especially on a Monarch when my DH and I cruised the Sovereign and Majesty together 3 times and it's the "same" ship), but it will be much easier as I have already gone through "that".

 

Good luck to you. Enjoy yourself and have a smile on your face remembering the good times you had and the good times you have will continue to have!

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DH and I went on our first cruise way back in 1981. Since that time we have raised 2 boys and moved to several different states. We have done many different lines (Premier, NCL, Princess, Carnival) and loved them all. Our last cruise was in May to celebrate our younger son graduating from college.

 

Early on we sent my Mom and Dad on a cruise and they loved it. They asked for a cruise for their 50th anniversary instead of a party! Dad passed away in 2004. Mom has told me how much he enjoyed those cruises.

 

Our next scheduled cruise is next October on Allure (although I haven't told DH about it yet!)

 

Cruising is a fabulous way to reconnect with your family. We all lead such busy lives, it is great to have time away from all the daily distractions to really talk and enjoy life.

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i love all of these heavy threads...and yes crusing is a wonderful vacation and it brings the best out of people...may you stay CANCER FREE for many many yrs to come and please do yourself a favor...take one of these crusies every single yr...you owe it to yourself and to your wonderful husband...may he rest in peace...god bless...

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It is 25 years ago today I took my first cruise with my 2 best friends; it was the Carnival Holiday to the Eastern Caribbean. We spent 2 days at sea and the first stop was St.Maarten, then on to St. Thomas and then to Nassau, Bahamas, one more day at sea and the best week a 23yr old could spend.

I am now about to make the final payment on my 14th cruise and third on the beautiful Serenade of the seas.

Now, 25 years later, my wife (11 cruises) and my daughter (5 cruises) will have the next time of our lives.

I cannot say enough about that first experience and the wonderful memories I have after all these years.

May God bless all the cruisers out there and may they have wonderful memories of the great gift’s the sea has to offer.

 

Mine was the Holiday too ;) 4 years ago with my DH for our honeymoon...I miss that ship...good times:cool:

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Mine was when I was 13, 50th Anniv cruise for g-parents, there were 10 of us, and we were like celebrities. Back then "1980" big family cruises were not as common as they are today.

 

I was hooked, but it took my dad until '84 to take us again, we did one a year for a few years, Mom had a stroke and they stopped cruising, but by then i was old enough to cruise with friends. I have never stopped. Took my now DH on his first cruise and we try to go at least once a year.

 

I too get teary when on board. Not just the final day, but the first day, and a few times in between. Its funny how when on board you can just be walking along and a sound or a smell will trigger something inside that just makes the emotions go wild.

 

Im tearing up just writing this!!!

 

Cant wait for Alaska in June!!

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Our first was on the Norway in 1993 for DH's 50th Bday. We were hooked! Between then and 2003 when he retired we took 7 more cruises on several different cruise lines. The last pre-retirement cruise was on the Radiance repo through the Panama Canal from San Juan to San Diego - our first RCCL cruise. It was April 2002 fairly soon after 9-11. We had booked our first ever balcony and were SO excited about that. At boarding we noticed we had a different cabin. We were a little upset since we had selected that first balcony very carefully. Turned out though we had been upgraded to a GS so needless to say our first impression was a good one! From that point we picked up the pace and now have 27 cruises with most being with Royal Caribbean. For us there is no better vacation.

 

I can't presume to imagine what being without my DH would be like but I know if that time comes for me I'll have great memories including our cruises together. For those of you who have experienced a loss, God Bless You and may you find comfort in your memories.

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It is 25 years ago today I took my first cruise with my 2 best friends; it was the Carnival Holiday to the Eastern Caribbean. We spent 2 days at sea and the first stop was St.Maarten, then on to St. Thomas and then to Nassau, Bahamas, one more day at sea and the best week a 23yr old could spend.

I am now about to make the final payment on my 14th cruise and third on the beautiful Serenade of the seas.

Now, 25 years later, my wife (11 cruises) and my daughter (5 cruises) will have the next time of our lives.

I cannot say enough about that first experience and the wonderful memories I have after all these years.

May God bless all the cruisers out there and may they have wonderful memories of the great gift’s the sea has to offer.

 

Well Doggie, it was with tears in my eyes when I read your post. We are the same age and I have loved cruising with my spouse, kids, family and parents for years too. We have had some of the best times of our lives on cruise ships.

I adore seeing my four kids all dressed up for dinner. I love seeing my 17 yr old son who normally doesnt care for eating a lot, order a steak and salmon and eat them both! This year it was a treat taking our beautiful 18 yr daughter into the Cl and Dl before dinner. She got such a kick out of that! We have taken both sets of parents on cruises. My only regret is that I never cruised with my older brother (3 yrs older.) I always told him of our great times on cruises but he was always reluctant saying it wasnt for him. He finally agreed to going on a cruise and told me to book it for us all.. Sadly, he died of a massive heart attack 2 months later. He never went. It has been 5 years since he died...I have taken his 2 kids on several cruises since then...they love it as I am sure my brother would have. I would not have traded the wonderful times I shared with my loved ones on cruise ships for anything!!! (I need a tissue.)

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What a wonderful thread to read! Congratulations on becoming cancer free.....that is a biggie!

 

My parents introduced me to cruising via freighters. In 1996 I took my first cruise on the Pacific Princess, to help my friend, who had lost his wife to cancer that summer. Many of you here know my story, we both met and are married to lovely ladies that we met on that ship!:);)

 

Oh, yes.....it was......the "Love Boat"!!:D:D

 

Rick

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My first cruise was also 25 years ago on the Carnival Holiday. I was 15 years old and a nervous nellie. I doubt I was even out after curfew. I remember having my first glass of Asti Spumanti. Now I'm a nervous nellie father of three. We are celebrating three years cancer free for my wife. Congratulations!

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Well Doggie, it was with tears in my eyes when I read your post. We are the same age and I have loved cruising with my spouse, kids, family and parents for years too. We have had some of the best times of our lives on cruise ships.

I adore seeing my four kids all dressed up for dinner. I love seeing my 17 yr old son who normally doesnt care for eating a lot, order a steak and salmon and eat them both! This year it was a treat taking our beautiful 18 yr daughter into the Cl and Dl before dinner. She got such a kick out of that! We have taken both sets of parents on cruises. My only regret is that I never cruised with my older brother (3 yrs older.) I always told him of our great times on cruises but he was always reluctant saying it wasnt for him. He finally agreed to going on a cruise and told me to book it for us all.. Sadly, he died of a massive heart attack 2 months later. He never went. It has been 5 years since he died...I have taken his 2 kids on several cruises since then...they love it as I am sure my brother would have. I would not have traded the wonderful times I shared with my loved ones on cruise ships for anything!!! (I need a tissue.)

 

I am very sorry for your loss, I too get teary eyed when I think of cruising because of the major impact it has had in my life. I will take every good memory of cruising to my grave and I am so glad that we can still enjoy them even though the economy is kicking our butts. I hope my daughter continues my legacy when she start her family. And all indicators say she will.

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My nostalgia is kicking in big time right now.

 

DH & I cruised for the first time 2/25/96 and took 15 more after that up till 7/29/07. DH passed away from brain cancer July of '08. I have not cruised since the final one with DH....I am leaving 11/14/10 with a group of friends and am VERY apprehensive about how I will feel getting on the ship without my DH. Our fiends we used to cruise with are going and said everyone will be getting on the ship smiling and laughing and the 3 of us will be crying!!! It will be strange without DH but he put the money down for a future cruise for me on our last. He knew 7/07 was going to be his last one. :(

 

I will get through being with friends but I am so sad to be without my DH!!!!

 

This is also a celebration for me as I was diagnosed with breast cancer 4 months after DH passed away. I really need this relaxation and time away!!! Cancer free and hope to stay that way so that I can cruise many more times!!

 

Cindy

 

I hope you have as great a cruise as you possibly can. I can only imagine that the first time will be hard but thankfully it'll only be the first time once.

 

Continue to enjoy your good health!

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I am very sorry for your loss, I too get teary eyed when I think of cruising because of the major impact it has had in my life. I will take every good memory of cruising to my grave and I am so glad that we can still enjoy them even though the economy is kicking our butts. I hope my daughter continues my legacy when she start her family. And all indicators say she will.

 

 

Thanks! I truely wish I was as excited about my career as I am about cruising!:eek::eek::eek: LOL

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This is a wonderful thread people! I can relate to so many of yur stories.

 

I've been told I'm being laid off after 24 years of working with a company thats downsizing. It makes me sad (and a little anxious cuz of the change) but I'm also excited cuz it means I'm gonna start a new chapter in my life. It's not fun working here anymore anyways... the bean counters have taken over.

 

But check this out, talk about timing...:) my last day of work will be Jan. 21st, 2011, but I'm leaving on a cruise Jan. 15th!!! I can't wait!!!!

 

God is good.

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Wow and I thought I needed a tissue while reading animal rescue emails/stories but this thread is a very emotional one.

 

Our first cruise was in 07 and it was also our first vacation since our marriage in 1997 so we renewed our wedding vows on the ship :p We were immediately hooked on cruising and scheduled another cruise in 2008 and some good friends went with us. Then, 3 days before Christmas that year my DH was laid off but fortunately, 15 months later, he found permanent employment and we were able to cruise again this year on the Oasis.

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