Ready for a happy thread. How did you start cruising with RCI??

[farnamcoach]

Reluctantly tried the majesty with dw and dd 5 years ago 15 cruises later we still love it

[lrn2cruise]

This one would be my wife's fault. We were in Nassau on the Norwegian Sea. She looked over at the much prettier ship next to us (Monarch of the Seas) and said "I want to try that cruise line." The rest is history.

 

 

pretty much our story too. We were on NCL Star out of Houston in 98'. We saw Celebrity in port and we were on the rinky dink ship. Have my baby in 2000. I would watch the video on the web for FOS when it was first was built. Couldnt believe the Promande, climbing wall, etc. So, now we are 2 weeks away from finally going on the FOS.

[monn_a]

My first cruise was in the 90's with Princess. Didn't cruise again until October 2006, for my daughters 16th birthday...I was looking for a land trip to Atlantis.

 

I had a a cruise booked for May 2007 on Voyager (which I booked because of FOS being launced). A co-worker's wife was a TA and suggested a quick cruise (4 day), so she found a cabin on the Sovereign-Oceanview for three people (my daughter, my niece and myself) for $700 so I took it and the rest was history....I took 4 more cruises before my Voyager cruise. I made Diamond in 13 months....totally hooked.:D I have since cruised Celebrity, NCL, CCL and Princess (again)...never a bad cruise but some lines I'm not running to return to...Cruising is by far the best vacation value

[Paul Eisen]

Ok, this may have been done before, but I have read enough of the threads that never seem to end that the OP keeps getting negative posts (just or not) or the never ending argument on smoking. :(Tell us how you came about choosing to cruise with RCI and what keeps you returning??:cool:

:p

We have been on 21 and have focused on RCCL & Celebrity, we are going back on Navigator on Nov.6th from Rome to Ft.Laud. RCCL is consistant and if you shop around you can get great deals. Upscale eateries are a bargoin!

[uksimonusa]

After being "stuck in the US" for 5 years, waiting for my wifes green card to be approved and proccessed, when it finally happened in May 2001, we just wanted to get away, living 15 miles from PC, we took a 3 day on Sovereign and have been hooked for the last 10 years

[momneedsrest]

My dad had a major stroke in 2001 and although he survived it, the long term prognosis was not good. In 2003, dad had made good progress in PT and his speech was pretty good, my parents wanted to make some of their wishes come true--the first being a cruise. Well, the folks invited DH and me along on a short cruise on Enchanchment to "help" because of dad's mobility issues. Fast forward to 2008---dad still going strong---my folks celebrated their 50th anniversary by taking the whole family on Mariner!! Here we are another three years along (dad is well) and Sunday I will be on Freedom with DH, DS and DD! :D

[coast2coast]

My first cruise was on the Song of Norway back in 1979 at the age of 9. My brother and I were 2 of about 50 kids on the week before Christmas sailing (that was a lot of kids back then!). So RCI hired 2 children's cruise directors, and they took us on tours of the islands- Puerto Plata (Dom. Repub.), San Juan, and St. Thomas. Definitely not something they'd offer nowadays! My parents basically only saw me and my brother during meal times as we were busy with ping pong, shuffle board, skeet shooting, bingo, and swimming (no rockwalls or flowriders back then!). We all had a blast, and my parents decided that we'd take a family cruise every 5 years.

Well, we did go 5 years later on Carnival's Tropicale, but we just didn't have the same experience. So... fast forward to 2002:

My parents had just returned to cruising the year before (Panama Canal cruise on Princess right after 9/11), and I was itching to go on another one. DH thought for sure he'd be bored on a ship for 7 days, so he had no interest. I had heard about RCI's Voyager-class ships, did a little research, and somehow talked him into taking a cruise for our 8th anniversary on the Explorer. Needless to say, he was hooked as soon as we walked on the ship. We are now diamond members and have only sailed on Royal. We love everything about the ships, and DD loves Adventure Ocean. She says she'll never let us cruise again without her. ;)

[ksadonnab]

We were tired of the TSA and all the new rules and regulations (which we do understand the reason behind them) so decided to find a way to vacation without flying. Then we ended up in Cape Liberty NJ on the Explorer of the Seas and now I have found a new love! :p

[sjmarante]

five years ago when I was 6, my grandparents took me on my first cruise

[BearJim]

My dad had a major stroke in 2001 and although he survived it, the long term prognosis was not good. In 2003, dad had made good progress in PT and his speech was pretty good, my parents wanted to make some of their wishes come true--the first being a cruise. Well, the folks invited DH and me along on a short cruise on Enchanchment to "help" because of dad's mobility issues. Fast forward to 2008---dad still going strong---my folks celebrated their 50th anniversary by taking the whole family on Mariner!! Here we are another three years along (dad is well) and Sunday I will be on Freedom with DH, DS and DD! :D

 

Great story. I'm glad your dad is going strong. It's probably all the cruising that is giving him strength! LOL. Our 1st RCI cruise was on the Mariner. Up till then we had only been on the Disney Wonder & Magic. Although the Disney cruises were great the Mariner is at a whole other level. Went on FOS in 09' & have setup to go back in May of next year. Can't wait!

[Upandadam]

Took our first cruise on a whim in 2005 and have averaged a couple a year since. As is evident in our signature, most cruises have been on Carnival.

 

We first tried Royal after booking the Carnival Splendor then finding that the Mariner sailed the same itinerary the very next week and was even cheaper. Our first B2B across different lines.

 

Have booked the Allure just to see what the world's largest ship is like.

 

Looking at returning to Princess just to sample another taste of that line. All lines have their pluses and minuses. All have way more pluses than minuses though. Hard to beat the "wow" factor of RCI ships.

[happygran]

My parents just loved cruising, mainly P & O and Cunard. A few years ago they treated us to a cruise round the Canary Islands in February, saying we would love it. I didn't. I hated it. We had an inside cabin and the Atlantic in February was a bit rough. I said 'never again'.

 

Fast forward to earlier this year. My dad died four years ago and mum kept harping on about cruising. So we felt that we would book one last cruise for her (we would have to go too as she's 85 and blind). Saw a good deal for a RCI cruise round the med. We were upgraded to a suite just before leaving and just loved it. The balcony made all the difference.

 

Now have three cruises booked for next year but in balcony cabins.

 

RCI were just great.

[negrilbride]

Last year we decided to take our first cruise. I am the planner so I was charged with narrowing down our options. From what I heard, I thought Carnival would be a little too rowdy for us (we are in our late 20's but not big into a rowdy party scene.)

 

I was afraid I would feel completely captive on a ship, and just hate it, so I wanted to find a large ship. While I was googling "Largest cruise ships" Oasis of the Seas kept reappearing. THEN I saw that they had Hairspray on board, and the decision was made!!! It's my favorite musical and that sealed the deal!

 

We are going to be sailing the high seas on our second cruise this November on the Allure.

[blue toffee]

I was totally anti cruise (which i suppose is strange for someone who does a bit of sailing), in 2009 i relented and booked a 12 day cruise on Explorer and am now hooked, we were on Liberty for 14 nights last year have Jewel booked for this year and Adventure for next year and i doubt if we will do a land holiday again as i am constantly on the RCI website looking at more.

[ThreeDogsCruising]

The wife said that the only way she would go on vacation would be if she didn't have to fly anywhere and that we could only drive for five hours max to get there. I scratched my head over how to do something fun within those constaints and eventually decided that cruising gave us both what we wanted.

 

Since we're just north of New York City I did some investigating on who sailed from there and it was basically luck of the draw we ended up on the Explorer.

 

Our first trip impressed us so much with the enjoyment we got out of it that we've more or less become loyal Royals since.

[SamFritz]

Ok, this may have been done before, but I have read enough of the threads that never seem to end that the OP keeps getting negative posts (just or not) or the never ending argument on smoking. :(Tell us how you came about choosing to cruise with RCI and what keeps you returning??:cool:

 

My parents gave us a large financial gift for THEIR 50th anniversary. We used a portion of it to take our first on our 20th Anniversary. I have wonderful parents.:)

[retiredonthesea]

We where on Cozumel with an NCL cruise when we met a bunch of people all wearing HD shirts or something similar related to motorcycles. Asked what's up and they explained they where on FOS with approx. 1000 bikers. We received a little more info--got back home and bk'd right away for the next year. Will be on our 3rd one this yr. and already bk'd 2012's!! This rally on a cruise ship is awesome!!:D Great time!!

[Canusa02]

Ok, this may have been done before, but I have read enough of the threads that never seem to end that the OP keeps getting negative posts (just or not) or the never ending argument on smoking. :(Tell us how you came about choosing to cruise with RCI and what keeps you returning??:cool:

 

We decided to go on a winter getaway with another couple, and the travel agent we now use pointed us towards a western Caribbean cruise on the Navigator. The two of us followed up the next year with another RCI cruise. The experience was not as great as the first time, but it was still great. A few years passed, and we tried another line. That line had some great offerings as well. If I were to lay out the Pros vs. Cons of RCI and the other line, I think RCI would win out. That's why we are scheduled for the Allure next year. The overall price and the nickel-and-diming may do us in for RCI for a while, but I plan on enjoying every minute when we are on board.

[CruiserChloe]

My first RCI cruise was the second half of a Carnival Imagination / Majesty of the Seas B2B. I was introduced to the wonderful world of cruising on the Imagination, but it was the better service, ship, and just much classier atmosphere that got me hooked on RCI.

[FLCruiser001]

We had been wanting to try RCI for sometime, found a great deal on the Monarch of the Seas. So Labor Day, we sail on her! :)

[Bu Kitty]

Went on our first cruise in 2004 with a group of friends on Enchantment of the Seas and fell in love with cruising. We have cruised Royal and Carnival. We love RCCL especially my DH. It is hard to get him to sail any other cruise line. The cruises we have completed on Carnival were based on itinerary and proximity to the port. My DH told me he prefers cruise line over itinerary and port proximity and only wants to sail RCCL. So RCCL it will be!!!!:D

[EmJakeBubbie]

1992 - Sovereign of the Seas (brand new), followed by the Majesty of the Seas (inaugural cruise) - we were hooked - we will end this year as D+ woohoo!:D

[cubsfan12]

When I turned 40, I told my husband I did not want a party or new car or any jewlery, all I wanted was a vacation with my girlfriends. I ended up taking a 3 day cruise with my girlfriend, and have been hooked ever since. Taking my 6th cruise next March. Now my husband is hooked too!:)

[printingchick]

After my very first cruise, on Carnival, I kept on cruising with the same line. I enjoyed the experience and saw no reason to mess with success.

 

After my very first cruise, I also go a credit card, which was sponsored by an on-line cruise travel agency. The point system was VERY generous. The points could be traded for ANY cruise at ANY time, so long as it was booked through their site. I saved $500 on my second cruise, and I'm NOT a big spender!

 

Eventually, the company changed their point redemption policies, severely limiting the card's value. Still, I couldn't find a BETTER cruise-points card and I liked the idea of earning vacation points with my credit card. It was a forced vacation savings plan of sorts.

 

Soon-after, the company eliminated the credit card entirely. Since I carry only one credit card, I had to find a new option. I didn't like the way Carnival's Sea Miles card worked. It seemed too confusing. Royal Caribbean sponsored a card that worked similarly to the soon-to-be-defunct travel agency sponsored card, so I went with it and decided to give RCL a try.

 

My first Royal Caribbean cruise was on Adventure of the Seas, out of San Juan. I was able to make a back-to-back comparison, having cruised the previous year on Carnival Destiny out of San Juan. There was no comparison. Other than the lack out outdoor dining space on the Voyager Class ships, I VASTLY preferred Royal Caribbean.

 

I still use that RCL Visa card and I still cruise with Royal. I've never looked back!

[Alexis]

We had done 14 cruises on other cruiselines.

I won our first RCCL 3 day cruise in a newspaper drawing.

So, on March 13, 1998 we sailed the Viking Serenade out of San Pedro and loved her crew.

In 2001, we took a offer to look at a product and we were given a 3 day cruise on the Viking Serenade.

On July 13, 2001 we sailed her for a second time. We have been Loyal to Royal since.

I can only say,

"We are very comfortable on all their ships."