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

[ssptcruise]

On our next cruise...looking forward to it! :D

[ssb]

THE TEASES!!!!!!!!!!!

Live in Galveston.

Therefore started on RCCL.

Strayed a little.

Liked RCCL and stayed with them.....

because we liked them....

and it was so darn easy!

Then we got hooked on TA's in and out of Galveston......

and still hooked!!!! :D

 

Everyweek we get teases having ships go and come .......

and hearing the blasts !!!!!!

Its hard to live here and not be on them!!!!!!

[WeLove2CruiseRCI]

THE TEASES!!!!!!!!!!!

Live in Galveston.

Therefore started on RCCL.

Strayed a little.

Liked RCCL and stayed with them.....

because we liked them....

and it was so darn easy!

Then we got hooked on TA's in and out of Galveston......

and still hooked!!!! :D

 

Everyweek we get teases having ships go and come .......

and hearing the blasts !!!!!!

Its hard to live here and not be on them!!!!!!

 

That would be hard to live so close to the port you can hear the horn blasts.

[musterbuster]

In 1990, a friend talked me into sailing on the Nordic Empress, which was state-of-the-art for its time. Brand new ship that was captivating with it's shiny brass, tinted green windows and glass walls, cozy staterooms (4 of us shared an inside with two upper berths--not bad!), and soaring Centrum. I had never seen anything like it. To cross from the terminal into the Centrum and not even realize at first that we were actually ON the ship was truly surreal. I thought we were in a beautiful building that somehow existed between the gangway and the actual ship. What a feeling. The next few days were among the best I've ever had anywhere. Exceptional service, lots of laughter, and my first taste of rum punch. Talk about instant addiction. I've been loyal to Royal ever since. I'll never forget Mehmet, our waiter in the MDR, who, when he discovered that I didnt want mushrooms in my pasta, took two spoons in one hand and singlehandedly removed every last mushroom from the dish, without losing his smile. I never expected him to do this. Great guy, great cruise.

[lv2cruisgrl]

As a surprise my husband booked a cruise for our 10th anniversary. He took me to dinner gave me a card that said pack your suitcase we leave in 3 days. He had already cleared it with my boss, got his parents to babysit the kids and off we went on SOS for 5 days...we fell in love with cruising and have cruised ever since. Happy to say RCI is home away from home when we board a ship!!:)

[molly361]

I had a friend that worked for Cunard Lines back in the 80's and got to go on a couple of very inexpensive cruises. That was the start. Took a few years off for land vacations. Now since we live in Florida crusing in our vacation of choie.

[Ttowntreasures]

Our first cruise was 2002 on Celebrity Millenium - it was a gift from my boss for 35 years working for the same company. Our best friends came with us and we just had our 9th cruise this year.

Had to skip a year because of new baby twin grandbabies. Love to cruise and just gotta keep'em comin'.

[FloGaleRNTX]

My first cruise was May 18th, 2003 on the Voyager out of Galveston. I had to practically threaten my (then) husband to go. He kept saying "What will we do all day? We are going to be out in the ocean and will be bored. The food won't be all that good. Are you SURE you want to do this?" Well, by the second morning he was scouting out the cruise ambassador to book another cruise!!!

 

I have been hooked ever since! I'm now at 146 points, so will be a D+ after my next couple of cruises. For me, the cruise (now) is about relaxing, meeting new people, reading, sunning....that first cruise in 2003, we both came home sick - and needing a vacation! We wanted to do EVERYTHING! But I have learned that is simply impossible. The next cruise will be Oasis - with my 2 new best friends - in November, and once again, the ship will be the destination! I hope to spend every afternoon on the pool deck, reading, sunning, and relaxing. When will I be able to see the rest of the ship?????

 

Barb

[SamInWa]

Back in 2003 (I think), friends invited me to come on a 5 day Thanksgiving cruise out of LA on Monarch at the last minute.

 

I called their TA and there was a "Tuesday" special. $235 for a single occupancy on the Promenade deck.

I was hooked right away.

[fdthird]

Our first cruise as a married couple was on Holland American's Vollendam on September 30, 1979...our Honeymoon.

 

32 years later our son got cast in Chicago on the Allure of the Seas. It's all his fault!

[Karen17]

My first cruise happened completely by accident - my TA called to say sorry they had messed up on a holiday booking to Antigua and there were in fact no flights home. Leave it with me she said, I will find you another holiday. So, I found myself booked, travelling solo, on Indy for an 11 night cruise from Southampton to the Canaries and back in November 2010. With a serious amount of trepidation I checked in. I had wanted 10 days in the sun, what was I doing crusing out of the UK in November? I felt sick to the stomach with worry. How would I fill the endless days, many at sea? What if I didn't like the people at my dinner table? I had never worried so much.

 

As you all could have predicted, I had the time of my life. We sailed through force 10 gales in the Bay of Biscay, it rained in 3 out of our 6 ports but nothing could dampen my spirits. My days were filled from the moment I woke up to the moment my head hit the pillow, way after midnight. There were the quizes, napkin folding class (yes, seriously), excellent meals in the MDR, heavenly early morning massages, brilliant shows, wonderfully attentive staff. I had taken 11 books and found time to read half a page from one! I was simply in heaven. My only complaint - when was I meant to sleep with all these activities going on?

 

I can safely say that, for holidays outside the UK, cruising with RCCL is now the life for me. This year though I am opting for warmer climes and will be cruising on Freedom in November.

 

Karen

[caribbeanadventure13]

My grandparents are taking me on my first cruise on the Adventure as a birthday present. :) I can't wait!

[Texmike]

We've been on 7 cruises but my wife and I recently lost our jobs and are on unemployment

 

Hopefully we can find new jobs and cruise again in the future before we get too old.

 

We cruised on the Carnival Conquest about this time of year last summer and cruised on the Voyager of the Seas out of Galveston last December.

 

Our first cruise was in 2004 on the Rhapsody of the Seas from Galveston,

 

Our favorites were on Freedom of The Seas to the Eastern Caribbean in 2008 and the Mariner of the Seas to the Mexican Riviera in 2009

[CruiseDreaming]

I had wanted to cruise so I started saving. There was a lady at work, a friend, who cruises a lot and she was going on a cruise that was at the same time as I wanted (our anniversary) it was RCI and so we decided to cruise together. I fell in love with RCI immediately--the ships are so beautiful. I went because of a friend, but I'm pretty loyal to Royal because of the ships and staff.

 

Kerrie :)

[Sunebeach]

First cruise was with our 3 kids on Carnival...was a good experience but wanted something a little less 'fun ship' and more refined without huge price tag...so we looked into RCI, Planned our 25th anniversary cruise with out kids this time on Radiance of the Sea...first balcony room, and plan to take at least one cruise every year from now on...we'll see...two kids [and mom finishing her degree] in college now and breaking us.:eek:

[sparkleroxy86]

I was researching honeymoon ideas online and one suggestion was a cruise- huh a cruise? I never thought about going on one of those before! So I looked at prices and Radiance of the seas for two booked two wks before was only about 500 dollars Mexican Riviera cruise. Very fun! Unfortunately since they left the west coast I am not sailing with RCI anymore, I prefer them to Carnival no doubt about that, but until they come back to the west coast I have no other choice:(. I have faith they will return someday soon.

[Red Mini Stapler]

I'm the "TA" for our family when it comes to traveling, and i always wanted to go cruising, so this year we decided to go cruise for summer break. originally we were aiming for Celebrity solstice for 11 (or maybe 12) nights, but by the time we were about to book, price went up and was out of our range, so we looked for another cruise within the price range we could afford, and BAM! there was liberty of the seas with CA resident discount, so we didn't think twice and just booked right away.

 

and that was our first cruise ever and we both loved it! Now i'm looking for another cruise for next year :cool:

[sg1phileshipper]

It was a dream of mine to make a cruise to Alaska some day. When I was looking at prices in 2008, I thought the price for a 14 night cruise to Alaska on the Radiance was amazing. Of course, I was bitten by the cruising bug and since it was so wonderful on an RCI ship, I didn't want to change companies.

 

Cindy

[FloGaleRNTX]

I still want to do an Alaskan cruise, but it seems the Caribbean keeps calling my name!!!

 

Barbara

[mcangelwp]

We went on our first cruise in 2007 for our honeymoon based on the recommendations of family. We were hooked and have cruised once a year every year since. The cruise ships have a familiar feel now like a vacation home we return to every year.

[rogicoco]

Back in early 90s my husband and I were on our first cruise that was recommended by our travel agent. It was Carnival celebration. While in St Martin we saw the most beautiful ship docked close to us. As I stood on the deck of our ship I wished I was on that gorgeous ship called Sovereign of the Seas. Later Majesty of the seas came to NY For the showing to travel agents. I was at the time taking an exam at pier 92. As the ship pulled in I could not help but be destracted by it. I tried to peak inside and wished to get on it even if it was to just look around. Well after that I booked our first RC cruise on Majesty of the seas. When we entered the ship we were taken away by it's beauty because there was no other ship as beautiful as this one. After sailing Majesty we tried other lines and I can trully say that to us no other company made us as happy as RC and Celebrity did.

We love the great service and beautiful ships. Over 30 cruises later with RC we plan to stay loyal to royal.:)

[macfin]

Started our affair with cruising in 2001 with Explorer of the Seas when we got married on board...now going on our eigth cruise w/out the kids in 2012

[WeLove2CruiseRCI]

Time to add some more happy stories today. :)

[Host Faith]

We had previously celebrated our honeymoon on a cruise from NYC to Bermuda with NCL. We chose that cruise because, as part of my gown and tux package, we received the cruise for 50% off. We originally wanted to go to St. Lucia, but we felt we couldn't pass up the chance to see Bermuda, and the ease of traveling from NJ to NY the day after our wedding couldn't be beat.

 

Fast forward, we tried an All-Inclusive and had a nice time, but discovered that we really missed the experience at sea that cruising offers. We like to travel on our wedding anniversary, so we searched for cruises that stopped in St. Lucia, and found that the Adventure was sailing from San Juan (another place we wanted to see). We were really drawn to the AOS because of all the great reviews here on CC, so we booked our hump cabin. We were totally hooked the moment we set foot on the ship. I've since sailed with Carnival...and in my opinion, RCCL is perfect for us. The overall ship design, service, food, and itineraries are exactly what we enjoy. We may try Celebrity in a few years, and Disney when we have children, but for now, this is our ideal cruise line. We're sailing the Southern Caribbean for the third year in a row- in 19 days :D.

[WeLove2CruiseRCI]

Host Faith, we were on the Serenade this past February from San Juan and would agree with you. Southern Caribbean has been our favorite so far! Booked again for Feb 2012 but changed to the Mariner do to air fare costs.