What do you remember about your first cruise? What hooked you?

[Mimajo]

Our first cruise........a weekend cruise to "nowhere" in 1982 aboard the Britannis, which was under the Chandris line which became Celebrity.

 

It was with my DH's family, his sister, parents, Aunt and Uncle, big italian family all from South Philly, and I was 5 months pregnant. We left out of New York and had a bit of rough weather. Everyone was feeling it but me, morning sickness had trained me well.

 

My clearest memory? My FIL teaching me to play Black Jack in the casino. And dear Uncle coming to dinner in his undershirt and complaining that the veggies weren't cooked (he liked his mushy).

 

I remember we were in the lowest deck, interior, the bathroom/showers were down the hall, and you had to step up and over the doorways. Kinda like a submarine.

 

Kinda makes me wonder how I ever got on another ship!! But it was still a fun experience.

 

Our next cruise wasn't until 1990 with our 3 kids, now that was an experience!

[cjdixon4]

I was opposed to cruising. I had lived in Florida for 9 years before I ever went on a cruise. I knew it was close. I knew that most of my friends had been on cruises. I knew it wasn't for me.

 

My wife & I decided early to take turns planning our anniversary trips... one year on her turn she talked to me about a cruise. I refused. I cited the masses of elderly people, the poor food, the small cabins, the stomach flu, etc. I declined.

 

She, being a very sweet person, kindly pointed out that I brag about always trying things at least once and I was not following my own mantra. She had been on cruises before and said she thought I would enjoy it. Humbled, I agreed to go.

 

I went on Mariner for a 7-day Eastern back in 2007. There were a lot of old people, but they didn't seem to run in that same circles that we did and were in bed quite early. No major sickness that we saw on the ship and we didn't catch anything. The small inside cabin didn't bother me at all because it was clean, really awesomely dark, and other than sleeping... and nocturnal activities... we weren't in it a whole lot. The food was better than expected, but not great. We went to some fun ports and went on some excursions.

 

I was hooked. I think ultimately the whole floating hotel concept won me over. Everything you need is right on the ship, but you can go to nice places.

 

I still prefer normal travel over cruising. I would rather immerse myself in a town for several days than spend 10 hours at port. Cruising has its place and I have a love for it now that I never thought I would. I stand corrected.

 

 

Poncho -

Your story is much like my DH's. I used to sail without him, and go with the girlfriends. Hubby was not a "water person", and refused to set foot on a ship. He felt that it would be too much ocean for him, and entirely too confining. The only thing that changed his mind was that some of his close male friends were planning a cruise with their wives, and they convinced him to go. Needless to say, the look on my hubby's face when he boarded the Grandeur was PRICELESS! He is now officially addicted, and says that he doesn't know what he was thinking before! :)

[poncho1973]

Poncho -

Your story is much like my DH's. I used to sail without him, and go with the girlfriends. Hubby was not a "water person", and refused to set foot on a ship. He felt that it would be too much ocean for him, and entirely too confining. The only thing that changed his mind was that some of his close male friends were planning a cruise with their wives, and they convinced him to go. Needless to say, the look on my hubby's face when he boarded the Grandeur was PRICELESS! He is now officially addicted, and says that he doesn't know what he was thinking before! :)

 

Note that I'm the one with the CC account, not her! Of course, she has a huge dislike of message boards.

[JediMom]

Our first cruise was our honeymoon (13 years ago!!). We were on the Grandeur of the Seas and loved everything about it.

 

We went on the Love & Marriage game (and won :D) a bottle of champagne that we shared with the other contestants. DH wore a very distinctive shirt that night and was recognizable all over the ships thanks to the replay on the TV and his funny responses during the show.

 

We tipped one of the pool bartenders that ended up making every drink after that a double or triple. We met a fun couple from Ohio and ended up sharing a football sized pina colada which had all 4 of us tipsy one afternoon.

 

We saw beautiful things in San Juan and St. Thomas, ate amazing meals every night and had the most relaxing vacation ever.

 

This is our first cruise since and we are taking our DS who is 7. I just hope he loves it as much as we did!!

[golf43]

My first cruise was fantastic. I was hooked. I was aboard the NCL SS Norway back in 1984. I went with a singles group. We had a ball. At that time back in 1984 NCL had this neat commercial on TV about the Norway. After watching that commercial many times I knew I wanted to try a cruise. :)

[malackym]

1989 on the NCL Starward!

I was with my future wife and her family and I just remember being happy! All the activities, waiting in line, eating dinner, the islands we stopped at, being on deck - everyone, the crew, staff & passengers, were just happy and having fun. And I thought, this is the way to go!

I also remember tearing my Achilles tendon on the fifth day and had to buy a ticket to fly home at the next island we stopped at. Even that didn't discourage me from future cruises.

Can't wait for our next one!

Mark.

[friendofg]

I started dating a bar manger/wine steward. :D

[davekathy]

Our first Cruise was in 1991 on American Hawaii Cruises, SS Constitution to Hawaii. The ship was 30,000 Gross Tons and very old. We thought the shipm was huge and would never be able t find our wat around her. We didn’t have a clue what we were in for. Long story short, we loved everything about the Cruise and we have been hooked ever since.

[reney313]

My first cruise was in 1991. I was 18 and cruised with my family onboard CCL Fantasy. I remember the drive in Miami over the bridge and seeing the ships and thinking how HUGE they were. I'll still never forget that!

 

We had flown in day of--something I have not done on my own cruises. We flew early in the morning from KC to Atlanta and then to Miami. My step sister (she was 18 as well) had tricked her mom....her boyfriend ended up joining us. My parents were not happy with having a family vacation that now included a boyfriend!

 

My sister and other step sister were both flying from St. Louis. They had bad weather. Their plane arrived around 7:00pm. They held the ship for the plane. I think there was something like 50 passengers on it...there might have been a few other planes late as well.

 

I do remember that they grabbed our luggage off the carousel and delivered to our cabins. I don't think we even saw our luggage since we dropped it off in Kansas City.

 

Anyway--back to the ship. Besides being so HUGE....we could also drink at 18 years old! Therefore, I don't remember much else...other than thinking how cool it was I could this little piece of paper for a card -- the old sail-n-sign --- and all my drinks were magically paid for!

 

Oh..I do remember almost going on a cruise around the cape with a sailor I met at a nightclub in Nassau. He said he had his yacht there--my sister had to drag me back to the ship. He also "said" he was some big attorney in Boston. I was pretty convinced!