Tell us your story....Why did you start cruising?

[kazu]

In the spirit of the season, I thought it might be fun to have a thread with everyone's stories.

 

I never planned to cruise many years ago. My corporation decided to award a cruise to the top 42 employees out of their 38,000 at the time. I happened to be one of the lucky ones that got to go.

 

From then on, I was addicted and fortunate to go on a number of cruises on my employer's tab.

 

Eventually, I bit the bullet and paid for our own after I met DH and lured him on his first cruise :D And the rest, as they say, is history;)

 

What about you? Why did you start cruising?

[mame42]

When I was ten years old, I read H. G.Wells History of the World. For the next 50 some-odd years, I dreamed of visiting Crete. The NCL Jade finally made my dream come true.

[NMLady]

In 1999 we won a 4day Caribbean cruise from Frommers.com the guidebook company.

We discovered that we loved cruising and have paid for more than a dozen cruises since then.

We especially love sea days and drool at the idea of someday doing HAL's round trip cruise to Tahiti,

seeing exotic ports and having many many sea days.

Edited December 21, 2014 by NMLady

[cruisemom42]

My first cruise came about as a result of two things:

 

1) My grandmother and mother had made the TA crossing to Europe and back by ship several times (including the Queen Mary and a HAL ship I can't remember the name of at the moment) and enjoyed it.

 

2) My grandparents moved to Fort Lauderdale around 1970, just about the time that the fledgling "vacation cruise" industry was getting started, so we were aware of it.

 

One year for Christmas my parents decided to take us all -- including my sister and I -- on a Christmas cruise on the Emerald Seas. I was about 9 or 10. We had a cabin with a porthole on this 20,000 ton beauty. I loved it. (So, apparently, did my parents.)

 

After that, we took at least one cruise a year -- especially after we discovered the wonderful Sitmar line. Boy, do I miss them.... :(

[catl331]

I wanted to do something one summer instead of visiting relatives out of state. Cruise sounded good but DH was not interested. Decided I was going to Alaska with HAL on Amsterdam. DH changed his mind. He thought cruises were like the ones on the Love Boat. After the cruise, he said he would go on cruises if we sailed on HAL ships. So........we became HAL lovers. We just know what to expect when we sail HAL. We like their style and never had problems with the food.:)

[RuthC]

I was youngandsingleandgorgeous. And bored. The winter was heavy with snow that year, and I was sick of it, and the cold.

So, when the radio announcer I woke up to every morning organized a cruise to Bermuda it sounded perfect. I had never traveled, other than to visit relatives, so was excited to go off to see the world.

 

Well, it was a start on seeing the world, anyway. :D I had a wonderful time; came back high as a kite with excitement over the trip; and was hooked.

That cruise was on HAL; I followed up with a few more cruises on other cruise lines, and eventually found my way back to HAL to see a great deal more of this world.

[Krazy Kruizers]

After spending years touring all over Europe and the British Isles, I got sick of living out of one suit case per person, trying to find time to wash items, riding buses, planes, trains and cars for 3 weeks at a time, I told my DH I was done with that.

I booked us on a cruise back in the 80's -- a back-to-back for 14 days sailing out of San Juan on the tiny Cunard Countess. He really didn't want to go. I pointed out that it would be great to unpack and visit new places.

After he took that first cruise, he was sold on cruising.

[Dave in NJ]

Though I have less cruises (about 50) than many participants here, I probably started earlier than most, and they weren't cruises but transatlantic crossings. When my employer first sent me to Europe on business in middle 60s, rather than going by air as most of my co-workers did, I chose to cross by liner service; from NYC to Rotterdam on the ss Nieuw Amsterdam (1938), returning to NYC from LeHarve on the ss France. Before succumbing to air travel I made a few other crossings for business, later on the ss Rotterdam (1959) which I subsequently had quite a few cruises on. Then there followed a bit of hiatus until the early 80s when I began "cruising" as we know it today. Many fine ships to remember including almost all of HAL's fleet over those years, QE2, Vistafjord, Island Princess, Homeric (later to become HAL's Westerdam), Regal Empress, and so many others. I could write a book about the differences between the HAL experiences of the 60s and today.

Edited December 21, 2014 by Dave in NJ

[Vict0riann]

For most of my life (starting when I was 3 - Shanghai to New York), we travelled by sea. It certainly wasn't cruising, just sailing from "A" to "B", but we always enjoyed the sea. Flying, eventually, became the norm, but after we retired to Victoria and wanted to go to Alaska one year to visit some relatives in Anchorage, we decided to "go by sea" again, not even thinking about the stops on the way! It kind of took us by surprise how much fun it was, and although we made a few crossings after that, the thought of cruising was still in the back of our minds. Ten years ago (2004) we joined some family members on a HAL Baltic cruise, and we've been cruising ever since, interspersed with the occasional "plain old" crossing.

[iancal]

Worked for a large multinational IT company.

 

Every year they sent the top ten percent of sales execs worldwide on a reward trip-no expense spared. With spouse/guest

 

One of those trips happened to be on Crystal. Ship was chartered. They flew in entertainers, etc. We had a private concert in Ephesus, a street party in Mykonos, etc. We had never heard of Crystal prior to that or cruised for that matter.

 

We combined that cruise with an independent land trip and have been doing the same ever since. And even more of it in retirement.

Edited December 21, 2014 by iancal

[Gsel]

Around 1972 we had just taken custody of DH's three children and I quit my job as a FA. The shock was horrendous! A neighbor was a travel agent and she suggested we take a cruise just to get away and find some time to be by ourselves for a week. We left the kids with the in-laws and off we went. We had a cabin that was so small one of us had to sit on the bed for the other one to pass thru to the bathroom, but we were in heaven. We have been "hooked" ever since! We have cruised at least once a year ever since. The kids are grown now and we have grandchildren. We survived partially because we took that time for ourselves and we have "graduated" to larger cabins and longer cruises, but we still laugh at how much we enjoyed that first cruise.

[shrimpboat123]

About 3 years after I retired, my good friend and neighbour asked if we would be interested in a cruise. I said sure, if the price was right. Well, she came back with the pricing on a 10 day Panama Partial Transit. At first I was shocked and threw it in the garbage. :eek: Later I came to my senses and called her and said let’s talk. :rolleyes:

 

That year was April 2010. We went on that first cruise on Holland America and we haven’t looked back. :)

 

Thank you Kazu for introducing us to cruising. One of the best decisions I have made in years! :D

[borasue]

I'm a sailor at heart! I joined the Navy back in the 70's, before women were allowed on ships. I always felt like I missed out, even though I loved my time in the service. I was stationed in Norfolk and saw ships every single day for 4 years. Still, every time I see a ship of any kind my heart beats a little faster. Over the years we never had the time nor resources to cruise but we did many road trips. Now we seem to be better situated and have both, so we're going to play "catch up." ;) Our first cruise was last May and we were hooked! Cruising is absolutely the way to go! It appeases the "sailor" in me… there's no driving... and with HAL, your 5 star hotel & restaurants go with you! It can't get better than that. :p

[kazu]

Glad I started this thread. What great stories!:D

[I_r_a]

I was coming out of a bar in downtown Baltimore when a guy asked me for a match.

 

Next thing I know, there's a bag over my head.

 

I woke up in the foc'sle of a ship.

 

I'd been Shanghaied.

 

Ira

[Birder1]

We lived in South America & Europe in the 60s...the only form of travel to the States my mother would endure was via ship. I was a young convert, especially after seeing my first whale!

[Cruising-along]

Great thread, Kazu. Love hearing everyone's stories.

 

Strangely, I can remember the morning vividly. I was reading the Seattle Times and saw an ad for Holland America. I had never, ever thought about cruising as a vacation, but for some reason this ad really got my attention. I knew absolutely nothing at all about cruising, other than I remembered that my parents had sailed HAL to Alaska years ago. DH thought he was hearing things when I told him I'd like to go on a cruise. :D

 

We decided to take a 7-day Alaska cruise. No air travel, easy from Seattle, just to see if cruising was for us. That was 11 years ago, and since then we have cruised at least once/year and seen a lot of the world. We had taken a couple land trips to Europe before this, but now we love combining land and sea -- the best of both! We still haven't gotten back to Alaska, so much more I was eager to see first. But we're seriously thinking of booking a land/sea Alaska in the next couple years. Would love to see Denali.

[iancal]

Our next two cruises were last minutes through my business travel TA.

 

The Alaska was booked three days prior to a July departure, the Caribbean three weeks prior to a December departure.

[shandryl]

My first cruise was in 2003. I knew right then that this would be the perfect vacation for me. :D I went for one week. Then 10 days. Soon this was not enough. Tried 14 days. For a few years now 21 days seems to be the norm.........LOL I try to cruise once a year. :D If I could do it. I would cruise more.

Edited December 21, 2014 by shandryl

[taxmantoo]

HONEYMOON !!!

 

p.s. Still married and still cruising, both happily :)

[jtl513]

DW Carol told her version of the story in post #5 ... but I have to say that I was not "sold" on cruising by that first AK one in an OV on the Amsterdam in 2002. The first two days I was pretty seasick as we sailed along in fog and cold. I was unimpressed, and told my friends "never again".

 

It was three more years before she could get me to try it again, and we did land vacations instead. Finally she sold me on the idea of a Baltic cruise on the Westerdam in a verandah cabin, to see St Petersburg. I liked the W much better, and the weather and seas were much kinder. I got hooked on the idea of doing our traveling between countries while we slept and only unpacking once, rather than driving every day and trying to find the hotel and a good place to eat every evening! Our next cruise on the 6-month-old Noordam in the Med the next year was even better.

 

Now we still have to alternate between the larger, newer ships that I prefer and the smaller, older ships that she likes. :)

.

Edited December 21, 2014 by jtl513

[CowPrincess]

Interesting question kazu. I've been trying to figure out my answer.

 

Here's the short version: It was fate.

 

Here's a longer but still incomplete version, which I debated posting. It might seem somewhat "Debbie Downer" but from my perspective, it isn't. It is about hope and renewal.

 

After my husband died, I spent every day working, and every month-end making payments on the mountain of bills we'd incurred when he was ill.

 

One day a marketing piece arrived in the mail, with an invitation to a Holland America presentation on cruises to Alaska. It was being held nearby. I went. For years, I had wanted to cruise to Alaska. Signed up the next day. The agent tried to convince me to go on "some other" line, but I held firm. I wanted a quiet, sedate experience. I wanted to rest and restore, after about 2 1/2 years of not having any opportunity to rest. I wanted to do something, anything that would affirm that I was going to "make it". That I would still be able to find enjoyment in life.

 

Could only afford a single-share interior cabin so that's what I did (and truly couldn't afford that, given the "mountain of bills" I still had ;) ). The cabin goddesses smiled on me, and I got assigned a solo cabin with a porthole!

 

Except for the weather, the cruise met every need that I had at that exact moment in time. Having done something so outside my comfort zone, and having actually succeeded, I felt I could safely re-engage in life.

 

Now when I need restoration, I always head for the ocean, whether on a ship or land vacation. :)

[NoobCruise]

I grew up watching The Love Boat and dreamed of taking a cruise. DH served in the Coast Guard and was happy to try a cruise where he was waited on and didn't have to work long hours stuck in the engine room.

[Scrapnana]

My cruising days started because my mother did not fly. When I was about two or three she wanted to visit her sister and brother-in-law who were stationed in Panama, so we went by ship (alas, I remember nothing of that).

 

The next time I was on a ship, I was ten (and do remember bits and pieces of that). We lived in Florida and there were good deals for three day cruises to Nassau. I think that was when I got hooked.

 

A couple of years later, my mother wanted to fulfill a promise to her late husband to go to Europe. Since she did not fly, we of course went by ship. Her TA was able to find a ship that actually left from Port Everglades going to Southampton. Eleven days on the Johan van Oldenbarnevelt ( my mother proclaimed we were crossing on a banana boat when she first saw it because it was so small). The ship did circumnavigations mainly to transport people between Europe and Australia/NZ. Because of that, there were some other children onboard. We had an amazingly small cabin with a sink, bunk beds, and a porthole. The bathroom was down the corridor. I loved every minute of it. We returned from Europe on the Queen Mary which my mother said was what a ship should look like.

 

I would have one more cruise with my mother (the Raffaello to the Caribbean) before I got married and my cruising days came to an end for a number of years.

 

Now that I am retired I plan to make up for those years I could not cruise.:D

[lazey1]

Traditionally we spent vacations with my parents every other year. After hearing that one of my friends was going to Russia my dad decided that was what he wanted to do that year. I had to explain that I had recently changed jobs and no longer had 4 weeks vacation coming, only 2 weeks so we settled on Alaska instead. (Lots of Russian history in Alaska). Gary went to see the travel agency his company used and they talked him into an Alaska tour/cruise. All 4 of us loved the cruise part. We continued to vacation with them as long as my parents were alive, including several more cruises. Jane :)