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

[0bnxshs]

A 20th anniversary promise that occurred 10 years late! :o

[ger_77]

Kazu, check your FB messages.

 

Smooth Sailing ! :) :) :)

[TBcruisers]

I never thought about taking a cruise despite great familiarity with the Love Boat series on ABC. However, and in retrospect quite fortuitously, I won a raffle for a 3 day Bahamas cruise on the old Premier Cruise Line. After the first day my wife and I were hooked. Looking back on the two Premier cruises we took I have to say how wonderful they were -- full of fun activities and fairly good food.

[kazu]

Oh dear Jacqui, that does not sound good; is there anything we can do for you? I'm sorry you are saddened at such a beautiful time of year.

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

 

thank you or your kindness. The last thing I want to do is bring this thread down or focus on something it is not intended for.

 

I am truly enjoying everyone's stories and thank everyone for posting.

 

Blessings to all at this special time of the year.

[Salty Dawg]

thank you or your kindness. The last thing I want to do is bring this thread down or focus on something it is not intended for.

 

I am truly enjoying everyone's stories and thank everyone for posting.

 

Blessings to all at this special time of the year.

 

May Peace be with you and your family during this Christmas season and into the New Year. Keep the Faith!

[LindaM]

I would guess it was the Love Boat series that got us started. We actually sailed the Med on the original Pacific Princess in 1996, where we saw a huge whale! We started on Carnival Mardi Gras, then Cunard Countess and the 3rd was the Norway, which we sailed twice. When we started in the late 70's, we didn't chose HAL Volendam because of the blue hull....for whatever crazy reason, I thought a cruise ship should be white! I cannot bear to look at the current NCL ships!

[RuthC]

our first cruise was on the PO Dawn in 2012....I decided to book the cruise as my husband and I really needed something special to look forward to as our youngest son died the previous year, we have been on 3 cruises and have managed to light a candle in catholic churches for our son on each cruise we went onto.

What a lovely tradition. He is truly with you touring the world.

[Himself]

I wanted t\o try it once. That was 18 years ago and I am still at it.

[USNUZULOOSE]

Back in 06 the people who my husband worked for had kids in wrestling, and they have a drawing every year. We happened to win first prize which was a cruise paid in full, which included tips, taxes and port fees. We have been cruising ever since.

[USN59-79]

As you can note from my signature, I spent about seven years at sea on three Navy ships usually doing what we called Westpac cruises. On the first ship, a Seaplane Tender, I came aboard as a member of the deck force. Cleaned the decks, chipped paint, and qualified as coxswain of a 50 foot motor launch. By the time I came to the second ship, a Destroyer Tender, I was trained as an electronics technician and managed an electronics calibration laboratory. As an enlisted sailor, we slept on canvas racks about four high, maybe 50 men to a room (berthing compartment) The last ship, a Repair Ship, I spent three years as an officer, managing a division of electronic technicians and actually got to drive the ship as Officer of the Deck for Independent Steaming. While living conditions were better as an officer, (I had my own stateroom) it didn't compare to the first cruise we took on the old Noordam in 1994. Seven days Vancouver to Alaska with no responsibilities except to enjoy ourselves. An inside cabin was just fine. We gradually learned that cruising was more comfortable and just as affordable as land tours so we now try to take at least two long cruises a year.

[solocanadian]

Have been enjoying this thread, Kazu, for the past 3 days, this being Boxing Day here in Canada. It has kept me nicely entertained. My late husband, Fred and me started cruising in 1989 on the then brand new Crown Odyssey on a Panama Canal transit from San Diego to Barbados. A beautiful glitzy ship. It is now the Balmoral. We liked the experience so much we did it the following year and got hooked. We so much enjoyed unpacking only once. The rest is history. Should morf into a 5 star mariner next year.

[1of4]

Lovely thread this time of year, or any time.

 

I used to babysit at a house with cable and watch The Love Boat. It was my first exposure to cruising., except for the ferry to/from Prince Edward Island.

 

Fast forward 20 years and I convinced a friend to take a 2 week repositioning cruise from Barbados to Cadiz. It was on a small Greek ship whose name is escaping me at the moment that we booked through Air Canada Vacations or Sunquest. I had just recovered from Cancer which was diagnosed just after my fiancée was run down by a drunk driver. I deserved a break. What a break it was! Canary Islands, Morocco, Gibraltar, Seville. I love to travel.

 

When we wanted to take a family cruise to Alaska in 2011 to see glaciers and a stop in the Yukon (from Skagway) which was a dream of mine all my research pointed us to HAL. We had tried the Golden Princess and found is very large with crowds everywhere.

 

We found our fit for family cruising. We still talk about that cruise.

[Ryten]

Interest started back in the sixties when we still able to have "Bon Voyage" parties on board to wish our neighbors a great trip to where ever. Ah, the good old days. Was then part of a boy scout troop whose leader had contacts with a troop in Bermuda. We collected and sold newspapers at the scrap yard to earn our $79.00 fare on the C deck of the Franconia out of New York. Flash forward to 2001 when I was told by my employer that I needed to use or lose 22 vacation days. A couple of days later a Holland America brochure arrived at my doorstep and discovered what to do with a lot of those vacation days before Christmas. Have been blessed to cruise with my wife at least once a year since. Doesn't get any better!

[Host Walt]

Interest started back in the sixties when we still able to have "Bon Voyage" parties on board to wish our neighbors a great trip to where ever. Ah, the good old days. Was then part of a boy scout troop whose leader had contacts with a troop in Bermuda. We collected and sold newspapers at the scrap yard to earn our $79.00 fare on the C deck of the Franconia out of New York. Flash forward to 2001 when I was told by my employer that I needed to use or lose 22 vacation days. A couple of days later a Holland America brochure arrived at my doorstep and discovered what to do with a lot of those vacation days before Christmas. Have been blessed to cruise with my wife at least once a year since. Doesn't get any better!

Thanks for the memory rejigger. Back in the early 70's we had a terrific bon voyage celebration on board for a colleague who was transferring to Australia and who opted to go from NYC to Sydney via QE2. Loved the idea of a cruise at the time but totally left my mind until the mid 1980's when my wife got me to acquiesce to an Alaska cruise on HAL.

[ski ww]

My first cruise was a gift I gave to myself when I got divorced. It was in 1979 one week News Years eve cruise on the original Carnival ship, the Carnival, which in turn was an old Canadian Pacific Steamship the SS Empress of Canada, or maybe the SS Empress of Great Britain. Now there was the party boat, don't know if or when we ever went to sleep. Run into a group of about 20 - 25 people from the Toronto area and they took my bubby & I under their wing and party hardy we did. Have tried 4-5 different cruise lines but we love HAL.

Allan & Marlane

[PirateShark]

We finally had the time (and the means) to take a special trip on our 25th anniversary. Our TA suggested a cruise since DH wanted to go to Alaska. We splurged on Regent in the tiniest, cheapest cabin they had. We got lucky as an insurance company wanted our cheap cabin for a sales award and we were upgraded to one of the big suites with a butler! Talk about being spoiled. So much so that we won't cruise without a balcony. Unfortunately work keeps us from cruising more often but cruising will be our vacation choice as long as we can do it :D

[peddieplease]

Kazu, I, too, want to thank you for starting this thread. How great it has been to read all the stories. This has been so positive!

 

Like many others, I must mention the Love Boat. We didn't cruise for many years after I saw this show as a young girl, but it resonated. I've always been fascinated with ships and the sea and was quite a Titanic buff. When our children were in their teens, we finally had time to think about a vacation for ourselves, and I remember very clearly sitting on our couch with all the glossy cruise brochures, dreaming about which one we would take. I finally got hubby to agree to a cruise, and he loved it as much as I did. There's nothing like going to different ports, yet not having to unpack, and along the way enjoying the ocean and the ambiance on board. What a wonderful way to see some of the world. While we haven't been on many, it will always be counted as among our best vacations, and the most exciting of all!:)

[kazu]

What great stories are on this thread.

 

Thank you all for sharing.

 

and I will confess, I was a Love Boat fan and was quite shocked when I saw my first cabin :):p

Edited December 28, 2014 by kazu

[Susie51]

In 1993, my husband booked a surprise cruise for our family. 3 nights on NCL Southward to Ensenada and Catalina! We dressed up each night for dinner and so did everyone else. There was an elaborate midnight buffet each night also. I was hooked.

[Traveling Dot]

After we moved to Massachusetts it was a while before I even thought of going anywhere. In 2001 I did my first European vacation with my daughter and younger son. My husband has problems with his legs so he told me to take my son and enjoy myself. My daughter and I traveled to Europe on bus tours for the next 7 years. That was when I did my first cruise to the Greek isles as part of our bus tour of Greece. I did fine and when I got home told my TA that I enjoyed the cruise. She sent us an invitation to tour the Maasdam which was in port in Boston. I took my husband with me and he was surprised by what the ship looked like and meeting and talking to other people at our included lunch. We took home a catalog on cruises on HAL and I talked him into trying the one that left from Boston and went to Canada maritimes and back to Boston (7 days). He had a good time and he was hooked.

 

The following year we went to a AAA travel show, I had already decided that I wanted to do a cruise tour to Alaska but I didn't tell him that. We booked the cruise at the show and my younger son was going with us (in case I needed help with my husband being we had to fly up to Alaska). Needless to say we were really hooked after that cruise. We booked a cruise through the Panama Canal while on the ship and have been cruising at least once a year ever since. Even now that my husband needs to use a cane and a wheelchair for longer distances we are still cruising. He says to me that he never thought he would get to see as much of the world that we have seen through cruising with HAL. He has already picked out places for us to cruise for the next couple of years (something for him to look forward to during the long winters). And of course since we did that cruise through the Canal we can't do any cruise less than 12 days. We love being on HAL ships because of the size of the ships and the friendly crew.

 

:):)

[Host Walt]

... We love being on HAL ships because of the size of the ships and the friendly crew.

:):)

 

Ironic that mentioned your tour of the MS Maasdam and that you say this about why you like HAL.

 

When we sailed on the maiden voyage of the MS Maasdam in 1993 we found the ship to be "comfortably large" compared to other cruise ships we'd sailed (HAL and Princess), most of which were less than 1,000 pax capacity. Nowadays, the older "S" class ships like Maasdam are considered small compared to the more recently built ships.

 

The good part, as you mention, is that HAL ships are uniquely well designed for the mobility challenged passenger with well placed elevators and easily accessible public spaces.

 

BTW, regarding the friendliness of the staff, we bring along maps of Indonesia and the Philippines so we can learn about the homes of the folks we meet on board. They love talking about their countries and families and are delighted when we mention the towns and islands we've heard about from others.

[sevigny]

When we first married, we had to return to Iowa for my husband to finish his graduate degree and myself to go back to work right away. We really had only a one night honeymoon, before we were back on the road to school. Once he graduated, we moved back to Illinois and we both started our jobs immediately.

 

About a year later, my parents suggested that we should try a cruise in the summer for our long delayed honeymoon. We booked an inside cabin on the Song of Norway - talk about tiny! But we really enjoyed it - we had never been to the Caribbean and the water was so warm and wonderful - we were hooked!

 

That was 36 years ago, and we still cruise as much as we can.

[freanesi]

Thank you Kazu for starting this thread and giving us all so much lovely reading over the festive season. It's great to read so many different stories. I've always been a camper, backpacked through Asia and land based tours through Europe. Never really considered cruising until DH and I saw an ad for a 14 day Mediterranean cruise plus air fares for a great price. We went and are hooked. In saying this though it has taken another 6 years until we sail away again, next year back to the Med on our first HAL cruise on the Zuiderdam. It can be expensive from our part of the world as we have to take into account airfares etc, but have bitten the bullet so to speak and are cruising to celebrate our 60th birthdays - so excited. After that we will be planning our retirement cruise. Happy New Year to all and may it be filled with love, laughter, light and happiness for you all. Jen.

:)