Favorite experience from your first cruise?!

[SewMuch]

Our first cruise was on Carnival Inspiration, which was brand new at that time (and had a really strange decorating scheme). We knew nothing about cruising, except for the pictures in the brochure! We boarded straight into the Grand Atrium which just took our breath away. There was a line of ship staff waiting for us, and one of them took us right to our cabin. We felt like royalty!

[cpayne]

Not only do I remember the ship for my favorite cruising memory (Carnival Celebration), but I also remember the exact date and time of the favorite moment.... March 28, 1997 at exactly 6:05 p.m.

 

This was my 1st cruise and I was traveling solo. I was seated at a table for 10 people. A family of 4 was seated with me when a very nice looking gentleman was then seated at our table across from me. After speaking with the husband from the family of 4 for just a few moments the husband says you need to meet this young lady sitting next to my wife. She's traveling alone too. This nice looking gentleman looks at me and says you too are traveling alone? Then why am I sitting clear over here? He proceeds to get up and move to the seat next to me. 5 wks later he was my fiance and 6 months later at 6:05 we became husband and wife.

 

18 yrs later and still cruising. In fact, we leave Sunday for our 19th cruise!

 

I tease him that he's my only vacation souvenir that hasn't eventually ended up at a garage sale or being donated to a thrift store!

[BJane]

My first cruise was also on NCL Starward in 1979. I went with three girl friends and none of us had every cruised before. I will never forget sailing into our first port which was Port Antonio, Jamaica. We had a wonderful time and when the man I was dating wanted to get married I agreed if we could take a cruise for a honeymoon. We did and we went on take many more before he became ill and we had to stop. I am so grateful for the many memories I have.

[dplusd]

What I remember most fondly of our first cruise was the very beginning. Standing on our balcony, hearing and feeling the engines come to life, and then watching as we ever so slowly moved away from the pier and began our journey.

 

A close second was feeling the gentle rocking of the ship as we lay in bed the first night.

[DreamingBig1]

Not only do I remember the ship for my favorite cruising memory (Carnival Celebration), but I also remember the exact date and time of the favorite moment.... March 28, 1997 at exactly 6:05 p.m.

 

This was my 1st cruise and I was traveling solo. I was seated at a table for 10 people. A family of 4 was seated with me when a very nice looking gentleman was then seated at our table across from me. After speaking with the husband from the family of 4 for just a few moments the husband says you need to meet this young lady sitting next to my wife. She's traveling alone too. This nice looking gentleman looks at me and says you too are traveling alone? Then why am I sitting clear over here? He proceeds to get up and move to the seat next to me. 5 wks later he was my fiance and 6 months later at 6:05 we became husband and wife.

 

18 yrs later and still cruising. In fact, we leave Sunday for our 19th cruise!

 

I tease him that he's my only vacation souvenir that hasn't eventually ended up at a garage sale or being donated to a thrift store!

Great story! Thanks for sharing .

 

Sent using trained typing rabbits.

[George C]

My 1st 7 day cruise was the Rotterdam out of NYC in 1977 loved everything about that ship truly elegant, traveled with singleworld had a fun group of about 30 singles we all had a blast very special ship, 1st RCCL was Sovereign which also was elegant and by far nicest ship around in 1988 ( also got engaged on Sovereign)

[dpostman]

Our first cruise was only a few years ago on the Disney Dream. I have many many fond memories of the whole experience, but every time we talk about that cruise, the image that pops into my head is the following: We had a balcony room on the port side towards the bow. The first day was a sea day but the second was in Nassau. We woke up that morning at around 7am, and the kids were still sleeping. The curtains over the patio door were drawn shut and could barely tell it was sunny outside. My wife asked me if we were still moving, and I could not tell. So I made my way over to the patio doors past the kids and opened up the curtains, only to be greeted by the most wonderful view of turquoise water in glorious sunlight, and a thin strip of land with palm trees just slowly going by. I was so moved by the scene and the confusion of still moving and not feeling it, that I walked out on the balcony. At this point my kids woke up and came out to join me and their eyes were opened as wide as they could at the view. Not me in my underwear out on the balcony, but at seeing something that seemed like it was from a movie. A few minutes later, the ship started to pivot so it could back into it's berth. As it turned, we could see other ships that were already docked with the sun rising just behind them. When we finished pivoting, we were facing the beach side and could see Senior Frogs and other businesses along the shore. That view of the strip of land going by and the ships in the docks will be forever etched in our minds.

 

BTW I did put pants on before we started pivoting :D

 

dp

Edited February 9, 2015 by dpostman

[Seawitch]

Our first cruise was on RCCL's Song of America to the western Caribbean in 1988. Like many other posters, the size of the ship with it's magnificent prow was the first thing that stunned us. The next was the private island of Labadee. No roller coasters, zip lines, cabanas or pier. Just a pristine and unadulterated beach and an island waiting to be explored. And just seeing "our ship" in the ocean backdrop waiting for us to reboard made this the cruise we never forgot and the one that got us hooked on cruising.

[ontheweb]

Our first cruise was in 2002 to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. I suggested Bermuda; my wife suggested Alaska. (We have since cruised to both of those.)

 

I found a Barcelona to Barcelona cruise, and knew my DW who is the world's best elementary art teacher would love that.

 

Jet lagged, we almost missed our first port, only getting up in time for the last tender.

 

That port was the experience I wish to write about for this thread. It was Villefrance. We went to Nice and visited the Matisse and Chagall museums. We then went to the beach so DW could swim in the Mediterranean. She plopped me down behind some topless French women while she went for a swim. (She claimed she did not notice.) All together a pleasant day and a great start for cruising.

Edited February 9, 2015 by ontheweb

[jocap]

We'd both sailed many, many times on ferries, with bunk beds and showers down the corridors, and had seen them evolve over the years with better décor, food and some amusement on board such as a cinema.

Never did we imagine the inside of a ship would contain a massive, glorious atrium, with glass lifts and soft carpets, which was our first glimpse of the Sea Princess.

[fendbass]

... was for our honeymoon, on the old Carnival Jubilee,out of Tampa. I thought it was HUGE. Made a fool of myself by heckling the comedian (boy, did he get me good), kept tripping over what seemed like thousands of kids because it was spring break. We came down for the midnight buffet, out assistant waiter spotted us, and made up a plate with chocolate-covered strawberries. He got a good tip at the end of the cruise

 

I didn't care... I was drunk with love, enjoyed every minute of it

 

Our next cruise, we had a balcony cabin on the Celebrity Infinity in Hawaii. Spoiled me for life, became a balcony snob

[euro cruiser]

My first cruise was so awful that I didn't cruise again for more than 20 years, but it wasn't all bad.

 

The most memorable thing about that first cruise was sailing out of Manhattan, past the Statue of Liberty and under the Verrazano Narrows bridge. The second most memorable thing was the appearance of about 20 young women, all recent high school graduates, in bikinis and spiked high heels. The only place I'd ever seen women wearing high heels with bathing suits up to that point was the Miss America pageant ... I didn't know that actual people in real life dressed that way!