How long did it take you to fall in love with cruising?

[confused123]

Did anyone else not LOVE their first cruise? I was on the NCL Jade last year out of Venice around the Greek Isles. I liked it, but didn't love it. But I liked it enough that I wanted to try it again but with a different type of ship and itinerary. But I read these boards and so many people talk about how they loved cruising from the very beginning. I wonder if any of you who didn't love it right away would share your stories? Thanks.

[tip]

Back in 1997 it was love at first sight. On the other hand, make that first sail!:D

[griffy116]

Our first cruise was MANY, MANY years ago and the ships have changed since then. We knew nothing about cruising and this was before the internet or CC. We took the advice of a TA and had an inside cabin for the four of us. Two adults and two children and we felt cramped, inconvenienced and there weren't very many activities that we enjoyed. The bathrooms back then were really painfully different. You could literally sit on the toilet and shower, while brushing your teeth. The dining experience was great, but it was a short cruise and I don't think we really experienced the WOW. While we enjoyed the cruise, we weren't able to cruise again for a number of years. On our next cruise, we fell in love immediately with the ship, the activities, and were WOWED by all of it. It didn't hurt that I divorced during that period of time between my first cruise and the 2nd cruise...lol. We've tried land vacations since then, but we've decided that we are at home and best suited for cruise vacations. We LOVE IT.

[Essiesmom]

I fell in love with cruising when I decided to book it. It was something exciting/exotic/romantic. Sure, things were different then. My bathroom wasn't even in the cabin, but down the hall. And I wasn't even in the lowest cabin class or deck. I haven't looked back. EM

[JawjaFatBoy]

Fell in love the first time! That was in 1991, aboard the Premier Atlantic, but it was 2010 before I boarded another ship. So many other things got in the way. Not least of which was my wife thinking she wouldn't enjoy it. Once I got her on a ship though, it was all over! Now we couldn't imagine not cruising!

[paul929207]

Our first cruise was nice. We said we would have to do it again some day. For the next 6 years we did other things on vacation. Then we took a Princess cruise to Alaska. That is what got us hooked. We had planned another cruise for the next summer before we finished the Alaska.

[Treven]

My first cruise was through the Hawaiian Islands and down to Fanning Island. I fell in love with cruising when the cab driver pointed out the ship as we approached the dock area there in Honolulu. I still get goosebumps :) every time I first see my new cruise ship.

[Shmoo here]

It was always my "dream vacation" to take a world cruise. Even way back when - before I ever stepped foot onboard a ship.

 

Once I was finally taking my first cruise, I was swept away as I stepped on the gangway to the ship. We've now done 13 cruises in 6 years (mostly longer ones). Couple more currently in the works, with plans for at least 4 others in the future.

[lmares1968]

We took our first cruise Nov. 30, 2014 on Navigator of the seas out of Galveston. I think all of the planning and reading so many cruise reviews left me anticipating much more.

Don't get me wrong, I met a bunch of wonderful people, and enjoyed certain aspects very much. Not only was I sea sick wearing a patch, but I got sick with norovirus on day 5 and that was a real drag.

We did book our next cruise on the last night of our cruise for Oasis of the Seas, Jan. 2016. I think the first cruise was a good learning experience.

Next time I won't over pack, I will be vigilant with using hand sanitizers up to the point of putting food or drink in my mouth, and I will not drink as much as I did on the first cruise. Live and learn. [emoji3]

[cruznjan]

I was hooked with my first cruise on the Rotterdam in 1980. I had been watching The Love Boat on TV, and when I got the opportunity to cruise, I fell in love with it.

[PEB]

I had absolutely no interest in taking the first cruise I ever took. I was talked into it by my wife and some friends so I went reluctantly. I fell in love with cruising the second I saw the ship. It was an old ship and not in the greatest shape but when I saw it I was hooked. It was the old SS Independence.

[kdkstormy]

We did our first cruise on our honeymoon in the Southern Caribbean in 2002. We have been hooked since. We booked an inside room on that one, but our next one was Panama Canal so did a balcony. We will never do anything less than a balcony now.

 

We love the relaxation of cruising and that we can do as much or as little as we want! No cooking, no dishes, no cleaning just having a relaxing time!

 

We would love to cruise more, but jobs, limited vacation time and of course $$$ are always factors!

Edited April 7, 2015 by kdkstormy

[cruzeluver]

It took me a long time to fall in love with cruising. I must have been on board for a solid 10 minutes that first cruise before deciding this was for me! ;)

[lmares1968]

I had absolutely no interest in taking the first cruise I ever took. I was talked into it by my wife and some friends so I went reluctantly. I fell in love with cruising the second I saw the ship. It was an old ship and not in the greatest shape but when I saw it I was hooked. It was the old SS Independence.

 

Sounds like my DH. We were docked next to The Allure of the Seas while in Cozumel and DH fell in love with her. So we booked another cruise on Oasis in Jan. 2016. It'll be a birthday cruise for him and he wants a behind the scenes tour as his birthday gift. I love that he's hooked!!;)

[cruznjan]

My father-in-law had no desire to cruise. His frame of reference was being on troop transports during World War I. My mother-in-law and I wanted to cruise to Bermuda. We convinced him and he loved it. They went on several cruises after that.

[dfish]

I was ambivalent towards cruising until I booked my first cruise and started reading Cruise Critic. I couldn't get enough. The morning of boarding we were up at 5:15 and on the dock watching our ship come into port. It was agony waiting to board. From that point on, I was hooked.

[geoherb]

It took us several cruises to get hooked. DH and I went on three cruises the first four years we were together and then did not go on another until five years later. We've made up for it since then, especially in the last three years. I can't wait until we retire in a few years and don't have to plan everything around DH's school breaks.

[Lerin]

I've loved all sorts of boats since I was a toddler. First cruise about age 6, loved it. Loved all of them since. Didn't totally love NCL, try a different line. Research around to see what best meets your needs.

[cruiseapril]

We had enjoyed a few cruises before our first 10 day Southern Caribbean cruise- that was so good that we "loved" it. We had such a good itinerary:

Curacao, Isla Margarita, Barbados, Dominica, St. Thomas, and Princess Cays.

 

We did some exciting excursions- the Restinga Lagoon in Isla Margarita and the Rain Forest in Dominica. We also saw a great deal of Curacao and Barbados on tours and enjoyed beach time in St. Thomas and Princess Cays.

 

We have done quite a few cruises since, but our second favorite, which we "loved" was a 10 day Southern Caribbean to: St. Maarten, St. Lucia, Barbados, Martinique, St. Thomas, and Half Moon Cay. We had one of the best excursions ever in Martinique- which surprised us. We went to St. Pierre and the Balata Gardens.

 

So we loved cruising when we had wonderful port experiences from beautiful ships (Dawn Princess and the Noordam.)

[hogan8er]

I become 100% hooked within the first five minutes of my very first cruise 3 years ago. My husband had cruised a few times before we met and told me he put it off as long as he could before he took me on my first cruise because he knew I would be instantly hooked and he was right! We are taking our 4th cruise next month and I cannot wait! This fall, we are taking our children for their first cruise and they are already getting anxious! It's a busy year! :)

[GUT2407]

First cruise we were worried:

 

DW has some moton sickness type issues.

 

I am a hermit.

 

Nether of us are party animals or drinkers.

 

Our first cruise was picked with great care, in port virtually every day, short cruise [8 nights], ports DW wanted to visit.

 

By about day 2 we said, "Yep we'll do this again."

 

HOOKED.

[DirtyDawg]

Love? Na, I'm still in the Lust phase.:p

[port msp]

Did anyone else not LOVE their first cruise? I was on the NCL Jade last year out of Venice around the Greek Isles. I liked it, but didn't love it. But I liked it enough that I wanted to try it again but with a different type of ship and itinerary. But I read these boards and so many people talk about how they loved cruising from the very beginning. I wonder if any of you who didn't love it right away would share your stories? Thanks.

 

It took my wife 10 years to talk me into the first cruise. I fell in "like" on that one. It was nice. The second one on NCL was "meh". I really liked the long sea days of our third cruise to the southern Caribbean on AOS. I fell in "contented happiness" in Alaska. I could sit and watch the scenery and wildlife of Alaska every summer. Now, it's become what we do to break up the cold MN winter. Plus, I get to go to some interesting places and see some interesting things, like the Panama Canal. I still like other trips, but cruises are easy, relaxing, and relatively inexpensive. I still don't love cruising, but I like it a lot.:)

[maywell]

Port stops at Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay, and Nassau; watching movies on Lido deck; entertainment shows in the theater / club and seaday brunch on my 1st cruise made me love cruising.:D It took my 2nd cruise to make me love the other passengers and more dining options the merrier. ;)

Edited April 8, 2015 by maywell

[ger_77]

Our first cruise in 1989 did it for me, even though I spent the first 2 days in bed with seasickness. Thankfully DH found Bonine in the onboard shop and brought it to me - within half an hour I was on my way to enjoying a wonderful way to spend vacation time. We didn't have much money (I won our first cruise), but we saved like crazy so we could see the new millennium in (1999-2000) in on a cruise ship. We just finished our 13th cruise and have many more destinations to visit in the future.

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)