How much did you pay for your FIRST cruise and when?

[Gram_Dude]

Do you remember your first cruise?  When was it, how much did you pay and what ship?

 

My DH and I are scheduled for our 3rd HAL cruise this December and I looked back at my notes and thought it might be an interesting topic to hear from you about your memories.  Thanks!

[catl331]

I don't remember how much I paid for my first two cruises before I was married, Queen of Bermuda in 1965 and Carnival Festivale in 1995. Our first HAL cruise as a couple was a 7-day AK on the Amsterdam in 2002 that cost about $4000 including air.  First cruise that I have an exact number on was a 10-day Baltic cruise on the Westerdam in 2005: $4212 not counting air or post-cruise hotel night. That was our first Veranda cabin!

[msmayor]

$799 for a week on Carnival Tropicale to the Mexican Riviera from Los Angeles - included air from NJ to LAX.

 

I was a single and booked on a 'share guarantee' through Singleworld - they guaranteed that I would not have to pay the single supplement whether they found a roommate for me or not.  Ended up sharing with a very nice older woman (I was only 23 at the time) and had a wonderful time!

[rothbury]

It would have been 1971, NY to Nassau/Freeport.  It was a charter cruise on the TSS Olympia.  Paid about $150 for a shared room.  Just recently transferred old 8mm film to DVD and had that cruise on it.  First cruise for DW and me was our honeymoon in 1975 on the Flavia from Miami to Nassau/Freeport.  Total for airfare and cruise was around $600.  Those were the days.  Still cruising but so many changes over the years.  Used to be every night was formal; long gowns for ladies and tux for men.  Definitely easier to pack now!

[57redbird]

Don't remember the price but it was a 7-day Alaska from Seattle in 2008 on the Oosterdam.

Edited October 12, 2019 by 57redbird
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[Poulsbo Cruisers]

I can’t remember the price, but it was our honeymoon cruise in the Eastern Caribbean aboard the SS Norway in May 1990 departing from Miami. That was when cruise fares included airfare and a free night in a hotel when flying from the west coast to the east coast. We flew from Seattle. 

[Homosassa]

1976 - seven night Caribbean cruise on the Chandris Britanis, fare, including roundtrip  air fare from NYC to Aruba (embarkation port), was $399 a person

[Copper10-8]

November 1991 - three day cruise Los Angeles (San Pedro), Catalina Island (Avalon) and Ensenada, Mexico on RCCL's Viking Serenade, a converted car ferry. Inside cabin, not one balcony to be found on the entire ship! Green Astro turf on the upper decks. Didn't matter, we were hooked! - Friday departure; Monday morning return - $746 for two

Edited October 12, 2019 by Copper10-8

[bamelin]

9 Night RCCL roundtrip New Jersey.  2 nights in Bermuda, 1 night Nassau and 1 night Cococay.  With air we paid around 3000 CAD for a balcony which at the time would have been around 2800 or so USD

 

We were totally hooked -- the big difference we noticed between cruising and all inclusive resorts is that the time on a cruise seemed to really fly by compared to a regular 7 night all inclusive beach hotel.  That and the food being a WAY higher quality than say going to Mexico.

[Ryten]

1969 on the Franconia, New York to Bermuda, 7 days. $79.00 for a C deck berth with a group of Boy Scouts. Ah the good old days.

[geocruiser]

It was either in 1976 or 1977 on Homes Lines SS Oceanic.  I payed about $550. for a week in a inside cabin.

[BJzink]

December, 1990.  Chandris cruise line (to become Celebrity) Fantasy ship.  5 day Caribbean, $499.00 I think.

[kazu]

First cruise was in 1987.

 

I remember my cost perfectly ....  nothing.  I won the cruise through work with HSC, air fare and many other amenities included (plus spending money).  A group of 200 of us for the first one. 

 

Yup, we were some of the infamous groups.  Many asked our leader which cruise we were on next so they could book 😉  We were a bit of fun on board. 😄 

 

HAL was our 2nd cruise (same price) on the lovely old Nieuw  Amsterdam.  That’s when I fell in love with HAL.

 

I didn’t pay for a cruise until just under a decade later when I took DH on his first cruise on the Volendam 😄 

 

 

 

 

[1ANGELCAT]

1976. SS Statendam NY to Bermuda. 7 days in the cheapest room on board . It had an upper and lower bunk. I believe it was around $400.00.

 

[RuthC]

Angelcat, mine is just about the same story, only two years later. 

The 1957 ss Statendam from NYC to Bermuda (and return) in June, 1978. It cost $350 per person, and I paid $700 due to the single supplement. It was an inside cabin with upper and lower berths. And it had the thinnest mattress on a hard wooden slab to sleep on. Tiny closets, too. 

But I had more fun than I had ever had in my life, and it started a lifelong love of cruising and seeing the world that continues to this day. 

[Mickb]

1989 - Cunard's QE2. 6 days -  NYC/Bermuda/Martha’s Vineyard/NYC - in Queens Grill £1400 each inc flights fro and to London. 
19 cruises later - still totally hooked!

 

[Petunia1950]

My first "cruise" was in 1963 -- SS United States, New York to Le Havre.  Military transport because my father was in the Air Force so the Air Force paid.  The United States was then the fastest ocean liner -- five days at sea total.  The entire family (luckily only 4 of us) slept in one two-bunk-bed room with a porthole.  And we were thrilled.  I still have the passenger list booklet and one or two of the menus.  Fast forward to 2008 for my second cruise on board RCL's Liberty of the Seas, then the largest of the RCL ships.  I think we paid about $1800 for a balcony cabin for two.  That one got me hooked, although I dumped RCL for good after they "couldn't find us" during a transatlantic cruise in 2012 so we missed the ship's tour we had booked.  I don't know where they thought we were since we had left Europe behind about 4 days earlier ...

[MISTER 67]

December 4th,1982 on Sitmar Cruises Fairwind, the former Cunard Ocean Liner Sylvania. Sailed from FLL to San Juan, St Thomas and Nassau.

Paid $1500.00 each including Air from Chicago for an outside cabin on the Ocean deck, what they called the Boat Deck in olden days.Great cruise and got us hooked. The whole crew was Italian and the food, entertainment and service was great. We sailed with Sitmar 3 more times, they were bought by Princess in 1988, we cried like babies as it was like we were losing a great friend.

Edited October 12, 2019 by MISTER 67

[wesport]

Caribbean Princess July 2007. Aloha deck. Baclony cabin. 1299 per person. I remember the travel agent scared us into booking the higher category cabin for less sway. Thats what sold us. 34 under our belt with 3 more scheduled. 

[MISTER 67]

1 hour ago, geocruiser said:

It was either in 1976 or 1977 on Homes Lines SS Oceanic.  I payed about $550. for a week in a inside cabin.

The Oceanic was a beautiful and great ship, feel sad that we never sailed on her. I remember watching her dock next to us in San Juan on our first cruise, I thought to myself, she looks like she's built like a battleship.

[Baabaaa]

Dolphin cruises around 1990.  We paid $199 pp for a 3 night Bahamas cruise.  The food was fabulous and we were hooked!  Taking our 36th cruise in January.🙂

[DeeniEncinitas]

This brings back memories!!

Sea of Cortez on The Ryndam 2004 out of our home town in San Diego!!

It was a 7 day cruise our cabin OV $999.00 total!!

I closed my dental office down for the week and surprised my staff with full pay and it had nothing to do with them having to take vacation to get paid! I really enjoyed our first cruise with HAL and continue with them even with other cruises on other ships.

Denise😊

 

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Our first cruise was actually a back-to-back cruise -- 14 days -- on the Cunard Countess -- back in the 1980's.  Small ship -- no balconies.

 

I have no idea what we paid.

[msmayor]

1 hour ago, Petunia1950 said:

My first "cruise" was in 1963 -- SS United States, New York to Le Havre.    

 

I can see her stacks every time we drive into Philadelphia, usually headed to either the stadiums or the airport.  I bet she was a beauty in her day...

 

I also remember as a young child being a visitor on the Leonardo DaVinci.  My grandmother was sailing on her down to the Caribbean and was supposed to take a small plane from our home area in Ocean County NJ up to Teterboro then cab it into NY, but the fog was so heavy that morning her flight was grounded.  We all piled in the station wagon to take her up there ourselves, and back then we got to go aboard as visitors.  I was amazed...a ship so big, and elevators!!  I knew back then I wanted to go on a cruise someday.

Edited October 12, 2019 by msmayor

[AncientWanderer]

So funny that I like small ships.

First cruise was to Western Caribbean on the Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas when she was the biggest cruise ship in the world.

It was all so exciting and glamorous.  Big time ballgowns for this big time ship.  That was around year 2000 or thereabouts. For a long time we managed about $100 pp per day, so must have been about that.