What Made You Take Your First Cruise?

[Pale Gail Sails]

II I am interested in knowing how people chose to take their first cruise.  I took my first cruise decades ago when a friend and I decided to take an Alaskan cruise. We had watched a television program that depicted a rather glamorous/romantic side to cruising and we decided it would be a good way to meet guys and vacation at the same time. We did not do any research other than price and destination. Since we lived on the west coast, the Alaskan cruise was the cheapest cruise we could find. Unfortunately we ended up on a cruise geared to seniors so we did not meet anyone our age but we had a great time and the love of cruising was born. We both now cruise with our husbands.  What made you take your first cruise and where was it?

 

[Lugger11]

I was a few years out of my marriage and wanted to go south on a winter vacation. My previous resort vacation on my own bored me, but after doing some research online I found a singles group travel company and they did cruises. So I did that and had a great time, met some fantastic people, and learned to appreciate the nice things about cruises. I have since been on 2 more singles cruises and 2 cruises where I brought my kids.

[shipper50]

I was turning 62 and never had been on one. Was with someone who never had been and we went to Alaska. She wanted to stop and get the trinket of the day in all the jewelry shops and I really didn't get to see much. Best part was the train ride in Skagway. Now I have a big birthday coming in May and would like to go back next year. Have been looking for single cruises since that is what I am.;-)

[cruze610]

My first cruise was in 2002.  I was very reluctant to go as I didn’t know the first thing about cruising and also since I started my career in 1996 I never took a vacation.  A group of friends which consisted of about 12 people were going on a cruise on the Sea Princess and one person bailed out. That left one person alone in a cabin.  I didn’t really know this person to well but I knew him enough to know he was a good guy. I kept saying no but my friends persuaded me to go telling me they had been on 3-4 Princess Cruises and it’s a lot of fun.  I decided to go and I’m glad I did.  I got the bug!  I’ve been on a bunch of cruises since and I’m hooked.  My wife and I are going on a cruise in May after about a 5 -6 year break and couldn’t be more excited. I think tjis year will be our 17th cruise. 

[LandlockedCruiser01]

I was pretty much pushed into my first cruise by job burnout, that was starting to become medical.  I was doing the work of 3 people.  Not only that, I was getting calls in the middle of the night, due to the nature of my position.  So I wanted to take a vacation where I couldn't be reached from the US.  That's where a cruise came in.  I didn't have anyone to go with, so I went solo.  Singles' cruises were too expensive, so I picked a regular one.  Well, there was a way to call shore-to-ship, and to give me wifi connectivity onboard, but I knew my boss was too cheap for pay me for it, and I pretended not to know those things existed.

 

Wow!  I ended up having so much fun!  At the time, I was young enough to mix fairly well with the 20-something partiers, who I hung out with for a part of the cruise, in addition to the older crowd who liked my first-timer enthusiasm.  And it felt really freeing to know that my boss can't reach me, since I was in outside the range of the US cell towers.

 

When I returned, I found out that a critical server went kaput while I was gone.  My colleagues and my boss worked 36 hours almost non-stop to put a new one in place and get it running.  Karma!

Edited March 14, 2020 by LandlockedCruiser01

[crusinpsychRN]

I've been on boats all my life as dad built his own or bought much larger ones, the biggest a 55 ft yacht docked behind our house in the canal in Coral Gables. As an adult my boyfriend and I decided to cruise with my 2 kids. BF was a PIA, never again. He complained about everything. Ugh! I try to go twice a year if $$ able. 

[Megraz]

My first cruise is booked for Jan 2022 to the Western Caribbean and Im very much looking forward to it.
I had originally had one booked with my boyfriend to Alaska in May 2022 but I dumped him and decided I was going to take the credit I already had towards the other trip and go on one by myself.

[shipper50]

Well since I posted to this 2 years ago, I booked another cruise to Alaska for 5-13-2023 and going solo and its a birthday cruise on Holland Eurodam. Wont be any trinkets this trip.☺️

[shipper50]

On 10/8/2022 at 8:20 PM, shipper50 said:

Well since I posted to this 2 years ago, I booked another cruise to Alaska for 5-13-2023 and going solo and its a birthday cruise on Holland Eurodam. Wont be any trinkets this trip.☺️

And to think hopefully on this trip there wont be any masks for one to wonder how the person looks without it. Right AmyJA?😷

[Julie MacCoy]

It was 1976, and I was young and single.  I read an article in Glamour about Singleworld cruises, and I was intrigued.  Plus I had already read The Love Boats by Jeraldine Saunders.  So I booked a seven-night cruise out of New York City (I lived in New Jersey) to Nassau and Bermuda. I was hooked!  Unfortunately, Singleworld went out of business a few months after I took what wound up being my final cruise with them sometime in the 1990s.  Since then, I've cruised either with a friend or solo, but when I've cruised solo without Singleworld, it just wasn't the same.

[George C]

On 3/25/2023 at 3:21 PM, Julie MacCoy said:

It was 1976, and I was young and single.  I read an article in Glamour about Singleworld cruises, and I was intrigued.  Plus I had already read The Love Boats by Jeraldine Saunders.  So I booked a seven-night cruise out of New York City (I lived in New Jersey) to Nassau and Bermuda. I was hooked!  Unfortunately, Singleworld went out of business a few months after I took what wound up being my final cruise with them sometime in the 1990s.  Since then, I've cruised either with a friend or solo, but when I've cruised solo without Singleworld, it just wasn't the same.

I did over a dozen single world cruises starting in 1977 on Rotterdam out of New York City, last was 1990 , they were totally great was in my 20’s in the beginning, got engaged in 1990 so that ended that , I actually got engaged on a single world cruise on sovereign of the seas , they had some great hosts .