How or Why Did You Decide to Take Your First Cruise??

[Pale Gail Sails]

8 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

...

And of course they had the famous "midnight buffets" in the MDR.

 

On the first couple of cruises that I took, there were the midnight buffets but I don't know when they were phased out (or have they been?).  On the last 10 cruises we have been on I don't recall midnight buffets.  If anyone knows if they still exist, LMK.

[Lois R]

I have not sailed the big ships in quite a few years but even when I did, memory tells me the midnight buffets were

gone----I think they came to the realization it was a total waist....they made so much food and the amount that

gone thrown out? OMG...…..enormous.   My last 5 cruises definitely did not have it.  2 of those were river cruises

[jeremyosborne81]

1 minute ago, Lois R said:

they made so much food and the amount that gone thrown out?

A lot of extra food ended up in the staff mess the next day.
 - Carnival crew member 2007

[Lois R]

8 minutes ago, jeremyosborne81 said:

A lot of extra food ended up in the staff mess the next day.
 - Carnival crew member 2007

Even so, back in the day those buffets were MASSIVE.  As mentioned, I have not sailed big ships in quite a while but

even when I did, I don't remember them having those buffets at that time.

[rkacruiser]

My friend and I chose to take our first cruise because we wanted to celebrate the awarding of our Master's degree after 5 years of effort while we still were working.  

 

I had some inkling of what to experience from previous visits to ocean liners prior to their sailing from New York as a visitor.  My family had also had a week-end cruise on the S. S. South American of the Georgian Bay Lines that was very enjoyable.

 

I was able to "sell" my friend on this concept in attempt to celebrate a degree that we had both so hard had to work, that he agreed.  Subsequently, he had his own sailing plans when I was not able to join him!

[Krazy Kruizers]

For years my DH was hooked on land trips all over Europe, ect. 

 

I got sick of living out of a suitcase for 3 weeks at a time.  So in the 80's I book us on back-to-back cruises on Cunard.  For 14 days we were unpacked and visiting different places.  DH loved it and thus we were hooked.

[geoherb]

A friend talked my ex and me into going on a cruise with her. We had a great time. But six months later my ex and I broke up. About a year after meeting my current husband, I talked him into taking a cruise (which was in 1989). We both had a great time. We've been on around 40 more cruises together since then.

[Ava79]

On 4/13/2020 at 6:02 AM, geoherb said:

A friend talked my ex and me into going on a cruise with her. We had a great time. But six months later my ex and I broke up. About a year after meeting my current husband, I talked him into taking a cruise (which was in 1989). We both had a great time. We've been on around 40 more cruises together since then.

This is a sign! The person you really want to spend your whole life with usually shares your main hobby. My husband and I have almost the same story, but we have visited only 5 cruises. We hope to break your record ;)

[Pale Gail Sails]

My husband and I both love cruising but interestingly enough, we like it for different reasons.  I enjoy sitting on our balcony reading in solitude with no interruptions while my husband wanders the ship meeting people.  We meet up for trivia and meals.

[SelectSys]

In 2000, Disney sent a promotional VHS video to our house.  My kids at the time were very young and started watching it over and over again.  At some point we decided to take the plunge and book the cruise.  Everyone enjoyed the experience and we were fans from that point on.  

 

We were scheduled to go on a family cruise in a couple of weeks with the kids and their significant others.  I guess that will be waiting for another day.

 

[richstowe]

21 hours ago, SelectSys said:

In 2000, Disney sent a promotional VHS video to our house.  My kids at the time were very young and started watching it over and over again. 

Boy they are smart (devious).😉

[Pale Gail Sails]

I received a message on my webpage from a couple that started to cruise when they won a free cruise in a charity draw. It was a four day Caribbean cruise in an inside cabin and was so much fun it hooked them on cruising. I also received a message from a couple who went on a cruise as a honeymoon and had a horrible time. They were never going to cruise again but people kept telling them to give it another try. After 12 years, they did give cruising another shot and loved it. They did not elaborate on the differences between the two cruises but their story interests me. I wonder how many people would give cruising a second chance if their first experience was a negative one.

[iancal]

Our first cruise was a sales achievement award on Crystal Symphony.  Fabulous Med cruise.

 

Our second cruise, the first one we purchased and took our children, was an RCI to Alaska.  We lived in Vancouver, BC at the time.

 

I asked the TA who did my business travel to price one out.  She did and we both agreed that it was too expensive.  Her advice...don't book, I will call you when a good cruise price pops up closer to sail time.  She did.  We sailed in mid July.  Booked on Wednesday or Thursday, sailed on Saturday.  At half the price she had quoted a month prior.    

[cruisemom42]

14 hours ago, Pale Gail Sails said:

 I also received a message from a couple who went on a cruise as a honeymoon and had a horrible time. They were never going to cruise again but people kept telling them to give it another try. After 12 years, they did give cruising another shot and loved it. They did not elaborate on the differences between the two cruises but their story interests me. I wonder how many people would give cruising a second chance if their first experience was a negative one.

 

I had a similar experience -- horrible honeymoon cruise. Luckily I'd been on previous cruises so I knew that we had just had terrible luck. But it took me 10 years to coax then-DH on another cruise ship (and he loved it).

 

[SelectSys]

On 4/21/2020 at 5:40 AM, richstowe said:

Boy they are smart (devious).😉

 

Disney is nothing if not smart in terms of their marketing and overall success as a company.  Our joke was/is, why does Mickey have such a big, white hand?  So he can carry lots of cash!