Picture from the first ship you ever sailed on

[Brerpossum]

 

Edited August 28, 2020 by Brerpossum
Change wording

[Brerpossum]

Correction to above.....

Our first cruise was 1994 on the Dolphin line “Seabreeze”, what a cruise.  The food was excellent, and the wait staff taught us the proper use of the silverware.  We had an ocean view room, being a port hole that you unscrewed the two bottom bolts and swung the window upward.  Oh, I can still remember that ocean sound going to sleep.  Seven night eastern and western Caribbean cruises.

Last cruise was a 15 N Hawaii in the Eclipse in 2019.
Loved it so much we returned for another, and then we were hooked.
Jerry

Edited August 28, 2020 by Brerpossum
edit

[romulus22]

On 8/26/2020 at 7:33 PM, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

First two ships:  USAT Henry Gibbons which took us from New York to Cuba and Puerto Rico.  MSTS Buckner which took us from New York to Bremerhaven.  Can't remember at the moment the name of the ship we took in the Med.

 

Boy, does this bring back some memories.  My dad was stationed in Puerto Rico, so our first trip to San Juan was the MSTS Pvt William H Thomas in August, 1956.  I was going into 4th grade.  All of our other trips (3 in total) were on the Henry Gibbons, which I think is the top picture.  My dad, and one of my brothers and I were in cabin 301, which had 8 bunks, and was as far back, and as far down as you could go for a passenger cabin.  Shared bathroom down the hall.  This ship was in service until about 10-15 years ago, mostly as a training ship at the Cape Cod Maritime Academy

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

1 minute ago, romulus22 said:

Boy, does this bring back some memories.  My dad was stationed in Puerto Rico, so our first trip to San Juan was the MSTS Pvt William H Thomas in August, 1956.  I was going into 4th grade.  All of our other trips (3 in total) were on the Henry Gibbons, which I think is the top picture.  My dad, and one of my brothers and I were in cabin 301, which had 8 bunks, and was as far back, and as far down as you could go for a passenger cabin.  Shared bathroom down the hall.  This ship was in service until about 10-15 years ago, mostly as a training ship at the Cape Cod Maritime Academy

 

Our cabin on the Buckner had a private bathroom which was a good thing because all of us got seasick during a storm in the North Sea!  No stabilizers on those babies.  Don't remember the details of the cabins on the Gibbons, I was younger then and I'm quite sure they didn't allow us to be separated from our parents as they did on the Buckner when we were teenagers.  Which was probably not their brightest move--what could go wrong with a bunch of teen girls in a cabin together?!  Let's just say we didn't sleep much.  Did I mention there were troops on those ships being shipped to Germany?  Boys!  Teenaged girls pretty much unsupervised.  It was a great trip!

 

[Mr&MrsBee]

I sailed on the  USTS Simon Buckner  to Bremerhaven in the early 60's and returned on the USTS Gordon.

[Lois R]

On 8/24/2020 at 3:32 PM, phoenix_dream said:

First and worst cruise ever - Carnival Carnivale.  Our honeymoon cruise.  Weather and seas were horrible.  I was seasick almost the entire time.  Swore I would never cruise again!  DH convinced me otherwise, and here I am with 60+ cruises under my belt; 50 of those on Celebrity and hoping for many more!

Hey stranger😀 what year was that? I sailed her way back in 1992---it was my parent's 50th anniversary and they took

us on a 3 night cruise to celebrate.  There were 9 of us (I think) LOL.  It was bittersweet.......my mom had cancer at 

the time but the Dr said it was ok for her to sail.....she died 4 months after that cruise. To be honest, I remember

having fun......Mom had a blast.......she was in the passenger talent show and they had a game like a horse race

and she was in it too......😀 actually, I have a photo of us on the gangway in Freeport!

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

1 hour ago, Lois R said:

Hey stranger😀 what year was that? I sailed her way back in 1992---it was my parent's 50th anniversary and they took

us on a 3 night cruise to celebrate.  There were 9 of us (I think) LOL.  It was bittersweet.......my mom had cancer at 

the time but the Dr said it was ok for her to sail.....she died 4 months after that cruise. To be honest, I remember

having fun......Mom had a blast.......she was in the passenger talent show and they had a game like a horse race

and she was in it too......😀 actually, I have a photo of us on the gangway in Freeport!

 

Lois, how wonderful that your mother got to enjoy that.  And that your parents got to celebrate their 50th anniversary.  Sadly, my dad died before they made it to their 50th.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

1 hour ago, Mr&MrsBee said:

I sailed on the  USTS Simon Buckner  to Bremerhaven in the early 60's and returned on the USTS Gordon.

 

We were flown back on Pan Am.

 

Thanks, Germancruiser, for starting this interesting walk down memory lane!

[Lois R]

47 minutes ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

 

Lois, how wonderful that your mother got to enjoy that.  And that your parents got to celebrate their 50th anniversary.  Sadly, my dad died before they made it to their 50th.

Hi Linda🙂...... I have to say it was fun.  Yes, their anniversary was in October 1992 and she died in Feb 1993.

 

Hope you are doing well🙂

 

[Germancruiser]

Those wonderful - sometimes sad, sometimes funny stories are so interessting to read. Back to the times when the US- Army were stationed in Germany. We had a big American  Society up until the " winds of changes" altered everything.

I myself have such fond memories of the American Army - they mingled with us Germans of the city. They kind of belonged to the city. Wilson and Nelson Barracks- were the names of those facilities. As kids we loved to walk through those " American Borroughs" seeing all them great cars parked - we used to call that parts of the city- " Little America"!

When they all left- everything changed. Ironicly after they Americans left all those houses, apparmtents where given to Russian Refuges who left after the Iron Curtain fell.

[BridgeMates]

On 8/26/2020 at 6:33 PM, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

First two ships:  USAT Henry Gibbons which took us from New York to Cuba and Puerto Rico.  MSTS Buckner which took us from New York to Bremerhaven.  Can't remember at the moment the name of the ship we took in the Med.

 

 

This was great!  I went from Seattle to Yokohama on the Buckner with my mom and siblings in 1952, joining my AF dad who had gone over 6 months earlier.  I was 11 years old.  I seem to remember it was 10-12 days for the transit. Got terribly sea sick but haven't experienced it again in 45+ cruises.  We came back on the "Randolph" two years later.   Thanks for the picture.  It's amazing what you find out on Cruise Critic some days.....

 

 

[alwaysonaship]

18 hours ago, romulus22 said:

Boy, does this bring back some memories.  My dad was stationed in Puerto Rico, so our first trip to San Juan was the MSTS Pvt William H Thomas in August, 1956.  I was going into 4th grade.  All of our other trips (3 in total) were on the Henry Gibbons, which I think is the top picture.  My dad, and one of my brothers and I were in cabin 301, which had 8 bunks, and was as far back, and as far down as you could go for a passenger cabin.  Shared bathroom down the hall.  This ship was in service until about 10-15 years ago, mostly as a training ship at the Cape Cod Maritime Academy

We were stations at Ramey AFB, Puerto Rico and came back by ship to New York via Cuba 56,or 57...it had to have been one of those ships.

[AC Stew]

Wonderful topic, and a welcome breath of fresh air. Thank-you Germancruiser!

 

I've looked forward to checking in and catching up on the memories and reflections of much respected posters that I've followed over the years. Not to mention the incredible array of old photos!

 

How fun will it be to see each other on a future sailing! One day ... hope springs eternal.

[KEN31VA]

Does anyone remember the first "cruise" ship - SS Nassau?  She was almost 50 years old when converted to single class, cruise only - which was unique in the early 50s.  In August of 52 we did the one-week cruise from New York to Nassau.  I can remember being sea sick from the rough weather only to look out in the morning and see that we were only about 10 miles from the coast.  The ship's pools were converted cargo holds, no balcony cabins and most cabins had bunk beds without private bathrooms.  Even so it was considered a luxury with mostly Italian crew and food.  There were no shows, but the cruise director had a "party" every night which was a big hit.

[MISTER 67]

On 8/26/2020 at 1:41 PM, helby said:

 

I think Fairsky became Sky Princess.  My first cruise was on Sky Princess from Miami in 1989.  

When she was built in 1984 she was the largest ship built exclusively for cruising, we sailed on her 3 times and she  was a beauty. Sitmar Cruises was a great line and we were really upset when Sitmar and Princess merged in late 1988.

[romulus22]

13 hours ago, alwaysonaship said:

We were stations at Ramey AFB, Puerto Rico and came back by ship to New York via Cuba 56,or 57...it had to have been one of those ships.

My dad was at Ft Brooke, in San Juan, where El Morro is, and we lived at Ft Buchanan, which is where we got off the ship.  Ramey was the nicest base on the island, we were so envious of you guys

[Mike981]

Selfishly I hope more folks add to this wonderful thread. Such a breath of fresh air.

Thank you to all who have shared their wonderful stories.

[shipgeeks]

Germancruiser,  Thank for for starting another wonderful thread.

My first ocean voyage was in 1969, on the Columbus Lines cargo ship, Cap Vilano, New York to Sydney.  The trip took 42 days; after Panama we had no other ports until we reached Australia.  Our cargo consisted of a yacht and 40 tons of dynamite.  Our cabin was huge and comfortable, with big picture windows in the bedroom and the living room.  Twelve passengers.  Our dining room assignment was with the Chief Engineer.  The food was German, and very good.  Entertainment consisted of the books left behind by previous passengers, and the game of Yahtzee we took aboard.  It was wonderful.

 

In 1991 we took our first cruise, on the StarShip Majestic, former Spirit of London.  After that, our favorite ships were Norway, Rembrandt, Island Breeze, Sea Breeze, Ocean Breeze, and Regal Empress.  We loved the histories of those older ships, and often went looking for signs of their original fittings, rooms, and names on the hull.

 

I wish I knew how to post pictures, as I am loving seeing the ones from other posters.  But the words are great, too!  I hope there will be lots more.

[shipgeeks]

On 8/28/2020 at 2:46 PM, Brerpossum said:

Correction to above.....

Our first cruise was 1994 on the Dolphin line “Seabreeze”, what a cruise.  The food was excellent, and the wait staff taught us the proper use of the silverware.  We had an ocean view room, being a port hole that you unscrewed the two bottom bolts and swung the window upward.  Oh, I can still remember that ocean sound going to sleep.  Seven night eastern and western Caribbean cruises.

Last cruise was a 15 N Hawaii in the Eclipse in 2019.
Loved it so much we returned for another, and then we were hooked.
Jerry

Brerpossum, How nice to see your post!  We had the pleasure of sharing a dinner table with you on Celebrity Century, back in 2013, to Hawaii.  Good to see you are still cruising, as are we.

How is Mrs. Possum's back?

[George C]

My first 7 day cruise was Rotterdam in 1977 , great ship , have cruised at least once a year since then, agree great thread. My first job was a computer operator for  US lines in the 60’s which owned the SS United States.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

On 8/28/2020 at 8:40 PM, Germancruiser said:

Those wonderful - sometimes sad, sometimes funny stories are so interessting to read. Back to the times when the US- Army were stationed in Germany. We had a big American  Society up until the " winds of changes" altered everything.

I myself have such fond memories of the American Army - they mingled with us Germans of the city. They kind of belonged to the city. Wilson and Nelson Barracks- were the names of those facilities. As kids we loved to walk through those " American Borroughs" seeing all them great cars parked - we used to call that parts of the city- " Little America"!

When they all left- everything changed. Ironicly after they Americans left all those houses, apparmtents where given to Russian Refuges who left after the Iron Curtain fell.

 

We've been in touch with some of the Germans who moved into our quarters in Fryar Circle.  The people who live in our house sent a picture taken out of the window of what was my bedroom.  Somebody found some dog tags buried in a garden and we were able to unite them with their owner.  There was a very active German-American group in Augsburg.  Our high school is now a school for the deaf.  Some of my classmates have been back to visit and were allowed in to look around.  Not sure what happened to the hospital.  My father was the hospital administrator.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

19 hours ago, romulus22 said:

My dad was at Ft Brooke, in San Juan, where El Morro is, and we lived at Ft Buchanan, which is where we got off the ship.  Ramey was the nicest base on the island, we were so envious of you guys

 

Our quarters in Puerto Rico were on the grounds of San Cristobal.  Right on the ocean.  They've been torn down now that it's a national park.  The lawn in front of El Moro was the golf course and the swimming pool was located there.  It was really interesting to return on cruises and see what it looks like now.

[Germancruiser]

58 minutes ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

 

We've been in touch with some of the Germans who moved into our quarters in Fryar Circle.  The people who live in our house sent a picture taken out of the window of what was my bedroom.  Somebody found some dog tags buried in a garden and we were able to unite them with their owner.  There was a very active German-American group in Augsburg.  Our high school is now a school for the deaf.  Some of my classmates have been back to visit and were allowed in to look around.  Not sure what happened to the hospital.  My father was the hospital administrator.

The same in our city- there where made many friendships between Americans and Germans. Those who lived in Nelson or Wiley Barracks would never regocnize there quaters- totaly changed- ah yes - some houses remained but still...! Also many German Fräuleins  lives now in the United States- happyly married to an American who was stationed here. LOL.

[osborne66]

On 8/27/2020 at 10:03 PM, Germancruiser said:

What beauty this Windsor Castle was- i have book with some pictures of her interiour rooms. Wonderful.

As a little kid I enjoyed the activities they put on every day for the kids. Remember back than all kids ate seperately from the parents at Dinner 

[osborne66]

On 8/26/2020 at 7:39 PM, Germancruiser said:

@Happy Cruiser- wouw that is very very close to home- Augsburg I mean. Less than an hours drive to Ulm.

Had a German friend wgo lived close to Augsburg in the village of Kissing