When was the moment you knew you were a cruiser for life?

[FinelyRetired]

I was NOT hooked on cruising at first......now I rather love it!

 

I booked our first, an Alaskan cruise online, Sapphire Princess 2004. I'll NEVER forget the sinking feeling I had in the pit of my stomach when our bus drove up and I first saw her. OMG.......she looked like a "shopping cart" version of Motel 6 with an endless line of masses trying to get on board. I nearly lost the DH on the gangplank. :) He thought I'd put him in line for Space Mountain!

 

But she was so very pretty inside. No packing & unpacking. No rush. Decent food, nice balcony. What an efficient, relaxing way to see so many wonderful places, sights!?!! It was what it was......& good at it.

 

We "got" it about the 4th day in. And, chose to go to Panama Canal via a cruise last December. I picked HAL Amsterdam......looked more like a cruise ship to me. Huge balcony...beautiful ship. I was excited to board her.

 

For efficiency, port intensive initneraries I think a cruise can't be beat.

 

And, I've learned that for my upcoming British Isles cruise......it's the PORTS that are important relative to your time available and I'll ignore that Grand Princess isn't pretty to me as a ship....she's taking me a ton of places I'd never have time for on a 12 day LAND trip! For that alone, I'll like her.

 

2008........I plan to do the Baltics.....via Prinsendam. There's a lovely ship I'll get excited to board!

[flamomo]

I was instantly "hooked" in 2004 when, at the age of 64, I got my first look at the Coral Princess when we arrived at the port in FLL for my very first cruise. That cruise to the Panama Canal was so much more than I ever dreamed it would be. There have been 3 more Princess cruises since then, two more are booked, and every one is just as exciting as the first one. There is NO vacation that is in any way comparable to a cruise, IMHO.

[janniebabe]

Our first cruise was on the Norway, and we were overwhelmed by everything! Our second was on the Sunward II, and the night we were dancing on the top of the ship with the Southern

Cross overhead and the sound of the waves slapping against the

ship, and the music playing softly while we slow danced - we knew it was a lost battle. We will be on our 6th cruise in October, and plan on MANY more!!

[SheriNtexas]

LOL... I live in Phoenix and we have only 2 seasons. Summer and Not Summer.:cool:

 

Phoenix? I apologize! I live in Texas and we have heat, but YOU have HEAT!!!!!:) :eek:

[Crzr4Lyf]

I'm getting goosebumps reading all the wonderful stories of how we fell in love with cruising. I thought that maybe I had an addictivice personality disorder with my addiction to cruising. I see that I am not alone.

 

I truly live to cruise and cruise to live!!!!:p

[cruzkitty]

I fell Head over Heels in love with Cruising on my Second cruise way back on the Soverign of the Seas. #7 cruise coming up this Sept-I work part-time just to cruise!! :) Ain't it a GREAT addiction??

[San Diego Ellie]

I knew I was a cruiser for life the second day out on my first cruise! And the pity of it was that my husband had tried to convince me for years to cruise, and at the time of my first cruise I was 65 years old. That was Sept. of 05. (That is why my name is latebloomercruiser). I am now trying to make up for lost time, and we have been on five cruises in the past year and a half and have three more booked!

[May4]

One day I woke up on the beautiful and elegant Maasdam. The sun was just coming up as I toured the uppermost outside decks.

 

We had an exceptional team assigned to us in the dining room and ports we had never seen.

 

A day after I arrived home, I parked myself in front of my travel agent, credit card in hand, and booked another week:D I am definitely hooked fourteen cruises later.

[marthalt]

Ok, well I guess I'll be the first to say it..............I was totally hooked for ever when I first found this board. After we actually booked the first one then it was even worse.I cannot stay off here, I'm afraid I'll miss something, lol !! We're getting ready to book our 3rd cruise all on the same ship and everything, now how hooked is that!! I agree with all mentioned above, it is just a wonderful, dreamy experience and that is all there is to it. I cannot imagine not getting to go my once a year. All I do is talk about the past one till I book the next one, it is bad I tell ya! These boards are full of great people and very useful information even after a couple of years on here. I am still in total awe of the size of the ship, it is so amazing to me and I can't imagine ever growing bored with cruising :eek: , nope, not in this lifetime!!!!!! Happy sailing~~~~~

 

Martha

[Elequieu]

when anybody could go aboard for the sendoff party, my mom and aunt went to Hawaii on a Matson liner. The sixties I think. We had champagne and canapes in their cabin and saw them off. My grandmother thought they looked so happy in their photo later on. Little did she know that part of the reason was the champagne!

[pisces68]

I havent been on many cruises, only 3 and now going on my 4th. I was born a pisces so naturally I was always drawn to the sea but to be honest it was the stars! One night my husband and I wandered to the back of the ship (Disney cruise) one night to get away from the crowds and noise. We pulled up 2 louge chairs and it was completely black out there. No land, no other lights from ships etc then we looked up. WOW!! We've all seen stars at one time or another in our lives but nothing like this. It was the best moment ever. So peaceful you wish it could stay that way.

[Tenga1899]

Um, as soon as I stumbled across this gem of a site!....

 

I stayed off the boards for a few weeks, just read reviews and news. Then I hit the boards, and I booked my FIRST cruise within the week. The boards are where its at!!

[Cuizer2]

Just after touring the Carnival Pride (after boarding, prior to the muster drill), about the time my nephew said, "I never want to leave". The Carnival Pride was my third cruise. I had booked it 25 months in advance, and it was the longest 25 months of my life. The anticipation was killing me. By the time I left work for the last time prior to the cruise, I realized my expectations were so high, that just meeting my expectations would be hard. After my tour, I relaxed and realized I was going to have a great time. In fact, Carnival exceeded my high expectations. I still remember my first and second cruises, but this is the one that hooked me.

 

My first cruise was on a ship that was 41 or 42 years old. My second cruise was on a ship that was about 15 1/2 years old. The Pride was about two years old when I cruised on her. It was my first balcony and my first suite. I've been on three cruises since, all on balconies. The three ships were built in 2001, 2002 and 2003.

 

Soon I will be on a ship built in 2006, and again I will be in a suite (the Royal Family Suite). I am very much looking forward to this cruise, and will soon be planning my next cruise (most likely for the summer of 2008).

[EggDropErin]

The year was 2005. I had never flown on an airplane before, I had never been out of the Midwest, and I had never seen the ocean. It was love at first sight for the Caribbean and I. And even though I knew I wasn't going to be hooked to Carnival, I knew that I had to give it another shot on another line. And as you can see by my signature, that change has worked out rather well for me. :)

[fantavet]

1997 Honeymoon cruise with RCI. Pretty sure the Grandeur of the Seas was less then 1 or 2 years old. So my first cruise was 7 nights on a brand new ship basically. So I was already spoiled.

 

But I got hooked when I woke up one day on the ship kind of bummed out. My wife asked me what was wrong and I told her that I can't believe that it was Friday already and we only had 2 more days left :confused:

 

She told me it was only Wednesday. :D

 

Every vacation before that was go-go and time flew. This type of vacation was different.

 

Just did a Disney World vacation with two teens a couple of years ago, 8 days of doing EVERYTHING. That damn near killed my wife. So back to the boat.

[wtevrfltsurbt]

The moment I knew...........

Standing at the docks in the early morning sun before boarding the ship for the first time in my life I gazed upward at the enormous hull, the portholes then the balconies to the upper decks and the people I saw there. The sense of adventure enveloped me totally. Where would we go? What would we see? Who will we meet? What will tomorrow bring?

I was 10 years old and nothing has changed for me since, the feeling is the same each time I embark on a new voyage. It's magical.

[JkyLovesRuss]

As soon as I saw the ship.. driving up to the terminal.... I was in complete and total awe... I could not wait to get on the ship! As soon as the porter took our baggage, we ran up the stairs to the terminal (everyone did) :D The ship was beautiful! It was the best experience!

 

Funny how I feel the same way before any cruise! Total awe!

[SheriNtexas]

As soon as I saw the ship.. driving up to the terminal.... I was in complete and total awe... I could not wait to get on the ship! As soon as the porter took our baggage, we ran up the stairs to the terminal (everyone did) :D The ship was beautiful! It was the best experience!

 

Funny how I feel the same way before any cruise! Total awe!

 

Oh, I love that "run" to the ship!! On my first cruise, I went with my mom on Ecstasy, and we got to our room and immediately went out on the balcony. Our balcony was directly across from the thing that you walk up and up to get on the ship, forgot the name of it. We were waving like FOOLS at everybody that came into our view! Everybody was already smiling, i guess for the same reasons we WERE!!:D

[Cajunqueen#1]

First cruise - first day --- our 25th anniversary - Carnival Celebration:)

[Brklynguy]

When I booked my second cruise to pretty much the same itinerary and I realized how much I was looking forward to it. Doing it again this year, same Carribean, different line. it ain't about the place.....just got to get back on a ship....

[GrammaCarole]

Our first cruise was in Oct. 2004 -- our honeymoon (and we're BOTH 60+) and we did the Mexican Rivera. When my husband-to-be suggested a cruise for our honeymoon, I was VERY reluctant. I'm a little afraid of water (can't swim worth a hoot), cruising sounded boring to me, and I've been known to get seasick very easily. :( He persisted, bless his heart, so I agreed just because it seemed so important to him.

 

At dinner the first evening, he turned to be and said, "So, shall we look into booking another cruise?" I laughed, said "Yes", and that was that. 2005 was very hectic (kids AND grandkid's getting married, relatives having big far-away anniversary parties, etc.), so we didn't get to cruise in '05. But in '06, we did the Eastern Caribbean, and next week we leave on the "dream cruise"....Alaska, here we come! For 3 months, he has been asking me "Is it May yet?" :p

 

And, yes, I have learned to listen to him....he has such GREAT ideas! :D

 

Carole

[SheriNtexas]

At dinner the first evening, he turned to be and said, "So, shall we look into booking another cruise?" I laughed, said "Yes", and that was that. 2005 was very hectic (kids AND grandkid's getting married, relatives having big far-away anniversary parties, etc.), so we didn't get to cruise in '05. But in '06, we did the Eastern Caribbean, and next week we leave on the "dream cruise"....Alaska, here we come! For 3 months, he has been asking me "Is it May yet?" :p

Carole

 

 

Awwww, what a great story! Your hubbie sounds like a great guy! Have fun on your "dream" cruise!!!:)

[Cuizer2]

The moment I knew...........

Standing at the docks in the early morning sun before boarding the ship for the first time in my life I gazed upward at the enormous hull, the portholes then the balconies to the upper decks and the people I saw there. The sense of adventure enveloped me totally. Where would we go? What would we see? Who will we meet? What will tomorrow bring?

I was 10 years old and nothing has changed for me since, the feeling is the same each time I embark on a new voyage. It's magical.

 

I love this post. I have read it at least three times. Thank you!

[kruisecat]

Our first cruise was October 13, 2001 only a few short weeks after 9/11 and frankly we weren't even sure we were going to be able to go. But we did and within minutes of walking onboard I knew I'd never want to get off! There is nothing like watching that water go swooshing by and watching the wake (especially in the Carrib with those beautiful blues).

 

We are 55 days away from our next cruise to Alaska and I swear the other day I caught a wiff of something that smelled like a cruise :p DH said I had lost my mind, but I just know it's coming.....:D

[cruisinbuddy]

I knew the minute we stepped off of our first cruise in '99. Since then we've done a cruise every two years and when $$ is easier to come by it'll be every year. And if we win the lottery it'll be every 3-4 months. Hell I want to be like that lady who has retired on the ship, it's cheaper than a seniors residence.