Your first cruise ship

[catlib55]

I should also mention that we are booked on the Carnival Legend for January 2011, sailing out of Tampa to the western Caribbean. Can't wait. We were just on the Norwegian Gem the end of June out of Venice, Italy and actually went back to Izmir, Turkey for the first time since we lived there in 1981-1983. What fun!!

Mary Ellen

[catlib55]

My very first experience with "cruising" was when I was in high school in 1960. My family and I went to Yokohama, Japan on the SS President Wilson. It wasn't considered "cruising" at that time, just a trans-ocean passage on an ocean liner. When we returned to the US two years later, we took the SS United States from Southampton, England to NYC. Both of those ship rides were awesome for me. Unfortunately, my poor mother was seasick the whole time!!

Mary Ellen

[akeasley]

My first cruise was to the Eastern Caribbean in 2006. I went with my mom, who said I would either love it or hate it. Fortunately, I loved it and really wish I could cruise at least once a year, if not more!

[Mango Tango]

My first cruise was on the Sovereign of the Seas, February 1992. At the time it was the biggest cruise ship in the world. It was a seven day cruise to Nassau, San Juan and St. Thomas. We really enjoyed the cruise, but the best part of it was that I won the trip through a drawing by my employer. :cool:

 

That was the beginning of my cruise addiction! :D

[capecodrn]

my first cruise was 1975 on the monarch sun out of miami... 4 nights to bahamas.. mostly greek crew..they did 3 and 4 night runs and was sister to monarch star and one other ship cant remember the name will have to see if i can locate my pictures...i went on the ship 3 times that year...became very good friends with a bunch of the crew back then...

[capecodrn]

my first cruise was 1975 on the monarch sun out of miami... 4 nights to bahamas.. mostly greek crew..they did 3 and 4 night runs and was sister to monarch star and one other ship cant remember the name will have to see if i can locate my pictures...i went on the ship 3 times that year...became very good friends with a bunch of the crew back then...

 

Volendam was chartered to Monarch Cruise Lines 1975-78 as Monarch Sun and her sister became Monarch Star in 1976. Returned to Holland America Lines in 1978, Volendam was sold to the C.Y.Tung group in 1884. After briefly being named Island Sun she was passed to American Hawaii for use as the Liberté. This was not a success, and after briefly being the Canada Star, she passed to Bermuda Star Line in 1988 as the Queen of Bermuda, rejoining sister Bermuda Star. In 1990, she passed to Commodore Cruise Line as the Enchanted Seas.

[capecodrn]

Monarch Sun and Monarch Star.

[iKokomo]

Pride of America, NCL

[suezyq50]

Celebrity's Century, April '02, western.

[bmccarthy]

Our first cruise was Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Seas in March 2007. We did an 8 nt. Eastern Caribbean itinerary and yes we were hooked. It's funny because I was so hesitant to cruise that my husband had to cancel our honeymoon plans. Little did we know that a few short years later we would give cruising a try and love it.

 

Beth

[Maeminnie]

Our first cruise was on the Song of Norway (Royal Caribbean)in Nov 1986. She went to Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cozmel, RC private Island. Wonderful!!

We are still hooked. Just booked a Egypt & Aegean Cruise. takes in Turkey Rome,Naples, Greece, and Egypt.

[jhp1963]

Just out of high school and ready for college, my folks took me on my first cruise in 1981. It was the SS Veracruz sailing from Tampa to Cozumel and nearby ports. The ship was small, but lively and everyone onboard was having a grand time. I was lucky to have a cabin all to myself and remember how small the bathroom was. My cabin was on a lower deck and I often watched the seas through the porthole. The food was unlike any I have ever tasted and the cruise experience was terrific. I did not cruise again until 2007 when I sailed on the Star Princess. It is now my favorite form of vacation. I've sailed on the Grand Princess and Caribbean Princess and am planning my next cruise to Alaska. Would love to sail ever year, but alas we need to save up for each cruise vacation so we now go every few years. I'm fascinated by ship history especially the mid-century ships and would love to see some of the cruise llines make an effort to revive the more vintage look and feel of cruising. It seems that all of the older ship are now gone or at least not in use in the US.

[westerly]

Sea Venture N.Y, Bermuda N.Y. 1973

[wjsks]

Crown Princess, November '08, Eastern Caribbean. Soon as we saw the ship we were hooked and have plans to cruise every year. We go on our third in 4 weeks.

[shiplover222]

My first cruise was in 1961 on the Yarmouth. Miami to Nassau 3 days. Very old ship (1927) Tiny rooms.

Edited October 12, 2010 by shiplover222

[Jazzbo]

My first cruise was a Transatlantic crossing with my parents in 1957 on the Constitution. My dad was in the Air Force and was transferred to Madrid, Spain. My first cruise that I remember was a cruise to the Bahamas in 1992 on the Carnival Mardi Gras. My husband, his sister and I took my mother-in-law for her birthday. Even though it was difficult to maneuver my sister-in-law's wheelchair over the raised thresholds and in the small elevators, we still had a great time.

[crs8803]

First Cruise was the Sensation On carnival. Still one of my Favorites

[Rusty Aligator]

I think one of my first cruises was on the tss Carnivale out of Boston. It was a warm tuesday in may of 1977, and the captain was Vitterio Fabietti, right out of the history books. A fine , distinguished man who went out of his way to meet everyone, not like the capt's of today, who you have to pay to take a foto, or to have dinner with. CCL had only two ships (?) the Carnivale, and the Mardi Gras. CCL did the Boston to Bermuda run. Carnivale left in May, and Mardi Gras went in september. CCL had a share program where up to 4 pax could share for almost no money......for get this,.....7days,.....$325+$11.port charges. I went on almost every cruise out of boston, and then followed them to Miami. OH, btw, I had a O/V cabin,....a porthole that actually opened.. Oh well, you only asked for my first, sorry about the carrying-on. I still have the Carnival Capers to remember those trips.

[Tazsamp]

Funny that I found this thread now, and just last night I was going through old pictures etc trying to piece together my cruising history to udpate my signature. Alas I left my list at home this morning, but I do remember my very first cruise.

 

It was Festival's Flamenco and it definitely got me hooked! It was a Caribbean itinerary though I can't remember all the ports. The two most memorable stops though (as if I could forget) were St. Thomas where my "boyfriend" and I at the time were checking out jewelry stores and diamond rings in particular. We were sort of looking at the rings, then looking at each other and we basically said "why not?". I remember we almost missed getting back on the ship as it took so long for my engagement ring to get fitted!

 

We had initially planned to actually hold off on getting "officially" engaged until later in the year, but later during that cruise, while snorkelling off the coast of Virgin Gorda, my now DH pulled the engagement ring out of his swimming trunks (this was AFTER snorkelling), got down on one knee and proposed. Of course my first reaction was "ARE YOU CRAZY? YOU WERE SNORKELLING THE WHOLE TIME WITH THE RING IN YOUR POCKET?!?!".

[barbyj]

My first cruise was on the Greek Line Queen Anna Maria in 1968. It sailed from New York to Bermuda.

 

That got me hooked and I have now been on over 100 cruises.

 

It is sad to read the history of several of the ships I've been on being sold for scrap. Such as the beautiful Norway.

[libgal]

My first cruise was on the Zuiderkruis from New York to Rotterdam in 1954. That summer it was being used as a student ship. I sailed back to New York on it at the end of the summer. The ship was great fun. (I think somebody else mentioned a 1957 Zuiderkruis cruise)

My next cruise was on the Rotterdam in 1968. My husband and I and two small children got on in Cobh, Ireland, and sailed to New York. We sailed first class and it was wonderful, even with two little ones.

Edited October 22, 2010 by libgal

[Rusty Aligator]

The Queen Anna Maria became the first ship in the Carnival fleet, the tss Carvinale. It too did the Boston to Bermuda run, along with the Mardi Gras. Great days, great memories.

[cruisebabe63]

 

ss Prince George (1948-present) Delivered as Prince George for the Canadian National Railways. Grand Trunk Pacific Railway beginning in 1910 operated a steamship service in British Columbia from the end of its railway at Prince Rupert. Canadian National Railways took over Grand Trunk Pacific Railway in 1920 including its steamship operation which had been cut back to Vancouver. Prince George II joined the line in 1948 to replace the first destroyed by fire in 1945. She sailed the Inside Passage from Vancouver to Alaska and operated until the end of season in 1974 after which a fire damaged the ship causing it to be sold one year short of its planned retirement.

In 1981, a new company, Canadian Cruise Line, spend $4 million to refit the 285-passenger ship and bring her up to luxury standards and back to cruising. Her itinerary would include Ketchikan, the Wrangell Narrows, Tracy Arm, Juneau, Glacier Bay, Prince Rupert and Knight Inlet. Departures were scheduled for every Monday from Vancouver, BC.

 

 

 

Wondering if anyone has any other photo's of this ship, the SS Prince George operated by the Canadian Cruise Line circa 1981. My first cruise was as a 12 year old with my parents on board this ship. It was in Sept 1981 and I remember the fact that the ship was one day late arriving back to Vancouver due to Mechanical trouble. We ended up losing Skagway as a Port of Call. This was a fairly small ship but the advantage was that it could make it through the inside passage (Wrangell narrows) where larger ships could not. Had a great time me and my brother were the only kids on on board and we got to sit at the Captains Table in the MDR every day. Even remember the singer who played in the lounge that week, a local musician named Peter Chipman. Things were a lot different compared to cruising now a days.

[HappyTravels4ever]

1992 - Stella Solaris - Athens (Piraeus) - Crete - Rhodes - Santorini - Delos - Kusadasi - Istanbul - Athens

 

I LOVED IT!!!!

[raz455]

My first and second cruises were on the RCCL's Song of Norway back in 1977 and 1978. I was just 16 on my first cruise and didn't want to go. By the end of the cruise, I wanted to run away and join the cruise line! My brother and I shared a very small inside cabin back when the only technology was a on-board sound system that allowed you to change the stations between music and ship information that kept repeating. My parents had the outside cabin across the hall. There were no balcony cabins back then but they did have a porthole that opened! The onboard entertainment was provided by a twin brother singing-comedy act in a small, lounge-type room. The one pool (salt water that was drained every evening) had port holes where people in one of the main hallways could watch people swim. The Viking Crown Lounge was a small lounge that was "the" place to be on sail-away day. The food was amazing, the service fantastic, and the memories I took from that cruise of the last days of my mother's life (she passed away from cancer just a few short months after our second cruise) have stayed with me for a very long time. Now that I have re-descovered the world of cruising, I am sorry that it has taken me a little over thirty years to set sail. But . . .I am now hooked again. And if there was a way I could run away and join the cruise line, I would!