The magic of cruise ships

A person need not be a youngster of develop this impression. I was in my early 40s when I took my first cruise. It was on a Carnival Fantasy Class ship, not even huge in the day! But OMG...my friends and I were amazed at the size. It was almost incomprehensible.

Same here. I was ....(counting on fingers)...46 when I went on my first cruise. My mom asked me "You want to go on a cruise? It's $376 including fees and you can have your own room." (They'd already booked a big family group and the single supplement was waived.) Of COURSE I said "sure!" That was on the Majesty and I was hooked. Being from Atlanta I don't see too much "maritime" stuff, so just seeing the ocean, the ships, all the stuff I've read about like pilot boats, etc., was almost magical.

I remember being shocked that there weren't watertight doors on the passenger decks...I'd been picturing hatchways like on naval ships or submarines where you un-dog them, step through, and then re-dog them tight with that circular wheel thingie. :D

The memorable event that "sealed the deal" for me going on more cruises was when I was returning from CocoCay on the very last tender. I'd met the Captain the night before and we could see him standing on the bridge wing preparing to take the ship out. I fired off a salute when we got close and he turned to someone behind him, and then the ship's horn let off a short blast. :D

Ironically, after a dozen or so cruises, I've come to realize I gravitate toward SMALLER (irony intended) ships. Radiance is my favorite RCL class. My next cruise will be on Celebrity Summit, my first Celebrity cruise, chosen based in part on her similarity to RCL's radiance class.

It doesn't matter if your ship accommodates 2,000 passengers or 5,000 passengers, the fact that you can vacation on a "city/village at sea" never ceases to amaze me, even after over a dozen cruises.

After doing the behind-the-scenes tours several times (on Carnival), I couldn't agree more. When you realize the scope and the scale of your experience -- even on a smaller ship like the Majesty, or a Fantasy-class ship, let alone a big one like the Indy or the Liberty -- it makes the entire journey that much more amazing. :cool:

I have cruised on the Sovereign of the Seas twice. Back in 1989 when she was new and then in the 90’s. I loved that ship! My first cruise was on a very old Carnival ship. We had fun but the ship wasn’t what we expected. The Sovereign was our second cruise. I remember walking into the Atrium area and thinking how beautiful the ship was and how was what I had expected a ship to be.

Same here! Did the TSS Carnivale back in 1981, and then did the Sovereign in 1994. WOW.....what a difference! Sovereign was such a beautiful ship, and started this "new" cruising. Nowadays, we would think the Sov. would be a very small ship!

Well let just say that Royal was really stretching to make these claims after 1990. Whether original or not Norway was bigger. Wider beam, 150 feet or more longer and she had higher GT.

 

Ocean liner vs cruise ship is quite a distinction. In 1993 Norway was a Caribbean cruise ship? Was harmony an ocean liner when I did my TA in 2016? Lol.

 

Pretty funny the games royal plays with on “biggest the in the world designations”. Many booking the newest oasis class ships have no idea they were like 6 inches longer than the prior. I guess they have been at this game for decades. Not shocking given their math on sale prices.

"Norway was the first (and only) purpose-built transatlantic OCEAN LINER that was remodeled to be employed exclusively in luxury cruise service."

Same here. I was ....(counting on fingers)...46 when I went on my first cruise. My mom asked me "You want to go on a cruise? It's $376 including fees and you can have your own room." (They'd already booked a big family group and the single supplement was waived.) Of COURSE I said "sure!" That was on the Majesty and I was hooked. Being from Atlanta I don't see too much "maritime" stuff, so just seeing the ocean, the ships, all the stuff I've read about like pilot boats, etc., was almost magical.

I remember being shocked that there weren't watertight doors on the passenger decks...I'd been picturing hatchways like on naval ships or submarines where you un-dog them, step through, and then re-dog them tight with that circular wheel thingie. :D

 

The memorable event that "sealed the deal" for me going on more cruises was when I was returning from CocoCay on the very last tender. I'd met the Captain the night before and we could see him standing on the bridge wing preparing to take the ship out. I fired off a salute when we got close and he turned to someone behind him, and then the ship's horn let off a short blast. :D

 

 

After doing the behind-the-scenes tours several times (on Carnival), I couldn't agree more. When you realize the scope and the scale of your experience -- even on a smaller ship like the Majesty, or a Fantasy-class ship, let alone a big one like the Indy or the Liberty -- it makes the entire journey that much more amazing. :cool:

First cruise was on the new Sovereign. Total price for 2 over $3600 for the tiny room tiny Port Hole on Deck 2, a 7 nite in 1988. All the Carnival, NCL, and "Love Boat" ships around us were 12000- 20,000GT and under. Sovereign 73,192GT. Called small now she was the first "Mega-Ship"

Started cruising in 1974. NCL offered our company a complimentary cabin on the inaugural out of Miami....Too many commitments, it filtered it was to me! Yeah, we went....First time of many times on the Norway. She was the ship that created the current concept that the ship is the destination. PS. She was the largest passenger ship. No words games with Transatlantic or cruise....She was the largest.