Your first time cruising

[princesskristen]

Were there any preconceived notions/misconceptions you had going into your first cruise that you later found not to be true or anything you were surprised to discover about the experience?

[Upandadam]

Were there any preconceived notions/misconceptions you had going into your first cruise that you later found not to be true or anything you were surprised to discover about the experience?

 

That it might be boring and the last time we cruised.

[iowagirl411]

I thought that the real "cruise people" would be able to look at us and tell that we belonged back on the farm - that we weren't "cruise people".

[caribbean dreams]

I had no idea what it was like to cruise and no one who told me anything about cruising, i had just always wanted to go to the Caribbean & after research, figured out it was the cheapest way to go.....best choice i have ever made....years later...ya can't keep me off a ship.

 

have a great cruise...and hopefully many more:)

[blindrid]

I knew I was not going to like it.

 

Think about it, getting on a boat, with 2,000 of your "closest" friends, with nothing to do.

 

Now we are a once a year cruiser.

[going to see the world]

I definitely learned that you can't listen to everyone's complaints about THEIR past experiences. It really seems like some people just want something to complain about. Maybe they are having some sort of buyer's remorse and want some of their money back.

[cb at sea]

Had no preconceived notions, but just KNEW I wanted to do it! The 1st time was SOOO exciting! I was nearly shaking with excitement when we boarded. Nothing matches your 1st cruise...nothing!

[Chopola]

I thought I would hyperventilate because I would be stuck on a ship and couldn’t get off lol

[Jimnbigd]

That the swimming pool would be larger.

[princesskristen]

That the swimming pool would be larger.

 

Me too! From the way I had heard people make such a big deal about them I just naturally assumed they were full size pools.

[NotWthOutablcony]

I thought it was going to be rocky, and that I would have the feeling of being on aa roller coaster the whole time, I also thought I'd feel trapped on a ship, with no land in sight and that I couldn't escape if I wanted to. Neither turned out to be true of course, in fact, the days at sea have turned out to be my favorite, port days I could totally live without! And, when we do hit heavy seas, its actually fun, not scary. I began cruising MANY years ago when my parents took me for the first time, I was 15, I had a preconceived notion that the ship would be full of snobbery, in truth, some have pending on which line I sail, but it doesn't affect me one bit.

[Dutch Diver]

Here are some things I anticipated before my first cruise, and my thoughts afterwards.

 

• Only for old people senior citizens?
  
  • Half of the passengers were younger than us (mid-30's).
    

  [*]Boredom

  • Sea days were sometimes more exciting than the ports of call!
    

  [*]Engine noise

  • Could not hear a thing (except for the bow thrusters (but they're only used in port)
    

  [*]Too crowded.

  • Well, only at embarkation
    

  [*]Not enough time in ports of call

  • Plan it right and you can do plenty
    

[caribbean dreams]

Had no preconceived notions, but just KNEW I wanted to do it! The 1st time was SOOO exciting! I was nearly shaking with excitement when we boarded. Nothing matches your 1st cruise...nothing!

 

Or the first morning waking up to the smell of salt & blue ocean all around you..........oh memories

[okwriter]

My first cruise was with my two best friends.

I knew it would be a blast, but it far exceeded our expectations!

[starsteveo]

You have no way of know just how big the ship will be. For me, the first time I saw our first ship the SENSATION, was when we were coming over a bridge in Port Canaveral and BAM there it was!! It was huge! We were at least a couple of miles away and it just looked amazing. All the land around it was flat and this thing just stood stories above everything else and was forever long. And then as if that's not enough, when we ported in Nassau, we pull in next to two ships larger than ours!! Standing on the top deck of our ship, we were looking up at these other ships. Nothing I tell you or anyone else tells you can make you understand now, what you will feel when you see it.

[TNM]

Well I was excited about going on my first cruise, which is next month, but reading some threads on here about rough seas and seasickness is starting to freak me out...:(

[bumbles]

I thought the "first drink" on board was complimentary - after all, on the Love Boat they never asked the passengers for their S&S card after they grabbed their champagne!!

[CRUISETYPIST]

I thought the DOD were complimentary also. Imagine my surprise when I saw that they CHARGED me for BOTH of the Welcome Aboard drinks in the tall Carnival glasses that I took off the tray !!!!!:eek: