Ready for a happy thread. How did you start cruising with RCI??

[lakelorain]

After seeing a show on the travel channel about the Radiance of the Seas Alaska journey, I knew I had to sail on that ship. The beauty of the ship and all the windows sold me. The Radiance Class is still my favorite.

[gedam]

First cruise Voyager. Met some of the best people through the boards and meet and mingle and still in touch now :)

[CoachMom76]

My now DH and I decided to go on a cruise after dating for 3 months or so. We roped in 2 friends and booked the Monarch out of Ft Lauderdale for October 6, 2001. My DH is a State Trooper and, with the tragedy of 9/11, we were waiting on whether he would be able to leave the state to go. I was almost hoping he would have to stay so we could cancel without penalty...I was petrified to fly. Turns out they cleared him to take his vacation and we went. We found out at the port that we were being rerouted to the Bahamas due to a hurricane. We ended up dealing with extremely rough seas and only visiting Labadee due to high winds in the Bahamas. I get motion sick, so I spent one night laying in my bed, praying to God to make it stop! We still managed to have a great time and were given 25% off our next cruise, if we went within a year...So, a year to the day, we left New York on our honeymoon to Bermuda on the Nordic Empress. It was amazing and we are heading back to Bermuda on the Explorer in September(YAY! A big ship this time!) :D! I love the staff and the atmosphere of RC. I am sure we will try other lines eventually, but for adult only trips, RC is it.

[WeLove2CruiseRCI]

Loving reading all the great stories!!

[wwcruisers]

We had taken a couple of short cruises in the '80's -- the Azure Seas to Baja, and the Carnivale to the Bahamas. DH and I loved both cruises, but with family, work, school, etc., it was 15 years before we thought about it again. Our best friends had taken several cruises on RC, and talked us into it. We cruised the Southern Caribbean on Adventure of the seas in February of '02 -- and the rest is history! :p:D

[FOXTROT]

Wife' booked our 1st cruise for our 25th anniversary. The minute they put the napkin on her lap she was hooked. We just celebrated our 38th anniv. & have completed our 43rd cruise. We have done 40 on RCL. with 4 more booked. We stay with RCL because I can get as much ice cream as I want.:rolleyes:

[Babyberger]

My parents took myself, my DH, and my DS (only one at the time) on a quick 4 night Carnival cruise back in 2001. We had a great time but then life, more kids, and economic crunches kept us from cruising again. Then 2009 my mom decided for that as a combination of her 60th birthday and my parents 40th wedding anniversary they wanted to take us on a family cruise instead of doing something by themselves. So my family of 5, my brother and his wife, and my parents boarded the Freedom of the Seas! My parents picked Freedom so that everyone would have something to do, from them down to my 4 year old DD. It was a phenomenal week and much more memorable than our Carnival cruise years ago. We kinda felt that we may be getting the cruising bug but didn't book anything right away.

 

Then early last year my DH and I were talking about what to do for our 10 year anniversary and we decided we would take our immediate family on Oasis. Pulling my DH away from the office is a near impossible task (he worked on his laptop all week on Freedom), so I asked when he could go and not have to bring his laptop, I refused to pay all that money for him to work all week. So we decided on Thanksgiving, even though our anniversary was in July ;) Not only did we book our Oasis 2010 cruise, we decided to book an 2011 Allure cruise knowing that if Oasis wasn't everything we thought it would be we could cancel. Oasis did not disappoint and the cruising bug was caught for sure! We toyed around with other lines but because one of our son's is on the autism spectrum, we have been told to stick with RCI or Disney and we are Disney passholders and frequent the parks often and are looking for something different when we cruise. So, after only 2 RCI cruises we are pretty much loyal to Royal. Counting down our days til our first suite experience on Allure :D

[Cruzin RN]

Great thread topic!!!

 

Tomorrow is our 14th wedding anniversary...so our 1st RCI cruise was 14 yrs ago!!!! We took our honeymoon cruise on Nordic Empress (later renamed Empress of the seas). I had cruised one time before (on The Big Red Boat..which was RED but not a BIG boat lol). My DH had never cruised and it was so much fun watching him enjoy his first cruise!

 

That was 21 RCI cruises ago..(plus one Carnival trip)...we never get enough of cruising!!!!:cool:

[Clamett]

My girl friend took me and a few friends on a girls cruise on the Big Red Boat 18 years ago and that got me hooked. I talked my then boyfriend into going but not being a big eater, he thought he wouldn't like it. I was wrong. Now when ever I mention going on a cruise my husband is all for it.

[sjcruiser]

I had previously been on two Carnival cruises, and was looking into the Dream cruising out of NY. Someone suggested I try Royal out of Bayonne, and the Explorer was a few hundred cheaper than the Dream. This may have been because the Dream was brand new. Either way, when I got onboard the Explorer, and the "WOW" factor hit me, I was sold on Royal. I still look for the the best deal for where I'm going, but the "atmosphere" on the Royal Promenade is one reason why I look at Royal first. It doesnt help Carnival that Royal came out with the Oasis and the Allure either, which are the two ships we're looking at for next year.

[chels08]

I had always wanted to cruise for family vacation, but both my parents had their hesitations about it from past ship/boating experiences. Three years ago, they decided they were ready to go for it and it was up to me to do the research and find out the best cruise line to sail with.

 

Well it was in that research I came across Cruise Critic. I really liked what I read in the reviews and in the boards about RCI, and told my parents that there was simply no better way to cruise. And we've been cruising with RCI ever since!

[jmf123]

I lived in Florida for seven years and never took a cruise. :rolleyes: Well, moving to Madison, WI at the beginning of a brutal winter in '94 had me going into a travel agency saying "get me out of here!". We chose NCL's Windward mainly for the itinerary that included Tortola and Aruba. Loved our first cruise, but did think that the Monarch OTS docked next to us in San Juan was much better looking! :p Yes, she used to do 7 night southern Caribbean sailings.

 

Returned from the cruise and I was hired by the agency. The owner advised that I would be going to Miami for three days of ship inspections, followed by a cruise on the Royal Majesty (now the Louis Majesty) with my co-worker the next month. (She and I remain very good friends all these years later). An Alaska cruise followed in the fall that year on HAL, then a Celebrity with my mom, and then I was invited on the inaugural sailing of the Grandeur of the Seas in '96. Loved that ship! Currently the Radiance class is my favorite. I'm no longer in the travel business, but certainly enjoyed it (and the over 30 ships I boarded).

[nicolen1101]

I was 12 when my family took our first cruise, and I loved every minute of it. That was on the Big Red Boat, five years later I went on another cruise for my graduation present that was on NCL. Then Carnival next. But my 4th cruise was on RCCL and I was hooked. I've done one other Carnival in between but keep coming back to RCCL, I just love the atmosphere it's fun yet laid back and they treat you so well. I can't wait to go again, I've got another booked for this coming September and then again next May. :D

[bartelbee]

Our first was on the Grandeur, almost 10 years ago. We loved cruising but had never tried RCCL. We picked the cruise because we got a deal and we could drive to the port of San Diego. (I also started lurking here at the time and learned about aft balconies--thank you, Cruise Critic.)

We were celebrating our anniversary, escaping from a lot of stressful situations, and my sister was watching the kids, pets and house--so everything seemed perfect. Until we pulled up at the port and found there was no ship.

We were told the Grandeur was having engine problems and would be limping into port. Rather than have everyone wait on those uncomfortable chairs, they bussed us to the Sheraton where we could use their facilities, including the pool. A buffet lunch was set up in one of the conference rooms, and they took over the basement for registration, complete with seapass cards, so all we had to do at the port was walk on the ship. Though we boarded at 6, they were still worrking on the problem when we went to bed that night. We didn't mind--we had dinner, shows, disco, everything on a cruise except we weren't at sea. Instead, our aft balcony faced the city of San Diego, which seemed magical that night. We didn't sail out until 8 the next morning but the captain managed to stop at all three ports and they presented us with $100 shipboard credit for our "troubles." The stress was still there when we returned but we went home with smiles on our faces. And even now, so many cruises later, Royal still manages to send us home with that same relaxed, happy feeling.

We're now diamond+ and have many other stories where RCCL has come through for us (cabin issues, hurricanes, swine flu repositioning) but this was the one that got us hooked.

[psupa]

June 1986 I went to a travel agent to ask about a trip to Hawaii to celebrate our 10th anniversary. To make a long story short, she asked me why not cruise. I didn't know a thing about cruises but after listening to her describe a cruise vs. a land vacation, we booked our first cruise on the Song of America. The rest as we say is history as we have never looked back. Love, love those cruises:D

[JamesEugene]

Our 1st cruise was on the Song of America in 1986, been cruising since. The couple we were with said 1 cruise is enough but they have been on more cruises than us since 1986. Last cruise was Jewel of the seas a TAWB from southhampton, and every one loved it, including us. Have 11 cruises since 1986 an hope to do more.

[riodog]

For our very first cruise in 2004, we went with my sister and her family on the Disney Magic for 7 says Western Carib. DH gets motion sickness (in a car, on a boat, in an airplane), so our agreement was I could get a balcony room (cuz if this was the only one we were ever going on I wanted a balcony :D) and he would be able to fly home from whatever port he needed to. Well lets just say that 1 balcony, 1 box of bonine and 7 days later we were hooked. We loved it and wanted to go again. We had to find a cruise line that was more to our price range to allow more cruises. Sister had cruised with RCCL for her honeymoon and suggested we try them. We did. Mariner of the Seas out of Port Canaveral Western Carib. Have been crusing with RCCL ever since in a balcony cabin. Tried Carnival out of LA (no air fare involved) one time (what was I thinking :eek:) and promptly booked a cruise with RCCL when we got home:). We are taking another cruise in January and I cannot wait.

[Carguylee]

Some creditcard offer came, $500 off a cruise when booked using this credit card. Of couse we didn't select the right cabins for the full $500, but it was worth it.

[heathermk57]

Our Silver Wedding Anniversary was in August 2001. We had nothing planned for a celebration as I was being made redundant. Then I found a new job immediately after leaving the old one so we decided to spend some of the redundancy money on a cruise.

 

We went to a local branch of a national travel agency and found that, as we were so late booking, there was not much choice. It came down to either a Med cruise with P&O or Scandinavia and Russia on Royal Caribbean. We knew nothing about either line as we had never cruised before so we went with the itinerary we thought was most exciting - Scandinavia and Russia on Legend of the Seas! 12 nights and a completely new experience for us and our youngest son who was 13 at the time.

 

We loved cruising, loved the Legend and have tried to cruise whenever we can ever since.:)

 

Enjoying all the lovely stories - so nice to have a positive thread to read.:):)

[sgermic]

My extended family started sailing together in 1994 to celebrate my grandparents 50th anniversary on the Sovereign of the Seas. I was eight years old and we continued to sail together on RCCL every other year. Most of my favorite memories I have of my family happened on a Royal Caribbean ship. Even though we don't sail with my grandparents anymore, I still feel like I'm sailing with my family :)

 

When I took my then boyfriend on his first cruise (Voyager) in 2009 he proposed, and then we went on our honeymoon in 2010 on the Liberty. Now we're going to celebrate our one year anniversary on the Mariner! I've had some very special moments on Royal, so there is indeed a huge nostalgia factor for me.

[2gator]

In 2000 we went to our travel agent and booked a trip to London. As we got up to leave my husband asked the agent if she ever had any good deals on cruises. She said she had a good deal on the HAL Veendam leaving next Sunday. We booked it and have been cruising ever since-mostly on RCI.

[west2000]

In Feb 2009 DH was made redundent and we made a decision for him to retrain at Uni this meant sorting out finances to cope for the 4 yr duration of the the course. Throughout our stress my mum was always there supporting us. With finances sorted and uni place arranged DH had unexpected offer of temporary job which obviously he took. Reading Sunday newspaper one weekend we saw a fantastic deal on a 4 night Baltic cruise on Vision. Knowing mum had always wanted to cruise but knowing nothing about it we spoke to TA as price seemed to good to be true. She offered us same price for OV as paper was offering for inside. Booked for DH,DS and I and Mum. The look on her face when we told her will stay with me for ever. We are all hooked and save hard each year for our next cruise!:)

[WeLove2CruiseRCI]

Enjoying reading everyone's great stories!!

[shellden]

We started in 1992 for our Honeymoon on Monarch of the Seas. I believe she was new at that time. And if I remember correctly not so cheap?. We loved everything about cruising and haven't stopped. Now me girls are addicted and when given the choice land or sea they pick sea. We have cruised on RCL,NCL,CCL,Disney, and Celebrity. We do love RCL best and I cant really explain why its not one thing its many.

Cruising is great for many personalities, hubby can workout while Im sunning and kids are with newly made friends then we all meet up for dinner and a show. ITs the best of all worlds IMHO.

 

Love Cruising!!!!!

[mom2two2]

oooh I like this thread! My story is a good one too....

 

I was working in retail for a large cosmetics company at the time. We were young and had one child at the time, who was about 2. The company I worked for had a huge sales incentive contest where certain items sold earned you a ballot into the draw for a cruise. More items sold, more ballots. The prize was RCL 3 night to The Bahamas on Majesty of the Seas....I think this was about 10 years ago or about that.

 

Now DH and I were, as I said, young, had just bought a house and with a young child, me working retail could never have afforded this trip back then. Well, I won the contest. We had NO CLUE what we were in for. Back then, as a previous poster said, you got a brochure from the TA and that was what you had to go on. DH was not even sure he would "like a cruise". We had such a fantastic time and loved every minute of it, even met a couple that we still keep in touch with today.

 

Another child, job changes and about 8 years passed before we went again, this time just he and I Jan 2010 and we figured we had enjoyed RCCL the first time so we may as well stick with what we knew......words out of his mouth "next time the kids come"....Jan 2011 awesome 7 night out of PR 1 additional night before and after in San Juan. It was not cheap but something our then 11 and 8 year olds will remember forever.

 

That first cruise really opened our eyes to an awesome way of vacationing. Yes, we like other types of trips as well but that was how we started with RCCL.