Do you miss the excitement of being new to cruising?

[Daghis]

I read through the posts here and really enjoying reading about others' thoughts and experiences about cruising. It all helps to make me a more confident and capable cruiser.

 

That said, I've had several cruises in the past and I'm pretty well-experienced. Sometimes, though, I wish it were all new to me and it would be as if it were my first time setting foot aboard a cruise ship.

 

That's one of the reasons I really liked it when a friend of our family joined us for our cruise a year and a half ago... I got to enjoy the newness of cruising vicariously through his experiences. I found that to be a fantastic experience, seeing the cruise though his eyes while being there to give advice and suggestions based on our experiences.

 

Would any of you give up the experience you have in exchange for being able to be a first-timer again and have everything be shiny (well, shinier, perhaps :)) and new again?

[jonbgd]

Cruising never gets old to me. I either find a new ship to explore or new ports

[setsail]

Allure recreated that new feeling for us:D

[superduper123]

I have yet to have a cruise as great as my first!

[Daghis]

I have yet to have a cruise as great as my first!

I think that's partly what I'm thinking of, too.

 

Our first cruise was great, if only because it was our first. By comparison, it wasn't our best cruise, but nonetheless we have very fond memories of it.

 

I will say, though, that it was made even better because of some wonderful tips that we had received from the old rec.travel.cruises newsgroup. People on there were very helpful and gave us great information that really helped make that first cruise special.

[Sinppu]

I still feel I'm new after two cruises and third on the way :p

 

Maybe it will become more routine-like in the future, but hard to guess when exactly.

[struther1]

I guess maybe some of the excitement of being "new" is not there but I love being on a cruise ship and I love repeating, Serenade is calling, and already knowing the drill and the places I like to hang, so its' cool too.

[pcur]

We've been cruising since 1973, and we still look forward to each and every one. We find that since the experience on the ship is similar each time, the itineraries take on more importance.

 

However, we so enjoy the escape, and all the amenities on board, that it's like going back to visit a beloved relative again.....but, the relative lives in a different place most of the time! :D

[kellygirl719]

Allure recreated that new feeling for us:D

 

The Oasis gave us the exact feeling too - what an experience!! I was in awe all week and still have a list of things I want to do that we didn't get a chance to next time we're on!! Not to mention, we didn't comfortably know our way around until Thursday (and of course had to leave on Saturday!)

[davekathy]

The excitement level hasn’t diminished at all for us. We feel every Cruise we take offers something new.

[time4u2go]

I read through the posts here and really enjoying reading about others' thoughts and experiences about cruising. It all helps to make me a more confident and capable cruiser.

 

That said, I've had several cruises in the past and I'm pretty well-experienced. Sometimes, though, I wish it were all new to me and it would be as if it were my first time setting foot aboard a cruise ship.

 

That's one of the reasons I really liked it when a friend of our family joined us for our cruise a year and a half ago... I got to enjoy the newness of cruising vicariously through his experiences. I found that to be a fantastic experience, seeing the cruise though his eyes while being there to give advice and suggestions based on our experiences.

 

Would any of you give up the experience you have in exchange for being able to be a first-timer again and have everything be shiny (well, shinier, perhaps :)) and new again?

I would in a heartbeat!

 

Nothing compares to the feeling we had on that first cruise! Looking back on it, it wasn't that great of a cruise compared to the others we've taken. But at the time, it was such an amazing experience. I'd love to have that feeling again!

[Artemis908]

I feel quite the opposite. I am the kind of person the stresses when I am unfamiliar with a brand (like a new hotel or new city) so the fact I know from experience I can both trust and enjoy RCI makes me feel at ease. The best part is it's not like a hotel where the location gets old and then the Hilton in lets say London isn't as good as the Hilton in Tokyo. I really feel like Royal keeps up it's standards within all of their ships and I can always expect the best.

[Jayfo]

I know how you feel.... After a few repeats on the Majesty, it seemed like old hat and not so exciting. I was comfy there and knew my way around, but it wasn't that NEW kind of excitement.

Planning and taking this past Allure cruise brought me RIGHT back to that "new to cruising" feeling. I was happily lost and giddy with confusion right from the get go and it took me up until the last day to know front from back in that place. My solution now will be to find a different ship that I've never been on...then it will feel NEW to me.

[cruiseguy1016]

I'll never forget our first cruise. We had never even seen a cruise ship (other than photos or on TV) before so we had no idea what to expect. When our shuttle bus pulled into the port and we saw the Enchantment of the Seas (pre stretch) for the first time, we were blown away. That cruise definitely got us hooked! We are now seasoned cruisers. Every cruise is exciting, and some cruises have been more fun than the first. Would I give up my perks to experience that first-time feeling again? I don't think so. We've earned our perks and would like to keep them. I still get excited every time we pull up to the pier for embarkation.

[NorbertsNiece]

I think if I wanted to find that very first sensation of being on board for the first time I would have to go on a different cruise line. I can not wait to enter my room on my next cruise as I won't ever have been in THAT room on THAT ship. I will be with people I have never been with before visiting places I have never been to before. That 'ping' sound when you board and the holiday is about to begin is unique. The familiar MDR menus hide flavours yet to be explored. Cruising is magical each time for me. I wish I had boarded earlier in my adult life.

[fireofficer5]

I would.

So I would not remember how much better it was in the past.

[tweenie123]

Each cruise always seems different to me and I still feel the same excitement as I did on our first cruise. So far we've only cruised in the Bahamas and the Caribbean as we tag the cruises onto our Orlando holidays as we have a teenage son who loves WDW. My husband would like to try a European cruise and reckons that it would be a completely new experience for us.

[PH8]

I don't get as excited as I did for my first cruise..TILL 2 weeks ago.......I went on a new ship/cruiseline(new to me)..........Celebrity Millennium.......it was very exciting to see something new and different ,to this loyal to Royal cruiser..

[not2old]

I think if I wanted to find that very first sensation of being on board for the first time I would have to go on a different cruise line. I can not wait to enter my room on my next cruise as I won't ever have been in THAT room on THAT ship. I will be with people I have never been with before visiting places I have never been to before. That 'ping' sound when you board and the holiday is about to begin is unique. The familiar MDR menus hide flavours yet to be explored. Cruising is magical each time for me. I wish I had boarded earlier in my adult life.

I'll never forget seeing "our ship" sitting at the dock, waiting for us to board! I do have to say that each time we get close to the dock where we get the first glimpse of the ship is a breathless moment! Only once did we not experience that "WOW" feeling and that was the only cruise/ship that didn't amaze us. We have been so fortunate to be able to sail on the Explorer quite frequently and get goose bumps every time we see her! Can't wait for this feeling in 48 days!! Also, in May we will be on her with friends who have never cruised and also can't wait to relive that "WOW" moment with them!

[cruzeluvr]

Interesting question! I have felt for a while that the "WOW factor" is gone.

 

After 20+ cruises, we still enjoy cruising and being at sea but no longer feel the "excitement" we once did (no more document dances). When we did the Pre-Inaugural cruise on the Allure, that restored some excitement, but other than that it all seems basically old hat. Also, a lot of things we used to enjoy(like horse racing, passenger fashion shows, and crew entertainment/shows) are no longer done. I also think we are "Carribbean'd out" but have no desire to do a port intensive European cruise instead. We would love to go back on the Allure, and probably will, but the current intineraries and ports of call seem pretty boring to us.

[robsmom]

Interesting Question. In our case the first cruise was anything but a wow. It took us 10 years to cruise again. We then took that wow cruise and have been addicted ever since. I think we have kept the excitement by going on different lines and ships. The downside is that we are now comparing each cruise to the ones in the past. Sometimes I think that we get a little disappointed in good food or entertainment because it is not as good as whatever we have remembered as the best. That said, we love it all and always come home ready to book another cruise.

[klingoncruiser]

Nope.... I still love crossing that walkway onto the ship.:D

[SuzanneH]

I still remember that first WOW moment when I first saw our ship, and couldn't believe how large it was!! Of course now it would be considered one of the smaller ships out there, but at the time it was amazing to me :). I found this board before we cruised, so I somewhat knew what to expect, but it still didn't prepare me for how much I would love it! Yes, I miss that feeling. On the other hand, I am truly excited about our upcoming cruise because I get to introduce my 8 yr old DS to cruising, and can't wait to see his face when he sees the ship for the first time. It's a surprise for him, and it is totally driving me nuts not being able to tell him!! LOL!!

[paul929207]

Nope. We have number 26 coming up in 9 weeks and I can't wait.

[MJC]

I still get so excited I can't sleep. Our trips have been so different from one another, so it feels new each time. I can't wait to retire and go for 30 days or longer. Our tradition is to start planning the next one on the flight home so we're not so sad about leaving the ship.