How old were you when you took your first cruise?

[Bridge Maven]

How old were you when you took your first cruise - not counting "cruises" on personal sailboats and cabin cruisers :)

[Bridge Maven]

My husband and I took our first cruise when I was a newlywed in my twenties, but didn't take our second cruise until twenty years later when our daughter was in college. That is because while we were raising a family we didn't think cruises were very child oriented. However, things are very different now and our grandchildren were infants when they took their first cruise :)

[Sloop-JohnB]

Hi Bridge Maven,

 

Another interesting topic by you... LOVE your polls !!

 

We were late starters... I'm in my mid 50s, hubby in his mid 60s... and we are semi-retired.

 

Guess we never did it earlier because of "family commitments"... Work, Mortage, Car Payments, Kids, College Funds... ya get the gist (no way we could have ever afforded a cruise when the kids were smaller... just too much of a LuXury vacation for us middle class folk)

 

We are now hoping that we've started something great... and look forward to some upcoming cruises in our Retirement Years.

 

Lol, long distance down the road... after the kids marry, I guess we could do a family cruise with the grand-kids in tow... would like to think we'll be in a financial position where we could help out our kids with this kind of an expensive holiday.

 

Only time will tell.

 

Cheers!

[dln929]

We were late-comers, too. Not because family or work interfered, but because we thought it was not our kind of vacation. We had to be talked into our first cruise, and even then we thought we were taking a giant leap of faith. How silly we were! By the time we've sailed on the Summit, we will have taken three cruises in the space of twelve months. We have a lot of catching up to do, you see. :p

[October55]

We were early 20's and then did not cruise until more than thirty years later. Two reasons -Family commitments and the low value of the Canadian dollar! Now with the kids grown and the dollar at par we are loving the cruise holidays again!

[kannna]

I was 12. Big red boat :)

[cwtravel]

I was 13 when my family took our 1st cruise on Home Lines M/S Oceanic from NYC to Nassau, in 1973. That was 25 cruises ago.

 

Chris

[Dizney]

In my 30's. My youngest DS...4! :-)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Golfgal]

I was in my 40s. Always wanted to try it and after a serious illness decided I was going to do it. I was a bit apprehensive and OH really wasn't sure but we're hooked now. We also work to live and are still limited to the school holidays for a couple more years. But then ............;)

[mick70]

I voted 51 t0 60 but if you count my 22yrs in the NAVY 13 years of sea duty(starting at the age of 18) it would be younger. BUT THEN AGAIN CRUISING and CRUISING are two different things;)

[C 2 C]

I sailed on the White Star Georgic for my first transatlantic when I was 8.

 

I guess that's when I first got fascinated by the sea.

[voyager90265]

1979 Carnival Festival (ex Transvaal Castle) which was, at the time, the largest cruise ship sailing out of Miami at a whopping 33,000 tons! I have been ship crazy ever since.

[Broken07]

At age 16. My parents took my brother and I for my graduation. I've been cruisng ever since. I take one cruise a year with my folks and try to get one with just me and the hubby.

[cruisemom42]

My parents booked a 4-day Christmas cruise on the Emerald Seas out of Fort Lauderdale (I think?) when I was 7. My concern about "missing" Santa was allayed by the ship having a Santa on board who gave a present to all the kids. I was fascinated by our cabin with porthole -- back then only true suites had real windows, let alone a balcony.

 

I've been hooked on cruising ever since. ;)

[SAC69]

I was 22 and went in a three day singles cruise with two buddies to Nassau and the Berry islands. My God did we have a blast with the ladies. Next was my honeymoon in 1981 to Bermuda and then nothing until 2009. Looking forward to our first Celebrity cruise in two weeks!

[Olive1950]

I was 28 years old when I took my first cruise, on Amerikanis. It was also my first trip to Europe. That was in 1978.

 

I never stopped traveling after that. 66 countries; 7 continents; and 70 cruises later (and 33 years) later, I am still on the move. I'm booked on the Mariner of the Seas, departing the day after tomorrow....

[Nebr.cruiser]

We took two cruises in our mid-twenties back in the 1970's. We had small children but they stayed with grandparents.

 

Then we didn't cruise again until about 1995, due, like others, to raising a family and working. Now we do 2-3 cruises a year.

[bigmohes]

40:D I was a late bloomer..........

[NancyIL]

Technically - I was 30 when my mom paid for my sister and me to go on a one-day Sea Escape cruise out of Tampa while she watched our kids. I was pregnant and sick as a dog on the ship, and that experience didn't make me want to step foot on another cruise ship any time soon!

 

I went on my first REAL cruise 17 years later with my mom - on HAL Zaandam out of Port Canaveral. It wasn't a very good first cruise, but I was anxious to book another as soon as I got home...just NOT with my mother!

[Denny01]

OK, depending on what we define as a cruise, I made my first at 10. We 'cruised' from San Francisco to Guam, an island in the Pacific, on the USNS Gaffey in 1956. It was fantastic. Athough not a classic cruise ship, it transported military and federal civilian families to the Pacific Islands. Lots of games, movies and a guy would walk through with a set of bells ringing them announcing the dining sitting. Neat.

 

Doss that count??

 

Den

[ecslady]

Not Young Enough.....

[3girlsmom]

My 1st cruise was in the late 60's on the SS Lurlene from LA to Honolulu when I was 5, & I will be celebrating a birthday on board the Equinox at the end of the month. There is absolutely no place I'd rather be than on a beautiful Celebrity ship when I turn the big 5-0!

[juju2454]

Old enough to wish I had done it sooner:rolleyes:, young enough to have had a great time? !! ;)

 

We traveled earlier via flights to Hawaii and drives down to Disney and D.C. and up to Canada when the daughters were younger ( first time to Hawaii they were 9 and 12 yo. Went several more times the last being in 1997 for our 25th anniversary and vow renewal, they went with us in a separate room for 3 weeks. ceremony complete with them and me in custom dresses.

 

First cruise was about 3 years ago, second was January, can't wait to go again!!!:D:cool:

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

OK, depending on what we define as a cruise, I made my first at 10. We 'cruised' from San Francisco to Guam, an island in the Pacific, on the USNS Gaffey in 1956. It was fantastic. Athough not a classic cruise ship, it transported military and federal civilian families to the Pacific Islands. Lots of games, movies and a guy would walk through with a set of bells ringing them announcing the dining sitting. Neat.

 

Doss that count??

 

Den

 

I think so. I was 9 when our family set sail from Brooklyn to San Juan, Puerto Rico on the USAT Henry Gibbons. With a port call in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba! Took two more of those during my years as an Army Brat: one to Europe and one cruising around the Mediterranean while we were in Europe. Thought it was wonderful!

 

Otherwise, I'm a late bloomer, having started what most of you think of as cruising in 2006. Still think cruising is wonderful!

[c-legs]

Count me in as a late bloomer. Sailed for the 1st time in 2001 ( Regal Princess in my signature ) at age 61, following some prodding from DW ....

In July, we're going on our 18th !! Some occasionnal monetary shortages have kept us from cruising even more.......and we're not finished yet, by a long shot.!!!

Cheers