When did you know cruising was for you?

[I_heart_vaca]

My first cruise is just a few weeks away and I am so excited! Planning has been fun and all your stories and tips invaluable. So thanks for your openess and honestly.

 

My cousin and I (who are taking our moms on this Mother's Day trip - Girls Trip!) are already pre-planning other trips, but haven't 'pulled the trigger' because we want to make sure I actually enjoy it. I have travelled all around the world but always land/air so this will be a brand new experience for me.

 

So since you all obviously love cruising - and I envy some of the places you all have been - I was wondering when you knew that cruising was the way to vacation for you? Was it a specific moment or experience?

 

Would love to hear some of your highlights! Thanks :)

[SingingPixie]

I wouldn't say it is "the" way. It is "a" way to vacation that I enjoy, but it has its pros and cons just like any style of trip. Whether I choose a cruise or a land-based trip really depends on what I want to get out of it. When my boyfriend and I decided we wanted a relatively inexpensive, low-pressure getaway for just the two of us, cruising seemed to fit the bill.

 

Cruising is:

-a good way to know what you're spending ahead of time

-a relaxing way to see some exotic sights without tons of travel time/complicated connections

-a way to get some adventure, good food/drinks, nice accommodations, activities and good entertainment without tons of planning

-a great way to be close to the sea!

 

Cruising isn't:

- a good way to authentically get a feel for any of the ports/cultures

- an opportunity to see any port in detail

- a way to access extremely high-end food (on mainstream lines)

- the same as visiting any of the ports on a land-based trip

 

As you can probably tell, I generally prefer to be able to spend more time and really get to know the places I travel- but these trips often end up costing more money, taking more intense planning, and just generally being more taxing than we were looking for this time- so in this case, the cruise will be a great choice! I also think cruises are good for diverse groups, because they give people a chance to do what they want but still rendezvous for dinner to discuss their days.

[tip]

Our first cruise was on the NCL Norwegian Majesty in he spring of 1997. We were hooked. Twenty-one cruises later and we still enjoy each and every one!:D

[mr green]

I knew that we would continue cruising after the first 24 hours.:)

 

john

[crzndeb]

My first cruise in 1980 on Sitmar Fairwind

[Donder1]

Stepping into the mini suite on the Grand Princess....first cruise, first minute!

[Talisker92]

Our first trip was on the old Sun Princess in 1988. Since then I have been on 40 more cruises, with more booked.

As an aside, my late wife was brain injured in 1993, and it was a good way for us to travel as I knew she would always be safe and medical care at hand. She passed away in 2005, 3 months after an Antarctic cruise.

I have since remarried, and we have been on 12 cruises with 2 more booked for this year.

[jocap]

On the second day with Sea Princess in the Caribbean. We'd had a sea day, and recovered from our jet lag, plus become familiar with how to get around the ship, where the food was etc.

Now we woke to see an island- it was actually Princess Cays- shimmering in the turquoise sea. Everything was breathtaking, including the ship.

We knew then that this was going to be the way we holidayed from now on, though perhaps not to the Caribbean again. And, apart from short breaks in places we've discovered from cruises, like Santorini, this has been the way we've taken holidays ever since.

Jo.

[cruiseapril]

Although we had been on other cruises, when we saw the Dawn Princess in Fort Lauderdale, before our cruise, I knew I would want to cruise every year. It was our first cruise from Florida (the others had been from NYC)- so it was charming.

[Shmoo here]

Walking up the gangway on my first cruise! I was so excited, I grabbed DHs arm (hard!) and screamed "We're going on a cruise!!!!!"

 

:)

[johneeo]

I was wondering when you knew that cruising was the way to vacation for you? Was it a specific moment or experience?

 

Would love to hear some of your highlights! Thanks :)

 

The ship.

 

It is like going to the perfect resort, or perfect city.

 

But it sails on the sea, and takes you to different places, different countries, different islands.

 

And all you have to do is sit back, relax, have fun, and let the crew do the work.

[nybumpkin]

When we crossed the George Washington Bridge, looked down the river, and saw our ship at the pier. DH took a little longer - he was hesitant right up until we boarded the ship and stepped into the atrium.:D

[Dayenu]

I've heard so much about cruises from others, and decided to finally give it a "trial run" - my biggest fear was getting sea sick, I do get motion sickness. So after a short first 4-night cruise I knew I loved it.

[SchoolNurseMom]

when I told dh that a coworker had recommended we try a cruise and he said "where are we going?" That's all it took!

[Treven]

When in the taxi going from my hotel and the pier in Honolulu (Aloha Tower), we were coming around a curve in the street and the cab driver said to me, "well, there's your ship". I looked through the front windshield and saw this HUGH ship, and I was hooked right then!:D

[berkyvdr]

I was itching to go on a cruise, but my husband had been horribly seasick on a ferry crossing--it was quite rough--and worried he would spend the whole week throwing up. When I suggested taking my then 14 year old daughter on a mother-daughter cruise vacation, he was all for it, as she throws up at the drop of a hat and would be a good test subject. She was queasy for only a fraction of the time--and the ship was really rockin', so my husband decided he would give it a whirl.

 

Our first cruise together was on the Carnival Paradise for our 25th wedding anniversary! We will be going on our tenth cruise next winter and taking our grandson with us for his first cruise. He will be six.

 

We love the ease of cruising. Unpack once, you don't need to make your bed, your every need is taken care of, a different place to visit almost every day and if you want you can stay on board. for the most part, everything is so CLEAN! We feel safe on a cruise. And it can be totally economical!! My husband and I are sold!

[Tralynn]

I don't know what it is, but ever since my first cruise no land vacation has ever compared for me. I just get giddy every single time I board a ship.

[beachbum53]

I love the ocean! I think I may have been a dolphin in a past life. From the very first day of our very first cruise 15 years ago, we were hooked! Since neither of us is prone to motion sickness, we've never gotten seasick. I feel bad for those that do. The swaying and bobbing of the ship is so relaxing at night that we can drift off and sleep like babies. If we lived in a port city, I'm sure we'd cruise more often than we do (since we wouldn't have to pay airfare).

[ferfoodle]

I was sitting on a lounger the first evening of my 1st cruise on the exterior promenade deck listening to the whoosh whoosh whoosh of the ocean and realized that very second that I had found the closest thing to heaven on earth. It was so peaceful, I became totally relaxed and stress free for the first time in years. My first choice for vacation ever since has been cruising. And amazingly, the second I see the ship, I slip into that relaxed stress free zone. Love it.

[silvercrikhix]

When DH and I saw the Carnival Legend as we got to the Tampa port.

We both saw it and said oh yeah! That was in March 2010.

We booked our 2nd cruise a couple weeks after we returned from the 1st cruise.

Because we love motorcycling and heard about the cruise ETA on RCCL where you bring your motorcycle and ride 4 islands. That was fantastic! May 2011.

We booked our 3rd cruise a few weeks after returning and are so excited to go to Alaska this summer! Looking around for #4 already. :o

LOVE cruising!

[cruisinmimiof3]

Seeing the sunrise and sunsets from my balcony! That just did me in! I was hooked right then, the first night having a drink on the balcony watching the sun set with my feet up on the rail. the beautiful blue water in ports when you wake up, room service, the awesome service, the food-everywhere! It was just an amazing experience, and I am hooked. You will be too. If you have motion sickness issues, bring something along just in case. It is much more expensive on the boat! Enjoy your cruise and make sure to post a review!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[OCruisers]

Way before I ever cruised, I knew cruising was for me!

 

When I was a little girl, my grandmother would tell me about the "crossings" she "booked passage" with her retired teacher friends and send me post cards from all the places she'd been. Once back home, she'd show me on a map exactly where she'd been and tell me lots of wonderful things about each. :)

 

My actual first cruise was a 3 Day to the Bahamas on our high school senior trip when I was "Sweet 16" ... so I've been cruising a long time. :D

[zacc]

I knew I was hooked within the first few minutes of boarding my first ship....the Carla C back in the mid 70's. She was truly a beautiful and majestic ship:)

[terrific_surprise]

Before my wife and I went on our first cruise, I was skeptical about the cruising experience. I think I dismissed it as wasteful, overly materialistic, and out of touch with reality.

 

But because of some stressful times we were going through, a pastor and his wife recommended that we go on a cruise. They not only recommended it -- they paid for it. I had thought that a cruise would be out of reach for us, but didn't realize how affordable it could be (even if we had paid for it).

 

It was only a 3 day Catalina/Ensenada cruise, but it definitely changed my perspective. I think probably about the time of the muster drill I knew that it would be a life-changing adventure. (Not that I enjoyed the drill, but there is something about a shared experience, even an uncomfortable one, that is meaningful.)

 

Being able to visit different new places while keeping the same room, being out in the middle of the ocean with no land in sight, having a schedule of activities to attend (but being free to miss them), all of these made me lose my skepticism about cruising. Oh and I think it helped that there was always something to eat. :rolleyes:

 

Being on a cruise gives us the opportunity to get out of our comfort zone and be a bit adventurous, but to return to our comfort zone at the end of the day. I think if we stayed in hotels at these same locations, we might have still felt like we were out of our comfort zones at the end of the day.

 

But I think when I was truly hooked was when we sat around the table for dinner. Getting to know our tablemates has probably been, for me, one of the biggest highlights of crusing.

 

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the spacious bathrooms and staterooms. :p (Ha!)

[mitsugirly]

My first cruise was with NCL in 1989. I knew during that cruise that it was simply amazing and so different than doing any "land" cruise. I was hooked, however, I was young, we had started our family (3 children) and started our careers. Back then it was very expensive and something that we only pictured the "rich" being able to afford. We saved forever to go on this cruise.

 

On next cruise wasn't again until the late 90's with RCL. The only reason we were able to go then with our 3 children was because my daughter was in gymnastics and they had a competition held in Miami and a "special" cruise after for all the gymnast at a VERY discounted rate. (Yes the entire ship was loaded with gymnast and it was at Christmas).

 

We started cruising again in 2010 when I found out about the Epic coming out and all of the wonderful entertainment that was going to be on board. It was my (now) husbands first cruise. After that, we were HOOKED...for good this time. We decided that every year for vacation, we would rather take a cruise than a land vacation. The next year, we considered a land vacation, but it only took about a week of research to know cruising would be better for us. The rest is history. We cruised 1 year to the date after the Epic on the Spirit, then 6 months later on the Pearl and we leave again a little over 7 months on the Dawn. Yep, we are hooked!