Curious - how many

[3rdGenCunarder]

Never sailed Carnival, probably never will. They don't have any itineraries I'm eager to do, and the whole "fun ship" image doesn't speak to me.

 

Our first two cruises were HAL to Bermuda, the old Statendam (I remember passing the Rotterdam at her anchorage when we sailed into Hamilton) and the old Volendam. Then we sailed on QE2 a couple of times, and I lose track of the order after that.

 

OK, so call me an old-timer who likes to moan, but I'm looking for the kind of cruise experience that's fast disappearing. I don't like the larger ships (3000+ pax), and that rules out a lot of cruise lines. I want peace and quiet, and a nice deck chair for reading and sea-gazing. It doesn't sound like a lot, but we've found that it's difficult to find that on some of the lines we used to sail with. We're down to HAL (for good itineraries) and Cunard (for the whole experience, especially formal nights). So flame me for being an old moaner, but ambiance and service are more important to me than flowriders and belly-flop contests.

[cruisemom42]

OMG! Lucky you to have taken 6 cruises on Sitmar. Our 1st was on Fairwind, hooked us on cruising. Only yesterday, DH & I were bemoaning Sitmar's demise in the late 70s or early 80s. What service! If only they were still around. . .

 

We have long since stopped comparing other cruise lines to Sitmar. Guess we could anticipate that level of service aboard Crystal, Silversea etc., but passage in the thousands of $$$$ are way beyond our budget. I'm thankful we get to cruise on HAL (inside cabin) at least once a year.

 

And who knows? If Sitmar were still around today, it may have compromised its service at some point.

 

Yes, I loved Sitmar. Really, really loved it. :(

 

I've been unlucky enough to go through the demise of two lines I thought were terrific. At least HAL loyalists still have a HAL to cruise with. (Although I'm not sure if it's not better to die suddenly than die from a thousand small cuts....)

 

I have found a couple of small lines that gives me some of the Sitmar feeling, so I anticipate many of my future cruises will be with them.

[DeepWaterMariner]

Only yesterday, DH & I were bemoaning Sitmar's demise in the late 70s or early 80s.

 

Sitmar was around until at least 1988 which is when we made our last Sitmar cruise on the Fairwind. It wasn't exactly a demise for Sitmar, they merged with Princess with many of their crew sailing on for many years with Princess. Most old Sitmar cruisers credit that heritage with the good pizza on Princess.

[Copper10-8]

Sitmar was around until at least 1988 which is when we made our last Sitmar cruise on the Fairwind. It wasn't exactly a demise for Sitmar, they merged with Princess with many of their crew sailing on for many years with Princess. Most old Sitmar cruisers credit that heritage with the good pizza on Princess.

 

Sitmar, which stands/stood for Societa Italiana Trasporti Marittimi, was taken over by the British P&O (Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigatio Company) Group in July 1988. As you already stated, their ships went to Princess

[iancal]

Our first cruise was on Crystal Symphony. Greek Islands. It was wonderful. Since then we have done Carnival, RCI, Celebrity, HAL, NCL, and Princess. Oceania and Azamara are currently near the top of our to do list....just waiting for the right cruise at the right price at the right time

[Riversedge]

Our first was on Carnival. Loved it then, love it now. Never have experienced the "party atmosphere" that people who haven't sailed them complain about but then we know better than to sail them when kids are out of school.

[jbhcw]

Our first was on Carnival. Loved it then, love it now. Never have experienced the "party atmosphere" that people who haven't sailed them complain about but then we know better than to sail them when kids are out of school.

 

Correct..and never do a 3 or 4 dayer:D And pick your 5 day cruises carefully:):):)

[NoobCruise]

We did. We sailed on Carnival Elation to the Mexican Riviera in 2003. It was NOT a great experience and we didn't cruise again for almost 10 years. Then we wanted to see the Alaskan glaciers and by cruise ship seems the best way, so last year we sailed on the Westerdam and had a fabulous time. We plan to sail again in the future, but we won't sail with Carnival again. I think Carnival is aptly named for its quality of product.

 

I wouldn't hesitate to sail HAL again, but we may try Celebrity or Royal Caribbean next for the Alaskan itinerary we're interested in. I also want to sail the Hawaiian Islands on NCLs Pride of America. We're not crazy about sea days so it's itinerary is great for us, and we can spend a few land days in Hawaii.

[George C]

1st cruise was cruise to nowhere in 1975 from NYC, 2nd Rotterdam 1977, one Carnival cruise out of 56 in 1986 do not remember the name of the ship

[Mitwif]

My first cruise was on the Festivale in 1985. It was also my last with them. CCL was my first job out of college, I moved on after only one year.

[geoherb]

My first cruise was with my ex and a friend on Carnival's Carnivale in 1988. My current DH and I took our first cruise together in 1989 on a Norwegian Cruise Line ship. Once we sailed on Royal Caribbean in 1990, I said we'd never go back to Carnival or Norwegian. I broke that promise last year by sailing on Carnival's Fantasy for a short spring break cruise out of Charleston. The ability to drive to the port instead of fly tipped the balance in favor of trying Carnival again. The experience is not up to HAL, Celebrity, or Princess--but it's still a fun time if you go in with an open mind.

[GrammyPL]

Our first cruise was a 3 day Carnival out of Orlando. That was the last for Carnival. TA suggested HAL and we now have 33 cruises with HAL. Penny

[sapete]

December 1988

[stlouistravelers]

We did on the Glory and then the Victory. Then Princess for a trip. Now we are back on the Victory and HAL in January. We sail on destination.

[blueboro]

1978 on Carnival Festivale which had just been bought and refurbished and was one of the largest cruise ship sailing at about 32k tons. How times change. They also had a midnight buffet and a 1:30am buffet every day.

[mariner]

The reason I asked was two-fold: First, many on here are quick to blame Carnival for the demise of HAL's standards.

Second, when Carnival bought HAL, the game plan was to make HAL their upscale line that Carnival passengers would eventually grow up too.

[comfortcove]

Celebrity Meridian, Virginia to Bermuda October 1994. The seas were so rough going over, and we learned we never get sea sick. We still had a blast!

[lovetocruise2020]

I loved my 2 carnival cruises in may/june. Fantastic food, that was what it said on the menu, tasted awesome and looked like the menu said it would! Lol