How did you start cruising?

[Taxguy77]

Either way I'm going on one as a graduation gift to myself for just receiving my Master's 3 weeks ago.

 

Cruising is fun :)

Congratulations on your Masters! :) A lot of work, and you deserve a good vacation.

 

A year after college 3 friends and I toured Europe by car. That was in 1956 and I still remember most of the trip. I have returned to two restaurants I remembered, both were still great!

[reedl]

In 2003 we wanted to take a short vacation, and the Serenade of the Seas was making a three day run out of Boston up to Halifax. We booked it two weeks before the cruise date, and thoroughly enjoyed the time we had. We won the Love and Marriage Game show, so we were the hit of the ship.

[tigercat]

My husband decided that we should go to a cabin in the woods for our honeymoon where I cooked and cleaned for the week. I told him then that I would decide where we would spend our 25th. I knew that as teenagers and kids on the way it would take us that long to be able to save enough.

The year before our 25th I told my husband that I wanted to take a cruise. I got several cruise books and poured through them. My husband didn't. He told me that he thought it would be romantic if we went back to that cabin in the woods. At that point I told him that he could do that but that I was going on a cruise. He picked the cruise that he wanted. It went from Vancouver (we are Canadians) to the Hawaiian Islands. Sounded good to me.

He protested even as we embarked saying that he really thought the cabin would have been better. However, 3 days into the cruise he brought a couple of cruise books down to our cabin where I was having a nap saying that there were a lot of different places we could go to did I know that?

We have had several cruises since then although I have had a couple more than him and will have another one without him next year. We just returned from a 12 night cruise to Norway, Germany, Holland, France and Belgium.

tigercat

[SPacificbound]

I didn't want to have to fly back from Australia. :)

[rtfnl]

My parents started me cruising in the late 70's. My first cruise was on the Dolphin. I remember the bread always being warm and a red and white bottles of free wine on the table during dinner. I was about 13.

 

I started my son cruising every year when he was 13 months old on the Big Red Boat, which I think was the Dolphin in 1993.

[clackey]

In the summer of 2002 I planned to take my DW to the Gulf for a week. She had never seen a body of water larger than our local lake. Unfortunately her father had to go into the hospital that summer and we had to postpone our vacation. For some unknown reason I started searching for a cruise and finally booked a 5 nighter on the Celebration out of Galveston. Long story made short. We turned Platinum last year on Carnival, done fourteen cruises to date, and are looking for number 15 as I type this. Anytime that I can eat 24 hours a day I am in Heaven.:D

Edited November 14, 2013 by clackey

[DonnasMom&Dad]

My DW and I camped for 42 years, then had to give it up due to arthritis, we then sat around, did the odd driving vacation trip, staying with friends, relatives, hotels and motels. :(

 

Then in 2008 our daughter, said dad, you have to go on a cruise for your 75th birthday. Having crossed the Atlantic 4 times, first as a 4 year old, don’t remember, then back at 14 year old, then return trips, to Europe, 3 years apart with the Canadian military, I had no interest in cruising, but if I had to go, it had to be the Panama Canal. We ended up with a party of 11 family and friends, even some from Denmark. :rolleyes:

 

Well the rest is history. DW and I are sailing on our 27th cruise, 25 with Princess, including the Royal Princess, inaugural cruise in June of 2013, and Caribbean, 24 November 2013, for our 5th year anniversary of cruising, and my 80th birthday, and you guessed it the instigators of it all, our daughter and son in-law, will be along. ;) :D

 

Cato :p

 

Completed Cruises !

Pre-cruise Days - The Big Red Boat, 1993 ??

 

1st cruise - Coral Princess, 19 November 2008, 10 day Panama Canal, FLL to ACA

2nd cruise - Coral Princess, 15 May 2009, 3 day Repositioning, Los Angeles to Vancouver.

3rd cruise - Sapphire Princess, 25 November 2009? 7 day Mexican Riviera.

4th cruise - Golden Princes, 12 June 2010, 7 day Alaska. (Golden Anniversary Cruise)

5th Cruise - Island Princess, 04 October 2010, Vancouver - Los Angeles, Repositioning

6th cruise - Sapphire Princess, 05 January 2011, 10 day Mexican Riviera. LA to LA.

7th cruise - Golden Princess, 11 May 2011, 3 day, LA to Vancouver, Repositioning

8th cruise - Sapphire Princess, 14 May 2011, 1 day, Vancouver to Seattle, Repositioning

9th cruise - Coral Princess 19 May 2011 2 day, San Francisco to Vancouver, Repositioning

10th & 11th cruises - Coral Princess 02 July to 16 July 2011, round trip Vancouver - Whittier Alaska, B2B

12th & 13th cruises - Sapphire Princess, x2, Cabins, 18 Sep. 2011, 1 day, Seattle to Vancouver, Repositioning

14th & 15th cruises - Golden Princess, x2, Cabins, 24 Sep. 2011, 1 day, Seattle to Vancouver, Repositioning.

16th cruise - Oasis of the Seas, 26 Nov. 2011, 7 day, Western Caribbean, Ft. Lauderdale, Ret.

17th & 18th cruises - Crown Princess B2B, 03 - 10 Dec & 10 - 17 Dec 2011, 14 Days, South & western Caribbean

19th cruise - Grand Princess, 31 Mar. - 07 April 2012, 7 Days, Eastern Caribbean, FLL - FLL

20th cruise - Island Princess, 06-16 June 2012, 10 day cruisetour Vancouver - Wittier

21th cruise - Emerald Princess, 16 day, 10 - 26 Sep. 2012, TA, Copenhagen - New York

22nd cruise - Carnival Ecstasy 10 - 14 January, 2013, 4 Day Bahamas, Port Canaveral Ret.

23rd cruise - Sapphire Princess 30 March - 06 April, 2013, 7 Day Coastal LA - LA

24th cruise - Coral Princess, 19 May - 22 May, 2013, 3 Day Repositioning Cruise, LA - Vancouver

25th cruise - Royal Princess 16 June - 05 July, 2013, 19 Day Inaugural cruise, Southampton - Venice.

26th cruise - Emerald Princess, 06 - 16 October, 2013, 10 Day Canada - New England, Quebexc city to New York

 

 

Future & Hopeful Cruises !

( Already booked )

 

.27th cruise - Royal Princess, 24 November - 01 December, 2013, 7 Day,Eastern Caribbean, Fort Lauderdale Ret.

28th cruise - Caribbean Princess, 29 Mar. - 05 Apr. 2014, 7 Day, Western Caribbean, Houston Ret.

29th cruise - Pacific Princess, 17 - 24 June 2014 Vancouver - Skagway Ret

30th cruise - Royal Princess, 10 - 27 Sep. 2014 TA Copenhagen - New York

31th cruise - Royal Princess 19 - 29 Dec, 2014, Christmas, Fort Lauderdale Ret.

32nt cruise - Royal Princess 29 Dec - 08 Jan. 2014/2015, New Years, Fort Lauderdale. Ret.

 

Edited November 14, 2013 by Donna's Dad