Think back to your first cruise..............

[lknick]

My first "cruise" was getting out of Germany and away from Hitler in 1938 on the QM I. The best cruise I ever took. The second best was on the SS President Wilson, getting the heck out of Korea.

 

In neither case did I care about anything except going. How our values change.

[Cruiseoften]

Well said S7S "I think some of that 'mystique' has been lost to newbies who find their way to BB's.(we didn't know what that meant). That wide eyed wonder of not knowing what to expect was so very special." Couldn't agree more and it's such a pity!

 

Of course we asked questions but certainly nothing like which nights were formal, casual etc. It was enough to know how many of each. I recall planning a morning, afternoon and evening outfit for each day - jewelry, purse and shoes to match! In those days we even traveled more or less 'dressed up'!

 

Very 'cautiously' we asked the cost of drinks etc.(didn't want to appear gauche!:o ) and read up on the ports. Money was not that plentiful making us very selective about tours, frequently staying on board to explore the ship.

 

Tipping was not an issue. Depending on where you grew up, it was accepted as a fact of life. HAL's note to the effect that 'tipping not required' indicated to us that tips were welcome if service had been up to expectations.

 

Seems to me the menu had at least 4 pages - recall sitting with one couple who (cross my heart!) ate (cleared their plates, nothing wasted) their way through all the courses each night at dinner and then retired to the Explorers Lounge to each consume at least 3 of those delectable hand made chocolates. (Their clothes just had to elasticized!!!!)

 

RUTH C - you got that right!!!!!!'Those WERE the days, my friends, we 'really' thought they'd never end!':D

[the2ofus]

On student ships to and from Europe in 1960, I fell in love with ships and the sea. In 1993, aboard the brand new MS Statendam, I fell in love with cruising. My aunt had recently been widowed. She and her husband had taken cruises. She decided she'd rather spend money on us while she was alive so she could enjoy our smiles. She booked two verandah cabins for herself, my two sisters and me.

 

Because she had cruised, we had guidance as to what to wear. I also borrowed books on cruising and ships from the library. The TA sent us the feature article about the Statendam from a magazine . NOTHING prepared us for our first sight of the ship and those first hours on-board, while we explored. All three sibs were in our 50s at the time and we were as giddy as children. It was a wonderful 10 day Southern Wayfarer cruise, I believe. Everything was new, everything we saw and did was wonderful.

 

I came back determined to cruise again. I badgered poor DH until he gave up and agreed to cruise two years later. "I'll pay for the cruise, Honey, you just pay airfare. I'll handle all the details. Yes, Dear, I know you can't swim but you can drown in a bathtub too! Just try it! There is medication for motion sickness, honest!" Finally, he agreed. Was amazed and awed by the size of the Statendam. Was fascinated by all the mechanical details. Loved watching the ocean. Was blown away by the Lido buffet and the dining room. On our second day out of Ft. Lauderdale, he leaned on the stern rail and casually said, "The next time we cruise...." I never heard the end of the sentence, I was laughing so hard!

 

My aunt never cruised again due to crippling arthritis, but we are closing in on 100 days. If we can someday afford it, we'd like to take all our kids and grandkids. Will introduce our DS and D-I-L to cruising on the Volendam this October. Introduced our nephew and wife to cruising two years ago and they, too, are hooked and sailing again with us in October.

[arkansastraveler]

My first cruise was on the Commodore Boheme - a wonderful experience. The ship is gone now but the memories linger.

[bepsf]

I had always wanted to cruise ever since I was a small kid watching the Love Boat. I'd order brochures from Princess, Royal Viking, Sitmar, Cunard, etc. and daydream of the time that I would take my place aboard those fabulous ships...

 

 

Years later, when I was in my mid 20's and in the USAF - I walked into the American Express travel office and booked myself into a stateroom on Cunard Countess - a 7-day cruise out of San Juan - for myself alone.

When I got to the office and told my boss and co-workers what I'd done, they thought I was nuts. They convinced me that I was spending way too much and that I'd be miserable traveling alone amongst the "oldsters" - so I cancelled....

Years later, I tried to convince my partner to book a gay charter cruise on the brand new Zuiderdam to Mardi Gras and Mexico with me. He thought I was nuts...

After I'd broken up w/ him later that year, I wished that I'd gone ahead and booked Zuiderdam so as soon as bookings opened for the next year, I placed a deposit on Oosterdam. This time when I told my co-workers, I was so confident that if they thought I was nuts, I didn't hear it. One even taped an MTV video of the gay cruise on Zuiderdam (the one I'd tried to convince my ex to go on) and gave it to me. After watching it I knew immediately that I'd made the right decision!!!

[kryos]

I have nowhere near the cruising experience that most of you folks have. I only started cruising in March, 2004.

 

I only booked the cruise (HAL's Rotterdam to the Panama Canal) because I wanted to attend a writer's conference/retreat onboard the ship. I didn't even bother doing research about cruising because I just "knew" I wouldn't care for it, but consoled myself with all of the great tips I would get on my writing and figured even if I hated the cruise, I would surely enjoy the conference ... so that would be fine. I was also excited about the prospect of having a piece published in the book that was being compiled as part of the conference (Ship's Log ... Writings at Sea). I didn't know about cruisecritic at the time ... and probably wouldn't have bothered logging on even if someone had told me about it. I wasn't interested in the cruise. I was interested in taking my writing to a new level.

 

Everything was booked by phone and fortunately I developed a nice rapport with the TA assigned to our group. He realized I knew nothing about cruising when I asked a stupid question about how much I should bring with me for meals. He took it upon himself to "splain" cruising to me ... what to expect ... what the cabins were like ... which ones would be best to avoid motion ... shore excursions ... what was included and what was not ... that sort of thing.

 

I went on that cruise not expecting to particularly enjoy much about it other than the conference itself. It started off as a disaster when the aircraft I was flying to Fort Lauderdale on had to make an emergency diversion to Baltimore due to an engine problem. I would up missing the boat (can't blame the TA ... he did suggest flying down a day earlier ... I just couldn't do it). But the agency helped me get set up to fly to Costa Rica and join the ship three days later. The whole time I'm thinking ... "why did I bother? This cruising thing so far is definitely no fun."

 

Once I got on the boat ... despite all the hassles with Costa Rica's customs people who left me and this other girl from the conference (who also was on the same original flight as me and missed the ship) sitting in that little waiting room at the port for about an hour ... I fell in love with cruising. How nice everyone was to us! We had to check in at the purser's office and everyone was so nice ... so sorry that we had missed the ship and so anxious to make the rest of our trip memorable. They invited us to a special cocktail party with the Captain and Hotel Manager for the following night ... since we had missed our own group cocktail party on embarkation day. I was escorted to my cabin by a steward (who had already delivered all of my luggage there while I was checking in at the purser's desk). Most of the people were off the ship at the time doing excursions, but when I mentioned that I was kinda hungry, he gave me the "lay of the land" ... telling me where I could get food at just about any time of the day. In the Lido, a waiter insisted on carrying my tray for me as he led me to a nice table by the windows. I could eat my meal and look out at everything going on in the port.

 

That night, dinner was an experience in pampering and luxury, as our waiters went out of their way to "ingrain" me in the joys of pampered cruising. The cabin wasn't nearly as cramped as I thought it would be, since we had a larger inside cabin that I was sharing with another woman from the conference.

 

It didn't take me three days onboard to go and pay the future cruise consultant a visit. I knew I'd want to do this again ... and soon.

 

I've since been on four additional cruises, and am scheduled for four more over 2005 and 2006 (three on HAL and one on Celebrity). I've also got two open bookings pending on Princess which I will save for 2007.

 

Seems that writer's conference created a monster. :)

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Guest Celestia]

Great thread!

 

There was no internet in those days -

how did you get answers to your questions?

 

The cruise brochure, a letter from the travel agent, and the comprehensive materials that came with my ticket/luggage tags/etc.

 

Did you have as many questions as first time cruisers today?

 

No. There weren't as many options back then, either.

 

Did you read the brochure from cover to cover and go 'by the book'?

 

Absolutely. If you mean dress and behaviour standards, I still do to this day.

 

Did you plan what you would wear morning, noon and night?

 

Day clothes, much like my working dress code at the time, just invested in a few new pieces. On the Queen Odyssey, every night was formal :)

 

Did you research menus? Was food on board one of your prime concerns?

 

Not at all. I knew it would be splendid and it was.

 

Did you research every port and what it was best to do there?

 

Not really. I knew what I wanted to do in Venice and the rest, we booked tours and they were excellent.

 

An indication as to when you first cruised and your age range would be of interest and would I think, add interest to your reply.

 

Royal Cruise Lines' "Mediterranean Hideaways", m.s. Queen Odyssey, Fall of 1995, and age range, *well* past 30 (at the time).

 

FW&FS,

 

Celestia

[mrskmirolla]

Our first cruise :o was just incredible!!! We went on the MS NIEUW AMSTERDAM in 1985 to the Western Caribbean and what a trip! We had an outside cabin (porthole) and one day I swear we were looking out into a washing machine :D, but that didn't matter. We checked everything out read everything and just had a super time. Holland America has been our favorite to this day. We went on the Fair Sky to Alaska in 1986 and couldn't wait to go back to HAL.

 

Since then we have been fortunate to go on the MS Maasdam to the Panama Canal (all should go on this one), Statendam to Sea of Cortez, NCL to Hawaii :rolleyes: okay but not HAL, the MS Rotterdam to Italy :D that was the ultimate!!!!!

 

September 3rd we will go on the MS Zuiderdam and are looking forward to it and in May of 2006 the Maasdam again to Canada and New England. August of 2006 we are taking our children and grandchildren on RCL (wish it were HAL) on a 4 day for my 60th birthday. God is good and so is HAL!!!!!!

[sail7seas]

Well said S7S "I think some of that 'mystique' has been lost to newbies who find their way to BB's.(we didn't know what that meant). That wide eyed wonder of not knowing what to expect was so very special."

 

 

Thank you, Cruiseoften.

......"lost to newbies who find their way to BB's. "

 

Sorry. :) It means that people who are new to cruising found Bulletin Boards (such as this) on the Internet.

[rochnd]

Our first family cruise was in the early '80's aboard the Azure Seas (Admiral Cruise Lines) Los Angeles to Ensenada for four days at Christmas! We (DW/our two kids/SIL/her son/self)knew nothing of cruising really, but saw a May Co. ad about this trip, so we, on a whim, decided to give it a try.

 

We had the cheapest cabins available, all the way forward adjacent (port and stb.) on the lowest deck offered for passengers. The shower was over the head, the sink next to it. Tacked bunk beds held up by chains like the military versions. One person could stand in the cabin at a time to dress, one in the head, on one either out of the cabin or on the bunk. We had split ourselves up 3 and 3, so it was guys to port and gals to starboard. I didn't realize we would be in seperate lifeboats! That set me back a bit after the first drill!

 

The main dining room (the only one) was in the bow of the ship. You could see the movement (let alone feel it) across the room. We were fairly nautical and nothing bothered us, but it did trim the sails of some of our fellow passengers.:eek:

 

What a time we had! I don't recall sleeping much, as the wonderful midnight buffet got in the way of my sleep cycle, and besides, we were all too excited to sleep much anyway.

 

The guys all rented tuxes with red ties and cumberbunds, the ladies all dressed up and we went out his way every evening! We had no idea of dress codes and the such. We were just having a great time. Have no idea how the other passengers were dressed. Didn't care (still don't, for dress code purists!) We still talk about what a great trip that was! We thought we had the best deal, the best food, the best service, just everything.

 

We did. We had each other to share with on a very special holiday in a wonderful environment. What a time it was!

[flashdog_1]

Does crossing the Atlantic on a Greek freighter count? i do not know the name of the ship. I'm not sure if there were transatlantic flights back then, or if they were they were cost prohibitive, so we booked the only ship available to leave almost immediately from NY. We were the only passengers taken on in New York.

 

We had no idea what to expect. There were only a handful of passengers on board, and they were completing a 'round the world cruise. I assumed everyone had the same accommodations we did (crews quarters with bunk beds, a table and chairs and a real port hole) near the engine room. It was only toward the end of the 11 day crossing that I saw someone else's cabin, which was approximately like a Celebrity suite with floor to ceiling glass windows, luxurious carpeting and drapes etc.

 

Everyone ate at the captain's table and had the same food. They rang the ship's bell to announce meals. Everyone was expected there within a few minutes. There were pretty much no choices except at breakfast: oatmeal, dry cereal and toast, eggs and bangers. We were served family style where each person took his portion from a large serving bowl. There was lots of pasta and olive oil. Nothing fancy at all. The other passengers said it had been wonderful at the beginning of the trip, but were told that they were not going to take on any new stores in NY so we had to make do with what was left over. The only alcohol on board was ouzo so I had to do without unless I wanted liquorice flavor.

 

The seas were rough, and I learned to keep my eyes on the horizon when on the windy decks, and to prop myself with pillows on each side in the bunk bed so I would not roll with the ship. i read a lot of books on board. You had to hold onto the railings in all the passageways so you would not fall down from the pitching of the seas. it rained or stormed almost the entire trip until we got to Land's End. We were so glad to see sunshine.

 

The cargo was gold bouillion and horses. We received permission from the captain to feed our apples to the horses.

 

I do not remember anything about the boarding process or disembarking at London. We're talking almost 40 years ago!

[rex523]

I was ten and crazy about ships. I rode my bike to the travel agency and pestered a very nice and patient lady for brochures. I took them home, devoured them, and presented my parents with the idea. We went, loved it, and have cruised ever since. We have booked a Zuiderdam cruise in November for Dad's 81st birthday.

 

No worries about any details - my parents and sister just asked me. You know ten year olds with an obsession. The Emerald Seas owners, the Eastern Line I think, in those days published a pamphlet aimed at first time cruisers which I'm sure I memorized. Most of the literature available in the public library referred to the great transatlantic liners which were already gone, so some things I wasn't clear on. I remember being apalled that our captain was letting the Flavia pass us after leaving Miami - I was expecting a race as if we were the Normandie and the Queen Mary!

 

In those days we dressed every night for dinner, although there is a photo of me on deck at night in Nassau, with the glorious Home Lines Oceanic in the background, where I am wearing sneakers with my jacket and tie.

 

Arkansastraveler - the Boheme!!! I hadn't thought of her in ages - she was a beautiful ship with a wonderful crew - and so tiny compared with today's ships.

[Cruiseoften]

Thank you, Cruiseoften.

......"lost to newbies who find their way to BB's. "

 

Sorry. :) It means that people who are new to cruising found Bulletin Boards (such as this) on the Internet.

 

 

Thanks S7S - know what I took BB's to mean? "Back to Back' cruises! Don't believe I would have come up with Bulletin Boards - Cruise Forums, Cruise Infomation were probably my search words when I started on the net. Guess it depends where you're from. :)