Why did you take your very first cruise ?

[lenquixote66]

I was approaching a very special birthday and wanted to do something that I had never done before.None of my friends or relatives or co-workers ever cruised.

It was 1973 .We went to a Travel store and it was suggested to us that we book a cruise .The cruise was to be on the Americanis line and looked very interesting.However,the ship broke down and we were offered the opportunity to cruise on a Cunard ship.

 

 

[mom says]

Because I wanted to. I'd never cruised before, but wanted to see if it was something we would enjoy. And we did. 

[cb at sea]

We just had wanted to try it....it rained almost the entire time on our 1st cruise......but we loved it!  Our 2nd once was FABULOUS.....then it started going downhill......we started in the "90's"...right before they started the "specialty" dining.  That began the downhill slide of the MDR, Imo.....it just didn't seen as "special" as it had.  We tried a few more, and and found the decline not to be to our liking.  Sort of like flying.....only want to do it if I can go "first class" anymore.  Now, with the virus.....we won't be cruising anytime soon.....hubby has some major health issues and we can't risk it now.

[SelectSys]

Disney mailed a VHS tape as an advertisement to our house when the kids were 5 or 6.  This tape became part of their video rotation for weeks.  After watching the tape as a family a couple of times we decided to give it a try.  Everyone had fun and it become a regular way of enjoying family vacations. 

 

BTW - Our COVID cancelled cruise was going to be the first one with the kids and their significant others.

 

 

[cruisemom42]

I had no choice -- my first cruise was when I was 9; my parents decided it would be a fun way to spend the Christmas holiday. 

[rkacruiser]

My traveling companion and I both earned our Master's degrees in the same year and we both wanted some way to celebrate this accomplishment.  Both of us enjoyed traveling and we decided after much discussion, brochure reading, etc. to celebrate our degrees with an 11 day cruise to the Caribbean from New York on Rotterdam V.  (A cruise aboard North German Lloyd Line's was our second choice.)

 

I had experienced a "taste" of a cruise during the early 1960's when my Mother took my Brother and me on a short cruise:  Detroit-Buffalo-Cleveland-Detroit.  The Georgian Bay Cruise Line's S. S. South American provided that experience.  That experience augmented the experience that I had when I visited the RMS Queen Mary prior to a sailing from New York in the late 1950's.  It was that experience that has led to the rest of my cruise experiences.  

[1025cruise]

My first cruise was because my grandparents wished to take their family on a trip to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.

 

It was on the then named Nordic Empress. We had a great time.

 

Unfortunately, it was 14 years before I cruised again for my honeymoon. This is the first year we haven't done a cruise or major trip since 😞

[navybankerteacher]

My parents were going to Bermuda and were damned if they'd leave me alone (at  age 7) in New York.

 

The first one I booked was when, remembering beautiful days at sea on gray ships, I thought it might be nice to try something without mid-watches and general quarters drills. Orient had something from Istanbul to Athens via a number of Aegean islands, the ruins of Troy (which I had dreamt of since childhood) , and Ephesus - which was too good to ignore.

[Underwatr]

We were approaching our 25th anniversary and we're looking for a good way to celebrate. We took a "short" 9-day Queen Mary 2 cruise to New England and Canada as a taster and took a transatlantic crossing to England for the actual anniversary cruise.

[getting older slowly]

All our family and relatives, had cruised...... then for a special birthday..... decided why not...

 

Went to our local TA, who spent 2 1/2 hour going through all the ideas.... and at the end booked a 13 night  cruise       With Princess to New Zealand in a Suite ( as you do )  as we thought if we are going to do lets do it...      The idea was we will either loved it or hate it.....   Well after 2 days we loved it.....

 

And that was that....... Cheers Don

[hallasm]

That was in the early ‘90s.  I flew a lot and had trouble using my air miles.  I got a great cruise offer for air miles from my airline - 8 days Caribbean cruise with the world's largest cruise ship - Sovereign of the Seas from Miami.  
At that time, it was absolutely not common in Denmark to go on a cruise - it normally also involved a long flight those days.
Since then, I have been on at least one annual cruise. Now also possible with cruises from Copenhagen.

[babs135]

We were due to visit friends in Florida when they rang (we are in the UK) and said they'd seen a 4 night cruise out of Port Canaveral at a very good price and were we interested.  As we would already be in the States it seemed like a good idea!! and that's how it all started.

[bigrednole]

My parents and family cruised extensively. I was nervous about taking a younger daughter. We did Disney often and thought about a Disney cruise. We couldn't fathom paying $8,000 for a cruise for 3 people. We got serious this year, booked, and then all this started. We now have 2 next year and hope they go.

[Luckiestmanonearth]

It was 1986.  I was getting married and needed to decide on a honeymoon .  Wanted something different and special

 

I worked for a guy that had already discovered cruising and spoke very highly of them so I made up my mind that we’d cruise the Mexican riviera 

 

Now were 20 + cruises in and never looked back

[ontheweb]

Late 2001 and we were also approaching a significant anniversary (#25) the next summer. I said to DW, why don't we try a cruise. That sounded good to her. I suggested Bermuda as we would not have to fly to the port, and who at that time wanted to fly. She said no she had been to Bermuda (though it turned out it was only a day during a nor'easter). She said Alaska, but I was not agreeable to that. (We have since cruised to both.)

 

I sent away for brochures from a company that had an ad in the local paper. One of the cruises I saw in the brochure was Barcelona to Barcelona including the ports for Rome and Florence. (Other ports were for Nice, Malta, and Naples). Being married to an art teacher, I knew she would love that. And that's how we chose our first cruise. 

[marco]

Not actually a cruise, but......sailed to Italy when I was 6 to visit family.  Hooked on traveling by ship every since!

[Northumberland]

After years of taking road trips with our children, we decided to book our first cruise to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. 

We chose a 7 day South Caribbean cruise with Princess on what was a brand new ship (Ocean Princess) and we were hooked.

[Joebucks]

Late bloomer in 2017. I had been wanting to take one for years, and it never worked out. Heard a mixed bag of things about them. Started looking again, and thought maybe a 4 day would be a great starting point. Jay Leno was performing on them. I had always wanted to see him live. Didn't know how many more chances I would get to see him live. I bit the bullet and here I am.

[travelingbums]

Family gathering decided Alaska was the place to go. So we all booked a cruise in May 2005. Love cruising and have been cruising as much as we can.😊

[BourbonNBluesLuvr]

Because it meant getting out of school for 2 weeks and a chance to surf in Bali ! 🤪 It was 1974, I was a senior in HS in Manila PI, and my Dad’s company had just become the Far East agents for Holland America. In return he was comped a 2 week family cruise on MS Prinsendam from Singapore and visiting Indonesia and Malaysia ! 
Perfection ! And it lay the groundwork (waterwork) that would decades later lead to my increased love of cruising !

 

Cheers !

BBL

[Sea42]

It was 1997, I was in my mid 30's and we wanted to visit Alaska. We thought it would be an easy way to do it. I hated the cruise part of it. So many people in such a confined space, being herded here and there and being told what time we had to eat dinner, not my thing! We didn't cruise again for about 9 years.

What changed is that I had discovered Cruise Critic and balcony cabins. I found we could now eat whenever we wanted and that we did not have to take ship excursions. And with a balcony cabin, I had my own space to enjoy the sea and escape from the crowds. I now love going on a cruise!

We still don't cruise often, we prefer land trips. In the last 14 years we've been on 6 cruises but we have enjoyed them all and are looking forward to our next cruise in 2022.

[keywest1]

My family had been begging me to try cruising, but I got seasick on ferries, pirate cruises--basically any water transportation I had tried.  I knew it would be a miserable experience for me.  

Finally, in 2013, I agreed to a 5 day cruise to shut them up.  I discovered Bonine and found that I love to cruise.  14 or so cruises later, they can't shut me up.  I finally learned to tell them the cruises just book themselves--not my fault. 

[shipgeeks]

In 1969 I sailed to Australia on a cargo ship.  I loved all 42 days so much that I even considered looking for a job on a ship.  But I was already committed to a land job there.

While in Australia I saw migrant ships come and go on a regular basis.  The only one I sailed on, apart from regular ferry trips, was an overnight to Tasmania.

Back in the US, we took a day-long river trip.  We two were the only ones out on deck; hundreds more stayed inside and played bingo.  That became my impression of cruises:  bingo and drinking.

It was not until 1990 that a friend took a cruise, told us about it in great length, and persuaded us to take one.  The rest is history; we are now hoping for number 45.

[jocap]

With my first salary, I took my Mum on a "cruise" round the Scottish Islands, which meant living on board ferries which did their normal routine; a mini bus took us to different places each day.

Most of my holidays after that meant an overnight trip on a ferry to the Continent, and eventually I realised that the ferry was the best bit!

My husband would sail back from Africa when he was a child for his parent's furloughs, so had no problems looking at cruises.

There was an advert from a local TA offering cruises from door to ship, so we booked in 2006, on Sea Princess.

I still love an overnight on a ferry, though, but have only crossed a few times since beginning cruising.

[lobsternight]

The thought of being on a cruise ship was repugnant, it was in my mind everything I did not want in a vacation.  In 2004 my mother had gone through some health issues.  It had always been her dream to see Alaska, so I held my nose and booked a cruise with her and my family.

 

Well what a mistake I had made.  Should have started cruising at least 10 years earlier.  Within a half hour of leaving port my mind was changed forever.  The luxurious accommodations, wonderful food, friendly staff and so on.  We had a glorious week of sunshine, entertainment, and adventure. As for the 3 books I packed as I expected boredom, never opened a single page.

 

Since then we have been on numerous cruises and currently have 2 booked for 2021.