Was the first time best...

[eetonaee]

Our first cruise was just over 10 years ago and in some ways it was the best because we really had no idea what to expect and everything was a wonderful surprise.

 

I'm not sure if Cruise Critic existed then but I didn't use any web sites for info so there were only a few preconceived expectations all of which seemed too good to be true.

 

Even though we were in our middle/late 40's we were like kids in a candy shop.

 

I remember learning about the 24 hour room service so on the first morning we ordered breakfast in our room to see if it was true. Then we went up to the buffet to do more breakfast.

It seems like we never stopped eating. Maybe we thought that there was no way the food on the ship would last a week so we figured we'd better take advantage of it while it was there.

I remember my wife taking a bite of her steak and finding it a little tough. Within seconds the waiter was there to offer a replacement. I remember trying to decide between two desserts and the waiter saying just take both.

It was our first visit to the Caribbean and cruising opened a whole new world to us.

I was so worried about the dress code that I rented a tux to take with me and guess what I wasn't in the minority on formal night. I haven't worn a tux on a ship since. My dark suit seems overdressed at times.

 

It was like we died and had gone to heaven. We've had some great cruises since then but I'll never forget my first time.

[Coreopsis]

First time was not best for us. We cruised the first time on Carnival - we chose it because we could afford it. And the mostly all inclusive was a big factor and we knew our food and entertainment was taken care of. We had a budget and were happy to travel within what we could afford. We made the most of it. :)

 

Then, next 20 years were spent on land vacations . . . as we could afford more, our vacations got better.

 

On a fluke, after 9/11 - we tried a Celebrity cruise with the kids in/out of San Fran. It was great to think we could have a 1 week vacation all together, without flights, etc. The price was right, but our expectations were low after the other cruising experience.

 

To our surprise (and delight!) we all loved it! We didn't do any ship excursions, we knew almost all of the ports and away we went! The kids LOVED it! The service was a delight and the food was surprisingly good. I enjoyed it so much . . . I began to encourage dear family and friends to try a cruise.

 

Still, cruising isn't always my favorite form of vacationing - but when I do think of it and looking out at the vast seas and how relaxing it can be, it does remind me of the first delightful cruise in 2002 - and how it really can be a lovely vacation.

 

I have 2 cruises planned currently and my next cruise adventure I hope will be with my best girlfriends (my spa getaway pals) on a girl's only spa getaway. :D

[chasetf]

How do you feel about your 2nd, 3rd, 10th, 15th cruise in comparison to your first? Are you more excited? Are you getting tired of cruising? Has it changed too much over the years? Do the ports getting boring? Do you have more fun because you know what to expect?

 

I seem to get more excited with each cruise :D It seems the more I learn on these boards and other research I do the more I want to cruise.

 

I was just curious what people thought :)

Each cruise to us is it's own experience. We have done very few repeats... so each is a new experience. When we have repeated, like the Mexican Rivera for instance, it is usually just to relax and enjoy the ship. When going to the Med, on the other hand, we looked forward and cherish all the exciting places we visited and things we saw.

[Swtgypsy]

First time was not best for us. We cruised the first time on Carnival - we chose it because we could afford it. And the mostly all inclusive was a big factor and we knew our food and entertainment was taken care of. We had a budget and were happy to travel within what we could afford. We made the most of it. :)

 

Then, next 20 years were spent on land vacations . . . as we could afford more, our vacations got better.

 

On a fluke, after 9/11 - we tried a Celebrity cruise with the kids in/out of San Fran. It was great to think we could have a 1 week vacation all together, without flights, etc. The price was right, but our expectations were low after the other cruising experience.

 

To our surprise (and delight!) we all loved it! We didn't do any ship excursions, we knew almost all of the ports and away we went! The kids LOVED it! The service was a delight and the food was surprisingly good. I enjoyed it so much . . . I began to encourage dear family and friends to try a cruise.

 

Still, cruising isn't always my favorite form of vacationing - but when I do think of it and looking out at the vast seas and how relaxing it can be, it does remind me of the first delightful cruise in 2002 - and how it really can be a lovely vacation.

 

I have 2 cruises planned currently and my next cruise adventure I hope will be with my best girlfriends (my spa getaway pals) on a girl's only spa getaway. :D

 

I am ready to start planning the girls only spa get away :D

[CateW]

My first cruise was definitely not the best. I was 19 years old, did a cruise with a friend. The weather was awful and the ship was rocking; we were green most of the trip. We were in a tiny room in the bottom deck with a porthole. Fast foward about 25 years and I had to drag DH kicking and screaming on his first cruise (I did some inbetween). We're now planning our 7th cruise, 2nd to the Med and another in 2009 to the Caribbean. We're more excited with each upcoming cruise. We're not planning anything beyond the 2009 cruise for a little bit. We're moving in 2010 and are in the very early stages of planning to build our dream house. Once that's done, and we're settled I know will be back cruising again.

[shark_bait]

No doubt there is something special about that first cruise. We too went on our first without any research of what cruising was all about. Remember when we first walked onto the ship and looking around thinking "You've got to be kidding me". Was in total awe of the ship and spent the rest of the week just amazed at what could be done with a ship.

 

After that we took all of our vacations on cruise ships for a few years. Now, yeah I'm a little burnt out on crusing and will take only one a year at the most, actually wouldn't mind even skipping a year.

[Handsome58]

I have mixed feelings about it........my first cruise I got married on the ship....it was over 30 family members and friends.......and that included 2 aunts and 1 uncle who have now passed.......I have been on 5 cruises since then all seem to get better but the first holds a place in my heart that no other cruise could pass.....but for reasons that no other cruise could match.........BUT I LOVE CRUISING!!!!!!!!!!

[Handsome58]

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[Swtgypsy]

Just checking in to see if there are any more stories about first time cruise experiences....

[paul929207]

The first one was nice, but not one of our best. I would put it toward the bottom of our 15.

[Grandpaul]

Our first cruise was in 1989 on the Norway. Since it was our 25th Anniversary I wanted to do something special so I booked that cruise with my wife and her twin sister and her DH. I couldn't believe how excited we were and how slow time passed waiting to sail. Finally we were on the ship and had an absolutely great time. Exceeded all our expectations and we knew we had found our niche. I guess it really didn't dawn on us that we were out in the Atlantic and we were sailing between hurricanes Gabrielle and Hugo and "the seas were rough my friend" to put it mildly. We didn't know any better so we had a blast. Even now, after all these years, it's amazing how slow time passes while waiting for a cruise.

[cruiseapril]

Our cruises have gotten better and better. Maybe it's because we read Cruise Critic and have a better idea of what to choose and expect.

 

Just returned from the beautiful Westerdam, which is such a work of art. We enjoyed it so much that we plan to cruise on it again.

[thegotogirl]

How do you feel about your 2nd, 3rd, 10th, 15th cruise in comparison to your first? Are you more excited? Are you getting tired of cruising? Has it changed too much over the years? Do the ports getting boring? Do you have more fun because you know what to expect?

 

I seem to get more excited with each cruise :D It seems the more I learn on these boards and other research I do the more I want to cruise.

 

I was just curious what people thought :)

 

We used to cruise with the kids, and that was great...then they grew up, and we started to cruise with friends.....and I thought that was better. I can only imagine how totally fabulous it will be when we have grandchildren and we cruise with them!!! Like good wine, for me it gets better and better and better as time goes on:)!!!

[ger_77]

Our first cruise was on Carnival's Jubilee in 1989; it was wonderful for 2 reasons. First, I'd won the cruise so it was costing us next to nothing; second, we had nothing to compare it with so everything was good. We were so excited that none of us got more than a couple of hours sleep before heading off to the airport; DS was only 7 and camped out in our bedroom the night before so we wouldn't "forget" him. Our onboard experience was fabulous - seeing a real cruise ship for the first time, formal evenings in the dining room, running the gauntlet of the straw market in Nassau, sailing away at sunset from St. Thomas, getting caught in a major downpour in San Juan, and being able to order room service for free was a thrill for all of us.

 

The next cruise was great because now we had something to compare it to, and it made the trip that much better. Now we've got 7 more under our belts and the excitement continues - I still don't get more than an hour's sleep the night before we leave. I start losing sleep about a week before we depart and by the time we get to the airport, I'm exhausted and fall asleep almost before we leave the tarmac. I don't think I'll ever used to cruising, or ever take for granted the fact that we are so fortunate to be able to experience different parts of the world on a cruise ship.

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[Swtgypsy]

We used to cruise with the kids, and that was great...then they grew up, and we started to cruise with friends.....and I thought that was better. I can only imagine how totally fabulous it will be when we have grandchildren and we cruise with them!!! Like good wine, for me it gets better and better and better as time goes on:)!!!

 

I feel the same way. I think it gets better and better. I love getting others interested in cruising. My husband and I want to pay for our Son and his GF to come with us. I would also love to have my sis, BIL and Nephew go as well. I just think the more the merrier.

I also think the more I learn about where I am going the more excited I get about cruising. My GF put it a good way. She said cruising is like a smorgasbord. She could go to all these new and exciting places see what places she really liked and then plan a land trip to spend more time there. I never thought of it that way before.

[Swtgypsy]

[quote name='ger_77'][FONT=Comic Sans MS]Our first cruise was on Carnival's Jubilee in 1989; it was wonderful for 2 reasons. First, I'd won the cruise so it was costing us next to nothing; second, we had nothing to compare it with so [U]everything[/U] was good. We were so excited that none of us got more than a couple of hours sleep before heading off to the airport; DS was only 7 and camped out in our bedroom the night before so we wouldn't "forget" him. Our onboard experience was fabulous - seeing a real cruise ship for the first time, formal evenings in the dining room, running the gauntlet of the straw market in Nassau, sailing away at sunset from St. Thomas, getting caught in a major downpour in San Juan, and being able to order room service for free was a thrill for all of us.[/FONT]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]The next cruise was great because now we had something to compare it to, and it made the trip that much better. Now we've got 7 more under our belts and the excitement continues - I still don't get more than an hour's sleep the night before we leave. I start losing sleep about a week before we depart and by the time we get to the airport, I'm exhausted and fall asleep almost before we leave the tarmac. I don't think I'll ever used to cruising, or ever take for granted the fact that we are so fortunate to be able to experience different parts of the world on a cruise ship.[/FONT]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]Smooth Sailing! :) :) :) [/FONT][/quote]
[COLOR=black][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]I get excited like that too. I can't sleep the night before but I also get real excited when I first book a cruise and start planning. For about the first week it is all I think about and I fall asleep thinking about my next cruise...I know I am obsessed and addicted!![/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR]