It has only in recent years that I have been able to afford to combine my interests and cruise to some far away places.

My husband and I first cruised on the Sun Viking for 10 days in 1985. The ship was a little worn then, but we did not notice (nothing to compare it to). We had a great time, enjoyed unpacking only once and loved being away from land.

Our second cruise was on the Independence. We duplicated the tour I did by land. It was spectacular. We still remember going down an 800' dirt road on the side of a cliff, driving up a dried stream and coming face-to-face with a deer (or some critter with antlers).

After 14 more cruises, we love being away from everything -- not having to deal with anything. Still don't like packing. Now I don't like making the bed either.

Also, when you cruise, the social structure is different. A new society is formed, and we meet people from different countries and different social groups.

I came to be a passionate cruiser in a roundabout way that had - at the time - very little to do with love of the sea, or interest in ships. It’s rather a long story, but I’d be grateful if you will bear with me.

My first cruise was in 1996. At that time I had been going on holiday on my own for several years. My usual holiday routine was to rent a self-catering studio in Greece, enjoy the sun and the beach during the day and stay in during the evenings. I would shop at a mini market and make sandwiches for my dinner and then listen to music or read afterwards. Those were peaceful and relaxing holidays but not exactly “belters.” After a while I felt I wanted something more from a holiday (but I didn’t yet know what that “more” was).

I had always thought that cruising was a) for really “old” people and b) too expensive. Then, in 1996, I picked up a P&O brochure in a travel agent’s which I had gone into with the intention of getting the Thomson Winter Sun brochure. When I got home, I opened the brochure and was entranced – I could not put it down. It was almost like, while I was looking at the brochure, I was already on a cruise. But I still thought: “I can’t possibly afford something like this.” However, I kept reading and I saw that there was a “half-cruise” for seven or eight nights at the end of September on Oriana, flying out to Athens and sailing back to Southampton. I looked at the prices and called a cruise travel agent I’d seen advertised on Teletext and found I could afford it!

I thought, perhaps cruising IS for me: a safe environment, the opportunity to get dressed up in the evenings, being able to eat fine cuisine (to me “fine cuisine” is any hot food that someone else has prepared) in company and entertainment laid on in the evenings. Why not? I would give it a try.

So, did I go on my cruise, get hooked and live happily ever after?

Yes, but not until after a short period of “rough seas”. My first night on board Oriana from Athens left me feeling that I had made a big mistake in choosing to cruise: my table mates that first night were SILENT. I was at a table for eight, maybe ten, people and nobody talked to anybody else – to this day I don’t know why. I don’t know if anybody reading this has spent much time in the Peninsular Restaurant on Oriana, but that evening I had the opportunity to study and commit to memory every detail of the lamp set into the middle of the dinner table. Give me a pen and paper and I can draw it for you now. When I got back to my cabin after dinner I thought to myself “next port of call (which was Palma I think) I am getting off this ship and getting a taxi straight to the airport. Cruising is not for me.”

The next day, I thought better of it and went to see the restaurant manager to ask about changing my table. The manager (surprisingly) was a youngish woman and she was very sympathetic, once I had assured her that I was NOT the nurse of the elderly gent who had been sitting to my right at dinner the previous evening. The manager said that she had a large table which had an empty place, or places, whose diners had “appealed to her” to add more passengers to make up the table. I said “Yes please”.

That evening I joined a table with a middle aged couple, four blue haired elderly widows and the ship’s DJ. The middle aged couple were friendly, the DJ was fun but the widows were OUTRAGEOUS. I have never had so much fun at a dinner table – people have been jailed for having less fun than we did. I can still hear my tablemates and see them in my mind’s eye as I write this, God bless them.

That was it for me – I was hooked. Now that I felt comfortable with the “social” aspect and niceties of cruising I was able to relax, take a look around and begin to appreciate the ship, life on board and being at sea – the things that really keep me coming back for more.

Eleven cruises later, I am still appreciating it all and I continue to love sea days as much, if not more, than port days. Being able to sit on the promenade deck and do nothing but watch the sea go by – it’s hypnotic.

P.S. Remember what I wrote about cruising being for “old” people? It’s funny how “old” people start to seem a lot younger, the older I get.

Best regards,
Moneypenny

[ 02-07-2002: Message edited by: Moneypenny ]

I'm much like Pam although my Dad was not a seaman. All our vacations were spent at seaside locations throughout the British Isles - in hotels and boarding houses as close to the shore as possible - I learned to swim in the North Sea.

My first sea trip was an overnight on the Stranraer-Larne run. I believe we bounced like a cork but I was unaffected. My only memory is of telling my parents (both sick ) that 'a nice lady (Stewardess I suppose) bought me ice cream! A few years later we did a couple of trans-Atlantic crossings - guess that did it for me - I was hooked. Came to Canada and I I got married- it was many years before we could afford to cruise - for us now it's the only way to go - the more sea days the better - and not on a floating hi-rise!

A few years later, as part of a YMCA summer camp trip, I traveled to Long Beach, to see the then newly opened Spruce Goose exhibit, and to tour the Queen Mary. By this time, I was traveling back to Ohio to visit my grandparents. My grandfather, who served in the merchant marine, then the US Navy in WWII had begun to pass on old war stories of being on ships and such. This in turn spurned a great interest in military history, particularly naval history. I gained a deep interest in ships, cruise ships, warships, etc.

In the mid-90s as I graduated from college, more of my friends began to go on cruises. The memories that stirred caused me to start wondering whatever happened to that old ship. I began to wonder about the cruise industry in general. And the more I read and learned the more I started to wonder if I could go on a cruise. I have a degree in history, so I am prone to dig deep into the details of most anything I have an interest in. I also have a penchant for tradition and having a appreciation for the past of most things I’m involved with. So when a friend traveled on the RCI ship Sovereign of the Seas and had good things to say, and I read of the ships place in recent industry history, I decided to give it a try. There wasn’t much question in my mind, that I’d enjoy the trip, and I did.

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Originally posted by NathanWLB:
Brilliance of the Seats.

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Not again! LOL

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Originally posted by Green:
I learned to swim in the North Sea.

My first sea trip was an overnight on the Stranraer-Larne run. I believe we bounced like a cork but I was unaffected. My only memory is of telling my parents (both sick ) that 'a nice lady (Stewardess I suppose) bought me ice cream!

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Reminds me of a ferry trip to Arran from nr Glasgow in very bad weather. The trip took twice as long as it should have done, and I was the only person standing. I had the bar to myself

Arran, lovely little island but that crossing could be rough going. Lochranza and Brodick were favoutite spots!

Happy sea days!

I.

Steve - what about Portrush - that's pretty 'chilly' too!
It rained every day for 2 weeks straight - I still look back on that holiday as one of the most enjoyable - think it was my first 'love affair'!

[ 02-07-2002: Message edited by: Green ]

It is a small remote island of the coast of Donegal and the only way to get on and off it is by boat! The only drawback is that it is the middle of the North Atlantic!!!! and boooy are the seas rough and cold I too swam in them brrrrrrr, but I was the only one who could keep my breekie down lol only for the waves coming overboard the decks would have been covered in ..... you know

So that was my first taste of the sea and well at least I was not sea sick so I have a sea stomach! It was fun going were no young boy has gone before!

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Originally posted by titanicsteve:
I have never seen a ship before not even a ferry nor have I been on a big ferry...

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Steve, you should try to get a trip on Irish Ferries new 'big' Ferry, I forget the name of it, but it is one of the biggest?

Or the Stena HSS. You could do a trip to the mainland and stay a night or two. Tell Mum and Dad that this should not cost a fortune, off season?

[ 02-08-2002: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

[ 02-08-2002: Message edited by: Katie O'Girl ]