when was the first cruise you actually paid for , yourself?

[Dark Knight]

Apart from Mumy and Daddy paying
how old were you when you took your first cruise, that you acually paid for yourself and where did you go

Mine was at the tender age of 36 , we booked a weeks cruise round the more popular sites of the Med, Rome, Florence, Corsica, Monte Carlo etc in 2004, for part of out Honeymoon

[screwy]

November 2000 if i remember right.? Thomson Topaz.Cruise and stay Dom Rep.

Possibly 1999 thinking about it.

[david63]

The first ever cruise that I went on was in October 1990 - which I did pay for myself and was a one week fly cruise out of Miami around the Caribbean followed by a week in Orlando.

[Jonty S1]

Dark Knight,

Spookily enough our first ever cruise was western med 2004, I was aged 50 and MrsJ considerably younger, praise be. Doing our sixth this year as, like yourself, cruises are not our only holiday passions.

The old Adonia was the ship with Captain Richard Fennilow (a character indeed), sometime in the summer, can't be specific as to month probably June/July. Picked the cruise to test Sardinia as a possible holiday destination. The morning of Sardinia said captain announced that the ship was dragging its anchor and we sailed straight past.

[sotongirl]

August 1976, on the SS Ellinis of the Chandris line, from Southampton to the western med. Fantastic fun despite the fact she was something of a rust bucket compared to the ships of today.

sotongirl

[Onelife]

Hi BrightestOne,

My mummy and daddy were very poor and it was as much as they could afford to get us three kids to Butlins every other year....anyone got a tissue?

Our first self funded cruise was back in 2005 aboard Oceana and took in many of the destination you did on your DIY cruise.

Regards

Keefy

[Gill W]

It was 2001, I was 41, and it was a special one off experience for our 20th wedding anniversary, only we got hooked

[Princess]

1985 to Norway. The children were just 2 and 3. And yes we got all the intrusive questions ' how can you afford to do this' (cheap inside on Canberra no facilities). And all the comments 'children should not be allowed on cruise ships'. Nothing changes!!

[Jan Rosser]

First cruise in 1999 on a Thomson ship - cruise and stay - the second week in Sorrento - my hubby had a heart attack the previous year and we did wonder if we could go as he was waiting for bypass surgery but the doctors told us to go ahead and we loved it.

[lioness]

2006 to the Baltic, unless you count emigrating to Canada when I was 20 on Cunard Sylvania? Yes I paid for that, it was £99.

[Dancing Queen]

1989 on RCI's Song of America, 9 day Caribbean followed by a week at Disney all funded by us as neither of us has a rich mummy or daddy

My love affair with cruising started 25 years ago and I love it just as much today as I did then

[Quizzical Bob]

October 2003 on the previous Adonia. My dad died in 2000 but before he did he asked my mum what she would do when he had gone. She said that she'd go on a Mediterranean cruise so he said "good idea, take all the kids with you". It was left to me to organise and in April 2001 (2002?) 9 adults flew to Venice for 7 nights on the RCI Splendour of the Seas. It was only afterwards that we realised how much we had enjoyed it so when a 12-night to the Canaries appeared we gave it a go. 21 cruises with P&O later here we are, still complaining

We really liked the Adonia, sister to Oceana, but some on board hated her. I think they couldn't get used to having an en-suite toilet and washroom.

[Jean W]

I'm showing my age now - 1971 (our Honeymoon ) - Izmir, Rome, Athens, Alicante etc on Canberra and it took us nearly 3 years to save for it

[Silver_Shiney]

2003 - Sundream - Southampton to Harwich (one-night taster cruise as Airtours repositioned the ship)

[Quizzical Bob]

2003 - Sundream - Southampton to Harwich (one-night taster cruise as Airtours repositioned the ship)

I do hope that you took the time to explore the delights of historic Harwich.

[Silver_Shiney]

2003 - Sundream - Southampton to Harwich (one-night taster cruise as Airtours repositioned the ship)

I do hope that you took the time to explore the delights of historic Harwich.

Nah, shepherded straight of the rustbucket onto the coach for the long drive home!

[davecttr]

Ages ago. Up north with mountains and such. i wish i had never gone, it has cost me a fortune since

[Ray Scully]

Apart from our cruises to the Isle of Man from around 1970 it would be
Easter 1995 P&O Victoria. out of St Juan, Puerto Rico
No riff raff those days (smirk)

Ray

[Suekersh]

2001 with Thomsons I was 44 and DH 52. We were not impressed and it took us 3 years and lots of encouragement from friends to book again but with PO. Since then 32 cruises all with P0 so well and truly hooked.

Sue

[screwy]

Now if my maths are right....that makes you......!!!!

[johnjames]

My cruise was on P.O. Orcades in 1966 and we sailed into Southampton the day England played Germany in the world cup.The cost of that cruise was £114. that was for four of us. This year all being well we will do our 128. cruise and that will be on the Aurora Black Sea Cruise, in September.
I think its about time to decide if we like cruising .

[RB1961]

2001 Oriana to the Canaries. Didn't have a clue what to expect and didn't know anyone who had done one.
Better half was ill due to a force 10 in the Bay of Biscay. ..had the injection and not looked back since.

RB

[Theodora]

Our first cruise was in 1997 with the kids - I was 41, and the kids were 16 and 14 - we did four nights in the Bahamas on the Nordic Empress (Royal Caribbean), then toured round Florida for the rest of the holiday - cabin was four berth above staff quarters with a door squeaking all night long - we complained and were upgraded to two suites at the aft for the other three nights! We really enjoyed the cruising concept but it took us up until 2006 to cruise again, this time on Arcadia with P&O - sailed with them ever since!

[Brenda W]

Started cruising in 1999 on the old Arcadia with OH, but I also sailed on the Cunard Sylvania to America in 1961 to take up employment there.

Brenda

[towny44]

Our first cruise was a 4nt Bahamas cruise on Carnival from Port Canaveral back in 1992. We had an inside cabin somewhere in the bowels of the ship where we could hear all sorts of machinary noises. As a result it was 5 years before we dipped our toes in cruising holidays again, this time Thomson's Emerald, DK's favourite line, which we thoroughly enjoyed, but it was our 4th cruise in 2004 a partial Panama transit on Coral Princess that finally hooked us for good.