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Next Week!!

79 + 6 = 85

Your first cruise is something special. Everything that you do on the ship is new to you (even if you've done it before, you have never done it on a ship). You constantly have new experiences for the time you are on the cruise. The ship is almost always an impressive sight from day 1 till disembarkation. You can't believe how big it really is. You can't get over how it's decorated, and each area is different. It's amazing that there are so many people on the ship, but it never quite feels crowded. There is very little that amazes you. Driving up to the dock (whether in a taxi, a limo, or a bus) you are hit with the realization that the ship you are going on is immense. When you walk onto the ship the very 1st time, the size and the beauty of the atrium is the first impression of the inside of the ship. Well, that feeling never really goes away throughout the cruise. It doesn't take long before even the most jaded of people realize that this is going to be somethin incredibly special. The great thing is that a cruise never fails to live up to this expectation. I can't believe that there was ever a first-time cruiser who didn't say at some point on the cruise "Why didn't we ever do this before". When you come home, you tell all of your friends (and even people who you don't know) how great cruising is. You've been hooked. For a while, you think about booking another cruise, but, oh my, the cost. Then, suddenly one day, nothing else matters and you book your second cruise. If you think that the anticipation of the first cruise was overwhelming, wait until you feel the anticipation of the second cruise. It becomes unbearable (that's why you see some people who already have a booked cruise, take one before it even comes around). The second cruise is just as great as the first, except that nothing feels quite as new as the first cruise. As soon as you step into the atrium of your 2nd ship, you feel as if you have never been off of a ship. The whole cruise fells like a continuation of the first cruise. By the third cruise, you start to feel like this should be home, and the other part of your life is just a break between cruises. (The Celebrity commercial about the temporary exile hits pretty close to home). There really is nothing like the feeling you get on your first cruise. You'll never get it back. So really enjoy it and suck in all of the atmosphere you can. You'll always remember that first cruise as one of the best cruises of your life. Don't worry though, the next cruise will still be great, and so will all of the cruises that you take after that. Most of us here at CruiseCrazies will never get that feeling again. We are some of the lucky people in the world who have already tasted the pleasures of a first cruise, so we are not to be pittied. Besides, we can all revel in the enjoyment of the anticipation of our next cruise. :cool:

Welcome to CruiseCrazies, Crusie! It's great having you here with us. Please post often. :cool:

CruiseFuse, welcome to CruiseCrazies!! It's nice having you with us. Please post often. :smiley:

Welcome to the board, autumnz!! It's great having you here. Please post often. :wink:

Welcome to CruiseCrazies, jrmende63!! It's great having you with us. Please post often. :cool:

Welcome to the board, Tboyo !! It's great having you here. Please post often. :smiley:

noobiecruiser, welcome to CruiseCrazies !! It's nice having you here. Please post often. :cool:

BON VOYAGE, d1954!!!

BON VOYAGE, michelle!!!

BON VOYAGE, jtutak!!!

BON VOYAGE, ssatterly!!!

BON VOYAGE, MichelleBooth!!!

Welcome home, Jenn. Looking forward to the review. :grin:

Hi, and welcome to CruiseCrazies. Congrats on your anniversary. A cruise is possibly the best way to celebrate any special occasion. We went on our 1st cruise for our 20th anniversary and will be going on our 7th cruise next summer. We went to a travel agent that we trust for our 1st and she did a great job steering us to a great cruise. We have gone through her for all of our subsequent cruises. If you don't know a travel agent, there are pleanty around who specialize in cruises. I really think that this is the way to go, especially for the 1st cruise. We were upgraded on our 1st cruise from an ocean-view cabin to a balcony. We were thrilled and it really work out great on that cruise. Unfortunately for us, we will never cruise now if we don't have a balcony cabin. I think that you'll find quite a few cruisers who do the same. These days, it seems that there is not very much upgrading going on. Even if you do get upgraded, it usually means that you go up to a higher deck in the same type of cabin. Feel free to ask us all the questionsyou have. Believe me, we all love to answer them. Enjoy the anticipation of the cruise. :grin:

Welcome to the board, Timecop!! It's great having you here. Please post often. :wink:

Congratulations on the final payment! That's the time when I really feel like I can really start to enjoy the anticipation of the cruise. Enjoy. :grin:

hydrationPrincess, welcome to the board!!@

Congatulations on getting the docs, boba! Now you can really get excited. :wink:

Congratulations on getting your docs, Donna! It's just around the corner now. BTW, look at the CruiseCrazies packing list just in case you have missed something. It's very good. :wink:

Congrats, gymbrat! Now it's just around the corner. It's time to really get excited. :grin:

We also pick out a cabin to our liking. My wife will not cruise unless we have a balcony, and we do try to get it near mid-ship. That's one of the reasons that we usually book early. :cool:

Hi Julie, Welcome to CruiseCrazies. This a great place to come if your looking for cruise info. There's lots of experienced cruisers on the board, and it's probably the nicest cruise board on the 'net. My wife and I cruised to Alaska last year for our 25th Anniversary and we loved every bit of the cruise. This wasn't our 1st, but it certainly was our best yet. Having a balcony cabin on an Alaskan cruise is really a great advantage. It does get quite chilly when you are around the glaciers, and with a balcony, you can go inside to warm up at your pleasure. Dress with layers while you're there so if it gets warm, you can just peel of a layer. Like I said, it does get chilly, but it can also be pretty warm at times. I'm sure that you will have quite a few questions before you go, so please feel free to ask. We're all here to answer questions (and play games, and welcome people, etc.), so ask away. :grin: Howard

Welcome to the board, michelleJ!! It's nice having you here. Please post often. :smiley: