To All You First-Time Cruisers

rogue · October 7, 2005

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: