I have been cruising since the early 1980's I can't remember the exact year ( one of the downsides of aging! ) but the first ship I ever cruised on was the Commodore ship line, Boheme....the "happy ship"
We cruised with our friends Dave and Renee, 4 to a room....the boys had the lower bunks, and guess who had to climb the ladder to the upper bunks! It was a 7 day cruise to the western Caribbean, and cost a Measly $250 pp! It was a small, converted freighter. I remember when we went thru doors, we had to step up and over to get in the next room. There was a pool and a hot tub, and not much else. The only nightclub was in the casino. There was no casual dining, only the 3 seating's....breakfast lunch and Dinner! ( there was a bar-b-que poolside at lunch) You sat at the same table for each seating, and if you missed it....oh well! Room service was non existent....we brought all our booze and mixers on board...it was legal and we loved it!
Built.............1976
length...........400 feet ( really?)
tonnage........10,328
passengers...400
Our next "big" ship was the Dolphin Cruise lines Sea Breeze, in the early 90's I think it was 93 or 94, but because of the creeping senioritis, I'm taking a wild guess. We went as a family, taking Peter Neal, and Robbie with us. We booked 2 cheapo inside cabins, but for some unknown reason, we were moved to adjoining suites! OMG....everything was teak wood, including the walls. It was luxury at it's finest! The boys were awestruck, and I knew we had hit pay dirt! Again, I don't remember much in the way of entertainment, except in the casino, and there were 3 meals each day, at the same table. Again there was a lunch buffet poolside. The ship was small, and we let the boys roam freely, and we met up for meals. I have 2 great memories of that cruise....One, walking into the casino, and seeing my young teenager Pete, sitting at the $5.00 blackjack table....I almost fainted, motioned him to get up and out of the casino! he wasn't so happy, as he had made 20 or 30 dollars on his initial investment! I said...the $5 dollar tables...really...He said it made his heart beat fast...lol The other great memory was walking down the hall to our cabin, following room service. The waiter stopped at Robbie's room, and our little Rob answered the door, pulled out a wad of dollar bills, peeling one off and tipping the waiter...and accepting his hamburger and fries! He was so cute....and I was so proud!
Built .............1988
Length...........606 feet
Tonnage........20,000 tons
Passenger......840
I didn't cruise again Until Michael and I married, and spent our Honeymoon cruising the western Caribbean on the Carnival Inspiration. I felt like I had hit the big time! The ship was huge, by any standard, and we had a room with a window! Woo-Hoo! The ship had every modern amenity. It had casinos, bars, theaters, early and late seating! We loved the pool with the slide, the outside bars complete with Calypso music. What could be better! We ate, and drank with abandon...( left the ship with a $1000 bar bill) THAT never happened again! lol....It was a wonderful time, and we were bit by the cruising bug forever!
Built...............1996
length..............850 feet
Tonnage.........70,000 tons
Passengers..... 2,634
The cruising bug has taken us
 |
| Australia, and the view from our room on the Grand Princess |
To the Deserts of Jordan
and then we climbed the great wall of China!
and we had fun in Pisa
Roamed the ruins in Ephesus Turkey
Spent time with the ancient warriors of Siam
Our next great adventure takes place in a few weeks when we Fly to London, take a bus to Ipswich...
Ipswich you say? Where the hell is Ipswich! Well, just a few miles from Harwich, pronounced
Hair-ich, _thanks to our good English friends Steve and Bev in Nottingham, (pronounced notting-um, big smile)
Where we will board the Brilliance of the sea for England, France, Ireland, Faero Islands, Iceland, and Boston!
Brilliance of the seas
Built............. 2002
length..........965 ft
tonnage........90,000 tons
Passengers...3,060
Just one more ship....you will be amazed!
The front ship is the Titanic, the ship behind is the Allure.....the largest passenger ship in the world!
Built...............2010
length.............1181.10 feet MY HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED!
tonnage...........225,000 tons
passengers......5400
