First Sight of a Cruise Ship?

[philhar, wallasey]

How did it compare to the cruise ships of today in terms of entertainment', food and your cabin? I don't think my grandparents were on a cruise as such, more a means of transport to cross the Atlantic. Similar to QM2 today.

Hi when I sailed on the Empress of England as the Ocean Monrach it was in the 1970's.Entertainment was ok,bit more homespun and enthusiastic amateurs.Food was good but not much choice.Cabins were a broom cupboard with no ensuite.

[Issyalex, Glasgow]

Our first time seeing a cruise ship was when we were on the bus in Palma on the way to our first cruise. We thought our ship Airtours Carousel was big till we we saw their Seabird ship. Both by today’s standards were small ships but we were still in awe.

Every time we see a ship docked in Greenock, when we’re visiting Helensburgh for the day, we still get excited. Sad people I know. 🙈

[ilovesunshine, east yorks]

Hi when I sailed on the Empress of England as the Ocean Monrach it was in the 1970's.Entertainment was ok,bit more homespun and enthusiastic amateurs.Food was good but not much choice.Cabins were a broom cupboard with no ensuite.

Sounds a bit like camping! You forget that it was common to have shared bathroom in hotels and guest houses as well, and even rarer in homes. We are so spoiled now.

[tuts1230, grimsby]

My first was Adventure of the Seas when I boarded at Malaga and was Wowed on the look and the boarding through the atrium

[Tuppo, Cleethorpes]

My first sight of a cruise ship was in Freemantle in 1974. I was 13 and about to board the Fedor Shalyapin. It was built in 1955 as the Ivernia for Cunard and sold soon after the QE2 replaced it,It was the first part of our trip back to UK. I thought it was huge as we boarded, it was 22,000 tons. My wife and i go on our first cruise in 8 weeks on the Independence of the Seas. At 155,000 tons slightly bigger.

[smtcan, Scarborough]

I had two first sightings of cruise ships. When I was a teen I went on an exchange to St. Nazaire in France. The father of the family was a doctor at the ship yard and he took us to see the liner France which was being built there. It was just an empty hull at the time, but it seemed immense to me. It eventually became the Norway until it was scrapped. I can't imagine being able to wander around an unfinished ship now, but back in the fifties it was quite acceptable.

The first time I saw an actual functioning cruise ship was when I visited my (then) boyfriend's family. His parents had booked a cruise and took us with them for a ship visit in Southampton. I really can't recall the name of the ship but think it was P&O.. My recollection is that the cabins were tiny and the corridors were dark and narrow. I wasn't at all impressed except with the lunch we had on board. I had no desire to cruise after that and it must have been close to thirty years before our first cruise to Alaska on the old Star Princess.

[Guy, Ormskirk]

Welcome to the forum Tuppo, I see you can post photo's as well which I still struggle to do

I hope you enjoy your first cruise and we would all be interested to hear what you think of it..Carol

[mcgregor, Ferndown]

First cruise for us was on the Monterey supposed to be the largest ship in those days quite small nowadays !!¬. Big buffets on deck late night with ice sculptures and great displays, we could not face any more food but it was worth going for the splendour.