MV Carousel - Our first cruise Ship

[Pete, Mansfield]

Hi, i would enjoy reading which cruise ships fellow readers experienced when they first began cruising. I guess many of those ships may no longer be afloat. We began in the 90's when Airtours (pre MY Travel) made cruising affordable. We went on the MV Carousel and that was the beginning of a huge love of the seas. Sadly the Carousel has had its day but by chance i came across this great yet sad video of it laying at rest..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXhXEqWKYn0

[mauden, billingham]

Hi , we too started cruising with Airtours ships , went on Carousel Sundream and Seawing , there used to be four couples and we had great times on those ships , food and entertainment was good , and the crew all seemed to have time to spend with you , they would make the ladies paper flowers and were always showing you how to create things with the napkins , all those times gone now .but have happy memories of these ships .

[Taffy, Wales]

Nice poignant Video, must be sad to go back as Barry has and remember how things were.
Thought Barry's shorts made a statement...Taffy

[Topdeck, London]

I was sure that Airtours Sun Cruises used to be on Wiki seems to have been purged.

Did Carousel, Sunbird and Sundream.

Never got to do one of the dirt cheap Far east cruises on the Seawing

Having Airline and ships makes a great combo for packaging cruises.

Now TUI have a monopoly on that market the prices have gone up a lot.

.

[Pete, Mansfield]

Argh yes, i had forgot that our waiter came to our table with his guitar every night after the last course and sang to us. Now it tends to be just for birthdays and baked Alaska night.

[cornish girl, falmouth]

I cruised on all the Airtour ships with my husband/ workmates, they were so reasonably priced we could all afford them Carousel, twice to the Med, she was a bit posher then the Seawing which introduced us to Greece and Turkey a wonderful cruise.

Then the Sunbird along with my workmates [4] of us what glorious first time in the Caribbean for all of us another wonderful cruise, last but not least the Sundream to the Baltics she was in need of refurbishment but we again had a wonderful cruise, her staff were always happy and they did some entertaining of their own in the dining room, causing great merriment.

I have fond memories of these ships.CG

[Bigsis, Waterlooville]

Sundream was the ship we sailed on for our first two cruises. We had such a great time and you are right Pete, the waiter would come and serenade us at the end of dinner. Lovely memories

[mauden, billingham]

Yes forgot about Sunbird as well , one cruise we did was around the Med and then a week in Palma Nova and the second time we went to the Caribbean , Does anyone remember a waiter on the Sundream who was know as Harry Potter because he looked like him , he used to sing a song called Bubbles . he was really entertaining and got a great round of applause each time from a very appreciative audience .

[carol, welwyn garden city]

I've only been cruising 6 years. The first one was on Arcadia, we had a fantastic time and so began our love of cruising as a holiday.
We have a soft spot for Arcadia and have been on her a few times since then.............................................. ..Carol

[Wilba]

Mine was the 'Original' P&O Arcadia in 1958, since then there have been a couple of counterfeit copies , Ocean Village one spent some time as Arcadia and the current one, originally ordered by Holland America, then taken over by Cunard to become Queen Vic, but rejected and handed to P&O before completion.....Wilba

[Pete, Mansfield]

To be cruising back in the 50's Wilba puts you in a rather privileged club i think. The SS Arcadia is not unlike in style to the SS Topaz which we sailed on as a Thomsons cruise.

[Cooke, Ashby]

Our first cruise was on Ocean Majesty, chartered by Page and Moy. The itinerary was Iceland, Faroes and Norway. We were in Geiranger fjord at the same time as Thompson Topaz and cruised back down the fjord together. It seems Ocean Majesty is still sailing and we missed her by one day in Rosyth last year.

[Wilba]

To be cruising back in the 50's Wilba puts you in a rather privileged club i think. The SS Arcadia is not unlike in style to the SS Topaz which we sailed on as a Thomsons cruise.

On reflection I suppose I was privileged Pete, but it does make me feel old.

Cruise.co.uk did a magazine piece some years ago, i'll try and dig it out if it of interest..........Wilba

[Yogini, Waterlooville]

My first cruise was on Seawing, a round trip from Phuket to Singapore. I just couldn't believe the price when we first booked it. The cabins were noisy, and we were kept awake by the loud voices coming from the inside cabin behind us. The second cruise was on Carousel, just around the Canaries.

After that the ships were sold off and Airtours stopped offering cruises.

[Happy Cruiser, Houston,Renfrewshire]

My better half AKA The Boss first cruised in the seventies as a teenager on the "Northern Star" and " Ocean Monarch", as a couple our first cruise together was on the "Edinburgh Castle" the former "Eugenio C" of Costa that was in 1998 and we had a great time.
Our next Cruise was on the "Arcadia" when she was six months old in 2005 and I caught the bug and we have cruised every year since and look forward to doing so for the foreseeable future, our cruise area of preference is the Caribbean their laid back nature suits us fine.