Choosing My First Cruise

I have only been on 3 cruises, so I am looking at each cruise for the “first time” since my first cruise just 6 years ago. Each of the cruises has been extremely different and as a result I have learned what I prefer and hopefully my experiences might help you make a choice.

Since I had never been on a cruise ship before, I was not sure what to expect except for everyone telling me I would really like it. Being a crew member on a Ranger 33 sailboat is much more interactive than sitting in a cabin watching the waves splash about.

It was possible that I might not enjoy the cruise or just be totally bored on a floating hotel. I had been repeatedly warned by experienced cruisers to not use certain lines like NCL after their below average experiences in Hawaii. However, they also said the line was okay for a first cruise, as you would have no prior experiences against which to compare. I just knew I did not want an inside cabin regardless of the cruise line. A large window turned out to be fine for me (no balcony), and sort of prepared me for a French Balcony on AmaWaterways river cruise boats in Europe that I was on for my second cruise.

After considerable research using several cruise review sites, I decided on a 4-day roundtrip cruise out of Long Beach, CA. The ship was the Carnival Inspiration operated by Carnival Cruise Lines. The ship’s first port was Catalina Island which brought back childhood memories of taking the ferry with my parents from L.A. to the island and driving around just to return to the mainland later in the afternoon. Driving a golf cart through the congested streets or taking an excursion to the remote island areas is the best you can do now if you don’t want to walk.

While Catalina is a bit touristy for me, the museum is great. I remember an old black & white film with photos of Marilyn Monroe at a very early age during her first marriage, and other stuff I never knew, such as who owns most of the island.

After a day (9 hours) on Catalina, the Carnival Inspiration sailed overnight to the next port of Ensenada, Mexico. Since I am a wine connoisseur of sorts (I like wine), I opted for the wine country tour visiting 2 very different wineries and getting a free bottle from one of them, too. The wineries were interesting to visit and the employees did a good job in explaining winery functions and the grapes used in the tastings. I enjoyed it immensely and was surprised at the quality of the wine and tours. Heck, I didn’t even know there was such a well-established winery area in Ensenada.

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After 10 hours in Ensenada which gave everyone plenty of time to take an excursion and shop, the ship left for its return to Long Beach. But the ship didn’t go straight home. Instead, the 4^th day was a “Sea Day”. Humorously, to make it a full day at sea, the ship sailed in very large circles. But, hey, it did give me the experience of having nothing to do on a ship … sort of.

I really didn’t notice the absence of activities because I was studying for my winemaking midterms at the free Serenity Retreat which is restricted to adults over the age of 21 yrs. In fact, a crew member even told one person to remove their kids which made me very happy. I hate when there are lots of rules, but I despise making rules and not enforcing them.

The dining options offered on the Carnival Inspiration also prepared me for future voyages. When lunch was served, it was a buffet. For dinner, we opted for the early seating. Dinner was a pleasant surprise because the wine list had a “secret” wine on it. Many people don’t know what a white Burgundy is, so this wine from France was priced at a fantastic $40 per bottle. It was by far the best deal on their list and the one we had with virtually every dinner. The Thanksgiving day dinner option of offering a traditional turkey dinner was also a nice touch. We even tried room service one morning and had eggs Benedict which we ate on the small ledge below our fixed cabin window while sitting on the bed and watching frolicking otters. Such a cozy cabin.

The cabin was small, but the housekeeping staff made it special by creating different animals out of a towel with each nightly turn down service. These are the touches I anticipate from luxury hotels and it was quite a surprise. Princess Cruises didn’t even do such quality work for our recent Suite stay during our inside passage cruise on the Ruby Princess. Since Carnival bought Princess years ago, you would think at least some of this quality would at least “trickle down” to Princess. And AmaWaterways only did the animal from towel artwork once during our week-long cruise in Bordeaux.

When the cruise was finished, I was very happy with my overall experience and a 4-day cruise turned out to be a good first cruise for me. Not too long, not too short. I do think my lack of expectations had a considerable effect on my satisfaction with the cruise. There is a 3-day cruise on this and other lines that excludes Catalina Island.

Please feel free to share your comments below about your first cruise experience or ask anything you are curious about if you are thinking about taking your first cruise.

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