How Cruising Started
Now, like everyone I love going on holiday and in our early married years, enjoyed some lovely holidays where I did go on a plane. However, I absolutely hated flying and worked myself up a few days before we were due to leave and then it all started a couple of days before we due to come home, which sort of spoilt the holiday. I hated waiting in the airport for hours knowing that I would have to get on a plane, and then the take off was the worst part of all. My husband can vouch for this, as his hand turned white where I squeezed it so tightly. Any movement of the plane at all whilst in the air terrified me, and it was only when we landed that I could relax. I know it sounds daft, but anyone who has a fear of flying will know what I mean.
However for our Silver Wedding Anniversary which was in 2003, we decided to celebrate it by going on an Alaskan cruise, would be our first taste of cruising. This cruise meant flying to Canada and then picking up the cruise ship for the 7 day cruise. Looking through the brochures was quite exciting and we found a cruise that co-incided with the date of our anniversary and booked and paid the deposit.
During the time of the deposit being paid and the balance being due, the Iraq War escalated and just about the time payment was due, news reports were showing tanks surrounding Heathrow Airport, which in addition to the fear of flying, to have tanks in position whilst we were going to be there, decided that this was not for me.. The excitement of going on holiday to celebrate our silver wedding anniversary was not the really the start that I would have liked and would have spoilt the excitement. To pay all that much money on something that I was not going to enjoy seemed a waste, so we decided to cancel. However, we looked through the brochures, still with a cruise in mind, but without the flying found an alternative cruise which went around the Mediterranean with P & O, which started and ended in Southampton, which sounded absolutely perfect. We were extremely lucky as we were able to transfer our monies from the Alaskan cruise to this one, and were not out of pocket, which was brilliant.
How Cruising Started
Our first ship was the Aurora, and we booked a cabin with a balcony and had an absolutely fantastic time. My husband felt that we were perhaps a bit too young to go on cruises, but I did not agree, and there were a few couples our age, although to be truthful not many. We did enjoy it, and we were in Barcelona for our actual anniversary which was a fantastic City. We did (well I) enjoyed the whole cruise experience, and from that very first cruised I was well and truly hooked. This seemed to be the definite alternative to having to go on an aeroplane ever again, well my ideal anyway.
Unfortunately back in 2003, we did not own a digital camera, so all the photographs we took on this cruise were done the old fashioned way with a 35 mm film and having to have them all developed, and then placed in photograph albums. Youngsters of today would have no idea what I am talking about!!!!
You can read more on my cruising experiences here