It was quite an overwhelming experience to begin our first cruise. We arrived at the dock to find that there were many passengers and their friends. The chaos seemed to have been planned. Then we wondered where our mistakes had led us. Let me first tell you about our first cruise. “questionable”Start to your first cruise.
My dream was to take a cruise. It was by accident that we were able to book our first cruise. Six months prior to my 70th Birthday, my wife asked me my wish list. My answer was a set of new golf clubs. She replied: “not until you improve your golf.”I was playing uninspiring golf that day. I then suggested I go to New Zealand to watch the Wanaka War Birds show. However, I was shocked to learn that it had already been shown the week before. They only happen every two years. The cruise was an idea that I had. In the past, my wife was resistant to the idea. However, now was the time to try it.
Thus began the planning. Our friendly agent helped us select Princess Cruises which specialized in cruises for our age. In November, we took the cruise to the Pacific. Let me now tell you all about the cruise.
Let me start by noting some of the words that my wife spoke to me while the boat was sailing down the Brisbane River. We sat together in the Princess Theatre, along with hundreds others, with our life jackets on. “I don’t want to be here”. What is the secret to this?
It was a daunting task to try and board 2000 passengers at once. We were first-time cruisers and read the instructions. It stated that state room holders should be on board by 1pm to 1.30 p.m. To find out, we did the following: “organised chaos”. After putting our bags at the loading station, we went to the boarding area and discovered a messy mess of people running erratically. Officials instructed us to head to Portside and get coffee. We would return within 30 minutes.
The chaos subsided slightly when we came back. We then joined the zigzag lines to get to the check-in desk. We were given our boarding cards and boarding numbers 30 minutes later. The next step was to wait and sit until we were called to board. The hunger pangs began to thrive in the interim. Since we knew we wouldn’t be able to eat on board, we decided not to have lunch. After getting the call, we went through the entire checkpoint to get on the boat. There our cards were checked as well as a photo of us all was taken. After a short but exhausting lunch, we were directed to our state rooms and started unpacking. We were “bushed”Despite being surrounded by hundreds, he was unable to make it to the station to receive safety training as required under Australian law.
This brings me back again to my wife’s words-“I don’t want to be here”. After the briefing, we returned to our rooms and began unpacking. We were done with five hours’ worth of confusion by the time that we had finally finished our showers, changed into our evening clothes, and found our tables at the restaurant. It was now time to go on our first cruise. And so we did.
Our fourth cruise is coming up soon. Our first cruise taught us a lot. When embarking begins, we arrive at the cruise terminal. It reduces the chaos and makes it easier to board. Some cruisers who are more experienced say they board later in the boarding process because it is easier.
After the board process is completed, the fun part of your cruise starts. We wouldn’t be going on our next cruise if it wasn’t a great experience.