You know what they say about the first time, right? Whether it's your first boyfriend or girlfriend, your first job, your first holiday, or your first…well, you get the idea. It's special and, whether the experience is good or bad, it's unforgettable.
Let us tell you about our first cruise ship.
It was 1991, or thereabouts. The ship was the Carnival Jubilee. Mexican Riviera cruise, seven days, with the usual stops. Our waiter in the dining room — same time, same table, every night — was from Jamaica and his name was Rochester. We even exchanged addresses.
For a variety of reasons that had nothing to do with Rochester, our maiden cruise was mediocre at best. Then again, what did we know? We were neophytes on a cruise ship and in those days smoking was permitted pretty well everywhere on ships and that, with three children, contributed to the experience's mediocrity.
Cruise lines have changed, and so have we. So has the Jubilee.
She was a fairly new ship then, which means today she is a fairly old ship. A ship's sea life is usually about 35 years, and the "Jubilee" is now 26, sailing up on her retirement years. Carnival sold — or transferred her — to P&O Australia eight years ago and the Jubilee immediately became known as the Pacific Sun.
Yesterday, our friend and colleague Phil Reimer at portsandbows.com reported that the Pacific Sun ended her cruise career on Monday, in Australia. She has been sold — and this time it is not a company transfer — to interests in China, where she will end her sea days as a cruise ship under another name. That's the most fertile part of the world for cruising, because of the numbers of people who have and haven't ever been on a ship.
For them, the "Jubilee" will also be their first time.
Carnival Spirit
12 nights
September 18, 2012
Vancouver, Kona, Kauai, Hilo, Kahului, Honolulu
Inside: $1,199
Cost per day: $99
www.carnival.com