Maiden voyage, any perks or downsides?

Robin,

Please forgive me if you already know this, but just so you get the information
you are looking for, let me say that in connection with our most recent cruise
on the maiden voyage of the Serenade fo the Seas, I discovered there are
two different "first" voyages: (1) the maiden voyage, which is the first
passenger-bearing cruise; and (2) the inaugural voyage, which generally occurs
a few weeks or even a month or two later and is the official "grand opening"
of the ship, if you will, marked by the christening of the ship by the celebrity
godmother, the appearance of cruise line big wigs and special guests, and
various gala events. So, if you are going on the maiden voyage, do not expect
much the in way of hoopla. It will be a fun cruise because the staff and
crew will be excited and trying hard to please their first bunch of pax.
There may also be a few "kinks," but that's why maiden voyage pricing is
so favorable. If you are going on the inaugural cruise, then you can expect
a few special happenings.

I would never argue with Howard--he's been on umpteen cruises, incluing the
maiden voyage where we met! However, I am curious about his response. Howard,
did you respond based strictly on semantics, i.e., the reference to "maiden"
voyage? I would have thought that more pax tend to "dress to kill" on the
inaugural voyages. I've seen a lot of hype about inaugurals over on cruise
critic + pictures of folks in their finery.

Diana Ball
Near Houston, TX
http://www.dianaball.net

NCL Sea – W Carib - Holidays 99
RCI Explorer – E Carib - Holidays 00
RCI Rhapsody – W Carib - Holidays 01 (back-to-back)
NCL Star – Hawaii - June 02
Dawn Princess – Alaska - July 02
Star Princess – Mex Riviera - Holidays 02
RCI Serenade – Transatlantic – Maiden 08/04/03
RCI Mariner – E Carib - Holidays 03


"Robin" wrote:
We also wonder if formal nights on a ship's maiden voyage are a bit more
formal than usual? Is the tuxedo to suit ratio higher?

Robin" wrote:
I
will be on the maiden voyage of Mariner of the Seas.

Robin,

We will be on the Mariner's __? (6th, 7th, 8th, something like that!) voyage
for Christmas (and the end of Hanukkah) week. I hope you will come back and
tell us all about the maiden cruise! I know that it will be impressively
smooth for the first trip out. We were pleasantly surprised by how well things
went on the Serenade's first voyage. RCI uses the same CD--Ken Rush--and
Hotel Manager--forgot his name--to open their new ships. They are pros at
what they do. You will be in good hands!

Diana Ball
near Houston, TX
http://www.dianaball.net

NCL Sea - W. Carib - Holidays 99
RCI Explorer - E. Carib - Holidays 00
RCI Rhapsody - W. Carib - Holidays 01 (back-to-back)
NCL Star - Hawaii - June 02
Dawn Princess - Alaska - July 02
Star Princess - Mex Riviera - Holidays 02
RCI Serenade – Transatlantic 08/03 (maiden voyage)
RCI Mariner – E Carib – Holidays 03

D Ball wrote:

Robin,

Please forgive me if you already know this, but just so you get the information
you are looking for, let me say that in connection with our most recent cruise
on the maiden voyage of the Serenade fo the Seas, I discovered there are
two different "first" voyages: (1) the maiden voyage, which is the first
passenger-bearing cruise; and (2) the inaugural voyage, which generally occurs
a few weeks or even a month or two later and is the official "grand opening"
of the ship, if you will, marked by the christening of the ship by the celebrity
godmother, the appearance of cruise line big wigs and special guests, and
various gala events.
I would never argue with Howard--he's been on umpteen cruises, incluing the
maiden voyage where we met! However, I am curious about his response. Howard,
did you respond based strictly on semantics, i.e., the reference to "maiden"
voyage? I would have thought that more pax tend to "dress to kill" on the
inaugural voyages. I've seen a lot of hype about inaugurals over on cruise
critic + pictures of folks in their finery.

Diana Ball
Near Houston, TX
http://www.dianaball.net

Diana,

Been on two maiden voyages, Serenade and Spirit. I didn't even know
there was a difference between maiden and inaugural voyages, Diana. So
I have learned something new from you. Do all ships have a "grand
opening", as you've described or only some ships. On the maiden voyage
of the Spirit, they gave us a large book about the ship to take home.
I've also gotten these on other ships during their first year of service
but I never take them home any more (guess I'm just a Philistine when it
comes to ships, Karen).

With respect to formal wear, the particular crowd on a ship seems to be
the only determining factor, as far as I can tell. I own a couple of
Tuxedo's and, with rare exception, I wear a Tux on formal nights.
However, I often change out of the Tux when I expect a long night of
serious boogying.

Howard