How Our Love for Cruising Started

click images to enlarge

Windjammer Barefoot Cruises

Yankee Trader 

Bahamas

Our Very First Cruise

Do you remember your first cruise?  If you've not cruised before, do you recall an early trip you took with your family?   Vacations are all about making memories.

As part of Plan a Cruise Month we co-hosted a special #FoodTravelChat last week about desserts,  and included many images from our cruises .  We thought it would be fun to turn back the clock to our very first cruise.  Looking through our old photos, we selected a few to use in this column.   The image on the left shows several images of the Bahamas, which was the destination of our short cruise.  It also shows the mast of our ship and a sister ship that was sailing with us. The images in the right photo were from the Captain's dinner which included a toga party and entertainment by the passengers and crew, including the Captain.

Yankee Trader

Certificate signed by the captain of Yankee Trader

Windjammer Barefoot cruises operated out of Miami, Florida back in the 80s when we took our first cruise.   It was normal for two ships in the fleet to sail together.  In our case the Yankee Trader, which we were on, was joined by M/S Fantome, the flagship of the fleet.   You can see her in the photos above as well. Yankee Trader was smaller than Fantome with a length of 179 feet and passenger capacity of 70.

We had no intention of going on a windjammer cruise when I went to a local travel show with a friend.   I filled out entry forms at various booths and to my surprise, got a phone call that we had won a passage on the ship.  All we had to do was get to Florida, and if desired pay for the stowaway night (which cost us $25). 

Toga Party & Captain's Dinner

Unlike other cruises on ocean-going ships, dress code on the Yankee Trader was very casual.  They didn't call them barefoot cruises for nothing.   Dressing up for the Captain's dinner meant putting on your sandals.  The night of the dinner began with a toga party.  The rules were that you needed to make your toga from whatever materials you could find and you must not have anything underneath the toga (and the female Purser checked to be sure).    Some of the people knew about the party in advance and were prepared.  We had not know but still participated.   My husband used a nightshirt for his toga and I used some sheets.   The winner of the event had been on the cruise the week before and had collected vines and other embellishments.

Dinner was a pig roast complete with all the trimmings. The Captain did the honors, carving the pig while the crew finalized the preparation of the other items.  To date we still remember this dinner party and the great time we all had.  This is what a great cruise is made of - memories that last for a lifetime.

It is sad that the current generation will never sail on these beautiful sailing vessels.  The fleet is gone and Captain Michael Burke, their founder, passed away several years ago closing the book on this chapter forever.

It was by chance that we took this first cruise.  We fell in love with cruising and the sea on this trip and the rest is history.   If you've not cruised before, we hope that you'll find a similar experience in your future.  We are certain once you take that first cruise, you'll fall in love like we did.

(Updated:  October 22,  2021)

Yesterday my husband and I signed paperwork to purchase a Dream Vacations franchise.  We've been part of the World Travel Holdings host agency since 2005.   Those that know us, are aware that cruising is our number one favorite mode of vacation travel.   It isn't the only travel option our clients enjoy, so the name change will help identify the wide-range of choices we can help with.   We are Travel Memory Makers and we enjoy every minute of it.

National Plan A Cruise Month Promotions 

Cruise lines are offering special promotions and pricing on popular cruises to encourage consumers to plan their next cruise vacation now. We'll be featuring promotions on our website and social media.

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More Memories From Our First Cruise

 Not Exactly the Ritz

We arrived at the pier for our stow away night aboard the Yankee Trader and were shown to our cabin.  As you can see from this picture, our beds were actually twin bunk beds.  

Not shown is the washroom which consisted of a shower, toilet, and sink  "all-in-one".   The one thing that stands out from our memories is that we had a problem one day, when the shower would not turn off, and had to summon someone to resolve the situation.   

Classic Wooden Ship

Notice the beautiful wood above, which is something that we vividly remember about our cabin and public areas of the ship. Here is another example (left) of the beautiful wood on the ship.
   

This may be the only time in our 30+ years cruising where we had a cat as a member of the crew. The cat was quite content sleeping on one of the benches on the main deck.

Working With Crew

The Barefoot Windjammer cruises were structured for two different types of passengers - those that wanted to actively participate in the sailing adventure and those that were content to be more passive.

One night, the dinner menu was quite simple - it was the catch of the day.   That meant that the crew, and any passengers that were interested, could fish for our dinner.   Here are some of the fish that were caught.

As mentioned in our previous column about our first cruise, the Captain's dinner consisted of a pig roast with all the trimmings.   Certainly, food was an integral part of the experience even on our first cruise.

The Long Good-bye

One of the benefits and downfalls of cruising on a small ship is that you meet your fellow cruisers and build relationships during the cruise.   It is therefore hard to say good-bye at the end of the voyage.  

As the sun sets on the Fantome, which was sailing the same itinerary with us,  we conclude our story about our first cruise.

Related:
Our Very First Cruise
Entertainment on Our First Cruise


 Making Memories

The memories from this trip have not faded over the years.  Our love for cruising and the sea began that week.   We love sharing our experiences and knowledge with others.

If you have not taken a cruise before, consider that sometime in your future.  Perhaps you too can have lasting memories like these.

Thank you to the crew of Yankee Trader - if any of you read this story, we'd love to hear from you.

 

National Plan A Cruise Month Promotions 

Cruise lines are offering special promotions and pricing on popular cruises to encourage consumers to plan their next cruise vacation now. We'll be featuring promotions on our website and social media.

Choose Cruise Month (click for mini-series)

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Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us every Wednesday night for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat 

We will be co-hosting a very special #FoodTravelChat for #ChooseCruise month

Our Very First Cruise

Windjammer Barefoot Cruises

Yankee Trader 

Bahamas

As part of Plan a Cruise Month we co-hosted a special #FoodTravelChat about Cruise Food & Travel last night.    We thought it would be fun to turn back the clock to our very first cruise.  Looking through our old photos, we selected a few to use in this column.   The image on the left shows several images of the Bahamas, which was the destination of our short cruise.  It also shows the mast of our ship and a sister ship that was sailing with us.The images in the right photo were from the Captain's dinner which included a toga party and entertainment by the passengers and crew, including the Captain.

Yankee Trader

Certificate signed by the captain of Yankee Trader

Windjammer Barefoot cruises operated out of Miami, Florida back in the 80s when we took our first cruise.   It was normal for two ships in the fleet to sail together.  In our case the Yankee Trader, which we were on, was joined by M/S Fantome, the flagship of the fleet.   You can see her in the photos above as well. Yankee Trader was smaller than Fantome with a length of 179 feet and passenger capacity of 70.

We had no intention of going on a windjammer cruise when I went to a local travel show with a friend.   I filled out entry forms at various booths and to my surprise, got a phone call that we had won a passage on the ship.  All we had to do was get to Florida, and if desired pay for the stowaway night (which cost us $25). 

Toga Party & Captain's Dinner

Unlike other cruises on ocean-going ships, dress code on the Yankee Trader was very casual.  They didn't call them barefoot cruises for nothing.   Dressing up for the Captain's dinner meant putting on your sandals.  The night of the dinner began with a toga party.  The rules were that you needed to make your toga from whatever materials you could find and you must not have anything underneath the toga (and the female Purser checked to be sure).    Some of the people knew about the party in advance and were prepared.  We had not know but still participated.   My husband used a nightshirt for his toga and I used some sheets.   The winner of the event had been on the cruise the week before and had collected vines and other embellishments.

Dinner was a pig roast complete with all the trimmings. The Captain did the honors, carving the pig while the crew finalized the preparation of the other items.  To date we still remember this dinner party and the great time we all had.  This is what a great cruise is made of - memories that last for a lifetime.

It is sad that the current generation will never sail on these beautiful sailing vessels.  The fleet is gone and Captain Michael Burke, their founder, passed away several years ago closing the book on this chapter forever.

It was by chance that we took this first cruise.  We fell in love with cruising and the sea on this trip and the rest is history.   If you've not cruised before, we hope that you'll find a similar experience in your future.  We are certain once you take that first cruise, you'll fall in love like we did.

 

National Plan A Cruise Month Promotions 

Cruise lines are offering special promotions and pricing on popular cruises to encourage consumers to plan their next cruise vacation now. We'll be featuring promotions on our website and social media.

Choose Cruise Month (click for mini-series)

Follow Us On

        

Sign-up for Exclusive Email Offers


Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us every Wednesday night for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat 

We will be co-hosting a very special #FoodTravelChat for #ChooseCruise month