By: Talin Orfali Ghazarian
When I was a kid around 10 years of age around 1995 or around that time frame, I remember when I traveled with my family to Cozumel, Mexico. We stayed at a hotel right by the cruise port. One morning we woke up and we saw these 3 gigantic cruise ships at the port. We got so excited that we wanted to go see them. After our breakfast, We decided to leave the hotel grounds to go walk by the big cruise ships on the pier. Back then we were allowed to walk beside them before restrictions came along to only crew and cruise passengers being allowed. Then my dad said to us, we will one day go on one of these ships.
Sometime went by. I was 15 years of age around 1999-2000. My dad said, let’s plan and go on a cruise. I got so excited to the point where I was jumping up and down. We booked a cruise and then began packing. We went to the airport to catch our flight. Our first cruise embarked from Montego Bay, Jamaica. We took the bus to our cruise ship. That first glimpse of our ship Sundream from Sun Cruises back in the day. My excitement went through the roof.
I remember when I was going crazy on the bus and I said, Wow, that is so huge! Meanwhile it was a mid-size ship and back then I was just starting on researching cruise ships. One of the ladies on the bus said, My dear there are far more bigger ships out there. So, we check in, get on the ship. Those first steps. That first glimpse of ship life was so amazing. We were hooked right away. I felt like cruising was made for us. We fell in love with cruises. We ate such delicious food, we took in the beautiful sea, visited many ports, enjoyed the entertainment and meeting people. Enjoyed the sightseeing, met the captain of the ship and the officers. Our table was one away from the captains dinner table and it was amazing. I was so excited to see the white uniforms. From then on, I became obsessed with cruise ships. I have met every captain and the officers of all my cruises I have been on. I love the photo ops with them. They are awesome.
I decided to do a lot of research which impressed a lot of people as I began to learn the cruise lingo, studied different cruise lines and ships. So practically more than half of my life, I have been devoted to cruises and cruising. Life changed and my perspective on life too. I got to experience one of the most exciting ways to see the world and to travel thanks to my father.
My latest cruise I took was the partial crossing of the Panama Canal. That was so exciting to experience and to see one of the most important parts of the world. Without the Panama Canal, shipping would take a lot longer. It is a time saving shortcut for cruise and cargo ships. The ships would have to sail under Antarctica and come back up north. That would take a long time. Panama Canal was quite amazing to see.
For a while now, it has been my dream to go to a drydock to witness a cruise ship being built and the day where it touches water for the first time to do sea trials. That would be an amazing thing to see. I have even had dreams on becoming a GodMother of a cruise ship one day.
There is just something about these cruise ships that get me excited about them. Ships and technology have come a long way since the beginning of the cruising industry. So many beautiful designs, more to offer guests, food options, drink options, and so much to do on them. You have no time to be bored. Each deck on a ship feels like you are in a different part of a city. They are floating moving cities that sail from port to port.
Now, after many years of experience and research, I have been giving travel advice, tips and packing tricks to a lot of people who have asked me. Friends, family and a lot of people online are coming to me to give them information. When they decided to book a cruise and go, they came back and they messaged me and thanked me for giving them the best advice. They became hooked on cruising just like I did when I first began.
There are over 300 cruise ships worldwide and that number is expected to increase in the coming years as new cruise ships are expected to make its debut to the cruise lines they belong to. There are a few cruise ship building yards and most are found in Northern Europe and in Italy.
Cruise ship building is not easy. A lot of work goes into building them from the steel, welding, wiring, testing, inspections, hundreds of tests and so much more. All cabins of a cruise ship comes assembled prior, and even parts of the ship from the Bow, Aft, Midship, The bulb, propulsion systems come in and then as a puzzle, they weld and make it come together as one.
So many aspects of a cruise ship is a lot of hard work. Designing ships aren’t easy. They need to find interior decorators, they need to find the style, furniture, bedding, linen, cutlery, plates, glassware, among flooring, walls, paintings, finishing and everything. So many steps are taken to carefully select high quality products to meet the cruise lines expectations.
These aspects really excite me to no end. I can go on and on about these beautiful ships. I’ve been quite fortunate in my life to travel and share my travel life with others. I feel that everyone should try cruising at least once in their lifetime.
Booking and planning a cruise is not so difficult at all. As long as you go to the right sources and to the right people, its such a fun and awesome moment. I know there are so many things involved with getting to know the cruise vibe, but I guarantee you that you will love it.
I love watching how the captain and the officers navigate the ship to the dock and I love it when they drop the lines to secure the ship to the dock. I never miss an opportunity to view that process. I always wake up early to watch the whole process unfold. It is quite amazing how ships can turn on a dime.
I have been on a total of 8 cruises. I am hoping to get on more ships and enjoy and experience very soon. On YouTube, I have been watching live port cams of cruise ships docked at various areas of the world. I even go and search cruise ships in general and watch the videos and living vicariously through people’s videos until I am able to get back on a cruise ship again. I have made many friends through this industry and its amazing how we can come together to talk about our similar interests.
Will you get onboard with me and follow my cruise journey? I can’t wait to share more as I get on more cruise ships. I can’t wait to book more soon.
Talin Orfali Ghazarian 