Moments of Bliss

[Iggipolka]

We all have them, those moments of bliss during a cruise that are so unexpected, yet so absolutely fantastic. They are moments that just cannot be replicated in every day life and remind us of just what a wonderful time we're having.

I had one of these on the Zui last year. It was formal night, sometime around midnight and my spouse and I were dressed to the nines. We had been drinking, dancing and wandering the ship, when we decided to go up to the basketball court. The ship was really moving fast, so my dress was flowing behind me and we could lean nearly 45 degrees into the wind and be held up by it. There were basketballs hiding in the corner of the court and just for fun, we tried to make a few baskets, throwing the ball into the wind. I am so not the athletic sort and at 5' tall, not a basketball player, espically not in heels! It was hiliarious. It was even better when I actually made a basket!! :D
It was one of those moments that every time I think of, I smile.
What are yours?

[sail7seas]

It is always a 'moment of bliss' aboard an HAL ship when we first set eyes upon a dear friend we have not seen for sometime. Because we have cruised so much with HAL, we have a number of crew friends who are as important (in many cases more so) than our friends at home. It is 'blissful' for me when I see and hug these dear people.

And when we all share a drink; dinner; whatever......it's the reason we continue to come back again and again.

[oceanlov1]

the time in the pinnacle grill.........all through the meal, the server had been a sweetheart. it was time for the volcano cake and i am a complete chocaholic. the server brings the cake and proceeds to "show" me the "best way" to eat it. she gets the spoon with the chocolate and then the vanilla and unexpectedly shoves the spoon in my mouth, a total shocker. i dont know about this being the most blissful, but we laughed so hard after that and even thinking about it now. that was a special moment. it was hilarious!! how can you not love HAL.

[localady]

Sitting on our balcony bathed in the mythical midnight light of the mid-summer Baltic sky cruising through the Stockholm Archipelago.......moments like that will last a lifetime.:)

[arzz]

Alaskan cruise -- early in the morning on day 2 or three I looked out to see that we were cruising Tracy Arm (I believe) and there was ice in the glacial turqouise blue waters so we dressed rapidly and raced up on deck -- it was quiet, and beautiful, and the only sounds we could hear were the chunks of ice in the water bouncing off of the sides of the ship -- it sounded just like ice cubes clinking in a glass of ice water -- will always remember that moment

[dakrewser]

Midnight, Dec. 31, 2000 my DW & I on the top-most deck watching the new millenium come in as fireworks exploded over the harbor in Piraeus, Greece.

[venicecruiser]

Most recent "moment of bliss" was on Seabourn Legend over Christmas/New Years. We had been anchored off St. Barts all day. That night was the deck bar-b-que and Rock the Boat show on the pool deck. A gentle breeze was blowing, the moon was full, there were people dancing, and I was with wonderful friends.......I looked around and realized that, at that moment, there was no place on Earth I would rather be........

Claudia

[super_grover]

11:45 pm on thurdsay. Lido deck, watching the stars and the moon. It was much warmer than the -15 it is here today, that's for sure.

[sail7seas]

Aboard Rotterdam, sailing into Amsterdam. The year of HAL's 125th Anniversary.


It was just after 5:00 A.M. and it was barely starting to get light.
I was sitting on my Veranda and hubby was asleep. All was silent and the ship was quietly slipping through the small canals. We were passing by the rear of a small farm. I could clearly see the farmhouse behind the fields when I noticed a lady in long black and white stripped/patterned cotton dress, long apron tied and carrying a lantern. It was clear she was up and out to start her farm chores. She looked up at the ship and saw my lit verandah (all others were dark) and me now standing at the rail.

She saw the beauty of the magnificent Rotterdam slipping past her 'backyard'.....I saw the beauty of a simple lady in the process of simply living her life on her precious farm.

We each slowly and sincerely waved to eachother and it is an image that will never leave me.

At that moment in time, we were the only two people in the world.

[jhannah]

For me, a blissful moment is relaxing on my veranda while watching the sun sink into the water right in front of me. The colors. Silence. Ecstacy. (No, not the powdered kind! ;) )

[Sueseb]

For me it was the majestic beauty of Misty Fjords from our balcony and that night wathching the Aurora Borealis in all its magnificent glory.

[Iggipolka]

I just remembered another moment of bliss as I was fighting traffic to get to work this morning.

Standing sans-clothing (gasp!) on our veranda at 2 or 3am, feeling the warmth of the wind against our skin while watching the moonlight play on the water.

[ekerr19]

Watching the sun appear over the horizon as the ship came into port in Gibralter - truly breathtaking.... until the QE2 slipped along beside us and blocked my view!

[Randyk47]

Really so many moments it's hard to pick just one but there is one that sticks out in my mind. Years ago on the Ryndam I got up the final morning before sunrise as I sensed the ship slowing to enter Port Everglades. I remember going to bed the previous night with what I now know is the "end of cruise blues", almost tired from wanting to hold on to every minute, every experience. Anyhow, I slipped on a robe and went out on our verandah and watched the sun slowly rise. In the hour or so I sat out there a peace, a calm came across me. It was like the sea reached up and soothed me. I was relaxed and rested and knew in that moment I'd had a great vacation.

[RuthC]

There was one moment of bliss I shall never forget---it was in March of '92 on the ss Rotterdam. We were returning to LA from a circle Hawaii cruise. That last day was cold and grey---not the kind to find people out on deck. Except me. I was on the Promenade Deck as far aft as one could get watching the sea roll and enjoying those final hours. It's was as close to serene as I have ever been.

[Pudgesmom]

Sitting in the Crow's Nest with my DH on our last night at sea, Alaska, sometime after midnight, in June, endless twilight. Ahhhh................

Beth

[bobpatj]

There's nothing like watching the beauty of the Antarctic Peninsula unfold before our eyes.

[maddie404]

My first was alone before a formal dinner in Ketchikan, AK. I was standing on the Lower Promanade. And saw two eagles teaching their young how to fish. Each one would dive toward the water and demonstrate how to hook a fish in their claws. No one else (honest!) was around to watch....

The other time was departing from Acapulco at 11 pm. My husband and I stood on the Sports Deck with fellow passengers watching the lights of the bay fade in the distance. Soon we realized all others had left and all we could see was one red light on the edge of the bay.....

[cruznon]

All these wonderful moments that have been shared...they've made me smile and sigh.

I remember last Monday evening. We had just left Cabo San Lucas and the sun was setting...I watched the sky change from the softest pink to lavendar to this incredibly vivid golden orange and back again to pink, then lavendar and then darkness. I stood there with DH and DD on our veranda watching all this...the only sound was the wake of the ship. I never forget those moments.

[Peggy Sue]

late evening, returning to our cabin in formal attire, going out onto our verandah .. the wonderful sound of the ship slicing through the water..watching the water swirl .. with all the beautiful shades of blue, looking out into the night, and the shimmer of the full moon and the dazzling brilliance of the stars in the sky .. the warm breeze and salt air ..

early morning on the verandah..watching as we approach a beautiful harbor..

[MsJ]

last week on the Zuiderdam..it was Tuesday ..a day at sea.....we went to the Spa..it was half price as the dry sauna was not working...we got day passes...luxurious bathrobes and headed to the thalassotherapy pool...then to the Thermal suite to veg out on the tile heated beds...watching the bluest of blue ocean and sky float by...then into the aromatherepy steam sauna....and a few times in between in the rainforest showerheads.....we did this twice that day...later that night I was thinking about the day and said to husband..lets review our day...first we had breakfast delivered and we ate on the verandah...then we went to the spa...then we ate lunch.....the we took a nap....then back to the spa.....then back to the cabin..I had the cocktail of the day and David a beer while we got ready for dinner..formal night.....who could ask for more........a perfect day for sure...Marianne

[Linda&Vern]

Falling asleep in a teak deck chair (but still aware of my surroundings) on the Maasdam LP deck in my swimsuit on Christmas Day this past year. Surrounded by the beautiful blue water and white puffy clouds -- I can not imagine a more stress-free holiday. Truely delightful. As DH said that afternoon, "it doesn't get any better than this!" :o

[BCEagle78]

Going to the top of the ship, late in the evening, when there is nobody around...

Looking up to the sky and seeing sooooo many more stars that I think I have ever seen...

It is amazing to think of us, out in the ocean/sea on a small speck of rock in such an enormous universe of stars and planets... I never take time to think about this when I am at home...

[arzz]

And when you do get up to the top, or out on the verandah, and the ships lights are out and the sky is clear (must have a clear sky) and the millions of stars that are our universe are out and twinkling, you can wait for the shooting stars - they always happen in the caribbean, just sit and wait

[venicecruiser]

Iggi - Thank you so much for starting this topic! Really enjoying the responses.....:)

Claudia

[LoveLifeAtSea]

I have enjoyed so many wonderful moments of bliss while at sea, but the first one that quickly came to mind was a particular Saturday morning, the end of a perfect week. The bliss occured when I realized that I , so blessed, was just beginning my second week of B2B's and did not have to disembark with almost everyone else at that moment! I haven't done very many B2B's, but this particular time, I really wasn't ready to leave. Time was on my side and I just wanted to be at sea.

To add to the fact that I was just beginning another wonderful week onboard, I was fortunate to have some very quality time with two fellow B2B cruisers, who, maybe as a result of that particular turnaround day, have become very close and dear friends of mine. Just another small wonder in this world of ours!

[Iggipolka]

Iggi - Thank you so much for starting this topic! Really enjoying the responses.....:)

Claudia

Thanks! Me too! :)

[cruzingqueen]

It is always a 'moment of bliss' aboard an HAL ship when we first set eyes upon a dear friend we have not seen for sometime. Because we have cruised so much with HAL, we have a number of crew friends who are as important (in many cases more so) than our friends at home. It is 'blissful' for me when I see and hug these dear people.

And when we all share a drink; dinner; whatever......it's the reason we continue to come back again and again.

I have stayed in touch with so many of the crew I've met through the last couple of years...even some who have left HAL, but they still stay in contact. I always feel guilty when at the end of a cruise, I will try to tip someone who has made my trip so very special, and they refuse the tip. However, it is at this time that I also know I've made another very special friend. I still wish they would accept the tip though. Half the fun of each HAL cruise is seeing who is aboard that I already know and surprising them.

[stanford's girl]

Late at night when the sea is wild and I'm out on the deck. I find watching the waves rising and falling very beautiful. It's just me and the sea.:)

[RichGuy]

The best time for me is when I have just gotten to my cabin, and I'm sitting on my verandah waiting for the cruise to begin. Knowing that I have an entire week that my cabin and verandah are all mine, and anticipating the week to come are the "golden hours" for me. I usually mix a nice drink and just sit there: No dishes, no driving, no traffic, no clients, no responsibility for the whole week. I can't wait until June.

[trubey]

Contrails, dawn, September 25, 2004, Prinsendam.

[Lisa616]

Moments of bliss....reading these beautiful posts!

[hippy cruiser]

How about au natural sunbathing on your verandah watching whales swim by, or a deserted beach with no one to be seen for hours. Sliding on top deck in lounge chairs @ midnight watching a meteor shower. Dolphins racing your ship at night while you cruise along quietly into the night. Sleeping with your deck door open during a tropical rain storm waking to sounds of rain hitting the water . Ahhhhh
True Bliss.....

Thank you for this post topic made my day..... I think I'll go read the latest deals now! :)