Cruise Traditions

Printing out those boarding passes and luggage tags the moment they "arrive"! Even though it's 75 days out :p. Online download doesn't have the same cachet as when you would receive those big, thick ticket booklets, but there's just something about printing them and holding them in your hands :)

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Still being new to cruising.... I pretty much put my stuff in the room and then run around the entire ship exploring, being sure to find the ice cream machine along the way!

I stop at the edge of the gangway and jump onto the ship, leaving everything behind me.

 

this!

Our tradition is seeing who the first person is to spot the ship on the way to the port and also as we've only ever sailed with RC is to go to the WJ for Honey stung chicken (now gone from the WJ) and Paella, that first taste of it and we knew we were on a cruise.

I'm getting ready for my first cruise and have decided I am pre-ordering flowers for my room. It will just add a touch of something special I think. I'm traveling solo and like the idea because I will always be able to do it no matter who I am traveling with or what type of room I have... I am also thinking my first drink will always be a pina colada... :)

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I'm getting ready for my first cruise and have decided I am pre-ordering flowers for my room. It will just add a touch of something special I think. I'm traveling solo and like the idea because I will always be able to do it no matter who I am traveling with or what type of room I have... I am also thinking my first drink will always be a pina colada... :)

 

 

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Good for you. For this cruise on the POA, I've ordered a floral arrangement with orchids, birds of paradise and plumeria.

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I always bring my favorite bottle of wine and my favorite wine glass and stand on the balcony sipping away during the sail away!

My "bonus daughter" is bringing me several bottles of wine for our POA cruise next month. Last year, after paying the corkage fee, I handed them off to the dining captain to retrieve at our specialty restaurant meals. NCL presents us a bottle of bubbly which we share during sail away. I wonder if I can get oj from room service beforehand. I would prefer a mimosa.

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This has been enlightening. Going on our first cruise but have in the past frequented local auctions and ended up with some mixed boxes of house clearance 'stuff' often rejects by the family. Pins of ships, Xmas decorations, wine stoppers, cruise loyalty rewards, shot glasses and mementos. So now we know and can be happy those people lived out their days and rituals to the full.

Unfortunately being knee deep in souvenirs out of fashion but too good to throw away or charity maybe we wont need to buy any for ourselves!

What really gets my goat is when all souvenirs are made in China! This makes a mockery of the concept and undermines local craft workers. Plus fake alcohol!

I always love to grill in the summer. So I started a tradition a few cruises ago where I buy Bbq sauces, marinade, or hot sauces in each port. It's fun to pull the bottles out when I'm back home and remember a fun vacation as I baste chicken on the grill. They are much tastier souvenirs then all the knick knacks that sit in my garage.

Now back I have a better understanding of rituals when it comes to souvenirs.

Given tourists only get a limited time in port and in 'purpose built' (think Mahogany Bay) shopping areas you certainly get the feeling of being a captive audience. In 'normal' ports the prices obviously go up when the cruise ships dock, then you have rows of Chinese stocked stores.

Little wonder the ritual of obtaining a 'small' memento is the norm. Spices and sauces is a good one.

I was quite taken with a snazzy beach bag in Honduras then saw it in every Caribbean port just with a different embroidered place name...and made in China no doubt. So sad.

I always love to grill in the summer. So I started a tradition a few cruises ago where I buy Bbq sauces, marinade, or hot sauces in each port. It's fun to pull the bottles out when I'm back home and remember a fun vacation as I baste chicken on the grill. They are much tastier souvenirs then all the knick knacks that sit in my garage.

I will have to remember that one. One thing we always do is buy some sort of decorative item, usually a hand carved piece of some sort. First, this helps support the local economy, and second, we do put the items where we can see them. It is amazing how such small things can bring back memories over the years. This is especially true now that our kids are grown up and we have those reminders of our family cruises and excursions. Since we have a rather "eclectic" sense of decor anyway, the items always fit in. :)

I do like the sauce idea though. I am going to try that.

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Think of my grandparents who took me on first cruise a long long time ago. Always have a sense of cruises past ...and reminding ourselves that this one is not like last one. We can't wait to discover something new.

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We've cruise for 15 years and every time we go to a new island we haven't been too we collect a nice size sailboat with the island name on it. I have a shelf with all of them on it

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We have a few traditions. One is going to the port a couple of days ahead of time. Easy, since it's just an hour and a half drive to Galveston, our port of choice.

We love the island and usually can manage to hit several of our favorite shopping spots, bars or restaurants and get thoroughly relaxed before embarkation.

Once we're on board, it's kind of the usual stuff. Find our table in the MDR, grab a drink (my wife gets her one pina colada for sailaway, and thereafter mostly has red wine), and, if it's a new ship for us, explore a bit. Also, we usually try to book at least one specialty dining reservation on the first day. If it's not a new ship, I like to hit the pool bar. For some reason, the seasoned cruisers are more likely to be here than any other watering hole.

As a couple of other have mentioned, the cabins can be tight, so each evening, I get showered, dressed and out the door to one of the watering holes well before dinner, leaving my wife free to take her time and spread out.

She appreciates me being out of her hair and I enjoy a little people watching time.

Our next cruise will be the first one with the grandkids, so we're looking forward to creating some new traditions!

i guess when we think about it we also have a couple of traditions. I like to get on board as early as possible. Usually before the lifeboat drill we get our luggage and I immediately unpack, my vacation doesn't officially start until the lifeboat drill is done and all my bags are unpacked and put away. Then we go to the pool deck and I get a pina colada in honor of a dear elderly friend who always tells me to have a pina colada for her. My DH and I watch the ship sailaway, relax and start enjoying our cruise. We usually go on cruises during football season so if my husband tells me before hand what he is going to wear, I'll leave him watching the game and I'll go to the cabin and get dress for dinner, I'll pull out everything he is going to wear for that night so when he comes back to the cabin all he has to do is take a shower and get dress. When we go to a port we have never been to we look for charms to go on my charm bracelet.

Get a picture of the first sunrise and the last sunset of each cruise, assuming it's not overcast.

Brought from Nantucket ferry tradition--

We toss a penny overboard on departure >> for good luck on this cruise, and guarantee a repeat journey in the future.

(Yes, against ship rules; I'm a rebel.

Yes, I may trash the entire marine ecosystem with a penny; not a tree-hugger).

Is it really a penny? Or is it a cent?

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I wear the same polo shirt on the first day of each cruise. It's the only time I ever wear it.

We head to a bar and order a few drinks, kids jump in the pool and then we make our way to our room. If Guys Burgers is on the ship we will also grab a burger.

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I have to get a magnet with the ship on it and one from every port. We also wear cute family shirts. Last cruise was we had the kids and there was the Dr Seuss breakfast so I made Shelton (our last name) 1,2,3,4,5 shirts for everyone. This cruise will just me my hubby and I and we are celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary so I have Married Since couple shirts. My hubby is a great sport 😘

There are a few things that I have made a tradition of. I always buy a Christmas ornament for from each country. Every year when I put up my Christmas tree I remember all of the cruises that I have been on. I can see my life in those ornaments and see that I have had the opportunity to have lived a wonderful life. I also buy a painting of each country. When I get home I have it framed and hang it up. My house is full of paintings from around the world. I take my time packing before I leave. I start a few weeks ahead of time and as I see things I put them in a pile. The night before we leave I pack it in a suitcase. I always have my hair and nails done before we go.

I guess we have a few traditions. My first 3 cruises, I didn't do it, but since the first one with the kids, we now get to the port at least a day early. Love being able to relax and totally get in the vacation mood before boarding. We've also added at least a day on post cruise before we fly home. Kind of nice to extend the vacation a little!

We also get a Christmas ornament to put on the tree. It's great reliving those memories with the boys.

We also will share a bottle of champagne - maybe at sailaway on our balcony from our first ever aft suite!:D

On the last night (this time probably as we sail by the Na'apali Coast) I will stand on our balcony and cry because it's almost over.