Best Memories of Cruising

[LHP]

One of my favorite memories happened at karaoke in the casino....

 

a young man with Downs Syndrome signed up to sing Summer Nights with his Aunt...but when his turn was coming up, his Aunt was playing in the casino....he was getting stressed because she said she wasn't coming back.

 

So I asked him if he would mind if I sang with him. He said sure...

 

We rocked it...

 

I then ran to the one of the Entertainment Staff in the theater and asked for a Ship on a Stick....ran back and presented it to him for the best karaoke duet!

[skidawg79]

I have only been on 2 cruises, with my third coming in 2 1/2 weeks!!! Both cruises were amazing in their own way, but I will NEVER forget the feeling when I saw my first ever cruise ship up close (Caribbean Princess). It was the Brooklyn cruise terminal and seeing that ship with NYC in the backdrop was incredible. I was amazed at the size and will never forget the feeling I had at that moment.

 

Here's another one..... On that same cruise we had very rough seas the one night. We were waiting in line for anytime dining, well the ship shifted and my sister lost her balance a little and had to take a step to the side to regain her balance. In the process she hip checked a young boy that was coming up to meet his parents in line in front of us. She hit him hard enough that he went falling on the floor. Little did we know his mom was right in front of us and she turned around with this "WTH" type look on her face and looked right at me. Yep, staring me right in the face was Nancy Kerrigan! I had no idea what to say, so I pointed at my sister and the only thing that came out of my mouth was, "she did it" lol. Nancy was so nice and was like, "it's ok, don't worry about it". We ran into (not literally lol) each other several times through the cruise and she would always go out of her way to say hi or give a little smile and acknowledgement to me. So yeah, Nancy and I are now BFF's. lol...not really but will always have that funny story.

[sailingwithfriends]

I have only had great memories of my cruises. My favorites involving witnessing the faces of people that have never cruised before. They can't believe all the activities and events on a ship.

 

One of my best involved my son-in-law. It was his first cruise. We enjoyed dinner the first evening. The waiters were great. After the meal, we all stood up and started to leave the dining room. He had a puzzled look on his face. He then stated, "You forgot to pay". It was priceless. We asked him what he thought the cost of the cruise included. He only thought is was for his cabin. The next evening, I noticed he ordered a lot more food (and ate every bite.) By the end of the five days, he had gained 13 pounds on what he called the "free" food.

 

Another favorite, but embarrassing memoy was the time my parents were on stage in the Love and Marriage show as the longest married couple. We were on that cruise with about 30 of our friends and family. I've never laughed so hard or been so embarrassed at their honest answers. No one wants to find out how they were conceived in front of that many people. My dad was so funny, he received a standing ovation at one of his answers. For the rest of the week, may parents were celebrities on the ship.

[radioguy54]

Our first cruise in June 2010, was our 32nd Wedding Anniversary! Had no way of knowing it would be our last, as my dw passed away in August of that year from Diabetes....Some would say this was a sad occasion, but I am so thankful we had that time together and shared it with my ds, dil and grands....The memories will last forever and she had the best vacation ever! I believe God allowed us that special time together....

[tigereye]

I have 2 equally fond memories. As some of you have already said the first time I walked onto a cruise ship and the other is the first time our 8 year old God Daughter walked onto a cruise ship. She will be on her 4th with us this Sunday, May 4, on the Dream.

[luvtrips]

Our honeymoon cruise 10 years ago on the Carnival Destiny. We were new to cruising and loved every minute.

 

Our port day in Dominica....Dominica had some negative reviews on here, but we booked a tour with Levi Baron, and it was one of the most memorable tours we have ever had. Crossing the swinging bridge and jumping into the freezing cold cave waters was a great adventure, and it was where some scenes of Pirates of the Carribbean was shot. Just loved it!

[hartsnvt]

All of my cruises have been wonderful in different ways. The best was bringing my husband on his 1st cruise. But I hope our next one on the Sunshine will create some unforgettable memories as we are bringing my Mom, who has alzheimer's and has never cruised before. She lives in the moment and since she still knows who we are we are hoping to have a great time!

[dainew]

The first time we ever been on a cruise it was amazing .....then we took our 2 kids and niece on a cruise the look they had was priceless.......and then we took our dil 6 years later as a honeymoon and first year anniversary the look on her face it was priceless.....all great memories

[xpromise1thingx]

My favorite cruise memory is marrying my best friend on the Liberty before sailaway in Miami. Walking around the ship in my dress and dh in his suit with everyone congratulating us was so nice! Then we sailed away for a fantastic 7 days with our closest friends and family. By far our most favorite cruise so far that we still talk about 3 yrs later! Planning a 5 yr anniversary/reunion cruise for 2016!:)

 

We are getting married on embarkation day January 17, 2015. Your post makes me so excited! I can't wait for our next cruise. So far we have about 25 people joining us.

 

As far as my favorite cruise memory, I loved sail away on our first cruise. I am hoping we still get to experience this on our next cruise, but I'm not sure we will get to because of the wedding. I really want our guests to be there for it though! It will be the first time cruising for most of them.

[xpromise1thingx]

One of my most memorable moments on a cruise was the last one. Went with my entire family and we visited an orphanage on Roatan. We brought them about 5 duffel bags full of toys, balls, medical supplies, daily need stuff (tooth brush and tooth paste, hair ties, combs, brushes, socks and undies) Was great seeing the kids play and talking to the man who runs the house about the kids and their circumstances. Was a fun, sad and rewarding expirance for sure. Was glad my 14 y/o niece and her friend got to see how some people live, and how fortunate we are. And after visitiing the orphanage we went to a beautiful beach with awesome snorkeling. Best day ever.

 

How did you set this up? I would love to go do this on our next cruise.

[winddawn]

Every cruise is unique and there is always a sense of adventure... hanging out on the boards, getting upgrades, OBC and such but I am talking about experiences besides these things that stick in your mind. Well, wait a minute, these things are important too.

 

Anyway... Our first cruise was on the Celebration out of Galveston. A 5 night venture. Gosh we had fun on that cruise. But we didn't know anything and thought it was all "normal." Seems the ship was having problems. We were in an inside aft cabin at the very back of the ship. When the screws started the entire ship shuttered up and down. I would say a good half inch to inch with every turn. When the engines turned on, we looked at each other and said, OMG... What are we in for? It turned out to be one heck of cruise.

 

In Cozumel we took a jeep safari to the far side of the island on some of the roughest terrain possible. It was absolute freedom... We had lunch prepared for us on the beach. Wonderful. When we got back, we went to dinner at Poncho's Backyard then made our way down the road looking in the shops. Amazing (at least to us). We actually met some folks that I would see again and again after the cruise. That is one of my fondest memories of being on a cruise.

 

One of my most favorite moments on any cruise is sail away! A cold beer in hand. Can't be beat.

Wow! A cold beer in hand at sail away makes me want to go pack right now! It sounds like you had a great time.

 

I have so many great cruising memories!

 

Some of my best memories of cruising were on Pride out of Baltimore. We had booked an aft wrap suite at the back of the ship, and had beautiful views of the Chesapeake Bay as we cruised southward. There were beautiful sailboats on glass-smooth water at sunset. I had some of the photos I took from our balcony blown up, put on canvas, and framed. We spent a fabulous day at Half Moon Cay with a cabana.

 

I have nothing but great memories from that cruise and it is just about my favorite out of my 29 cruises.

 

Another memorable cruise was one of my first--on Admiral Cruise Lines Emerald Seas which was a former warship turned cruise ship. We went through a windstorm on the way back to Florida from the Bahamas. It broke all of the glass on the ship and made for a very interesting night, being awakened in the night to the sound of my room service tray flying off the dresser and hitting the wall, and holding the walls trying to make it to the bathroom in our cabin. No 2 cabins on that ship were the same, which is very different from today's cookie cutter cabins. I'll never forget that cruise either. Those were the early days of Little Stirrup Cay when the island caretaker was Diver Dan. It's really odd because this island became known as Coco Cay after Royal Caribbean bought it, and I later visited on RCCL Sovereign of the Seas cruise ship. I have great memories of that cruise too because I took my niece on her very cruise on that ship and that was the first time she had ever been out of state.

 

http://www.blue-n-gold.com/halfdan/diverdan.htm

 

http://www.feethams.co.uk/emerald_past.htm

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Sovereign

 

I must be getting old to be remembering all of that. Lol! I remember U.S. Caribbean cruising in its infancy. It's been many years since a server scraped bread crumbs from the white tablecloth in the dining room on my Carnival cruise. :-)

[dljones]

My fondest memory is my now fiance proposing to me on the Freedom. Afterwards he told me that he had to juggle the ring box back and forth between his pocket and his carry on to get through security and he had no idea how he pulled it off without me noticing. But he did! And now I get to marry my best friend and of course for the honeymoon we'll be cruising.

 

That is totally priceless! WOW! Sounds like a match made in Heaven. Best wishes to you both!!!!

[dljones]

So when I was standing at the stern, watching the wakes on the ocean trail into the distance, listening to the dull whoosh of the ship's hull cut through the water, feeling the wind carry my worries and frustrations out to sea, I was able to fully relax for the first time in years.

 

That is EXACTLY what I'm talking about!

[dljones]

Our first cruise in June 2010, was our 32nd Wedding Anniversary! Had no way of knowing it would be our last, as my dw passed away in August of that year from Diabetes....Some would say this was a sad occasion, but I am so thankful we had that time together and shared it with my ds, dil and grands....The memories will last forever and she had the best vacation ever! I believe God allowed us that special time together....

 

Bless your heart. My dear mother passed away several years ago having never stepped aboard a cruise ship. The funny thing is, all her life, she was convinced that she was a reincarnated ship's captain. I hope she is sailing away in Heaven.

[Velvetwater]

Our first cruise last year had so many highlights...

 

1) Baltic sunsets

 

2) Sailing out of Dover (very open port that is essentially the sea)

 

3) Going under the bridge between Denmark and Sweden at night

 

4) Cheering peer runners

 

5) Pizza party on deck then running up with new friends on the top deck and goofing around surrounded by dark,black sea.

 

6) Getting trollied on Vodka tasting tour in St Petersburg with new found friends then coming back on ship and drinking cosmos...entering trivia and winning.

 

7) Setting alarm to see the Legend docked outside my hotel window

 

8) Cocktail party in a friends cabin

 

9) My hubby asking the DJ in the club to play our first dance song then the DJ recognising us on the lido the nex day and playing it again for us. He also gave us 2 Carnival medals.

 

10) Declaring rock the boat was my cruise song and it playing often throughout the cruise.

 

 

Hope to do it all again and more in 4 months!

Edited April 29, 2014 by Velvetwater

[pbxtech]

Being on our Balcony with No one calling or emailing us:)

[fostermom2012]

On my second cruise I loved swimming with the sea turtles. Also, we did river tubing at Dominica and I lost my ship pass while we were there. On this shore excursion we got fed a traditional Dominician lunch that I did not like and some of the people with my husband and I were joking that I was going to starve since I could not get back onto the ship.

[justusfour2014]

One of my favorite memories happened at karaoke in the casino....

 

a young man with Downs Syndrome signed up to sing Summer Nights with his Aunt...but when his turn was coming up, his Aunt was playing in the casino....he was getting stressed because she said she wasn't coming back.

 

So I asked him if he would mind if I sang with him. He said sure...

 

We rocked it...

 

I then ran to the one of the Entertainment Staff in the theater and asked for a Ship on a Stick....ran back and presented it to him for the best karaoke duet!

 

Now that's memorable and awesome in so many ways! Good for you, and I bet it was his best memory.

 

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Forums mobile app

[justusfour2014]

We went on our first family cruise in March. As a family we vacation at least once a year, but can't remember the last time we all experienced something new for the first time together? Waiting in the security line before boarding my DD was so excited she was babbling, my DH kept asking if I packed his floaties (didn't want to go), and my teenage DS was sulking, trying to figure out how he was going to survive 5 days without his beloved xBox.

 

Our first cruise was memorable in so many ways: from stepping on the boat, sailing away with my arms wrapped around DD, our awesome wait staff who tried like hell to get my DS to order something different which made him smile and laugh every time, the times DH and I spent together in the adult comedy shows, to the rough seas that cancelled our port but brought us closer as a family playing cards and just enjoying time with each other.:)

 

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Forums mobile app

[travel281]

In 2008 my husband, 2 sisters and brother-in-law went on a cruise to Nassau with our dad. Dad was 80 years old at the time. I insisted on walking so everyone agreed, including my dad. We arrived at the Queen's Staircase and dad was right there with us. He climbed the stairs just like the rest of us. He was a real trooper - no complaints. I remember looking at him throughout the cruise and he had a wide grin on his face because he was with his 3 daughters. Dad passed away the next year. It had nothing to do with climbing those stairs. lol

[LindseyButlerWilson]

I read something online about how memories make us happier in the long run than material items. Um... duh? I am so grateful for the wonderful cruising memories I've been able to share with my loved ones. My very first cruise was on Royal Caribbean and my great-grandmother paid for all of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren to go together. It became a family tradition. Now that she and my father are gone, those are such precious moments. My last cruise was my honeymoon! I will remember that forever...

 

Now I want to be back on a ship! :p

[lorim103]

My best memories are spending quality time with my family. And seeing different islands in the Caribbean.

[kennelgang]

My favorite cruise was our first one on RCCL Song of Norway in 1977. The 70's was the Golden Age of cruising and it was a fairly new vacation venue. Not a lot of people had cruise then since cruising was in its infancy. It was a new and exciting experience.

 

The Golden Age was when the food, service, entertainment and accommodations were beyond 5 star. I will never forget throwing streamers as we set sail on our ocean voyage. The streamers hung in the air, on the sides of the ship fluttering in the wind. People screaming, cheering, and waving bon voyage as the mooring ropes were untied and we began to leave port. I can still hear and see it. It was an unforgettable experience. That was the first and last time we were able to throw streamers. Shortly after that environmental rules set in.

Edited May 1, 2014 by kennelgang

[Cruise Envy]

Great thread! My favorite memories vary, depending on whether it was a "while I was single" cruise or one of the more recent family cruises.

 

 

1. Sailaway from ports on the aft of the ship with a drink in my hand will be my fondest memories from my single days.
   
2. Best tablemates EVER were my first cruise on the Cunard Countess. I still enjoy dining very much, but nothing will top the MDR on that trip. It was a young couple, a lady & her mom, and me and my friend. We shared our daily adventures (all different) and really enjoyed the company.
   
3. I think the most amazing shore excursion was getting together two groups to rent the Private Oasis at Half Moon Cay. Two wonderful days!!
   
4. Ordering room service for the first time on our first family cruise, and sitting on the king sized bed in our room deciding what to order.
   
5. Discovering the pictures my 10 year old had made of himself on the first family cruise... whichever photographer captured those gave me memories forever.
   
6. After 14 years of marriage discovering the "perfect" family vacation where I had some down time too!
   
7. Doing something new and different every time we go. Every one has something special -- our next one is my first balcony!
   

[dljones]

We are booked on the Magic June 8th and can't wait to make some more cruise memories. This year, we are doing the zip line in Roatan and horseback riding in Belize. Anyone been on these?

 

Our favorite spot is the Red Frog Pub in the evenings. We hang out there until dinner time and sometimes return after dinner as well. What a great spot. We have met some really nice people there our past two cruises and looking forward to this year. Ironically, on our second cruise, we had the same wait staff as the first and they remembered us lol...