What is your favorite memory on a cruise ship?

[Warm Breezes]

My favorite cruise memory was from our very first cruise. We did a 4 Night Disney World/3 Night Disney Wonder. DD was 4 at the time and while we were at Disney World she saw Tinker Bell fly down from the castle (we were far enough away so she didn't see the wire). She looked amazed and said "she is real". Then when we were on the cruise watching a show in the main theater they showed Tinker Bell on the screen flying over the ship sprinkling pixie dust on the ship as the ceiling lights twinkled. She looked at me in awe and asked "Does this mean we can fly?" Priceless.

[maureencruiser]

Just wish I knew how to upload pictures here...

 

If you have pics on a social media website that begins with F, you can right click on the picture, click copy image then come here and right click, paste it where you want it. Very easy. :)

[pris993]

I was wondering if you could pick one favorite moment you experienced on a cruise ship, what would it be.

Mine was on the Radiance in 2009, repositioning cruise from Vancouver via Alaska to San Diego. We were supposed to sail under the Golden Gate Bridge around 6 am. Got up at 5, showered and dressed and went to the helipad to find out you couldn't see your hand in front of your face because of the fog. Lots of people out there and we had so much fun. Hearing the fog horn every minute or so in that complete darkness gave me ghoosebumps.

 

 

Cindy

 

I live near San Francisco, worked in the city for 30 years... every day different. Love the feel and sound of the fog in the city.

 

Have done many cruises out and into the bay over the years... always a treat.

 

Relative to my favorite memory, that is had but I do recall, the first cruise I ever did a 3 day to St Thomas VI... leaving St Thomas we were up on the top deck enjoying the sailaway. Do recall feel sad the cruise was almost over, was so much fun. Never dreamed I would do 55+ cruises after that first one.

 

Another favorite memory is our first Mediterranean cruise form Venice to London... many wonderful ports along the way, but remember most being able to see the lights of north Africia, Morocco on one side and Spain on the other as we passed through the straits of Gilbrater.

[terri-eddie]

Ok mine is more fun than special, but my husband and I invented our own game of sorts on the Allure a couple of years ago. We made up our own race/scavenger hunt of sorts, and we continue to play it at different places. It's a household tradition, so much that it is deemed the ****** House Olympics (just FYI, the stars are representative of our last name, not a bad word!). We will certainly replicate this on any subsequent cruise as well. I'd also like to point out that I won the inaugural game, and I am currently the two-time recurring champ.

 

That sounds like fun! Would you be willing to share a list of your clues/items/etc? I think it would be interesting to make something like that which would cover the whole cruise....the ship, the ports, even the airports/travel days maybe.

[Turtle05]

That sounds like fun! Would you be willing to share a list of your clues/items/etc? I think it would be interesting to make something like that which would cover the whole cruise....the ship, the ports, even the airports/travel days maybe.

 

Yes, our model was to pick a few places to choose from as "start" and "end" places, so obviously we threw four or five locations into a "hat" and selected two (tried to select places kind of all over the ship). Then we picked 15-20 "tasks," and selected a number of those from the notional hat. Another rule of thumb is we always have at least two of each eating and drinking tasks. Of course our drinking tasks are always alcoholic, but this can be modified for kids or people who don't drink. Examples are "eat a slice of pizza," "get a drink of the day from any bar," or "drink an alcoholic beverage at the Viking Crown Lounge." We are purposefully specific or vague. Makes it more fun. Then we have other tasks around the ship such as get a pool towel, take a selfie at a certain location, ride the carousel, run a lap around the track, etc. The strategy comes in what order you do the tasks. You can select ones that can really make a person get held up if they don't time it correctly. Some things have to be proven either with said selfie, pool towel, or a bar receipt, but others are sort of on your honor.

 

We have expanded a little since the inaugural game, and sometimes we have a series of games (Battleship, card games, bowling, laser tag etc.) that we play that are one or two points each, and then the official race portion is worth more,my it we usually make it so the race ends up being the deciding factor. It's also really fun to get vendors and others around involved. On a beach vacation, we had to get temporary tattoos during the race, so obviously we felt the need to explain why two grown adults were getting "professional" stick on tattoos....

 

So with all that being said, the rules can be as specific or vague as you want to add some variety, and it doesn't have to cost a lot or anything at all. Camera phones allow for quite a bit of proof.

 

This is a super fun game for sea days, but yes it could easily be used in port as well! Families and friends could make teams. The more the merrier! :cool:

 

Oh, I never thought of playing in the airport! That's a pretty genius way of passing a long layover!

Edited March 7, 2016 by Turtle05

[kimlovesfl]

Mine is from our first cruise, on the Celebrity Constellation. We went on deck for the Sizzle Sailaway party from Port Everglades. There was a Latin band playing on the pool deck, the weather was beautiful, and the apartment buildings by the port blew air horns, waved, and hung flags from their balconies. From that moment on, I was hooked on cruising.

[terri-eddie]

Yes, our model was to pick a few places to choose from as "start" and "end" places, so obviously we threw four or five locations into a "hat" and selected two (tried to select places kind of all over the ship). Then we picked 15-20 "tasks," and selected a number of those from the notional hat. Another rule of thumb is we always have at least two of each eating and drinking tasks. Of course our drinking tasks are always alcoholic, but this can be modified for kids or people who don't drink. Examples are "eat a slice of pizza," "get a drink of the day from any bar," or "drink an alcoholic beverage at the Viking Crown Lounge." We are purposefully specific or vague. Makes it more fun. Then we have other tasks around the ship such as get a pool towel, take a selfie at a certain location, ride the carousel, run a lap around the track, etc. The strategy comes in what order you do the tasks. You can select ones that can really make a person get held up if they don't time it correctly. Some things have to be proven either with said selfie, pool towel, or a bar receipt, but others are sort of on your honor.

 

We have expanded a little since the inaugural game, and sometimes we have a series of games (Battleship, card games, bowling, laser tag etc.) that we play that are one or two points each, and then the official race portion is worth more,my it we usually make it so the race ends up being the deciding factor. It's also really fun to get vendors and others around involved. On a beach vacation, we had to get temporary tattoos during the race, so obviously we felt the need to explain why two grown adults were getting "professional" stick on tattoos....

 

So with all that being said, the rules can be as specific or vague as you want to add some variety, and it doesn't have to cost a lot or anything at all. Camera phones allow for quite a bit of proof.

 

This is a super fun game for sea days, but yes it could easily be used in port as well! Families and friends could make teams. The more the merrier! :cool:

 

Oh, I never thought of playing in the airport! That's a pretty genius way of passing a long layover!

 

 

Thank you for the information! I think I will make ours a week-long thing, with a list of requirements that can be done on specific days [like in ports] or at any time. And I will include a few airport activities too. Then we can add up our score at the end of the week. This is going to be fun!

[pseudoware]

I was wondering if you could pick one favorite moment you experienced on a cruise ship, what would it be?

 

1st cruise together with my parents and our kids, then 7 and 5. Going under the GG Bridge was special, but the entire experience, in general, is very memorable.

 

We've had more "exotic" itineraries, but in hindsight, I appreciate this one more each day.

 

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[Jasalth]

Mine are so odd that well, me, DH and son will remember them forever!

 

Both happened on the same sailing, and it was our very first cruise I had booked alone. We had been on cruises before, but it was always an extended family thing, in which my mom had booked and made all the arrangements, including flights as we lived in a different city at the time!

 

Favorite memory 1 was actually in the drive down from PA to Florida. It was December and being a worry wort, I convinced my husband we should leave after he got home from work and eat another night at a hotel. This left me scrambling to get everything done. About 4 hours into our trip, I turned to my husband and said "OMG! We forgot to change the light bulb in the pantry!" To which he responded "What you want me to turn around??!?" This was in 2011, and to this day, every time I forget something my DH or 2 DS's tell me to remember to change the light bulb in the pantry!

 

Fast forward to day 2 of the cruise. We got a note to go down to Guest Services because of a CC problem with our account. My DH's CC was the one attached to the account. When they tried to put the hold on it, it was kicked out of the system. Now we have had this CC for over a year, and had 2 online subscriptions on it a month. It had never been used for a physical purchase though...

 

Nothing would work for it! Guest services let me use their phone to call the number on the back of the CC. I dial the #, and fall on the floor laughing and tears running down my face! I got an automated message that said "Thank you for calling to ACTIVATE your CC!".

 

The looks I got from fellow passengers in line was priceless this 30 yr old woman, with a phone, laughing so hard she is crying on the floor in front of Guest Services! I can't even imagine what they were thinking!

 

Since that day, one of our pre-cruise rituals is to a: change the light bulb in the pantry, and b: be sure all our CC's are activated even if we have been using them!

[babs135]

Opening our cabin door only to realise we had been upgraded from an inside cabin to a balcony :D

[sg1phileshipper]

Mine are so odd that well, me, DH and son will remember them forever!

 

Both happened on the same sailing, and it was our very first cruise I had booked alone. We had been on cruises before, but it was always an extended family thing, in which my mom had booked and made all the arrangements, including flights as we lived in a different city at the time!

 

Favorite memory 1 was actually in the drive down from PA to Florida. It was December and being a worry wort, I convinced my husband we should leave after he got home from work and eat another night at a hotel. This left me scrambling to get everything done. About 4 hours into our trip, I turned to my husband and said "OMG! We forgot to change the light bulb in the pantry!" To which he responded "What you want me to turn around??!?" This was in 2011, and to this day, every time I forget something my DH or 2 DS's tell me to remember to change the light bulb in the pantry!

 

Fast forward to day 2 of the cruise. We got a note to go down to Guest Services because of a CC problem with our account. My DH's CC was the one attached to the account. When they tried to put the hold on it, it was kicked out of the system. Now we have had this CC for over a year, and had 2 online subscriptions on it a month. It had never been used for a physical purchase though...

 

Nothing would work for it! Guest services let me use their phone to call the number on the back of the CC. I dial the #, and fall on the floor laughing and tears running down my face! I got an automated message that said "Thank you for calling to ACTIVATE your CC!".

 

The looks I got from fellow passengers in line was priceless this 30 yr old woman, with a phone, laughing so hard she is crying on the floor in front of Guest Services! I can't even imagine what they were thinking!

 

Since that day, one of our pre-cruise rituals is to a: change the light bulb in the pantry, and b: be sure all our CC's are activated even if we have been using them!

 

LMAO. That is a great story. I have to contain myself to not start grinning and get weird looks :D

 

Cindy

[thehappycruiserchick]

My favorite time would have to be in 2014 when we sailed out of NYC. The city scape was gorgeous and sailing under the Verrazano bridge was one exciting ride. Even though I grew up in NY it was like I was seeing the city for the first time.

[geoherb]

One of my favorite cruise memories was seeing the Space Shuttle Discovery launch shortly after sailaway on March 15, 2009. We were sailing on HAL's Westerdam from Fort Lauderdale.

Edited March 8, 2016 by geoherb

[Turtle05]

Thank you for the information! I think I will make ours a week-long thing, with a list of requirements that can be done on specific days [like in ports] or at any time. And I will include a few airport activities too. Then we can add up our score at the end of the week. This is going to be fun!

 

Awesome! Send me a note and let me know how everyone likes it!

[simplelife]

I have many awesome times. but in retrospect was spending time with my parents on their 50th Anniversary Cruise. Dad died 7 weeks later.

[hancock]

Meeting dinner mates who became our best friends.

 

Sailing out of St. Thomas with a double full circle rainbow off the stern.

 

Sailing on the Summit seeing my first shooting star off the stern.

[OCruisers]

Seeing our long time "past cruise pals" when we first board the ship! :D

[rkacruiser]

2002, M. S. Volendam's Maiden Asia Pacific Voyage from Vancouver to Los Angeles, a 64 day adventure: First morning out of Vancouver, west of Vancouver Island heading Northwest, the ship ran into an unpredicted strong storm. During breakfast in the Dining Room, a passenger became ill due to the motion. Following my meal, I went to the Crow's Nest and watched the bow rise up, up, up on the crest of a wave and then come crashing down into the trough, throwing sea water well above the Crow's Nest. Repeatedly. And, yes, I was hanging on during this!

 

2nd most memoriable: Queen Elizabeth 2, Southampton to New York, July, 1980 as a Tourist Class guest. In spite of a blustery, cold Summer morning on the North Atlantic, I went to the aft open deck available for Tourist Class passengers. The Deck Steward set up a deck chair for me facing the stern in spite of the wind and covered me with blankets. Nice and toasty, I asked for a Bloody Mary. When he returned with my libation, a gust of wind caught his tray and caused the drink to spill down the front of his uniform. After apologizing, he said that he would get me another one. Several minutes later, he returned with a clean uniform and my Bloody Mary. Which, I must say, I did enjoy. I think I tipped him well for his efforts! (Cunard service at its best, I think.)

[NoobCruise]

Our first cruise was on Carnival Elation in 2003. Although DH had spent 3 1/2 years on a Coast Guard cutter, it was my first time on a large ship. After we set sail, we were exploring the ship, and we managed to find our way onto the small deck in front. Not the big deck in the bow, but the narrower one just below the bridge. The crew in the bridge were very friendly, smiling and waving. So after waving hi, we turned our faces to the front, wind head on, leaning against the rail, enjoying the view. Suddenly, the horn blasted and we were right next to it. Just about had to change my panties lol We turned and looked at the bridge and they were all laughing their booties off at my reaction lol

 

My other favorite memory was on HALs Westerdam in 2012, sailing into Glacier Bay, Alaska. The glaciers were crazy active that day, calving skyscraper-size iceburgs, one after another after another. We were at Johns Hopkins Glacier, which is over 200ft high above the water. The first photo is to show the size perspective. The circled small boat is a National Geographic expedition ship that carries ~100 passengers. The second circle on the right shows one of the areas that calves. If you click through the photos, you can watch it fall. It starts with small falls of crumbling ice. The last few photos show then entire striped area falling. When the ice starts cracking, it cracks like thunder across the whole sky and it echoes. When the large chunk fell, it gave off waves that rocked our 82,000 ton ship. We spent an entire day in awe and wonder! It was an amazing experience that photos and video just can't show what it's really like. You have to go here and experience it yourself!

 

[Mrs Clooney]

What a beautiful story , I too am crying. How wonderful those people were to your son. 🙏😇

[tbmrt]

So many things....Seeing a full moon glistening on the water at night and double rainbows a few times were amazing.

 

Great memories of Samana, Dominica and Jost Van Dyke ports.

 

Dueling piano bars.

 

Martini Bar fun.

 

White party on deck NCL

 

Breakfast and late afternoon cocktails on the balcony

 

The peacefulness of walking the ship at 5am

 

Coming back from an excursion and walking from van to ship in absolutely drenching rain

 

Snorkeling in BVI

 

Scariest moment.. Put dogbiscuits in my snorkel vest (read later not good thing to do). Took a little out at a time and sure enough, attracted numerous fish in Cozumel. However, the fish apparently still smelled the dogbiscuits and in a short time we were in the midst of huge numbers of fish and got nipped a few times. I realized if these medium sized fish were "attacking" us, big ones could be around and do the same....Swam quickly to clean out vest!

[Sailin Gal]

The best memory for me was our 25th anniversary cruise. It was warm when we left BIL's house in Spring heading for Galveston that morning, but DH would NOT let me put his leather jacket in the rolling duffel! That was a little odd. Next oddity was when he suggested we dress up for dinner that first night since our luggage made it to our cabin. After dinner he walked me into one of the empty dance club rooms, got down on one knee, and asked me to spend another 25 years with him. He'd been hanging onto his coat all day because he had a gorgeous new wedding ring for me in his coat pocket!

 

Our best excursion memory was a private snorkeling excursion we booked for our large family group in Grand Cayman. It was my first snorkeling experience, and we were on a gorgeous reef. I was completely mesmerized and did NOT want to get back on the boat. I've been hooked on snorkeling since then, and when we charter in the BVI, we snorkel for hours every day!

[trish1c]

Best memory: Getting engaged on NCL Gem in January 2008