How do you you start your cruise?

[capecodmercury]

Time for a thread just for fun.

 

It's the first day of your cruise, you've checked in, boarded, sipped the welcome bubbles and got your cabin squared away, and maybe even braved the buffet for a bite to eat. So now what?

 

Finally, it's time to start the fun. I want to hear about people's first day traditions or favorites. Do you make a beeline to your favorite bar to order that special drink you've been dreaming of for months. Maybe you just sit out on your balcony and relax.

 

For my wife and I, we spend the afternoon wandering. Checking out the art and just getting used to being back on board. After muster, we head up to the Sunset bar for the sail away,hopefully with a bunch of people from the roll call.

 

So, what are your traditions?

[El Crucero]

Time for a thread just for fun.

 

We step aboard, grab a glass of sparkling wine, and give a big sigh of relief. We are "home." We then head directly for the Mast Grill for a relaxing hamburger and those delicious fries and grilled onions. We avoid the Oceanview buffet on departure day. Then we grab another glass of sparkling and head to our stateroom, if it is ready, and meet our stateroom staff. We discuss our preferences with them and make sure they know our names, and we theirs, and begin our bonding process with them. Then, we check out the menus for the evening meal, either MDR or Blu, depending on our stateroom category. Then we grab a cocktail and it is off to our veranda, Sky Lounge, or aft deck, depending on port of departure, and toast our good fortune to enjoy a life style we thought we would never be able to afford when we were married 50 years ago! After that, we endure the muster drill, and then, before we know it, we have 1000 fathoms of water under our feet! Bon Voyage!

[2theship]

I absolutely love it when my luggage arrives in time to unpack before the muster drill. My vacation starts when everything is put away and I'm in my new home for however many days we've booked. That leaves me free to head to a sailaway party after the drill and get to meet our new roll call friends.

[bphman]

Once lunch is done usually in the Lido buffet which is often out last trip there, we begin exploring. I am a watch nut so window shopping is high on the list. With deck plans in hand, we start at the top and walk each deck and work our way down. In the old days, the doors to the cabins were always open so we would explore suites (Shhhhhh. Don't tell anyone) but now they are locked. We only really looked in the doors and didn't enter. That would not be nice. At that point we get the lay of the land. Once we can go to the cabins, we drop off our stuff and I look for our steward. We like getting to know the crew. We find our dining reservation number and find our table in the dining room and request a change if it is really horrible like near the kitchen or entrance. We look at the specialty restaurants and make our reservations. Once the tour is finished, back to the cabin, unpack, and get ready for the mustard (I know it's muster) drill and get ready to relax.

[Tommy3putts]

Sunset Bar. That's all you need to know. [emoji482][emoji482][emoji482]

[DYKWIA]

(1) Bubbly

(2) Politely decline the offers to upgrade our restaurants / drink package etc

(3) Coffee in Cafe Al Bacio

(4) Politely decline the offers to upgrade our restaurants / drink package etc

(5) Head to rooms when they are available

(6) Do what we can to unpack whatever is there

(7) Buffet

(8) Politely decline the offers to upgrade our restaurants / drink package etc

(9) Unpack whatever we can back in cabin

(10) Muster Drill

(11) Go up to top deck somewhere and order a drink for sailaway

(12) Politely decline the offers to upgrade our restaurants / drink package etc

[bphman]

DYKWIA, you are too funny.

[chemmo]

On S class ships it has become our custom to book a window table in Tuscan Grill for just after sail away when the timing allows. We dine slowly and reflectively watching the lights of the port slip away... all troubles and cares of the real world follow and we slowly slip into 'cruise mode'.

 

Thanks for starting this post, nice to hear others routines!

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Sunset Bar. That's all you need to know. [emoji482][emoji482][emoji482]

 

Yup! Meet old and new friends from the roll call there.

 

[ellbon]

Time for a thread just for fun.

 

It's the first day of your cruise, you've checked in, boarded, sipped the welcome bubbles and got your cabin squared away, and maybe even braved the buffet for a bite to eat. So now what?

 

last cruise arrived late -time for make up drill. before that found crew and hugged them. after drill found my cabin. moved my bags around and had a drink and then bed. i try hard to come after lunch time and talk to as many people i know. i try to unpack before dinner. thee are times i finish the next day. this summer was one of them.

 

Finally, it's time to start the fun. I want to hear about people's first day traditions or favorites. Do you make a beeline to your favorite bar to order that special drink you've been dreaming of for months. Maybe you just sit out on your balcony and relax.

 

if in warm weather by 2 or 3 pm i am at the pool reading while people wander around lost.. for a a drink could be water or rum and coke.. night time is vodka. in colder weather cruises look fro me near the coffee bar.

 

For my wife and I, we spend the afternoon wandering. Checking out the art and just getting used to being back on board. After muster, we head up to the Sunset bar for the sail away,hopefully with a bunch of people from the roll call.

 

So, what are your traditions?

sail aways on the track in general depending on the ship.

[iancal]

We pass on the bubbly and the OJ.

 

We unpack (we only do carry on). We avoid the buffet until at least 3PM. It is too busy/crowded so we cannot be bothered with it.

 

We head down to the MDR to arrange our your time dining reservations. We pass on all the wonderful soda and liquer offerings...no interest in either.

 

If it is warm, we walk the deck, then find a chair or lounge in the sun. Or we tour the ship.

Edited October 5, 2016 by iancal

[capecodmercury]

Thanks for all the replies, to paraphrase someone up thread, its nice to hear (and get ideas) from other people.

[captainrupertbear]

After lunch/muster etc, I just like to spend an hour or two unpacking and getting organized and then just relaxing on the balcony with a glass of something fizzy for sail away.

 

Then we think about what to do that evening and slowly ease into getting ready.

[davekathy]

"How do we start our Cruise off"...with a big fat smile on our face and that's even before we had a glass or two of the welcome aboard bubbly.

[phillygirl2400]

Sunset Bar. That's all you need to know. [emoji482][emoji482][emoji482]

 

 

 

And [emoji483][emoji483][emoji483][emoji483]

 

 

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[vaborn2cruise]

"How do we start our Cruise off"...with a big fat smile on our face and that's even before we had a glass or two of the welcome aboard bubbly.

 

Absolutely the best way to start a cruise!

[AZ Ocean Lover]

We carry on as well so as soon as we can we go to our cabin and unpack (nesting, as my husband refers to it.) We usually go to the grill for lunch and then we start at the very top of the ship and explore each floor just to get our bearings. I always try to relax but until we are actually moving I'm very fidgety. Once we are moving, however, I become jello with eyeballs. Nothing like being on the open ocean.

[ISABELLA]

After 50+ cruises, I still get excited, when I see my ship from the taxi or hotel shuttle. My vacation starts that moment. After getting on board:

1. drop the carry -on in the cabin

2.go around the ship to see if there is anything different from the last time we sailed on it.

3. get some lunch - used to be Bistro on 5 most of the time.

4. unpack if luggage arrived early

5. sit on the balcony thanking God for letting us cruise again:)

6.Go upstairs for a sailaway party. After we get into the open waters - time to go and get ready for dinner.

We kinda do the same thing on every cruise, but never get tired of it..

:)

[Goldconnection]

1. Head straight to the gym/spa. Sign DH up for classes and myself up for the spa.

2. Explore the ship.

3. Lunch

4. Unpack

5. Find a seat to people watch

6. Say a silent prayer "Thankful for the good life"."

[s2kreno]

We'll be on Infinity for a PC cruise in a month. First, we'll sort out the excursions. We have a lot of OBC so we canceled pre-cruise reservations and will rebook them as soon as we're on board. Next, we'll go to the gym and sign up for classes on sea days. We'll check out Blu menus for that evening. Finally, we'll grab drinks and hit the adult pool / solarium.

[DENIE]

Great post! We haven't been on too many cruises, but are settling into a routine. We've started getting the beverage packages, so usually seek out a quick glass (or 2?) of wine. We try to get on board as early as possible, and have a chance to explore before the masses arrive. If it is lunchtime, we will grab a bite to eat in the buffet. My wife likes to make her spa reservations at this time too. Generally, though, once we are on board we just take a few deep breaths, a few sips of wine, and RELAX! There is nothing like embarkation day!

[Jarvijt]

Sunset bar for that cocktail I've been dreaming of. Bliss.

 

 

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[bottomfeeder]

I typically sail solo, and I have my wheelie bag with my laptop with me so I've found having lunch in the buffet is kind of a difficult thing to accomplish. For me, hanging out in the solarium and having a little something to eat from the Aqua Spa Cafe has worked out well. I will also make a trip to Cafe al Bacio for my first double-shot skinny latte of the cruise along with a sweet treat. If I'm getting a drink package (always the non-alcoholic kind!) I will buy it from Cafe al Bacio at that point.

 

Then I will take a walk around the public areas of the ship just to scope everything out, and find a comfy place to sit and read or people-watch until cabins are available. Usually that's the solarium.

 

Once I can get in my cabin I usually spend the rest of the time until the lifeboat drill there--unpacking, checking everything out, hanging out on the balcony, maybe taking a nap.

 

Just the thought of this is making me so look forward to next month's cruise! Ah, the relaxation! :)

[akowilm]

We have always headed straight to Bistro on 5 and ordered a glass of wine and a cowboy crepe....Don't know what we will do this January on the Silhouette. I like the idea of one of those fabulous mast burgers!

[cocobakerchica]

It used to be that DM and I would go make a reservation at a specialty restaurant, then head to Bistro on Five for a bite after boarding and grabbing a sparkling wine, but that will probably no longer happen now that they're all Sushi on Five now(she's not a fan of sushi as I am. but I have plenty of time to persuade her to try it, since there are non sushi options on the menu). The specialty reservation will probably happen again.

 

By then, the staterooms are available, and we check out our temporary home, see if the luggage is there/drop off carry-ons and hopefully meet our steward(s). Since she is a little more mobility impaired than I, DM goes to scout out and grab seats for the Muster Drill and I follow at a slower pace. We hang out there until after Muster is over(I will post pics I've taken to social media, text friends/family goodbye and chat up fellow passengers), then we branch off, and DM goes to look around the ship and I head upstairs to watch the sailaway for a little while, take pictures and have a celebratory cocktail. I go back to the cabin to find DM unpacking, and I start mine. A new tradition will most likely be me relaxing with a cocktail on the veranda during sailaway(it's DM's 75th b'day year on our next cruise, so we decided to try a different room setup).