Most Vivid Cruise Memory - happy ones only please!

[Ma Bell]

There are so many wonderful times spent with my husband family and friends it's hard to choose, but I have especially fond memories of a time spent with my dear Uncle.

 

I took him on his one and only cruise at age 93. We and other family members went to Alaska on Infinity. He was so excited and delighted by everything he saw he was like a kid. He smiled constantly and stayed up late every night so he wouldn't miss anything. He told me how happy he was that his family would all have this wonderful time to look back on after he was gone. He passed away about 5 months later.

That's him lower left. Wasn't he cute for 93?

 

http://community.webshots.com/photo/280128709/431527543FnKAii

[Danno]

No wonder he's smiling...If I had 4 ladies at my table that looked like that... well, enough said.

[nu2sea]

Oh Joan, that's a wonderful photo of a heartwarming memory. Don't those guys just look great in their tuxes!

 

Thanks for sharing it with us,

Susan

[Blazerboy]

So many, that I can barely even start. The good news is that every cruise I've been on has had vivid memories that I still cherish.

 

So a quick one: 11 years old, going through the Straights of Gibraltar, and going from the pool, with wet hair, up to the top deck for the view, and to feel the rush of the wind. It was so powerful, we had trouble standing. Then my mother, brother and I went back to our cabin. My mother burst out in a fit of giggles and told me to look in the mirror. Because my hair was long-ish, it had dried in the fierce wind sticking striaght out from the back, as though I'd put in hairspray. I looked like a young Bride of Frankenstein. I treasure it because it was a hard time of life- my parents had divorced that Winter, and yet, here was a moment that was defined by both natural beauty, and unihibited fun with my family, and not the stresses I'd been through. (O.k. not so quick:rolleyes: )

 

And the other thing I always feel on a ship is a connection to my Grandparents, who cruised extensively- explains why I stilll wear blazers (they ALWAYS were dressed up) and prefer lines with formal evenings (no that wasn't an invitation to start THAT up again:D ).

 

Ahhh.... cruises....

 

Andrew

[hmg]

Great thread, Ruth. Some beautiful moments being recalled here.

 

I'd have to say that my best cruise memory is one I get to repeat every time we sail. Seeing my husband and sons dressed in their tuxes--and seeing the huge smiles on their faces! :D

[safein]

Actually my most vivid memory is from our second Celebrity cruise. We had such a great time on the Horizon, that, when we were on her for the second time to Bermuda out of New York, driving up in a car going up the West Side and spotting the "X," we both smiled and said "X" marks the spot! :)

 

Anita

[tropicalsunset]

Ruth... love this thread!!! and all the comments...

 

Terri.. thats the best!!

 

My first cruise... waking up the first morning...looking out the window in our cabin and seeing St Thomas!!!! PARADISE!!!

Then.... walking on deck all dressed up at night in the cool ocean breeze -- so peaceful and quiet and romantic!! :D

and now... just meeting and sailing with wonderful friends!!!

OOOOHHHHH!! I can't wait until our next cruise!! :cool:

[JimnKaren]

Jim already had his say, now I will have mine:

 

Our first cruise together was from San Juan. We "won" a bottle of bubbly as part of a newlywed game (our combined ages had the highest total). We took our bottle up on deck on a sea day about 5:30 a.m., watched the sun come up as we sat in the hot tub drinking. What a wonderful day that turned out to be!!

 

Karen

[MopedMama]

Mine is pretty much insert me into a Corona "Miles Away from Ordinary" commercial :D . On the beach in Cozumel MX, sipping on my free Dos Equis, reading a very good book. Turquoise seas gently lapping the white sandy shore and some steel band music going on up near the bar, so its the perfect volume for background music. A few puffy white clouds drift across the deep blue sky. Gentle warm breeze blows over me as I roll over to tan the other side. Ahhhh - Paradise! :)

[Mysteryreader]

Thoroughly jetlagged, I awoke at 5:00 a.m. our first morning on Summit NB to Alaska. I went out on the verandah to look at the sea and there--just off our verandah--was an orca swimming alongside me--no, there were four! I tried to wake dh, but he was zonked out. So they were all mine! Bright sunlight, sparkling water, orcas arcing up diving down--it still gives me a thrill whenever I think on it.

 

M/R

[KAJOKG]

My DH and I have done lots of travel -- land travel abroad. We have been to many exciting places and travel has been our life long passion. We moved to Florida and everyone said we should try a cruise. I always said no, no, no! I will never get on board a ship....too restricting and I would be bored. Well, we found an exceptional price (in a suite) for a cruise on the old Norway (once the SS France). So, since we did not have to buy air line tickets we both agreed why not try it. I was so sure -- so positive-- that I was going to hate it! Long story short, we got hooked, big time. That was 5 years ago, and will soon be taking our 13th cruise. We have thoroughly enjoyed each and every one, but the old, majestic Norway remains vivid in our memory as the best cruise we ever took and one of the happiest times we have had. Thanks for starting this thread! It's great to read about all the positive, good times people have had.

[Ma Bell]

No wonder he's smiling...If I had 4 ladies at my table that looked like that... well, enough said.

 

Thanks Dan, what a nice thing to say.:)

[teacherman]

Coming back from Bermuda on the Horizon, our first cruise. A calm evening with beautiful moon and stars. Sitting on the fantail in the dark, drinking a glass of wine, and watching the wake of the ship. So peaceful.

[LighthouseLover]

This is such a great thread that I felt obliged to come out of lurkerdom to join in.

 

Our first cruise, on the old HAL Noordam, is full of such great memories, and is the reason we are now addicted. I think the first moment we realized what being onboard a ship felt like was the first evening. We watched the sailaway (Acapulco) and then went to the bar for a pre-dinner drink. By the time we left to go to dinner, the ship was out in the open ocean and really rocking. We start walking down the hall and realized we couldn't walk straight. And not from too many drinks! (Well, not altogether.) We were laughing all the way to the dining room.

 

Diane

[dlhamlten]

Had to the first which happened to be on Carnival over Christmas Vacation.

 

Took our 2 daughters - one a High School Junior and the other a college Sophomore. My Wife and I were strolling around the Sun Deck one sea day afternoon and heard a commotion at poolside. We arrived just in time to witness the finals of the Beer Guzzling Contest for Females who had to down a yard of ale the quickest.

 

We hadn't realized our college girl had entered. Then after the shock, I couldn't determine if I was happy or sad that she came in only second !

[newcruiserdave]

As with many, my memory is from my first cruise. On the first night of the cruise, almost alone on the aft deck of the QM2 looking at the wake and celebrating our 25th anniversary. I asked my wife if she would marry me again and suprised her with a new ring. As we were walking away later, an elderly couple who had been observing us asked, "Did you just get engaged?" She answered, "Yes, again!". We kept running into them throughout the cruise and they stoped their friends with them to tell them the story and show them her ring. We relive this moment on every cruise.

[ger_77]

Not our first cruise, but our second: New Year's Eve, 1999 somewhere out of Nassau with my husband and our son(them in tuxes, me in my glam-garb) standing on the uppermost outer deck of the ship, toasting in the New Millennium with a bottle of champagne and the two most important people in my life. I remember feeling like the luckiest person in the world.

 

Second best cruise memory: watching the sunrise on the first day of the New Millennium - something that will never be repeated.(sigh)

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[Texed]

Great thread Ruth.

 

Wonderful post Terri.

 

This is a hard one. But one of the best had to be the most perfect rainbow I have ever seen viewed from the bridge of Paul Gauguin in Moorea. Absolutely breath taking.:)

[nu2sea]

I think my most vivid memory happened on our last cruise. It was the first of the sea days and the ship was moving to the waves. As I walked through the living room I realized that not only did the motion not make me feel ill, it actually felt good. Natural somehow, like this was the way I was suposed to move and walk, in rythym with the sea. It was an almost mystical feeling that filled me with a sense of total harmony and well being.

 

And in that moment I lost my fear of motion sickness and knew that I would be able to enjoy our upcoming transatlantic and Baltic cruises and any other future cruises without worrying about the seas or the weather.

 

The memory of that particular moment is so strong that when I can't sleep at home, I can still call it to mind and remember the peaceful motion that rocked me to sleep at sea.

 

Susan

[newmexicoNita]

Man, there are so many after 20 cruises, but I guess 3 stick in my mind: 1-the service on our very first cruise. It was a budget line, we didn't know what to expect but I can guarantee you never have we had service like that: second would have to be just walking down the halls on the new NCL Jewel. What a special ship and we were on her 3rd cruise, 1st one leaving Europe, but best of all had to be the wonderful feeling I got when our 2 granddaughters got dressed for formal night on their very first cruise about 10 years ago. It is hard to beleive that one of them is getting married Saturday on the Zenith. Time goes by just a little too fast these days. NMnita

[Lois R]

Hi Ruth, nice thread, thanks:)

 

So many memories.......I have to say even though my first Century

cruise got me totally hooked on cruising, my best memory has to

be the 2nd time I stepped back on her.

I will never forget boarding her and when I realized I was back,

I stopped for a moment and just put my carry on down and looked

around. Seeing the Staircase and Guest Services area, I felt like

I had finally come home again.

I know it probably sounds a bit melodramatic but it was the

most awesome feeling. I knew at that moment there was

no other place I would rather be.

[wesp]

My most vivid cruise memories were on S/S Norway. At sailaway, my DW and I were up on the front of the ship, under the mast. As the boat left the pier, the ship's steam whistle gave a loud salute that caused us both to jump!

 

We were supposed to be on a Western Caribbean route, but were shifted to the Eastern Caribbean to avoid a tropical storm. In the meantime a tropical depression caused us to miss of port call in St. Maarten. In the afternoon, the Captain announced an open bar. I was in a stretching class in the gym. There was a sudden exit of most of the class, who stopped only long enough to get their "motion on the ocean" cards stamped to earn credit for the free T-shirt. When this was happening upstairs, DW was downstairs reading in realtive quiet afternoon atmsphere of the Club Internationale. She reported that after the Captains' announcement, the bartender whistled the bugle call from the beginning of a horse race and suddenly the crowd swarmed into nearly empty Club.

 

As much as I enjoyed our cruises on X, there was something special about traveling on S/S Norway. Sort of like visiting your great aunt's house with the comfy, but dated and slightly tired furnishings. What a great old ship.

 

Wesley

[Shari2]

I've had a lot of nice memories, but my most recent one is on our cruise to Hawaii last December. On my birthday, our whole table, along with the waiters and the maitre d' sang Happy Birthday to me. Everyone took time out in Hawaii to find me a birthday card, and my DH gave me a beautiful corsage of white roses and a beautiful garnet ring. I'll never forget it, and the new friends I made.

 

Hi Nancy and Kathy!! :)

[dmarch@islc.net]

That would have to be my first cruise. Franconia (sp) was the ship, I was around eight or nine. She was old school with teak deck chairs and whole nine yards. I was hooked!

[my3kids]

What a beautiful, touching, tear-making thread...........thanks to all of you for sharing your memories........(I wish there was an 'emotion' that had a tear - cause I have dried a few this morning).

 

Just my moment here - we are taking our 2 youngest children on their 1st cruise in Jan. and my 4 yo who is something else anyway.....was helping me fold laundry the other night while I was talking to DH and he was watching TV, a Celebrity commercial came on and she turned to DH and said "Daddy - is that the one - the one with the big 'X'?? He said - Yes Lindsay in just a few weeks we will be there.........she turned to me and said Mommy thanks for loving me big as the sky. I'll be an angel."

 

Yup, got me right in the heart.;)