Qevil

I can see that this will be a great thread. Thanks to the OP for starting it. I have a lot of great memories, just too many to share.

 

Happy cruising to all!

Thank you for your kind words.

It warms my heart to see all the responses thus far. A lot of first time cruise memories, too. I was only an infant when my parents took me out (I was doomed to be a cruise brat since), so unfortunately I can't share in to those first few cruises, but the latter ones are more fresh. I'm looking into a cruise at the end of Summer with my mother- hopefully I'll have even better ones to share then, haha!

Another time- I can't remember what ship or line this was on, but I was young- I got into running around with this group of kids, one of whom was a son to someone who worked on the ship. One day he took us on an impromptu tour to some of the more hidden and secluded areas of the boat. At one point we ended up on a private deck. At another our ship was sailing on the edge of a massive downpour, and we ended up making a game of sliding on the very slippery deck around midnight when everything was cleared out.

It was a miracle no one got seriously hurt. Thus the perils of no adult supervision.

We too have many great memories. But we really enjoy the means in the MDR-meeting new people, seeing people we've met. Having great means and great conversation.

 

The memory that I will never forget, however, was the time we were watching the staff st up the champaign glasses for the champaign waterfall. They were almost to the top when one guy knocked a glass out of the bottom tier. Very slowly, a couple of more fell, then a couple ore, and then the whole thing went down like a house of cards!

 

It was amazing watching them clean it all up and rebuild it. They did an amazing job and later, at the event, it all went well.

I can only imagine what everyone must have felt watching that. I'm no pro at cards, but when I do manage to get a good tower going, there's nothing quite like the deflated feeling of helplessness when you know it's about to topple. I'm glad it turned about to have a happy ending. I'm sure once the champagne got flowing everyone got a good laugh out of it. ;)

Heyo!

Let me preface by saying that I haven't been on a single cruise ship without a good memory. That being said, however, there's a lot of unique moments I've been blessed to have while sailing, and since there seems to be a lot of focus on the negatives around here, I thought it would be nice (and humorous) for people to share those memories that really brought a sparkle to your eye.

I'll start off. My biggest one was on the Carnival Sensation. The staff there was incredible, truly, absolutely amazing. One night my mother and I were sitting in the lido buffet trading a few bites of a shared dessert, hardly another soul in sight (it was around midnight or so). I'm not sure how it got started, but we started chatting with one of the men who was working wiping down the tables in the area. We ended up discussing where he was from, his family, and his own country (Bosnia), which, when we admitted we didn't know where it was, he took out a napkin and drew it out for us. Sweet as pie. He came and went because he concerned his supervisor would be upset (we talked to him too, a friendly man from Mexico), but eventually he came back to our table and discretely slid us his Skype so he could show us pictures of where he came from.

We never saw him on Skype, but I love learning about different cultures and meeting the people from there. We met many other amazing people on that trip as well, including a man I talked to while I was pushed in the back of an elevator with a large portfolio in his hand. I got to talking with him about it, which then turned to art (I almost went to college for art, and still do a lot of it), and he told me it was a painting of Malcolm X he was working on- it was almost as big as me! Super friendly dude. Whenever I saw him again he waved.

I did a rope course on a Carnival ship last year with my younger brothers. That was also an experience. :)

Share any interesting or heart warming stories from your sailing experiences! I'd love to hear them.

Heyo,

Just wanted to pop in here, not really to share my etiquette experience, but to offer some perspective. Lighten up! I think the topic of this board has gravitated away from the main point, sharing memories over minor grievances, to a bash fest of differing opinions on what constituted cruising etiquette. I'm sure you're all very lovely people. Let's remember we're all here because we share a mutual love for traveling the ocean, not griping.

That being said, I think cruise ships are a great place to practice patience. You're with the same people for X amount of days, surrounded by different cultures, and you all have the secret ingredient for conflict: you paid a lot of money and expect things to go your way.

Yeah, doors slamming stink. You get that everywhere because of the way they're made to insure you don't have any unlocked rooms asking to be rooted through. People are going to butt in front of you in the line. Elevators, I think we can agree, are a perpetual mess, because as hard as it to believe, some people weren't brought up on standard elevator protocol. I've been shoved back into one before. I'm 5'1 and 105 pounds, making me perfectly sized for all the little corners in order to make space. Met some lovely people while crammed in a nook though, I can tell you. As far as out front rudeness, I leave that to things people blatantly do that they know are wrong. Being knocked in the head by a passing elbow? Sucks. It happens. Reading a book at a dining table? Inconvenience, perhaps, but I would hardly get heated over it. At my university there's an unspoken guide that everyone knows. You sit with as much space between you and a stranger as possible. If there is no empty tables, go make a friend and join the solo outlier (or duo). Might make you a bit uncomfortable, but that's how you make friends. Holding a gold card for Carnival by now and several other ships under my belt, it's pretty universal no matter what line I'm on.

I hope all you're future cruise experiences go much smoother! You're already blessed if you're on a cruise. Don't let little things tamper with your adventure.

Hello!

I'm currently trying to gather information about a possible cruise line with my friends and I on our Spring Break of 2016. We're looking at about 7 passengers give or take, split between two staterooms, and hope to leave on or around March 12th for just a couple of days. We don't really have any big party people with us, so the main intention is to relax from our hefty pre-grad school schedules- ports come secondary and cruise entertainment is a plus, but not a deal breaker. Any sort of deal would be great. We're all college students after all, so planning relatively early for payment plan options is a must.

I was wondering what cruise lines seemed most compatible with young adults? At the time of departure we'll have an age range of 21-22. I know some lines are notorious for their age restrictions while others are more lax.

I've been blessed with a long sailing history and my own gold VIFP card on Carnival by the ripe age of 18, along with cruise experience on Disney and Royal Caribbean lines. The majority of the party has never sailed. It's our sophomore year now, so we've got wiggle room to work with. :)

Thanks in advance for any advice you may have!