The last night of a cruise

[KeywestK]

On some of our cruises, including our upcoming Eclipse cruise, we spend a few days in Florida before flying home. That makes the debarkation happier and easier. By the time we fly home, we are ready to get back to our real lives and start planning our NEXT cruise.

[rubrrick]

My DW and I pack in the late morning of our last full day on the ship, keeping casual clothes on hangers to change into for the evening, which we also wear for disembarkation.

 

Then we are able to join in for some of the last of what the ship has to offer, and relax in the evening, knowing everything is already done.

 

We are fortunate enough to cruise several times a year, so the last day/evening is something that we enjoy, almost as much as any other day on the ship.:)

 

Rick

[teajak]

Thank you for a wonderful post. I hope we meet one of these cruises to share your wonderful outlook on life.

I second your post.Great outlook and I plan to remember the last paragraph.:cool:

[Muushka]

I always travel solo, but being quite social, end up with a great group of new friends by last night. I try to gather up a group for last night Specialty Dining, followed by a last nightcap at the Martini Bar to say goodbye to other friends old and new.

 

But one of the reasons I travel solo is that I also enjoy my alone time, and so, particularly on the last evening, when all the socializing is done, last photos snapped, cards exchanged, suitcase in the hall long gone, and I have everything else done and ready for the morning, I take a good 30-60 minutes to sit out on my balcony with the cognac or port I carried back from the last bar. As I enjoy that I look at the stars, and listen to the sound of the ship slicing through the water, and I soak it all in, and mentally replay sights and tastes and memories of the week. And finally, I say a prayer of gratitude for being able to have this experience.:)

 

That is a great last paragraph. My husband always spends that last hour out there. It is why he cruises.

But this cruise, I will be sure to join him there and we can experience it together, thanks!

 

On some of our cruises, including our upcoming Eclipse cruise, we spend a few days in Florida before flying home. That makes the debarkation happier and easier. By the time we fly home, we are ready to get back to our real lives and start planning our NEXT cruise.

 

I agree with you 100%. We always had the mindset to do the busy vacation (we are Disney people) first and follow it up with a cruise. But a couple of years ago we started our Disney aspect after the cruise and it made getting off of the ship much easier.

But our upcoming cruise would require us to go to Disney during Christmas week. No way!!!

 

Thanks all for your evening of last night traditions.

[gkny]

We pack in the afternoon and take our luggage off ourselves.

[stinsowm]

My new tradition to help me get over the last day blues on a cruise is to go down and book another one! : )

 

Walter

[Nole0202]

We found that packing TOTALLY screws up the last night. We no longer do that. We get up in the morning and it takes way less time to pack when leaving. After all, no decisions. EVERYTHING goes in the suitcase.

 

We then wheel it off. That part can be a bit of hassle, but getting off even with just carryon is hassle anyways. We get to enjoy last night and no risk of packing our travel clothes. Or shaver, or makeup, or ....

 

Totally agree, we started doing it a couple years ago and have really enjoyed the last night since.

[cruiseacecat]

I always travel solo, but being quite social, end up with a great group of new friends by last night. I try to gather up a group for last night Specialty Dining, followed by a last nightcap at the Martini Bar to say goodbye to other friends old and new.

 

But one of the reasons I travel solo is that I also enjoy my alone time, and so, particularly on the last evening, when all the socializing is done, last photos snapped, cards exchanged, suitcase in the hall long gone, and I have everything else done and ready for the morning, I take a good 30-60 minutes to sit out on my balcony with the cognac or port I carried back from the last bar. As I enjoy that I look at the stars, and listen to the sound of the ship slicing through the water, and I soak it all in, and mentally replay sights and tastes and memories of the week. And finally, I say a prayer of gratitude for being able to have this experience.:)

Your last paragraph was so beautiful it almost put me on a balcony listening to the sounds of the sea.

 

Anne

[ThursdaysChild]

Thank you for a wonderful post. I hope we meet one of these cruises to share your wonderful outlook on life.

 

Thank you for your kind words. I have met so many wonderful people while cruising, and do hope we meet up one day. I'll be bringing Reflection over to this side of the Atalntic from Barcelona in a week or so, arriving in Miami just a few days before you board. I'll keep her in good shape for you!~

 

In the immortal words of Maxwell Smart: "Missed it (you) by THIS much!" :D

[ThursdaysChild]

Your last paragraph was so beautiful it almost put me on a balcony listening to the sounds of the sea.

 

Anne

 

Anne, I'm happy that my words had that effect. I'm a firm believer in maximizing sense memories and finding and feeling the joy in everyday moments, and living in gratitude. And the best part is that once that sense memories are in place, we can call them up at any time. :)

[miched]

We pack daily. When we have clothes that will no longer be worn we put them into the luggage. Amazing on how this helps. Why handle stuff twice? It also make the cabin less congested.

 

Don't really enjoy the last night as it seems to be so somber. Watching the ship pulling silently into the port in the morning actually brings back reality as you know that the cruise has ended and they want you off the ship. The whole experience gets worse as everyone is in a hurry to get off and back home. I think it is worse than the crowd getting on because at that time everyone is in a happy mood instead of a bad one because the vacation has needed.

 

One way to counter this is to take a B2B, because you know that you don't have to get off for another week and seeing the surprised look on the passengers seeing you enjoying a drink at the bar when they thought they were the first to get on. :)

[Dajo5601]

I must be one "lucky son of a gun". I never dread the last night of a cruise. For several weeks/months prior to the cruise we start to look forward to it as we make arrangements, tours, clothes planning etc., and on waking up on the "big day", the cruise starts.

 

We enjoy every day on the cruise and when the luggage labels are delivered into our stateroom, we then recollect on what a great time we've had and start to think of seeing our three children again, our seven grandchildren, our lovely home, our lovely garden and our fantastic allotment where we grow all of our own fruit and vegetables.

 

As for "dreading" the last night on the cruise - never - we live and love every minute of it, but we have always already booked our next cruise.................

[davekathy]

The last evening is always a bummer for us. We always pack most of our belongings prior to going to diner. After the entertainment we finish packing and have our luggage out by midnight. But after 15 days we are ready to get back home. We always have another Cruise booked for the following year so knowing that helps the bummer of the last evening. I always video and take pictures of our Cruises so for us that always help pass the time between our Cruises.

[garycarla]

We pack daily. When we have clothes that will no longer be worn we put them into the luggage. Amazing on how this helps. Why handle stuff twice? It also make the cabin less congested. ....

 

Our luggage is under the bed. We do not want anything to do with it.

 

Some clothes do get worn again. Things happen. If shoved in the suitcase, well.... not going there.

 

Having a suitcase out makes the cabin congested.

 

 

But, I am glad it works for you. We prefer to not end the cruise until about 7am on the LAST day.

[anandaindonesia]

On some of our cruises, including our upcoming Eclipse cruise, we spend a few days in Florida before flying home. That makes the debarkation happier and easier. By the time we fly home, we are ready to get back to our real lives and start planning our NEXT cruise.

 

Yes, having a day or two at the debarkation city (if you can) is a sure way to make it easier. No rush to leave the ship, no worry about liquid, aerosol and gel in your carry on as when flying.

 

Also, booking a specialty restaurant will help to make the last night "special".

 

You've paid your cruise so enjoy it up to its last day. ;)

[miched]

Our luggage is under the bed. We do not want anything to do with it.

 

Some clothes do get worn again. Things happen. If shoved in the suitcase, well.... not going there.

 

Having a suitcase out makes the cabin congested.

 

 

But, I am glad it works for you. We prefer to not end the cruise until about 7am on the LAST day.

 

We keep ours under the bed also, it is easy to slide it out and put the clothing into. Also It is clothing that will not be worn again, and if needed they can still be retrieved and worn again, it is not as if you are putting them into a dark hole. Found the best way is to roll the clothing and place it in. Found that rolling saves space and still helps keep the items wrinkle free.

 

.

[mikechass]

The last night of the cruise hasn't stung so much now that we have been taking 2 week cruises, by then, we are READY to get home and see our kids, get back to hockey, school and the routine. I always tell my hubby that I can get through a LOT 50 weeks of the year, knowing we have 2 weeks of together time coming up on a ship!

Our last night is usually spent getting all the stuff ready for home time, I always LOVE to go through all the treats I bought the kids, and think about how excited they will be to see us and hear all about the places we got the stuff from.

We also enjoy our last night of being alone and sit in the hot tub talking about where to plan the next cruise to.

Life is so great on the ship, but we are always SUPER excited about getting back to reality.

Heck, if it was always the way it is on vacation, then it would stop being amazing and something to look forward to.

 

Chass

[Muushka]

The last night of the cruise hasn't stung so much now that we have been taking 2 week cruises, by then, we are READY to get home and see our kids, get back to hockey, school and the routine. I always tell my hubby that I can get through a LOT 50 weeks of the year, knowing we have 2 weeks of together time coming up on a ship!

Our last night is usually spent getting all the stuff ready for home time, I always LOVE to go through all the treats I bought the kids, and think about how excited they will be to see us and hear all about the places we got the stuff from.

We also enjoy our last night of being alone and sit in the hot tub talking about where to plan the next cruise to.

Life is so great on the ship, but we are always SUPER excited about getting back to reality.

Heck, if it was always the way it is on vacation, then it would stop being amazing and something to look forward to.

 

Chass

 

That is a very nice suggestion.:)

[shofer]

I pack before dinner. My carry-on gets packed with what I will where in the morning including shoes. Then I pack the rest. This way when I come back from supper I just put out my bags. The carry-on and purse are in the closet so that they don't go out.

 

In the morning I get dress from the bag and do my last check and put my meds in the bag (where my clothes were the night before. I go eat come back grab my purse and bag and go.

 

The last night I leave the room and go to the adult area for a swim and I take a steam in the Aqua Spa (I'm in Aqua cabin so free). I put the swim suit in the washroom to dry over night. I pack the swim suit in the carry-on bag.

 

Go to bed for a good sleep as I am traveling until 11:30 pm the next day. My first flight is at 12:10.

 

I see by your signature that you were on Summit for Hawaii in Jan/'06 and we were on the same cruise with 3 of my cousins and their spouses. Sure enjoyed that cruise and all the sea days.

 

Sue

[constantcruiser]

When we first board the ship, we book an appointment with the Future Cruise Consultant on the very last day followed by a reservation at a specialty restaurant that night.

 

We have a "family rule" that while on our current vacation, we don't waste time comparing it to previous vacations or planning the next one. Instead we try to focus on every moment and enjoy it. Then the last day we can throw ourselves into booking our next cruise and dreaming about it over dinner. It gives us something to look forward to on the last day and helps to take the sting out of saying goodbye the following morning.

[islandgirlejfan]

We like spending time with those we connect with onboard. This past cruise, we spent a lot of time at the Sunset Bar/Lawn area. It was a lot of fun every evening. We only bring carry on luggage now, so we pack a little in the afternoon and for this next cruise have decided that we will just roll our carry on luggage off ourselves.

The mornings are rougher on us with all of those goodbye's.:(

[Artistchick]

Our packing never seems to take very long for leaving the ship. We first pack anything we might need overnight or in the morning in a carryon bag, then everything else is just stuffed into the other bags. Without having to worry about neat folding and wrinkles, don't think it's ever taken more than an hour. We then treat ourselves to one last martini, one last sunset, and catch a little music somewhere before dinner.

 

Last trip, rather than rush to the airport, we spent a night after disembarkation in port (Sydney)) Got a hotel with a great view of the pier, opened a bottle of wine, and snapped pictures of "our ship", even one of the people who appeared on "our balcony" as it left port. Then off to a great dinner and a good night's rest before our flights the next day.

 

It also really helps 'beat the blues' if you spend the last dinner and/or cocktail hour planning your next trip!

Really like your idea of planning next trip the last night at dinner/over drinks.

[A Sixth?]

I'll probably get spanked for this... but often the last night is "staff night" at a bar somewhere on ship.

 

Find it and it will be fun.

 

You DID NOT hear this from me. :rolleyes:

[Muushka]

Really like your idea of planning next trip the last night at dinner/over drinks.

 

I'll second that. It sounds like something we will do also.

 

I'll probably get spanked for this... but often the last night is "staff night" at a bar somewhere on ship.

 

Find it and it will be fun.

 

You DID NOT hear this from me. :rolleyes:

 

I didn't hear a thing!:D

[seabreeze78]

For the last 2 cruises and for the upcoming cruise we go to Murano for dinner. We then went upstais to the Sunset bar area and hung out talking to cc friends, Early in the morning we go to breakfast at Blu and watch the boat dock or take some sunrise pictures:)