Most Memorable Cruise Experience....

[COLLEYBERRY]

What are some of your most memorable cruise experiences....the ones that make you smile,and help fill the time until the next cruise.;)

 

The scenery you viewed....people you've met... a funny encounter.??

 

Care to share....

[Himself]

I have had many highlights but the one that stands out the most is my visit to Buchardt Gardens outside Victoria B.C. It was very memorable and beautiful. I would also say that some of the people I have met over the years stand out in my memory.

[496and706]

All the "Welcome back"s on our last cruise.

 

Two little girls at a "Cupcake tea".

 

Eating popcorn and watching a movie (King's Speech) on the Zaandam.

 

Heated ceramic loungers in the spa.

 

Being in the spa pool on a "rough" day at sea at just watching the water splashing from side to side.

 

The orchids.

 

Walking on the wraparound teak deck.

[spacepotatoes]

Walking onto a ship for the first time is something I'll never forget. My husband and I went on a cruise for our honeymoon and it was the first cruise for both of us. Walking into the atrium and seeing how grand everything looked, and that all of that was on a ship was pretty incredible. This was in Hawaii and we sailed on July 4th, so we got to see the fireworks as we sailed past Waikiki after sunset. There were so many incredible moments on that trip. No cruise will ever top the magic of that first one.

 

Another good memory is standing on the bow of the Zuiderdam in Glacier Bay last year. That whole day took my breath away but especially the time we spent on the bow as the ship approached Lamplugh Glacier.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have also had a lot of memorable cruises.

Best being able to visit Russia when it was Leningrad and then being able to go back and see the changes after becoming St Petersburg. So many beautiful sights there.

[dr.dawg]

no doubt in my mind. several years ago i took the canada/new england cruise from new york to montreal on the rotterdam. we cruised up saguenay fjord, and about 2/3 of the way up the fjord, on a high cliff, is a huge statue of the virgin mary. when we got to that place, the captain cut the engines and the sound system played the 'ave maria.' i still get chills thinking about that; i admit, i cried like a little child, which, i guess, to the Blessed Mother i am. it was all so beautiful and so peaceful. fr. doug, aka dr.dawg.

[cmdchiefthom]

Cruising through the barrier reef into Raiatea on our huge owners suite balcony seeing the colors of the reef, turtles, dolphin, and the seeing the incredible green of the vegetation on the montains and smelling the scent of flowers from the land. The best there is to offer at sea is French Polynesia:)

[Cruising-along]

So hard to choose, every cruise has had its own special memories. :)

Specific memories -- Cairo, going inside a pyramid -- definitely something I never dreamed I'd be able to do; Ephesus, Instanbul, all of the Med -- can't get enough of it, so beautiful and so much history. :)

 

Special memories of every cruise, walking the deck in all kinds of seas (especially memorable on our spring-time FLL-Montreal when the ship was rocking and rolling!) we were laughing like little kids as the ship rose up and then down, climbing up and then running down; room service dinners under the moonlight on our verandah; meeting new people from our roll call, many who have become lifetime friends....so many good memories!

[Cornishpastyman1]

What a great question. For me I think it would be taking a vaporetto down the Grand Canal in Venice. It was my first experience of this unique city and in glorious sunshine it looked magical

[catl331]

Sailing into beautiful Malta early in the morning. Capt Scott told everyone it was worth getting up to see but few listened. Breathtaking!

[IRL_Joanie]

My all time favorite and the one memory that stands out the most is our first HAL Cruise aboard the Oosterdam, standing on my verandah and seeing the Icebergs as they knocked up gently against the ship. All I could think of when I saw the first few was, OMG what I see is only 10% of the actual iceberg!!

 

I LOVE ALASKA!!! I can NEVER get enough!!!

 

Joanie

[Krazy Kruizers]

So hard to choose, every cruise has had its own special memories. :)

Specific memories -- Cairo, going inside a pyramid -- definitely something I never dreamed I'd be able to do; Ephesus, Instanbul, all of the Med -- can't get enough of it, so beautiful and so much history. :)

 

Special memories of every cruise, walking the deck in all kinds of seas (especially memorable on our spring-time FLL-Montreal when the ship was rocking and rolling!) we were laughing like little kids as the ship rose up and then down, climbing up and then running down; room service dinners under the moonlight on our verandah; meeting new people from our roll call, many who have become lifetime friends....so many good memories!

 

We were so glad that we spent 4 days pre-cruise in Istanbul.

Cairo -- Egypt -- riding a camel -- the Sphinx -- pyramids -- all wonderful.

[Silverwing]

Perfect day in Prince Christian Sound, Greenland last September during the Viking Passage cruise. We were so fortunate to have amazing weather - flat calm with blue skies and sunshine all day. We sailed for nearly nine hours through the southern fjords from east to west. The scenery was simply stunning - majestic mountains, huge glaciers and waterfalls. It was a day we shall never forget.

[cruiseapril]

Memorable dinners with memorable people.

 

Returning to Curacao where we had lived.

Returning to Aruba where we had vacationed.

 

Interesting and unique excursions on many of the Caribbean islands.

[PathfinderEss]

I think the one that made me smile the most was our 30 day South Pacific cruise. We had a terrible first part of that year, having to cancel a cruise the day before we were suppose to leave.. Me going thru back to back major surgery's. Walking on the Westerdam knowing we had 30 awesome days to be cruising brought the biggest smiles. It was a dream come true.

[solocanadian]

no doubt in my mind. several years ago i took the canada/new england cruise from new york to montreal on the rotterdam. we cruised up saguenay fjord, and about 2/3 of the way up the fjord, on a high cliff, is a huge statue of the virgin mary. when we got to that place, the captain cut the engines and the sound system played the 'ave maria.' i still get chills thinking about that; i admit, i cried like a little child, which, i guess, to the Blessed Mother i am. it was all so beautiful and so peaceful. fr. doug, aka dr.dawg.

Wow, Doug, I would loved to have seen that even thought I'm not all that spiritual. :)

[solocanadian]

My 1st cruise with my late husband through the Panama Canal on the brand new Crown Odyssey.

Then our 2nd Canal cruise on same ship and meeting life-long friends, Nancy and Bob who have now passed on. Sadly I am the only one left of the 4 of us but look back on many, many happy memories that 2nd cruise spawned.:D

[Mary Ellen]

Two that come immediately to mind:

 

Sitting in the Crow's Nest watching wave after wave of dolphins go up either side of the ship.

 

The HotMan surprising our table one night at dinner by awarding "chocolate medallions" to some friends who had reached sailing together for 200 days while on that cruise. I'm sure most can figure out who one of the awardees was. ;) I was about a week short of the 200 mark at the time. Since then DH & I have attained the "chocolate medallion" level, but no medallions yet.

[Crew News]

The best experience I can remember is watching the new baby humpback whales jumping out of the water, pirouetting, and reentering the water with a big splash. Add the baby orcas floating on the surface with their mothers and you have a memorable day in May.

[COLLEYBERRY]

Thank you ..these reflections are wonderful.:) :)

[buckirj1]

no doubt in my mind. several years ago i took the canada/new england cruise from new york to montreal on the rotterdam. we cruised up saguenay fjord, and about 2/3 of the way up the fjord, on a high cliff, is a huge statue of the virgin mary. when we got to that place, the captain cut the engines and the sound system played the 'ave maria.' i still get chills thinking about that; i admit, i cried like a little child, which, i guess, to the Blessed Mother i am. it was all so beautiful and so peaceful. fr. doug, aka dr.dawg.

 

Hey, me too. Except I was on a Quebec City to FLL repositioning on another cruiseline and ship (my first big-ship cruise). The fjord is beautiful, isn't it? p.s. I cried, too.

 

And then there was the first RiverBarge trip, where absolutely everything went right, but this is more about the cruise ship experience. I miss the "Barge" so much.

[ellieanne]

It's a toss-up between the stop in St. John's where there were icebergs in the harbour and it was snowing and the shore excursion in Hawaii where we saw the whale breach tail first. The naturalist commented "I have never seen a whale do that."

[496and706]

The sound in Glacier Bay is another memorable thing about our first HAL cruise.

[brazilgirl]

I have had a hard day - this topic made me smile. Thank you!

 

My special memories:

 

Climbing the Acropolis with my kids- my then 8 yr old son turned to me and said " This is the best day in my life"

 

Arriving after 7 stormy days at sea with terrible waves in Antarctica and having a whale breach right next to our balcony.

 

Watching the albatrosses do their mating dance in the Galapagos and having to step over animals because they were so unafraid and seeing my children's wonder

 

Sailing through the archipelago of Stockholm on a glorious day while having a beautiful dinner on our balcony

 

And so many others

[colbe]

The start of our Med cruise was an overnight in Venice with an afternoon departure the next day. Our berth at the cruise wharf was required the next morning by an incoming ship so we had to move around to the old wharf by the St Marks Square. We got up at 4.30am to 'supervise' the move, and were treated to the most amazing experience. It was still dark but there were lots of lights reflecting in the water. The NA moved slowly and silently away from the berth and we glided in almost a surreal fashion. We had the most amazing views of Venice quietly waking up.

After breakfast on our deck, with once again breathtaking views, we were positioned just a short walk from one of the most amazing city centres in the world.