Fondest Memories

[Qmadam]

I love Celebrity! I have been on 9 cruises with them and seen many changes. I want to say that they are a class act! There are so many threads with so many complaints I want to start one that tells of the great times that have been had…

 

Yes, cruising has changed, it is inevitable. When I first cruised it was a very special experience. People were on their best behavior and they dressed to the code. Formal evening was looked forward to and everyone dressed to the “nines”. Lunch in the main dining room was an event, at the buffet waiters carrying your tray. A string quartet playing at dinner. There was a full buffet every night. We were treated like kings and queens.

 

Nothing in life stays the same. We move on for better or worse, and there are always some good things lost and some better things come. Share with me some of your fondest memories of cruising “back in the day”…

[chicagopaul]

I love Celebrity! I have been on 9 cruises with them and seen many changes. I want to say that they are a class act! There are so many threads with so many complaints I want to start one that tells of the great times that have been had…

 

Yes, cruising has changed, it is inevitable. When I first cruised it was a very special experience. People were on their best behavior and they dressed to the code. Formal evening was looked forward to and everyone dressed to the “nines”. Lunch in the main dining room was an event, at the buffet waiters carrying your tray. A string quartet playing at dinner. There was a full buffet every night. We were treated like kings and queens.

 

Nothing in life stays the same. We move on for better or worse, and there are always some good things lost and some better things come. Share with me some of your fondest memories of cruising “back in the day”…

 

QMadam I completely agree with you. I was actually considering starting a similar thread on this board so we can get some positive thoughts back! I would definitely like to share an experience from a recent cruise of ours.

 

We cruised on the Reflection in October through the Eastern Mediterranean. On our first night in MDR we asked our wine steward if they had any new wine tasting / pairing events. We had booked some in the past and enjoyed them. He recommended an event that wasn't being advertised. It was a "premium" wine pairing dinner in the Tuscan Grille. On the evening of the dinner we were told to meet at Cellar Masters where we would have champagne and meet the other people taking part in the dinner and then be escorted to the Tuscan Grille.

 

So at 6pm, 30 minutes before we were to meet, we headed down to the Martini Bar (directly across from Cellar Masters) to see our usual bartender. As we chatted and the time neared 6:30pm we noticed that no one had walked into Cellar Masters, at least not that we noticed. Were we the only ones that had booked this dinner? As the clock hit 6:30 we walked into Cellar Masters and saw the bartender Yovan who asked what he could help us with this evening. We reminded him we were there for the Tuscan Dinner and he said "Great, I have you set up over here. Have a seat..." point to two couches where another couple was sitting. There was a setting for 4 people. The other couple and us. Apparently us and them were the only ones that signed up.

 

We sat down and introduced ourselves. They were around our age which I would think make them more talkative, but nope. They barely spoke. Instead, they just spoke to themselves in German. I'm thinking wonderful....this is going to be a long dinner. Maybe they won't sit us with them and we can just get a table for two? We did our best to start conversation but didn't get anywhere!

 

Well, after we finish our champagne the waiter from Tuscan Grille comes down and escorts us to the restaurant. We walk in and behold, a large table for 4. I guess we were not escaping them! The waiter explained the dinner, the wines, etc. and said we can go at our own pace. We can make it quick or drawn out depending on what we all wanted to do. Now the other couple speaks up and says "Well, we have no where to be." I just laugh to myself and think this is going to be a long night!

 

The first bottle of wine comes out and we all finish it and they start to talk a little more. Then the second bottle of wine comes and they will now not shut up! We started the dinner with this couple at 6:30pm and didn't end it until 11:30. Consuming 5 bottles of wine and a bottle of champagne. We had an absolute blast, exchanged stories, and even went as far as talking politics (thank goodness we were both on the same end of things)! We ended the dinner with exchanging contact information so if we are ever in Germany or if they are ever in Chicago we can meet up again. I considered it our best evening on the cruise and made for a great story.

 

We could have been negative, we could have requested our own table, but we didn't. We looked at the glass as half full and it turned out to be one of our best cruise memories.

 

This is one of the reasons why we love cruising. We always meet interesting people and things always seem to work out. You just need to look at things in the right way. :):D

[OCruisers]

One of our all time Top Five cruises was on the "seen better days" Zenith out of JAX.

 

It's not so much the ship ... but the crew and passenger base that make the difference. :)

 

We had a fantastic time and will always be in our Top 5! :D

 

LuLu

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[Syrreal]

While I've only been on 3 cruises (all on celebrity), I've had a bunch of great experiences and met some really great people. There was the awesome table at our Bahamas cruise last January (all People from our roll call) who kept the laughs coming and my side hurting! Lol

There were the 2 couples that propositioned DH and I on the 1st day of our 1st cruise in Alaska. Didn't take them up on but it made for a great story that we still talk about. And every minute of our Norway cruise (10th anniversary) from boarding to eating at the captains table and just enjoying time with DH

[JanineM]

I love Celebrity! I have been on 9 cruises with them and seen many changes. I want to say that they are a class act! There are so many threads with so many complaints I want to start one that tells of the great times that have been had…

 

 

 

Yes, cruising has changed, it is inevitable. When I first cruised it was a very special experience. People were on their best behavior and they dressed to the code. Formal evening was looked forward to and everyone dressed to the “nines”. Lunch in the main dining room was an event, at the buffet waiters carrying your tray. A string quartet playing at dinner. There was a full buffet every night. We were treated like kings and queens.

 

 

 

Nothing in life stays the same. We move on for better or worse, and there are always some good things lost and some better things come. Share with me some of your fondest memories of cruising “back in the day”…

 

 

We only went on our first cruise in 2006, so I don't really have a "back in the day" story. However, my mom sailed in the 70s and 80s and has lots of stories of the fantastic midnight buffets ...

 

I've said this before, those who sailed in the Love Boat era - days of absolute opulence and never-ending superb quality food were paying probably 300% of what we pay. My mother's first cruise -10 days through the Panama Canal - was $3,000 per person for an INSIDE cabin.

 

I know this site is called "cruise CRITIC", but I agree that a lot of people live in the past. And if you're like me, our memories of the past are pretty warped. Like I remember summer vacation lasting about 6 months and the sun shining every day ;)

[NLH Arizona]

I've enjoyed each and every cruise I've ever taken. Some were close to perfect, some not so, but what they all had in common was that someone else was cooking for me and making my bed and that is a good day in my book. I have fond memories from all of my cruises. I've been able to see so many fantastic places and meet so many interesting people.

[Jane2357]

I haven't been cruising for that long a period of time but one thing that REALLY impressed me on my first Celebrity Cruise - was being handed that Champagne as you boarded and then being escorted to your cabin. What a wonderful first impression. They no longer do this and I'm not sure why - not enough available staff?

[Dame Delilah]

We've only made one cruise on Celebrity (about 6 years ago to Alaska) and I was so impressed and pleased that one of the ship's officers (I think it was the engineer) joined our table for dinner one night. We have done 26 cruises and that was the first time an officer joined us--what a pleasure!

 

We will be doing a Transatlantic on Celebrity in April and it would be so fun if it happened again--almost magic!

[JanineM]

I haven't been cruising for that long a period of time but one thing that REALLY impressed me on my first Celebrity Cruise - was being handed that Champagne as you boarded and then being escorted to your cabin. What a wonderful first impression. They no longer do this and I'm not sure why - not enough available staff?

 

 

We had champagne on our last cruise - in May. Has this changed since then? It is a nice touch ...

[Jane2357]

We had champagne on our last cruise - in May. Has this changed since then? It is a nice touch ...

 

Sorry, I didn't make it very clear :o what I miss is the escort to your cabin. It really made you feel special as they walked you to it, chatting all the while. Such a nice touch but no longer done - except for those very top suites I'd guess.

[Can'tstopcruising]

One of our all time Top Five cruises was on the "seen better days" Zenith out of JAX.

 

It's not so much the ship ... but the crew and passenger base that make the difference. :)

 

We had a fantastic time and will always be in our Top 5! :D

 

LuLu

~~~~

 

I remember that one! When I booked it, my husband said "That old tub!" It turned out to be fantastic. We met the nicest pax ever and the crew loved the ship.

 

But, our very best cruise was the Constellation to The British Isles and the Fjords. What a cruise!

[miched]

It was the first cruise that we ever took. The fondest memory was...? Darn I forgot.

 

Will have to take another cruise to remember.

 

 

⛄

Edited January 5, 2014 by miched

[laslomas]

My first cruise was probably about 15 years ago and it was on the Regal Princess. I was absolutely living the dream for the whole 2 weeks. Beginning with the welcome aboard drink and the escort to the cabin. The luxury was amazing, we looked forward to the Formal nights where it seemed to me that everyone made an effort. We had a mini suite and it felt huge, it probably was the size of some of the regular suites on the newer ships. :)

 

Since then I always chose the itinerary rather than the cruise line and the next cruise was on HAL. Wow, the food was amazing, some of the best meals I have ever had. I did think that the overall age of the cruisers was higher than the previous cruise, and every lift seemed to have a mobility scooter in it. But the ship was elegant and spotless and I met some great folk and had a brilliant time. :)

 

The next cruise was on NCL and I was worried that the advertised 'laid back attitude' would not suit me. We were expecting it to be very different, but guess what, it was a different experience but I loved every minute. The Formal nights were adhered to by a large proportion of the cruisers too and I could not fault it. :)

 

The next cruise was on RCI Mariner of the Seas. I was worried that I would not like a 'huge' ship, but it was brilliant. I loved the street through the middle of the ship and the wonderful parades there. The choice of activities that had not been available on the smaller ships was great too. When we were in port I loved looking down on the smaller ships and feeling important. :)

 

Next week I am going on my first Celebrity cruise. :) I have loved almost everything from my previous cruises, and I am not known to be 'easily pleased'. I never had to make any complaints at all. I wonder have I just been lucky? On the Eclipse I am hoping to find a beautiful modern ship, happy passengers, good food, activities to keep me occupied and 3 great Formal nights where I can dress up and enjoy the atmosphere. :)

 

Cruising has changed. The ships have got bigger and the staterooms are smaller, the prices allow more people to try the wonderful experience, and the choice of itineraries is wonderful. The opulence is still apparent on the major cruise lines and the wonderful attention to detail from the staff is so special. It is always special to me probably because I can only take a cruise now and again and I am in a holiday frame of mind. All my cruise memories are fond ones and I hope it will always be that way. Roll on next week, can't wait!!!

[Qmadam]

Wonderful replies all.

 

Chicagopaul, I also am from Chicago, live in the burbs now. Wintertime on a cruise ship in the Caribbean, heaven!!!

 

JanineM, what you say about memories is soooo true! Thank goodness for them. LOL!!!

 

Laslomas, Bon Voyage!!!

 

I have too many memories to try to recount, but will give you my favorite:

1st cruise with DH, inside cabin, not Captain's Club yet, no idea what to expect. Our first day out we came back to our cabin and found an envelope on the door. Can you guess? It was an invitation to the Captain's table and of course we accepted. What followed was a fairy tale evening that I will never forget; drinks, dinner, show, picture, flower and the most wonderful company one could wish for at the table.

 

Have been on 9 cruises now and we were invited to the Captain's table on 4 of them. I have no idea why as we usually book inside cabins and we don't "know" anyone special at Celebrity. Social Hostess told us she just tries to put together a "nice" table. Anyway, I am a very lucky lady and these are my extra special memories.

[bigbenboys]

We really enjoyed our Solstice Class cruise in the Eastern Mediterranean. The new Solstice ship with the Elite event held in Michaels Club. Karen from England in Michaels Club was a great bartender and person. The sun and new deck 16 lounge beds. Ice Sorbet served poolside. This is what sold us on Celebrity and we stopped crusing on HAL and started crusing more on Celebrity and RCL. Richard