Best cruise memory

[DaisyGirl55]

Next month I will be going on my 49th overall cruise.  I am blessed enough to live in a state with 5 cruise ports, so it is a little easier for me to cruise so much. 

49 cruises got me to thinking about all of the cruises I have taken, and the places I have been.  Of how cruising has changed since my first cruise on the SS Norway in 1991. 

I tried to find just one overall memory from my cruises, but it is kind of hard to do.  I have met some wonderful people through cruising, and through Cruise Critic.  I have seen my children and my grandchildren fall in love with cruising.  I have cruised with a large group, with just my family, and with just my Bud.  I participated in a flash dance to fulfill a very dear friend's wish who had cancer.  I snorkeled with turtles, and sat in a lava mud bath.  So many more and other things that I would not have experienced if I wasn't cruising. 

But if I had to pick a favorite memory that stands out, it would be the cruise where my middle son proposed to his girlfriend.  Carnival helped make it a special and memorable experience, and it was something I felt privileged to be a part of.

What about you?  Do you have a stand-out memory of a cruise?  A special sunset, a special show, a special excursion.  We all have reasons to cruise -so what is yours?

[MediumB]

After 12 cruises it is hard to pick but I would go with my very first cruise when I fell in love with them as a vacation. My father took all of the kids and grandkids, 19 of us total, on a 4th of July cruise on the Celebration to Cozumel and Playa Del Carmen. I remember losing $200 on a nickel slot machine the very first night, depleting my small sum of spending cash for the trip. I was a poor college student then. The next day I entered and won the slot tournament and $500 with my family standing just outside the casino cheering me on. I visited the ruins of Tulum and Xel-ha with my nephew in Playa Del Carmen and did a snorkeling tour in Cozumel. The minute I got home I immediately booked a cruise for December of that year to celebrate my graduation from nursing school. I made my platinum status by getting my 10th cruise before they changed to number of days.  I've since introduced my wife and daughter to cruising and its the preferred way we travel.

[dmdiver]

We've had some great times on cruises over the years.  Elation was our 2nd cruise & the first time our son was old enough to sign himself in & out of Camp Carnival.  One night we were ready to go to dinner & he had not come back to the cabin to get ready.  Naturally, we were worried, but decided that he probably went straight to the dining room from camp.  So off we went to dinner - he was not there.  We decided we would give him just a few minutes more.  About the time we were going to send out a search party, here he came.  When we asked him what happened, he said he went to the Imaginary dining room by accident.  

Another more recent incident was when we went with our neighbors across the street.  Our next door neighbors were unable to go, so it was just the 4 of us.  We had just turned platinum, so we went up to the lounge & told our friends we would catch them at the photo station to get a group pic.  Sooo, I'm standing there just people watching & think to myself, man, that lady over there looks just like Dawna.  Then I lost sight of her & didn't think anymore about it.  Well, it wasn't but a few minutes later that I caught sight of her again - this time with her hubby & a box of custom t-shirts for the 6 of us.  They had left the day before, stayed in a hotel & then come to port to surprise us all.  She said she just couldn't stand not getting to go with us, so they booked last minute but kept it a secret for those few weeks.

[Fergus]

The first time we took our kids on a cruise, they were about 7 and 11.  When we stopped in Cozumel, we had decided to rent a car, so my husband went to the rental office to get one.  We waited outside, and there was a PT Cruiser parked there; that car had just come out and my kids were convinced that was going to be OUR CAR.  When my husband came out, the kids were on pins and needles.  He took us around to the back parking lot and there was our car.........a Partridge Family painted VW convertible bug.  The kids were breathless - that was MUCH cooler than a PT Cruiser!!  We spent the day driving around the island in that little car, snorkeling, visiting different beaches, drinking Cokes in glass bottles (a first for the kids).  My memories from that day, looking back at their faces with the wind blowing their hair all around, sun shining on their heads, holding those cokes, are etched in crystal - they truly are moments I'll never forget.  I don't know why that stands out so much - we've cruised with them many other times, had adventures in many other places (including AK, which they loved and was totally amazing) but that day was just magic!

[Lois R]

Did I see this thread somewhere else?

Do you have to choose 1 memory? I have too many but will pick 2......my first cruise on Celebrity back in 2003. I think I knew within 2 days of the sailing I would book another one and was hooked

Another major memory was in May 2012. I took my first cruise to the Med.....my Dad had died in late August 2011 and this cruise was sort of an ode to him. My Dad loved to travel and I guess I got that wanderlust from him....I remember standing at the Acropolis and actually felt sort of chill (may sound corny) but it was as though my Dad was with me. It is memory I will have forever.  I have since been able to see Europe a few more times since then and always think of my parents more than usual on those trips.

[jocap]

We were on a long cruise and had made many friends, including a solo cruiser on his first cruise. He was lonely and didn't know how to occupy himself on the sea days, so we set him the task of finding where the ship's coins had been placed on the wall when it was being built- as, I believe, happens on every ship at its sail-out. We searched all over, but couldn't find them.

In the end he went down to reception and asked, but they didn't know.

That evening, two security guards came and led our friend right through the private spa area ( where you had to pay for special sunbeds etc). They took him to a wall, where there was a case with an Italian coin for Fincantieri, where it was built and a British coin, fastened to it. They took a photograph for me, too.

This made his cruise, and all the remaining days he was known as "The Coin Finder".

[ilikeanswers]

I have only done one cruise so far but the day we trekked across Fatu Hiva is ranked as my best travel memory. The walk up was gruelling and for a moment I wondered if I could reach the top😥 but once you got up there and started going down the other side the views were absolutely mind blowing. Just stunning out of this world scenery😍, worth every drop of sweat. At one point we even spotted our ship as it was travelling to meet us on the other side of the island👍. 

[Hlitner]

Like the OP we have been on quite a few cruises (stopped counting about 20 years ago).  There are two moments that jump out at me from all those decades of cruising all over the world.  Around 2003 or 2004 DW and I took a Med cruise on the original Star Princess.  When we were anchored off Santorini it was a gorgeous day and we returned to the ship late in the afternoon.  Our departure was delayed (normal for Santorini) so we were sitting in the hot tub on one of the top decks as the sun began to set.  As we gazed over towards the island, the entire island was bathed in an amazing golden hue as the setting sun reflected off the cliffs.  It was jaw dropping beautiful and we have never forgotten that memory.

One other cruise related moment was in the 80s or 90s when we were in Istanbul.  It was late afternoon when DW and I decided to walk back to the port from town (Golden Horn).  For those that know Istanbul this is about a 1 1/2 to 2 mile walk.  Just as we neared the center of the Galata Bridge the mosques started with their Call to Prayer.  We turned to look back toward town and the echo of that Call to Prayer seemed to come from everywhere (not surprising since there are many Mosques).  It was a beautiful peaceful moment on a gorgeous day.  Or course in those days we had no hint of what was to come in the future.

Hank

[babs135]

Trying to define the best cruise memory is difficult.  As has already been said, sometimes it's the people, or the ship or just that one magical moment that can't or won't be repeated.  For me, it was on our cruise to Alaska.  We had arrived at the Hubbard Glacier in fog which shrouded absolutely everything but we had found a perfect spot to watch so we waited and waited (getting colder and colder despite the layers!) 

And then

The fog lifted but because of how it thinned the glacier and surrounding area appeared from the top of the mist and seemed to grow out of the gloom. There was almost a collective gasp of amazement and wonderment from those of us who had remained on deck.  Absolutely wonderful and, of course, by the time the fog had cleared the beauty of the area was revealed for all to see.

[Slugsta]

My stand-out memory is not a particularly good one. It is the day we nearly missed the ship after a day in  Stockholm! I can still remember hearing our names called as we were still some distance from the ship (because we had to go round and through the terminus building rather than an 'as the crow flies' route) and my relief as we hurtled up the gangway with 30 seconds to spare  Never again!!

[Jenjer]

I would say since I am a early bird.  Watching the sun rise on the bow of Freedom Of The Seas with my daughter who was like 7 at the time. It was an amazing pink purple sunrise and it became our tradition. Even as teenager one morning per cruise she will get up early with me and we will sit outside in the wind and watch the sunrise together. But nothing beats the first time, the peace we found that morning.

[Sea Hag]

On our first cruise, we saw a total eclipse of the sun off the coast of Mazatlan. Doesn't get anymore special for me!

[SPacificbound]

Our first cruise was 18 nights, Sydney to Honolulu. We had no idea if we would like it or not, but thought we would give it a shot.

 

As we were pulling back from the dock I was taking pictures of the harbour bridge and the opera house, and realized that I was in love with cruising already.

[broberts]

Sail ins seem to stick in my mind. One particular docking in St Maarten some time ago. Not a particular pretty, interesting, or unusual venu. What was exceptional was the timing. That period before sunrise when the stars twinkled bright against a dark blue background and the muted, colorful lights of the ship and town surrounded me.

[Go-Bucks!]

While cruising in the fjords of Greenland, my friend and I walked into our cabin and this is what we saw outside of our balcony door!!  We both screamed at the same time, ran to the balcony and took this picture of a HUGE iceberg right in front of us! 

[KAYEF]

A year ago...……………...R/C cruise...……...just missed the hurricane and missed a port BUT the BEST THING, we averted and picked up many survivors AND their dogs!!  FEMA doesn't allow any "extras" on their planes and these people didn't want to abandon their pets.

We never saw any "Press or TV info"  regarding this wonderful act that R/C did. 

[raysail]

A Saint Thomas USVI beach excursion and then another excursion where I held a sea creature, it was like a portobello mushroom. The only major facts I remember were the ship's name + the year. Seven years ago! I remember a large restaurant on the ship and every passenger was spinning napkins in time with Italian festive music put on by the maitre d. As you can tell I'm not a seasoned cruiser; far from it.😆