What "odd" things do you look forward to when cruising?

[debcip]

My husband likes pulling into the Caribbean ports, which are always a combination of beautiful and functional, and finding the perfect camera shot of the container ships juxtaposed against the natural beauty. Odd. There is not a person alive more fascinated by container ships than this man.

[knobcreek]

Its the whole attitude you develope as you begin the boarding process, every time its just as thrilling as the first cruise was...Linda

[neverwinter2]

debcip - your husband is not alone. i adore those container boxes. and CRANES. my poor husband watches as i snap photo after photo of cranes and conexes in each port where they appear. i have no explanation or apology! :D

 

my other favorite things....

- Seeing the ship for the first time and knowing all the planning and packing are over... time for the fun!

- Finding our cabin and unpacking... settling in

- Towel animals! We take their pictures. Anyone else notice that they are rarely identifiable as an actual critter? We name them after their appearance.... elephamoose, ninja bunny, etc. Too funny.

- Waking up each morning to either the open sea or a new gorgeous port (and a new adventure)

- Getting to know the other passengers on our excursions - we always do the super active excursions so we meet people we have a lot in common with

- Afternoon naps before dressing for dinner (the best!!)

- Seeing my handsome husband in his tuxedo (ok, maybe this is the best)

- We play a game at dinner... both read the menu and guess what the other one is going to order. Why is this so amusing for us? No idea.

- Post-excursion cheeseburgers (in paradise) on the deck... fruity drinks included

- After dinner stroll around the ship

- Watching people rush back to the ship before we depart from a port. A cruise director clued us in to this and it's hysterical. We get back a bit early to get a good spot to watch people make a run for it.

- Learning about the crew and getting to know the steward, the waiters at dinner, etc. It's more fun when they get to know you and joke around or remember what you like. They tell great stories, too.

 

 

Oh boy, I have quite a few. Didn't think this post would get so long!

[burm]

- Watching people rush back to the ship before we depart from a port. A cruise director clued us in to this and it's hysterical. We get back a bit early to get a good spot to watch people make a run for it.

 

I have heard so many people mention this lately. Guess this time we will have to pay more attention. Usually when we get back to the cabin we are too busy showering and organizing wet and dirty clothes and purchases before watching the ship pull out and then going to dinner. 201 days to go, sigh. :o

[INeedAMaiTai]

There are two things: I LOVE when they fold the toilet paper in a little triangle and eating every meal with a cloth napkin. Makes me feel so fancy. LOL

[dopeyngrumpy]

Where to start

 

the announcements 'could mr and mrs x please pick up a red phone' cue to everyone to lean over the side an clap in the last people back onto the ship

 

The silent but not silent horn to announce coming into shore (learning to sleep lightly so you don't miss it)

 

Getting coffee, food, anything you want, no matter what the time is

 

Leaning over the side and letting the wind whistle through my hair (that took me an hour to make it look good) and ruin it in 30 seconds

 

Sitting on the promenade deck with a book mid afternoon, with your feet hung over the side of the ship

 

I really look forward to the newsletter each evening so I can get excited about the next day!

 

We even look forward to hand gel - we may work in healthcare but there's nothing like hand gel on ship

[Harry and Lucille]

Fellow passengers or crew. So many fascinating people. One example of last cruise. I coffee on the pool deck at sunrise. Great to watch. Usually there are only a couple of crew members too busy to chat and very few passengers. Sat at a table with the only other person up that early. Turned out to be the on board Rabbi. What an interesting person he turned out to be and what an interesting life he was living. We talked about every thing under the sun before it even came up. If you have the chance to talk to a crew member, it is great. So many young people from all walks of life and every corner of the globe. Every story and every life is so unique. Makes one wonder why we can't all just get along.

[momofmeg]

My hubby loves taking cruise pictures to use as a screen saver on our computer. Our lastest screen saver is of Majesty of the Seas anchored near Coco Cay. We were on NCL Pearl at Great Stirrup Cay and we could see the Majesty of the seas from our ship. He took the picture from the very AFT of the Lido deck.

 

It looks nice-but he also took one of me holding a baby monkey in Roatan and the monkey is trying to take my hat-too bad he didn't use that one -huh? LOL!

Edited December 20, 2008 by momofmeg

[BroncosFan2010]

I look forward to being able to check off new places I have traveled. One day I hope my map of the world has a pin in every country and island!

[Parrotheadfamily]

I don't know if it is odd but I love to do the Hydro bath at least once. There is something sooo relaxing about sitting in the hydro bath and looking out onto the ocean. It is by far the best deal in the spa to me!

 

Of course, the other thing is the dinners. I have sooo many great and funny memories of the waiters and stories shared of dinner.

[jenphan]

i like being up in the middle of the night and being able to dine whenever i choose. my boyfriend and i enjoy playing the arcades late at night when its empty and no children are around because of curfew. oh and playing yahtzee until the wee hours of the morning.

[kescott98]

I especially love the days at sea. Waking up in the morning, with the prospect of doing nothing all day long. I also love being able to wear shorts and a t-shirt all week long.

[Norwaylin]

My DH and I love to feel the ship moving, especially after an exhausting but wonderful day in port. We love to have the ship gently rock us to sleep. I told him he should come up with a way for our house to do that! We even like the rougher seas. (I know - we're weird!)

 

No, you are not weird. I was rocked to sleep on my first cruise onboard the Norway. The second cruise was so smooth that I complained to my friend ... I miss being rocked to sleep!

[Norwaylin]

I love the sound of the chimes before an announcement early in the morning in your room - I get the same feeling as when I remember that first time I heard the music in the line for Space Mountain as a child!! I can't wait to hear it again.

 

My friend and I overslept on Thursday morning (7-day cruise) because we were so tired from all of our activities. We woke when we heard the chimes and jumped out of bed immediately to get showered and dressed to leave the ship for one of our port visits. We never got dressed so fast. After that, we made sure we had a wake-up call.

[burm]

No, you are not weird. I was rocked to sleep on my first cruise onboard the Norway. The second cruise was so smooth that I complained to my friend ... I miss being rocked to sleep!

 

I love to feel the rocking of the ship as well. For me it is disappointing that modern stabilizers make ships feel almost like they are standing still.

[Atty]

My first view of the ship as you're coming up to the port...craning your neck to try and catch a glimpse as soon as possible.

[printingchick]

Ahh...the announcement chime. Wouldn't it be great to have that as a ring tone?

 

Among the things others have already mentioned, for me the start of the cruise means the END of my diet!! I go on Weight Watchers for the 4-6 months before each cruise to (A) fit into the bikini and (B) give myself room to SPLURGE on cruise food!!!

 

5 more days and I'll be cruisin'!

[Azure Moon]

Question - "What "odd" things do you look forward to when cruising?"

My answer - One of them is the shuffleboard court.

They seem so traditional to areas of relaxation, such as resorts and cruises. There are so few shuffleboard courts around anymore :(

There were six of us playing shuffleboard on the Liberty. We were having so much fun that other people decided to give it a shot :cool:.

Edited January 15, 2009 by Azure Moon

[ladypalmtree]

Seeing all those neked cruisers on their balconies...just kidding..although we did see some whoppy making a couple of years ago...geez people! We had our kid with us and had to scram her back into the cabin..lol:confused:

[BljnLvr]

Oh wait, I get it (I'm a little slow this morning) use the tropical body wash now! I'll have to pick some up today, thanks!

 

Romy

 

I had a new conditioner my very first cruise that whenever I smell that conditioner, I'm back on the ship, on a beach.... :p

[Sherry84]

Is it odd to look forward to sleeping a lot? :D That's what I'm looking forward to!

[meandsis]

My sister and I always look forward to walking around the front of the ship. Especially at night. It's so windy that we have to lean forward to walk and after we round the tip of the ship we have to lean backward and put on our brakes because the wind is throwing us forward. Now that's fun.

[RVfromAZ]

I've really enjoyed reading all the responses.

I love waking up on the first day, getting coffee delivered from room service and sitting on the balcony and watching the sun rise:)

[Atty]

My wife and I love to look around at everyone boarding or waiting to board and trying to pick out the person or group that we will invariably end up seeing all the time around the ship. Have you ever noticed how there is usually one or two people that no matter where you are or where you look, you tend to see them pop up all over all week?

[meandsis]

I look forward to sitting on the balcony and having a fruit plate and watching the flying fish. I absolutely could look at the ocean non-stop for hours and hours. Yeah! can't wait.

(the other half of meandsis)