ChriStephanie

* All that anticipation..Driving up to the ship, going up the escalator and finally walking onboard...best feeling in the world!

* Reading the cruise dailies each evening deciding what to do the next day.

......

* taking 976 photos of the water churning behind the ship because it looks so pretty then showing the photos to people trying to explain that "you had to be there"

I love it, I love it, I love it! Those sound familiar, and I have the extra anxiety of flying to get to a terminal - the longest hours of my life! I've been in that exact vacation photo sharing situation - non-cruisers just don't get it...

I have seen a popcorn machine on both Liberty and Splendor in the pool bar for movies under the stars.

That was one of my very favorite things from the Caribbean Princess, watching movies on the pool deck with my husband while eating popcorn and candy. The only problem was that the light and fluffy popcorn didn't stand up well in the stiff sea breeze. Does the Enchantment have the movies on deck, too?

I love:

the sight, smells, sound and feeling of the ship moving from the wake rippling behind the ship, to the smell of the air, the feeling of a warm breeze, and of course - being gently rocked to sleep at night. I love the captains announcements, the endless list of things to do during the day, having a drink or two more because we don't have to drive, dressing up just to go to dinner, being around other happy cruisers, coming back to my cabin after a long day off the ship and flopping down our bed for a little nap, waking up from said nap and STILL being on the ship - no, I wasn't dreaming.

I've just finished listening to (after having read the series) Harry Potter read by Stephen Fry who was the narrator for the movie "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" - the new one, he's also a fairly well-know British actor. They were awesome! You'd swear his rendition of Hagrid's voice is straight out of the movie. For the past few months I've been listening to these books on the way to and from work in the car and several times I found myself sitting in the driveway unable to will myself out of the car!

That's really nice to give a little something more back to the people who are doing the non-stop job of making your vacation special every day. The crew are away from their families for months and months at a time, so I'm sure something that seems like a small, but nice gesture is very much appreciated. Besides - chocolate makes everything better to begin with!

Additionally, the last cruise that I went on was our honeymoon cruise, so with all the nice little extras like balloons, a special dessert at dinner one night and a few other things, my husband and I brought along a small package of general Thank You notes and wrote a note to several of the crew members that worked extra hard to make our honeymoon special.

Best thing I've ever packed is a stash of miniature candy bars. wrap our dollars tip around the bar when we order room service, hand them out to room stewards, waiters, assistant waiters and any other crew members I come across during our voyages.

 

It's the unexpected thank you when combined with some $$.

 

You would never believe the smiles and thank you's we get from employees. One crew member who delivered us coffee and danish in the morning on a ship said she remembered us from a prior cruise.

 

Been doing this for the past 4 or 5 cruises. Always amazed how many crew members look amazed when they receive a small candy bar from someone they've never met before.

 

Remember, these candies are in addition to the monetary tips we do on board.

 

Dianne

That's really nice to give a little something more back to the people who are doing the non-stop job of making your vacation special every day. The crew are away from their families for months and months at a time, so I'm sure something that seems like a small, but nice gesture is very much appreciated. Besides - chocolate makes everything better to begin with!