What Was Your Best Cruise Experience Ever?

Please name the ship, basic itinerary, and any specifics about what made it the best.

CM

ANY cruiseline or just NCL?

We've never had a "bad" (or even mediocre) cruise, but two stick out as really outstanding:

1) Carnival Splendor in 2016. Big ship, lots to do, a nice variety of ports, and a dynamic ball of positive energy in Cruise Director Chloe Loddo. It was our first week-long cruise.

2) Norwegian Jewel in 2016 as well. Not as big, but a bunch of specialty restaurants, a droll and very funny CD in Iain Bagshaw (who's now with Marella) and a tequila shore excursion in Mazatlan that ended with the tour guides pouring out multiple shots of Jose Cuervo for all the passengers on the bus whilst it was driving around Mazatlan. We NEVER tip tour guides, but those guys got $20 from us as we stepped off the bus. Just a blast.

ANY cruiseline or just NCL?

I was thinking Norwegian but let's go with any :D.

NCL Sun aft corner penthouse 9276. Santiago to Buenos Aires. Fourteen nights. Excursion to Antarctica.

Favorite ship, wonderful aft verandah, favorite itinerary, (it has it all), favorite restaurant, (Il Adagio) and a wonderful cruise with my mom. We lost her last year and I will always treasure the memories. The bar is so high I don't know if I will ever top it

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NCL Sun aft corner penthouse 9276. Santiago to Buenos Aires. Fourteen nights. Excursion to Antarctica.

 

Favorite ship, wonderful aft verandah, favorite itinerary, (it has it all), favorite restaurant, (Il Adagio) and a wonderful cruise with my mom. We lost her last year and I will always treasure the memories. The bar is so high I don't know if I will ever top it

 

 

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That's so awesome! I really love that. The Sun is a favorite of my DM and me as well. Thank you for sharing.

CM

What turned us back into cruisers:

I was trying to use a timeshare week about to expire in 2010. Called the company and the rep tried to put us on the Epic in a Spa Suite for 1 week. At that time I’d never heard of Cruise Critic or even the Epic. I was on line at the same time and mentioned to her that for that money we could do 2 weeks in a regular balcony with spa passes. I didn’t know that I would be missing out on the Haven. I also never knew about price drops before final payment, etc, or that using that week really didn’t amount to much, maybe $300 towards the cruise.

BUT, we ended up having the most amazing cruise that we have never been able to repeat. It was absolutely perfect. Both eastern and western itineraries. The Legends Show performers switched between the 2 weeks so we got 2 different shows, (plus we snorkeled with “Madonna” and “Tina Turner”) Slam Allen was in Fat Cats and all the other performers would come in after their shows to hang out and jam. They even let DH come up and jam on the Bass. We were there every night.

Klaus was HD and stopped us to chat each and every time he saw us. Our steward Marlon was superb, and was like a silent unseen ninja, straightening our cabin multiple times a day and always greeting us with a smile and warm Hello. In fact, all of the stewards we passed in the halls on our deck seemed to know our names and shouted hello every time.

Silas Cook was CD and he also took the time to get to know us. We chatted it up so much that he actually ran down the gangway when we were disembarking to give me a hug. That was so sweet.

Anil Kumar was head chef and he and DH hit it off. He managed to provide me with lamb for dinner every night in many different inventive ways.

We chose to participate in every dance party they had and ended up being videotaped just about every night, at a time when they offered a souvenir DVD of the cruise for $29.95. We basically had a custom DVD of our trip! I really wish they still did that. It was a bargain!

There was not one thing we could think of that was not just perfect, seriously. And it is still the trip against which I have measured all the others.

Celebrity Xpedition to the Galapagos. A great small ship (98 passengers) to a beautiful, remote place without shops, someone wanting to braid my hair, etc. It was all about nature and how to preserve the fragile ecosystem of the Galapagos. Very well-traveled, knowledgable passenger complement was a plus.

Even better was the trip to Antarctica, my fave place ever. That was aboard the larger Marco Polo, with an ice-breaking hull. Wonderfully remote and wildly beautiful place and excellent ship lecturers about the ecosystem and larger environmental issues. Passengers were similar to those to the Galapagos.

Windstar's Windsurf Transatlantic Barbados to Lisbon in 2011. Full crew of 175, passenger count of 33 - on a ship that holds 300 passengers! We upgraded to a suite (dual cabin basically) on boarding for a small amount and had two bathrooms and a living room. Then, thirteen days at sea with no stops, several of the days with just sails up and engines off. It was peaceful and quiet and of course we had outstanding service and food. I read nine novels. Almost like a private yacht - or what I imagine a private yacht would be like!

Crystal Symphony Med cruise.

What made it special? Everything.

I've done 40+ cruises with Princess, and loved every one. It's really difficult to choose just one because each one was special for one reason or another, but I would have to say it was the 28 day LA roundtrip Tahiti on the Tahitian Princess. In addition to loving the small ship experience, the outstanding itinerary made it unforgettable.

Would I do it again, given the opportunity …. You betcha!!

Have never had a BAD cruise...although the Mariner of the Seas had some dead times in the day--times when there was nothing really going. Basically you could only eat, drink or sit at the pool at these times. Not our cup of tea.

Our fav cruise was the Allure--because there was SO SO SO much to do all day long.

We do find Princess to be very good at offering many different activities all day long on much smaller ships as well.

We have cruised Caribbean all but 1 cruise (ironically MX Riviera was that Mariner cruise; least fav itinerary too)

Fav itinerary was Southern Caribbean--Aruba & Curacao!

I have two that come to mind and they are both the best but for different reasons:

1. Celebrity Solstice Alaska August 2017--best scenery I have ever seen and a joy to experience it with my husband as he has been on 30 cruises but never to Alaska.

2. NCL Star--Panama Canal Full Transit LA to Miami January 2015--this was awesome to be able to say we did it. Also, a great itinerary with many different port stops. The only bummer was I was sick for 5 of the days. Thank goodness it was a 15 day cruise.

Aranui from Papeete in Tahiti to the Marquesas Islands and back. Different than any other cruise ship because it is a freighter/passenger ship, the only one of its kind. Awesome scenery in the islands. All crew are local islanders. Passengers are international.

Crystal Symphony, Santiago (Valpariso) to Buenos Aires - 3 days sailing off Antarctica, walking with the penguins on the Falklands. Not your basic 7 day Caribbean cruise! :eek::cool::hearteyes:

We did a 12 day cruise out of Barcelona two years ago , had 5 stops in Italy , seeind David in Florence was amazing , so was Capri and boat ride going there since you had a great view of almafi coast. Gondola in Venice , Croatia and Kotor were also great ports and walled cities which we knew nothing about , city of Barcelona is a great place to spend a few days. This was on rccl brilliance

Another one was seeing a live river of lava pour into the ocean about 10pm and seeing steam rise in a Hawaii rccl cruise. Many others in our 60 cruises on many lines.

Favourite cruise ship ever is the long since departed SS Oriana, a truly classic liner. For newer ships our favourite Princess ships were the Diamond/Sapphire - being built in Japan the build quality is vastly superior to the Fincantieri built ships. Also the Coral/Island, which have better pax/space rations.

Current favourite ships are the smaller ships of Viking Ocean.

Destinations - basically anywhere but the Caribbean. Favourites are:

- Alaska, still has the amazing scenery, but ports are very busy. Much preferred Alaska back in the 70's & 80's when we were frequently the only ship in port and we got really close to the Glaciers. Also had fun going out in a rescue boat and bringing small bergs back to the ship - not permitted to do this any more

- Easter Island, very few ships complete the tendering due to weather. We were lucky and the tour was amazing

- Pitcairn Island, you don't dock or anchor, as the locals come out to the ship. It is amazing watching them clamber up the pilot ladder with their goods to sell

- Iceland, very expensive country, but spectacular scenery and tours

- St Petersburg, there is a good reason it is known as the Venice of the North.

Picking a specific favourite place/cruise is impossible for us, as the ones noted above and many others all have individual pros.

Years ago my mother and I did a Marco Polo expedition that combined safaris in Kenya followed by their cruise up into the Indian ocean with stops at (pardon the spelling) Zanzibar, Madigascar, the Comoros, and the Seychelles (unspoiled with no casinos). We both still feel that was the best experience ever!

Mariner of the Seas Valparaiso Chile to Los Angeles California. 16 days and nights of absolutely beautiful weather. A ship devoid of kids, sailing with so few people that the third level of MDR was never used. Stops in Chile, Costa Rica, and Mexico we were the only ship in port. Next best is every transatlantic on Royals Oasis class ships.

Favourite cruise ship ever is the long since departed SS Oriana, a truly classic liner. For newer ships our favourite Princess ships were the Diamond/Sapphire - being built in Japan the build quality is vastly superior to the Fincantieri built ships. Also the Coral/Island, which have better pax/space rations.

 

Current favourite ships are the smaller ships of Viking Ocean.

 

Destinations - basically anywhere but the Caribbean. Favourites are:

- Alaska, still has the amazing scenery, but ports are very busy. Much preferred Alaska back in the 70's & 80's when we were frequently the only ship in port and we got really close to the Glaciers. Also had fun going out in a rescue boat and bringing small bergs back to the ship - not permitted to do this any more

- Easter Island, very few ships complete the tendering due to weather. We were lucky and the tour was amazing

- Pitcairn Island, you don't dock or anchor, as the locals come out to the ship. It is amazing watching them clamber up the pilot ladder with their goods to sell

- Iceland, very expensive country, but spectacular scenery and tours

- St Petersburg, there is a good reason it is known as the Venice of the North.

 

Picking a specific favourite place/cruise is impossible for us, as the ones noted above and many others all have individual pros.

Cruising in the 70’s and 80’s was totaly different much smaller ships none of the ports were really crowded. No balconies.

I was thinking Norwegian but let's go with any :D.

Thank goodness because those rank at the other end of my list. ;)

My best cruise of all time was 13 nights on Holland America's Nieuw Amsterdam. It started with HAL graciously awarding me with an upgrade to a suite. The itinerary started with an overnight in Venice followed by my favorite sail away to date. We hit Croatia, the Greek Isles, Sicily, Rome, Naples and Livorno, and then ended in Barcelona. Everything about that cruise was just about perfect.

My first and most memorable cruise in 1972, 10 days from NYC to San Juan, St. thomas, Martinique and St. Maarten. Ship was SS Homeric of Home Lines. 18000 tons, built in 1931. It was something adventurous, exotic for a single 28y/o to do...I had no expectations and it exceeded them all. Small cabin with couch that turned into the bed, sink in cabin and bathrooms/showers down the hall. It was wonderful. Next cruise was my first modern day cruise on Royal Princess I in 1999, Buenos Aires to Manaus, 14 days. I traveled the world a lot while my sister raised a family, and this was the first opportunity I had to show her my world. We.ve had some great cruises and trips since, but those are my favorites. EM

Ours is a bit different...We were members of a choir, and several people had joined "The Really Big Chorus", which has events around the UK, where you can go and sing great works with hundreds of others- some used to go to London for Handel's Messiah, and others flew to Venice to sing Vivaldi in his church.

We chose to cruise- only our 2nd cruise- and had to work on the music before we joined the ship (mainly Elgar). The ship was Louis (now Celestyal) Perla out of Piraeus.

There were 130 singers, plus other family members. We rehearsed on the sea days, or before dinner, and our performance was during the afternoon sailing from Crete to Santorini.

That's my best memory of cruising- sailing nearer and nearer to that fabulous island, singing some beautiful music.

Unfortunately, age and a thyroid problem mean my singing days are over, but I still check where they're cruising...I think it's down the Seine next.

Windstar Spirit, August 2016, Society Islands out of Tahiti. Perfect small vessel, outstanding meals and service, water activities right off the back of the ship, magnificent sights and tours, perfect weather!