What is your favorite moment of a cruise?

[sg1phileshipper]

Hey Cindy, I love your username! :D

 

LOL. ME too. If you can figure out where it came from, you'll get a free cookie :)

 

Cindy

[yarlenna]

1. Hearing the ships horn sounding. Everything after that is gravy.

2. Smelling the sea air if I am a non-smoking ship.

3. Tasting the first froo-froo drink

4. Seeing my cabin

5. Being aware of the motion of the ship.

 

It is a whole sensory feast

[soulpower]

Here's a few that come to mind:

 

• Seeing the ship for the first time during the drive to the port
  
• Walking onto the ship for the first time
  
• Dropping off our carry-ons and seeing our cabin
  
• Realizing that the ship is moving after saying, "Wait, are we moving?!" a million times
  
• Completing the safety drill - vacation has officially begun!
  

[seashinesunshine]

Stepping outside at the airport and smelling the warm Caribbean air and seeing the palm trees swaying.

[seashinesunshine]

O.K. this is seriously not doing anything for my cruise fever right now....:oanybody know where I can get my hands on a couple a thousand bucks right now!??

 

You could sell all your family heirlooms on ebay.:D

[BecciBoo]

I can hear the "ding" as I type. I smile like a giddy teen every time I hear it.

 

I can hear it daily...well the announcement 3 bells...I have it on my phone for my Text Message Alert:D Just google that and you too can hear it everyday!

[OklaCruiserMom]

Well, our cruise in May will be my first, but I am soooooo looking forward to experiencing all the moments you guys have mentioned! I will be traveling alone with my three kids, the first time we have done so on an event like this. (We've done 4-6 hr. road trips before, but that's it.) But I think for me, it will become a heart-pounding experience the minute my mom has to walk away from us in our departure airport! I may cry, in fact, I'm pretty sure of it. I'll be stressing from then until we get on the plane. Then stressing from when we step off the plane until we walk into our hotel room. Hopefully won't stress again until we arrive at the pier. Once we make it into the waiting area for boarding, I think I'll be home free.

 

I just can't wait to see my babies' faces when they see the ship in person!! I'm tearing up right now just thinking about it! (ETA: Yeah, you can't tell this trip means a lot to me or anything, right? :D)

[sealeggs]

The op has done a great thing bringing this thread to life. It has brought everyone close together. and reminded us of why we have all chosen to cruise.

 

Isn't it great to remember what it is we all love about cruising. Everybody has their own rituals and things that they love. Not one person is wrong. It is all correct.

 

I need to book our next cruise as soon as possible. I need to hear that beautiful "ding" again.

[crusingmantenthousand]

Probably the food, and the great fresh air/sea smell. But mostly the food. Well, actually it's all pretty cool. But usually when on a cruise I can say "to heck with the diet" and just pig out:D

[ptg]

The feeling of waking up onboard was just phenomenal--best sleep EVER!

 

 

 

*1 when I first see the ship at port

* 2 when we get to bed on first night shut off the lights (inside cabin), so dark so quiet and get best nights sleep in a long time

[booze brothers]

I love bursting into our cabin and rushing out on to the balcony. Ok, sometimes I only see luggage being loaded but WE"RE HERE!!!!!

[KansasK]

When I realize the ship is moving is always a thrill for me.

 

Also, when we were on the Navigator of the Seas in 2003, we had our first balcony. Our college aged girls were in a promenade inside room across the hall. After the muster drill, we came back to room and I went to the balcony. I leaned out and there coming down the channel was the Explorer of the Seas. It was so close and so pretty to see. I ran across the hall to get the girls so they could see this. Lots of people on the Explorer were waving at the all of us waving at them from the Navigator. It was a perfect sail-away moment before our sail-away. It still can see that ship moving toward us when I think about it.

[seashinesunshine]

Well, our cruise in May will be my first, but I am soooooo looking forward to experiencing all the moments you guys have mentioned! I will be traveling alone with my three kids, the first time we have done so on an event like this. (We've done 4-6 hr. road trips before, but that's it.) But I think for me, it will become a heart-pounding experience the minute my mom has to walk away from us in our departure airport! I may cry, in fact, I'm pretty sure of it. I'll be stressing from then until we get on the plane. Then stressing from when we step off the plane until we walk into our hotel room. Hopefully won't stress again until we arrive at the pier. Once we make it into the waiting area for boarding, I think I'll be home free.

 

I just can't wait to see my babies' faces when they see the ship in person!! I'm tearing up right now just thinking about it! (ETA: Yeah, you can't tell this trip means a lot to me or anything, right? :D)

 

I hear ya! You will all have a great time! Just try and relax! I get tense also in the car on the way to the airport, in the airport, after the airport... but when you get in the room, all the tension goes away! Bringing my kids on a cruise was one of the best things we have done. They have cruised twice, the first time, was so wonderful! Seeing all the things, snorkeling was so amazing for my son, the Discovery Channel came to life in front of his eyes! It truely was a time of Discovery! Every part of it!

I should add the second cruise was wonderful too! :D Next time they are staying home, and it's just my husband and I , but most of the time, I keep wishing they were with us. I love family time!

[Cuizer2]

We love the moment when you first inhale that "cruise smell". It's the same smell on all the RCI ships (not so much the Celebrity ones). We take a big sniff as we exit the boarding ramp and go, "Ahhhh, it's a cruise". We board with a dreamy smile on our faces.

 

What's your moment?

 

My favorite moment is when the captain or cruise director says the muster drill is over, because that is when the cruise begins for me.

[jlajla]

Is it totally insane for me to say waiting in the check-in line? lol. That is when the excitement is almost more than I can bear!

 

I am taking my kids for the first time in May, and I cannot wait for the "WOW!" that is coming when they first get near Allure. :)

[Cruzin RN]

O' man o'man I wish I didn't have a whole year for my trip!! I love it when the ship moves out of the home port and we begin to waive to people and you get that 1st bit of sea breeze blowing in your face.

 

OH YES!!!! this is my favorite, too..when the ship starts to move..and all the jealous peeps wave goodbye to us!!!! I think I can feel the breeze blowing now.....:cool:

[rutgersgirl27]

That moment after I check in, when I'm waiting to board the ship. I can finally relax because I'm about to be on vacation!

 

When I'm on the ship, I enjoy the first moment waking up at a new port. Going to bed with an ocean view, and waking up with a whole new landscape is one of the best parts of cruising!

[compman9]

For my dear wife it is when the luggage arrives.

 

For me, when I am one of the first up the following morning and I can explore the ship in peace, take a few photos with no-one around and have a coffee as I watch my first sun rise. It amazes me how few are there for the first sun-rise at sea - nothing can beat it.

[johneeo]

For my dear wife it is when the luggage arrives.

 

For me, when I am one of the first up the following morning and I can explore the ship in peace, take a few photos with no-one around and have a coffee as I watch my first sun rise. It amazes me how few are there for the first sun-rise at sea - nothing can beat it.

 

Ditto.

 

Nothing like waking up first day at 5 AM, coffee, camera, and the ship is all mine.

[Pitcruiser]

Mine is when we have all our bags, they are unpacked and stored, and the whole cruise is in front of us with all the logistics of getting there out of the way.

[Mewissy]

I love waking up that first morning and realizing I'm not at home but on the ship.

 

I was going to say the same thing! The first day can be stressful. The wake-up on Day 2 is wonderful! Plus, often times Day 2 is a day at sea so it is extra relaxing!

[lady_cruiser]

Hearing that first "ding" of our Sea-Pass cards when we first board our ship.

[lady_cruiser]

Hearing that first "ding" of our Sea Pass cards when we first come onboard.

[Mybearsbaby]

How about that first step onto the ship being greeted by that happy RCCL employee:

 

 

Did u know the guy in the background, or did he just randomly smile in your picture, lol!!

 

I can hear it daily...well the announcement 3 bells...I have it on my phone for my Text Message Alert:D Just google that and you too can hear it everyday!

Do you google "announcement bells"? I am gonna try to find this. That would be awesome to have as my text tone. :)

[macfin]

here are a couple: when the first bartender you see offers you a mango tango or any drink for that matter...

 

and when you hear the ships horn announcing your departure and you begin to move away from the pier