What is your favorite moment of a cruise?

[DegaDog]

My favorite time as well as all of the others mentioned is when I board the airplane heading to Florida knowing I am on vacation and soon will be on board Royal Caribbean.

 

One month to go until Oasis on April 21. Can't wait!!!

[mek]

My favorite moment is when all of my bags have arrived and I unpack. At that moment I truly relax I'm ready to have fun.

[midwife1021]

 

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)

 

Uh, wait until you see the joy on their faces...it will be a struggle to hold back the tears of total happiness. Thanks...now I'm getting all misty-eyed thinking about tomorrow! :p:D

[lori450]

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.

 

Thank you for your kind words.

[molly361]

The first cockatil once onboard!!!:eek:

[BillOh]

The first day can be stressful.

 

 

While I successfully went on my first 3 cruises flying into the port the same day, the above sentiment was the prime reason that I now fly in the day before. It takes away so much of the stress. Someone a couple of messages back even said they enjoyed the check-in line. I understand that. Now that I have cruised a few times, I know I have all my documentation in order, by the time I get to the port I've triple checked everything and I enjoy everything about the first day.

[lori450]

2nd favorite: Grabbing my own board and surfing in the dark with the wind whipping around the ship and looking at the wake while I surf. (You should see the smile on my face right now :)) - oh and surfing tandem with my son as we do circles around each other on the flowrider (none of the land ones let you do this).

[jersey.girl]

For us, it's the very first glimpse we get of the ship. Just gets the heart rate going!

 

 

agree!!!

This is it... the 1st glance of the ship :)

[erries]

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

 

I've already replied to this thread like three times, but yes, this! I love the realization that... I'm drinking alcohol at noon! And it's okay! :eek:

[tmoret]

For me its that first step on the ship. When you reach the top of the gangway and really step on that ship. 12 more days until I get that feeling again.

[johneeo]

I've already replied to this thread like three times, but yes, this! I love the realization that... I'm drinking alcohol at noon! And it's okay! :eek:

 

Hey, it is 6:00 PM somewhere.

 

But, time on a cruise ship becomes irrelevent.

[lori450]

I've already replied to this thread like three times, but yes, this! I love the realization that... I'm drinking alcohol at noon! And it's okay! :eek:

 

Time? What time? oops, I left my watch at home. ;)

[obsessedsc]

-sail aways

-sunsets

-dressing up for formal night

-beaches that look like the ones in the corona commercials

-the music on the pool deck!

[BillOh]

2nd favorite: Grabbing my own board and surfing in the dark with the wind whipping around the ship and looking at the wake while I surf. (You should see the smile on my face right now :)) - oh and surfing tandem with my son as we do circles around each other on the flowrider (none of the land ones let you do this).

 

I've seen two employees do this, didn't know they would let passengers do so, but since I will never have a son, or the ability to do this, I'm glad you could and that they recognize your ability and let you have a little fun. I guess they trust their waiver ;)

[BillOh]

agree!!!

This is it... the 1st glance of the ship :)

 

Since your sailing on Allure soon, for what appears to me to be your first time and I believe your first time in Port Everglades, I'll ask, and perhaps you haven't considered, If you are flying down will you want to see the ship from the plane (which you frequently can), or wait to see it as you approach the port?

(Wow, all my English teachers would frown at that sentence! :eek: )

 

Personally, I would and did do both. If you fly in on Saturday and arrive before 5pm you may see Oasis from the air as you land, but it doesn't take away from pulling up to the pier and seeing Allure for the first time.

[kennyken14]

This is the kind of relaxation therapy some people pay for. I have been having a stressful day at work and reading this has sent me to my happy place. The only drawback is it make it seem like the 38 days until our Alaskan voyage on Radiance is an eternity away. I can only imagine for those that are months or over a year out. My moment is knowing that for the next week it is just me and my wife and all the new things we will see will be done together. This next cruise has an added bonus that both sets of our parents who are first time cruisers will be there with us.

[littlesteelo]

There are a few things that do it for me, but the main ones are the 'cruise ship smells'. The smell of the Windjammer when you walk in for your first meal onboard. The smell you get on a hot day when the sliding doors open onto the prom deck and you get that blast of warm air. The smell you get when you first go out onto the pool deck... Damn I wish I was on a cruise now.

[bigfig63]

for me its two noises, that first 'bong' as you scan your seapass for the first time and then its the ships horn sounding as we start to depart and head on out to sea, with me, drink in hand and waving to strangers on the shore like a fool with the other hand. :p

 

What always cracks me up is at muster, they say "there will be 7 short blasts and 1 long blast on the ships whistle" (instead of horn). Must be a carry over from the past.

[lori450]

needed another fix, so I thought I'd move the thread back up. :)

[ScrapHappy44]

Everything that's already been said and.....

 

Being back on the ship after a full day of adventure, sitting in a comfortable chair eating a gynormous bowl of soft ice cream while the ship moves away from the dock and heads toward our next destination.

 

Looking at the ship photos that were taken that day. I know....way expensive, but I really love them!

[beachnancy1]

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?

We cruise out of Baltimore, and my first favorite moment of the cruise is going under the Bay Brige. That's when I can really turn off my regular life and just relax into the cruise. It's like the weight on my shoulders falls overboard at that moment.

 

Three days! can't wait!

[Tika]

We cruise out of Baltimore, and my first favorite moment of the cruise is going under the Bay Brige. That's when I can really turn off my regular life and just relax into the cruise. It's like the weight on my shoulders falls overboard at that moment.

 

Three days! can't wait!

 

I am sort of with you about the feeling going under the bridge. For us it is the Verrazano Bridge ......it is so amazing how these ships pass under the bridges. One of my first thrills is walking up the gang blank and first boarding. Once I put my body on board that is when I start to relax and move into a new world with only the sea and sky beckoning my undivided attention.

[GaNavy]

The first sight of the ship is pretty exciting, but my favorite is getting onto the gangway and getting my first glimpse of the inside of the ship while still outside. It's like that moment in 'Wizard of Oz' after the tornado - I'm standing in a black-and-white world looking into the Technicolor ship.

 

That, and everything else that happens for the next <your number here> days... ;)

[cyclenut]

It's a progression.

 

First is when the final payment is made and we've compelted on-line check-in. That's when it feels REAL.

Next feeling when I leave work for the last day before vacation begins.

Then the feeling when the luggage is all packed and all the travel documents are checked and airline boarding passes are printed.

The reality really sets in when we're in the airport terminal waiting to board. That's when I give my first sigh of real relief.

 

The absolute BEST is when we step on board the ship. All the build-up and anticipation. For us, a cruise vacation is more than a year in the making. Saving, planning, anticipation. No matter what happens after we set foot on that ship, even if our luggage doesn't make it, is OK.

 

WE'RE ON THE SHIP!

[Fluffy Terry]

Once we have gone thru the boarding process DH and I immediately head for the pool deck, grab a chair and toast each other with the drink of the day - WE HAVE ARRIVED YIPPEE. Have done this on every cruise, we worry about lunch, rooms, unpacking later. Just relax for a minute or three and enjoy the ship and each others company