Cruise Rituals do you have any??

[luvmykid98]

I have some pre-cruise rituals I can add but it is going to reveal my true "uber planning tendencies". I make a tri-folding project board for each cruise. Each day of the vacation has it's own sheet and as I do research I put post it notes with the pertinent info. under the appropriate ports. When I have made all the decisions/arrangements I type it all up and put it in a three ring binder.

In the kitchen we hang a paper chain about two months before the cruise. We remove one ring every day while counting done to the big day.

I also decorate tip envelopes for the stewards. We leave one on the pillow every morning. Finally, about a month before the cruise I put a plastic tub in the bedroom and as I gather items for the cruise I put them in the tub.

[FEMH]

I always wear my white crop pants on embarkation day. Doesn't matter where I'm cruising to, or what season, it puts me in the "cruise mode" for the week!

[dblane]

I'm getting this thread moving again.

I like to lurk on rollcalls that are sailing before us so I can get info and ask questions and also share in their pre-cruise sailaway excitment.

 

I organize everything in folders so I can remember what I am doing.

 

Also hang a calender on the cabin wall and mark special events such as our meet and mingle that we don't want to miss.

[mr green]

I wear my St. Christopher's medal, while going to, and boarding the ship.

 

john

[Scottohiocpa]

I quietly get up at 6:00 am or whenever to watch the ship come into port. Wife would rather sleep and thinks I am nuts.

 

I get a hot tea and sit outside watching. It's also kind of nice to have the whole deck to yourself.

[ranger10!]

I search and search for the perfect cruise. Plan at lease a year in advance. Then do more searching on what excursions to take. Find a private company to go with. Look for formal dress on sale. Start a folder with all the information I have on the cruise.

 

We always arrive one to two days before the cruise sets sail. Make sure we arrive early to board. Usually some of the first in line. If it is ready we go to our room first. Drop off our carry on luggage then find the food. We then explore the ship, get lost many times. Take camera to lido deck and watch us leave. Our next cruise we have a balcony for the first time, we will be on our balcony with champagne in hand watching us sail away! Doing the happy dance!

[MochaZen]

Ok, call me a nut, but I always bring lysol or clorox wipes and wipe down the bathroom as soon as I hang up our clothes! LoL

 

I also bring a couple of reed difusers and put one in the bathroom and one in the sleeping area. I dabble some of the oil in all four corners so that my room has my own personal fragrance. I LOVE to smell my room as I am walking down the corridor.

[Kwaj girl]

I'm with ya on the Lysol wipes......but if you can smell "your personal fragrance" walking down the corridor then perhaps everyone else can, too. And they may not appreciate it in the same way...or perhaps may be highly allergic or worse, asthmatic. Can be just as bad as the guy (or gal) that seems to take a bath in cologne <gag>....Please be considerate of your fellow cruisers & they will also be considerate of you.

[MochaZen]

LoL I am not that bad, Kwaj. I try not to overwhelm, but I admit to liking the occasional glade plug in around my house. Something along the lines of Linen Breeze or Ocean Spray to add my personal touch to the space.

[monakayk]

ooops

[gumpy]

Ok we are a little crazy but it is a blast. Us and our cruise buddies come to dinner on the first night on the boat in our craziest pajamas.... It is PJ night. We will be on th eCarnival Liberty Jan 1st 2011 if your on that cruise and want to join us for PJ night feel free.

[johneeo]

Ok we are a little crazy but it is a blast. Us and our cruise buddies come to dinner on the first night on the boat in our craziest pajamas.... It is PJ night. We will be on th eCarnival Liberty Jan 1st 2011 if your on that cruise and want to join us for PJ night feel free.

 

.... and how many in your group sleeps in the nude?:eek:

[bluzchick]

Pre-cruise:

 

 

10. Make sure we have our "cruise toothpaste" and other items!! :)

 

 

-Bonnie

 

do i dare ask what that is?!?!:confused:

I haven't been on my first cruise yet but let me tell you, living on the message boards and making lists have consumed my life:D

[mhashley]

I don't know about the pilot getting into a little boat. Can someone explain?

 

"I just love to watch the pilot jump onto the pilot boat. Always tryt o catch that. I have been known to jump up from dinner to see that. Don't know why it excites me."

[johnrich]

I don't know about the pilot getting into a little boat. Can someone explain?

 

"I just love to watch the pilot jump onto the pilot boat. Always tryt o catch that. I have been known to jump up from dinner to see that. Don't know why it excites me."

 

We too like to watch the pilot "jumping ship." When the ship is coming into or leaving the port, a person called the pilot actually gets on the ship and "guides" the ship out of the port waters. Once out of port, the pilot boat pulls up beside the ship and the pilot jumps off the ship and into the pilot boat. The ship is once again controlled by the captain. From what I've been told, although the captain always has the last say, he/she normally relinquishes authority for navigation to the pilot while entering and exiting port waters.

 

As far as our other rituals, once booked, I check the website to see if prices have come down at all. Last cruise, they came down 3 times I believe. And they never have a problem with giving us the money back in SBC and sometimes even in a check.

 

We usually fly in the day of departure, but for our upcoming cruise in February, we are flying in the day before in case we have bad weather.

 

We get pics with our life vests on, take pics of the stateroom and around the ship. We grab a bite to eat, then make sure we are on the balcony with a drink in hand to toast sail away.

 

Each morning I get up while wife sleeps in. We (other family members) usually go for the mile walk, then go to breakfast in the Windjammer. Once we eat, we grab my wife a donut and orange juice, go to the stateroom to get her and then we all go play mini golf before getting off the ship.

 

We try to get a t-shirt for each port we visit. My DMIL is taking all of the shirts, cutting the graphic out and making us a quilt out of them.

 

We enjoy early seating dinner in the MDR. We just love having the same waiter every evening. We also like to try the after dinner shot and like the poster above, we drink half and put the other half in our coffee.

[4mysins]

I try to cruise with family so I am almost like the cruise planner. I send postcards to my mom and grandmother with countdowns. I make a little travel book with information on the ship and ports and mail it to them about 2 months in advance. This way it gives me time to get more information from cruise critic. LOL

 

I call my grandmother's doctor and place an order for motion sick patches. Last cruise... she was feeling the seas on while we checked in and had the patch on ASAP. Kind of funny... love her...

 

I wonder if I do a rubber snake as a pillow gift what will the results be..lol