Pre-cruise ritual

[Peaches1117]

DH and I are getting ready to snuggle up for the rest of the evening and watch "The Poseidon Adventure", the movie we always try to watch prior to cruising (we sail Oct.23 on the Conquest). Our friends tell us we are sick; we tell them we are reviewing our "safety plan" should we capsize!:p Anyone else out there with a bizarre sense of humor who is willing to share?

[shuttle-c]

My DH will not cruise without his "stainless steel" whistle.

He got the idea from the movie Titanic. Even though the life jackets have a plastic whistle, he brings his own.

[Peaches1117]

Omigosh! I love it! Never thought about the whistle; maybe I should get one too; that would be a great conversation piece. :rolleyes: Thanks for sharing!

[patnjohn]

The night before we cruise, we get together with all our children & grandchildren. We always let them know how to reach us on the ship & where our insurance papers are & what I want to wear at my funeral & how my hair is to be done, DH doesn't care. They always tell us to chill out & that they know everything anyway. We'll see!!!!

[Bookish Angel]

I'll read a few non-fiction books, check out National Geographic, etc. I particularly like to read about the indigenous people and their social customs, cosmology stories, art and music.

[shuttle-c]

Omigosh! I love it! Never thought about the whistle; maybe I should get one too; that would be a great conversation piece. :rolleyes: Thanks for sharing!

 

You are right, it is a great conversation piece - it has really become a good family joke. But seriously after all the cruises we have been on, he still brings his whistle.

[earthfarie]

We are sailing on the Maasdam Nov. 5th, it will be our 3rd cruise. We always have a sail -away party. We just keep it small, me my mom, my sister and our kids. One afternoon before the cruise we buy yummy foods we never really eat or splurge on from the Fresh Market, expensive cheeses, dips, breads and chips and crackers and meats, and just sit around the table and eat and have fun. That is our sail away party!!! It is really a treat, just like the cruise!:)

[mr green]

On the 5 1/2 hour drive to Vancouver, we eat junk food, and listen to hits from the 50's and 60's, The Beatles, and last, but not least, ABBA. We feel a lot younger when we get there! john

[CuteTheta]

I just wanted to bump this up to see if there were any more pre cruise rituals. I really enjoyed this thread and am trying to get new ideas

[Nectarologist]

Hi. I don't have any pre-curise rituals yet but was planning on starting one this year. I'm going to make an invitation & put it in the mailbox a few days before our tirp (just my wife & I this time) inviting my wife to a "bon voyage" party the night before we cruise. I'll cook surf & turf for her, decorate the living room in a caribbean theme, create a cd of vacation music, get some champagne & start vacation that night instead of waiting until we get on the ship. I think it'll be fun; hey when you're on vacation it's always fun right?

 

I usually have the cruise line decorate the room. It's ok, but this year I'm going to do it myself. I'm going to buy tiki lights to hang around the mirror & get a bunch of other fun stuff.

[www]

I always try to have suitcase packed and by the door, or in the trunk the day before the day before the cruise. The actual day before the cruise, I switch myself right into vacation mode. I don't want to rush my vacation. I usually relax, go to work if it is a working day, but I'm in a good mood all day and will not allow my self to get stressed. Then I relax, watch TV, read a book, or anything else I might actually do on vacation. Feet up, cup of coffee or wine or whatever I'm in the mood for! Sometimes I'll go through my cruise book and think about what I want to see and do, or come on this message board and enjoy!:D

[Peaches1117]

Hi. I don't have any pre-curise rituals yet but was planning on starting one this year. I'm going to make an invitation & put it in the mailbox a few days before our tirp (just my wife & I this time) inviting my wife to a "bon voyage" party the night before we cruise. I'll cook surf & turf for her, decorate the living room in a caribbean theme, create a cd of vacation music, get some champagne & start vacation that night instead of waiting until we get on the ship. I think it'll be fun; hey when you're on vacation it's always fun right?

 

I usually have the cruise line decorate the room. It's ok, but this year I'm going to do it myself. I'm going to buy tiki lights to hang around the mirror & get a bunch of other fun stuff.

 

What a wonderful idea to have a "bon voyage" party! I'm sure your wife will love it. I'm thinking about having a "cruise themed" party in February just to chase away the winter blues. We get a lot of snow and cold in Ohio!

[SteveCMH]

Last year at this time, there were 3 groups within my extended family going on separate cruises. All of us had cruised together on our first cruise 2 years before. So since we were all going on separate ships this time, my niece hosted a sail away party in her home.

 

She decorated her party room with sights commonly seen on ships--even paper replica signal flags to "dress" the room. Everyone wore cruise related clothing, some of us even wore life jackets. We played bingo, we had horse races--even a muster drill, which consisted of muscial chairs to a cut from Horner's "Titanic" music. It was an absolute hoot!

 

But I think the strangest pre-cruise ritual, is mine and my wife's. One of the first things we do when we get into the cabin is to baptize the cabin, by flushing the john. We call it the "Bahhhhhh-woooosh!" :D

[cccruiser59]

You sound like a fun loving bunch.

[RN momma]

I love to put information about the cruise or places we'll see/go into a little travel size 'scrapbook' I keep it with us on our trip as a referrence, but after the trip it is a great momento of the vacation we had...

On a previous trip to Washington D.C I had info on the places we most wanted to see and who it was who requested them [DH, DD,DS etc] so we'd all get to see at least one thing that person had on thier list. I had the Metro routes and subway info, xeroxed maps [reduced to fit inside the little book] I have cut out pictures from Magazines and tour guides etc, I have copies of our reservations etc,and I could journal about our experiences...It was a great way to get excited about our trip and a great momento after the trip. I still look back at it, and now I have pictures in it too.

We did the same with a book for our first cruise, we stopped in Savannah on our way to Jacksonville port...it's one of my favorite 'vacation journals.' and if we ever decide to go back to Savannah, I have a tour book already!! I also put shrunk down copies of the ships floor plans in there so we could find our way around the first day on board. the 'book' is smaller than a paperback but full of 'stuff'.

[moosetracks17]

The night before the cruise consists of 3 things....

 

1) Giving the newest copy of our living wills/ last will and testaments/ power of attorneys to my father in law (tax man) with an additional copy emailed to my insurance agent and mom.

 

2) Going to dinner with my inlaws as we need to be on that side of town to drop off the dogs for the week anway.

 

3) Stopping by the $1 store on the way home to buy a neon piece of posterboard. I hang this outside my room along with 2 pens hanging on string (also taped to the door). I LOVE collecting signatures and 'bon voyages' from all over the world. My favorite was a whole paragraph in chinese/japenese/idontknow-ese and at the bottom it said "From 7401"...

 

that reminds me... maybe Ill get the pens strung and posterboard decorated early this year..... nnnaaahhhh what else would I do when I cant sleep at 2 am from excitement?!?!?!?!

[TravelSmarty]

I watched movies (not just titanic but any movies) and national geographic documentary with tropical themes.

[RN momma]

The night before the cruise consists of 3 things....

 

1) Giving the newest copy of our living wills/ last will and testaments/ power of attorneys to my father in law (tax man) with an additional copy emailed to my insurance agent and mom.

 

2) Going to dinner with my inlaws as we need to be on that side of town to drop off the dogs for the week anway.

 

3) Stopping by the $1 store on the way home to buy a neon piece of posterboard. I hang this outside my room along with 2 pens hanging on string (also taped to the door). I LOVE collecting signatures and 'bon voyages' from all over the world. My favorite was a whole paragraph in chinese/japenese/idontknow-ese and at the bottom it said "From 7401"...

 

that reminds me... maybe Ill get the pens strung and posterboard decorated early this year..... nnnaaahhhh what else would I do when I cant sleep at 2 am from excitement?!?!?!?!

 

Love the pen/posterboard idea...we had a signed print of the ship we went on and the staff all signed them for us at the last dinner before returning to port...that was neat... but it would be fun to see how many passegers signed it? :rolleyes:

[mistyinca]

One pre-cruise ritual I have is every week I take out a pre-determined amount of cash--the same amount every week, and I put it away for the cruise. It helps countdown the cruise, and by the time it's time to go, I have a pad of cash to spend. In addition to that, when I periodically have loose $1's in my wallet or in dh's pocket, I'll put those away too for tips here and there.

 

It's like free money at the end, since it was a small increment each week.

[USBRIT]

Not exactly post cruise but I enjoy breaking the ice during lifeboat drill by whistling the theme song from Titanic. You quickly find our which of your fellow cruisers have a sense of humor and who you should avoid during the coming days.

[arush5268d]

About a month prior to embarkation I always brush up on my pirate-speak. Yarrrrr!

[CroneWynd]

I got my pre-cruise massage yesterday. On Friday, I will get my pre-cruise facial :p

 

Today, we practice-packed our luggage, and weighed everything, to make sure that we won't be overweight on the airline!

 

We have a list for additional items we'll put in our carry ons.

 

Oh, and I made our door sign today, as well :D

[Cruzin RN]

1. get a pedicure

2. buy new flipflops

3. read all the Cruise Critic posts!!!

4. check the internet for any special events going on at the ports we are visiting.

5. write our ports of call on the calendar at work so everyone is jealous while I'm gone.:p