Cruising Mother Tales

[vtcruising]

Happy Mother’s Day to the mothers out there! I was just thinking today about how I wish I could have taken my mom on a cruise (she passed away before I got into cruising). I think she would have loved it. She liked dressing up to go out for dinner, shows, seeing new places and meeting people.

 

 I’ve been a bit envious of others traveling with their moms, though I’m sure there are pros and cons. Today I was thinking about some of the cruising mother stories I have heard on Cruise Critic - some touching and some funny.

 

Anyway, anyone have any good cruising mother stories?????

[prish]

I don’t have any good cruising mother stories but my mom’s fav vacation is a cruise and we siblings usually take her on one every year. She loves dressing up and going to dinner and the shows with the grandkids. Makes for a special family vacation.

 

Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms out there!   

[TeeRick]

VT- like you I wish I could have taken my mom on a cruise before she passed.  Actually she was really afraid of boats of any type.  I'm glad this was not inherited by me!  I always smile when I see large families on board ships that have brought the matriarch along.  They all seem so happy.

 

And ---Happy Mother's Day to all!

Edited May 12, 2019 by TeeRick

[scrapcreator]

Mom loved to cruise! Her favorite itinerary was Alaska, which she cruised more than ten times. She took my grandparents on their first Alaska cruise. As they cruised Glacier Bay, she headed up to take pictures and my grandparents said they’d be up in a minute. They never showed up. She found them later in the casino, on a ”hot” slot machine. After the cruise was over and they were sharing pictures, my grandparents wondered where she’d seen and taken pictures of the glaciers.

[vtcruising]

24 minutes ago, scrapcreator said:

Mom loved to cruise! Her favorite itinerary was Alaska, which she cruised more than ten times. She took my grandparents on their first Alaska cruise. As they cruised Glacier Bay, she headed up to take pictures and my grandparents said they’d be up in a minute. They never showed up. She found them later in the casino, on a ”hot” slot machine. After the cruise was over and they were sharing pictures, my grandparents wondered where she’d seen and taken pictures of the glaciers.

Sounds like your grandparents would be fun to cruise with - thanks for the laugh!🙂

[vtcruising]

1 hour ago, TeeRick said:

VT- like you I wish I could have taken my mom on a cruise before she passed.  Actually she was really afraid of boats of any type.  I'm glad this was not inherited by me!  I always smile when I see large families on board ships that have brought the matriarch along.  They all seem so happy.

 

And ---Happy Mother's Day to all!

I wonder if our moms would have liked the Edge? I know my mom would have been intrigued by the eclectic art and would have loved dining in the beautiful MDRs, but not sure how she would have fared in Eden. 🙂

 

Probably most have seen this video of This is Not Your Grandparents’ Cruise Ship:

 

Edited May 12, 2019 by vtcruising

[vtcruising]

1 hour ago, prish said:

I don’t have any good cruising mother stories but my mom’s fav vacation is a cruise and we siblings usually take her on one every year. She loves dressing up and going to dinner and the shows with the grandkids. Makes for a special family vacation.

 

Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms out there!   

The multi-generational family cruise sounds fun. My dream is to take our whole family at some point. 🙂

[GastroGnome]

We've cruised with my mother twice now and are sailing with her again in August.   Each time it has been wonderful (we cruise  fair bit without her too though!)  She is getting on a bit and has various issues  - and managed a different one each time! - but X has  always been good for us.  She came on the Connie from Venice to the Dalmatian Coast with us (me, DH,DD) and my sister and her partner for our 25th Wedding anniversary.  And last year the Norwegian coast on Sillhouette with "just" me, DH and DD.  This year we're doing Iceland - also on Silli.    Both previous times DM has had mobility problems and so didn't actually get off the ship but we now have two replacement knees and she is raring to go.  She loves people and people watching - and cruises are always great for that.  We can all be free to do our own thing or meet up.  Its great to have a peaceful day and then be able to meet up for dinner etc.  Multi generational cruises are highly recommended here!

[vtcruising]

5 minutes ago, GastroGnome said:

We've cruised with my mother twice now and are sailing with her again in August.   Each time it has been wonderful (we cruise  fair bit without her too though!)  She is getting on a bit and has various issues  - and managed a different one each time! - but X has  always been good for us.  She came on the Connie from Venice to the Dalmatian Coast with us (me, DH,DD) and my sister and her partner for our 25th Wedding anniversary.  And last year the Norwegian coast on Sillhouette with "just" me, DH and DD.  This year we're doing Iceland - also on Silli.    Both previous times DM has had mobility problems and so didn't actually get off the ship but we now have two replacement knees and she is raring to go.  She loves people and people watching - and cruises are always great for that.  We can all be free to do our own thing or meet up.  Its great to have a peaceful day and then be able to meet up for dinner etc.  Multi generational cruises are highly recommended here!

Sounds like a great time! I love that she can’t wait to use her new knees on the next cruise - just think what fun she will have!

[musik07]

My mom and I have cruised together the past few summers. When my brother and I were younger we actually cruised with both of my grandmothers and my parents once. We still laugh about the memories we made on that cruise! My grandmother somehow got 'lost' on CoCo Cay (Royal) and we spent most of our day looking for her, she thought she had seen my dad in the water and went out to swim with him only to find out it wasn't him and then she just stayed in the water. We always kid that we need to go back to CoCoCay to see more than the bathrooms and food tents! That cruise is full of memories that I am so glad we were able to make when both grandmothers were still with us and able to travel! 

[vtcruising]

2 hours ago, musik07 said:

My mom and I have cruised together the past few summers. When my brother and I were younger we actually cruised with both of my grandmothers and my parents once. We still laugh about the memories we made on that cruise! My grandmother somehow got 'lost' on CoCo Cay (Royal) and we spent most of our day looking for her, she thought she had seen my dad in the water and went out to swim with him only to find out it wasn't him and then she just stayed in the water. We always kid that we need to go back to CoCoCay to see more than the bathrooms and food tents! That cruise is full of memories that I am so glad we were able to make when both grandmothers were still with us and able to travel! 

Great story - sounds like your grandmother had a fun day!

[wendyam76]

I am lucky enough to cruise several times a year with my 85 year old mum. She loves the company and how she gets spoiled. It’s just the two of us - the rest of the family couldn’t keep up! 

We usually do tours together but one year I wanted to visit a concentration camp which would have been too much walking for her. She was just going to stay onboard. Several weeks before an email came from our St Petersburg tour company, SPB, offering a tour to Berlin. I passed it to her never thinking she would go - she immediately said yes and I was delighted. I spent hours showing her how to use my spare digital camera so she could take photos (she has never mastered a mobile phone!) and went through the tour itinerary with her. She had a ball, loved the sights and a mother and daughter realised about half way through that she was on her own and “adopted” her! Guess how many photos she took - 6!!! Still makes me laugh. 

Wendy

[vtcruising]

32 minutes ago, wendyam76 said:

I am lucky enough to cruise several times a year with my 85 year old mum. She loves the company and how she gets spoiled. It’s just the two of us - the rest of the family couldn’t keep up! 

We usually do tours together but one year I wanted to visit a concentration camp which would have been too much walking for her. She was just going to stay onboard. Several weeks before an email came from our St Petersburg tour company, SPB, offering a tour to Berlin. I passed it to her never thinking she would go - she immediately said yes and I was delighted. I spent hours showing her how to use my spare digital camera so she could take photos (she has never mastered a mobile phone!) and went through the tour itinerary with her. She had a ball, loved the sights and a mother and daughter realised about half way through that she was on her own and “adopted” her! Guess how many photos she took - 6!!! Still makes me laugh. 

Wendy

Nice story on so many levels. Your mom sounds like a great travel companion and I love how we cruisers take care of each other. We have been on tours and noticed a single and "adopted" them for parts of a tour - win/win!  I have also been on tours by myself and it is nice when others include you.

 

All of these posts have inspired me take my grown children on cruises. We took them all on a cruise just as they were starting to head off on their own and had the most wonderful time. We still talk about the round of expensive cordials in commemorative glasses that our son ordered at dinner thinking they were complimentary (we still prize those glasses), the sheer joy on our kids' faces as they all unexpectedly went by in a conga line by our poolside loungers at 11:00 at night as we relaxed with our cocktails and the waiter who tied my DH's and my wrists together with a cloth napkin when we all got dressed up on a formal night to celebrate our anniversary (a custom where he was from). Time to make time - life is too short! 🙂

 

Edited May 13, 2019 by vtcruising

[lola2013]

My dad passed away before my parents had a chance to cruise the Panama Canal.  So I thought it would be fun for us to cruise together; we chose a standard oceanview, but as a Christmas gift, my brother and I purchased an upgrade to a mini-suite so she could have a tub...it was a great surprise for her! 

She had a great time so we decided to next cruise Canada & New England.  Neither of us had ever sailed in a balcony cabin, and it took a lot of convincing on my part to get her to agree.  Her biggest concern was PIRATES.  I reminded her that we weren't sailing to Somalia...we'd be safe on the US East Coast.  Can't tell you how many times I'd return to the cabin to find her out on the balcony enjoying the fresh air and beautiful view.

Next was a planned cruise to the Med.  She wanted to see Croatia so we got as far as booking a great trip, making the deposit and (fortunately) purchasing insurance.  Sadly, she passed away not long after.  The night before she passed away, I had dinner with out of town relatives who had decided to cruise with us.  We ended up with a group of 11 and they all were sure to remind me that Mom was with me every day...especially our beautiful day in Dubrovnik.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

Happy post Mother’s Day...

 

We took my DML on 13 cruises...many of them on Celebrity.  Our first adventure was in 1984 and she fell in love with cruising.  Our last cruise with DML was in 2012 in celebration of her 100th birthday.  We flew to Barcelona and sailed home to FLL.  She loved every one of those cruises and she was a perfect subject for photos.  We have a great collection of photos that we can look back on.  She loved to dress up for dinner and my DW kept her looking super.  She passed 6 weeks short of 104.  One of the things she told me just before she died...how thankful she was that we took her on so many incredible cruises.  They were incredible to her as she had gone from the horse and buggy to the 747.  She loved seeing the world though a porthole and she was a wonderful sailor and great cruise mate.  As Vtcruiser said...”life is too short”.  We highly recommend taking your parents or grand parents with you...it makes for wonderful memories.  

[vtcruising]

1 hour ago, lola2013 said:

My dad passed away before my parents had a chance to cruise the Panama Canal.  So I thought it would be fun for us to cruise together; we chose a standard oceanview, but as a Christmas gift, my brother and I purchased an upgrade to a mini-suite so she could have a tub...it was a great surprise for her! 

She had a great time so we decided to next cruise Canada & New England.  Neither of us had ever sailed in a balcony cabin, and it took a lot of convincing on my part to get her to agree.  Her biggest concern was PIRATES.  I reminded her that we weren't sailing to Somalia...we'd be safe on the US East Coast.  Can't tell you how many times I'd return to the cabin to find her out on the balcony enjoying the fresh air and beautiful view.

Next was a planned cruise to the Med.  She wanted to see Croatia so we got as far as booking a great trip, making the deposit and (fortunately) purchasing insurance.  Sadly, she passed away not long after.  The night before she passed away, I had dinner with out of town relatives who had decided to cruise with us.  We ended up with a group of 11 and they all were sure to remind me that Mom was with me every day...especially our beautiful day in Dubrovnik.

So glad you got to cruise with her and also that she didn't have any clashes with pirates! 😉

[vtcruising]

1 hour ago, CGTNORMANDIE said:

Happy post Mother’s Day...

 

We took my DML on 13 cruises...many of them on Celebrity.  Our first adventure was in 1984 and she fell in love with cruising.  Our last cruise with DML was in 2012 in celebration of her 100th birthday.  We flew to Barcelona and sailed home to FLL.  She loved every one of those cruises and she was a perfect subject for photos.  We have a great collection of photos that we can look back on.  She loved to dress up for dinner and my DW kept her looking super.  She passed 6 weeks short of 104.  One of the things she told me just before she died...how thankful she was that we took her on so many incredible cruises.  They were incredible to her as she had gone from the horse and buggy to the 747.  She loved seeing the world though a porthole and she was a wonderful sailor and great cruise mate.  As Vtcruiser said...”life is too short”.  We highly recommend taking your parents or grand parents with you...it makes for wonderful memories.  

Amazing story - I'll admit I got choked up. What a tribute to her to cruise on her 100th birthday (and to you two for including her on so many cruises)! I now have a new goal: 100th birthday in Celebrity's top suite at that time!! 🙂

[Katyoparty]

I am really enjoying this thread!  Thank you to everyone for sharing your memories.  In January of this year my husband and I had the pleasure of taking our 3-generation family on a cruise.  My mother wasn't sure about it beforehand but became a fan.  It was a wonderful time for our family to reconnect and enjoy.

[prish]

So many beautiful stories... celebrating your 100th birthday onboard, the mom who got lost on CocoCay and the mom who went on the long drive to Berlin. The last one is like mine, she was 80 when we were on a Baltic cruise a few years back and did all the shore excursions with us, including Berlin. In St Petersburg we had two full day tours and also went to the Marinsky to see Sleeping Beauty on Day1, but she was game for it, said she’d catch up on her sleep when she was back home!

 

We’re doing the Millennium Southbound in July and the Apex Iberian Peninsula next May, so two more cruises coming up. But I think this time mom won’t be doing as much with us in the ports, she’ll pick the excursions she’s interested in and sit out the others.

 

Our dad passed when we were young adults, so he was never part of these family vacations, which makes the time with our mom even more precious... 😍

 

 

Edited May 13, 2019 by prish

[vtcruising]

14 minutes ago, prish said:

So many beautiful stories... celebrating your 100th birthday onboard, the mom who got lost on CocoCay and the mom who went on the long drive to Berlin. The last one is like mine, she was 80 when we were on a Baltic cruise a few years back and did all the shore excursions with us, including Berlin. In St Petersburg we had two full day tours and also went to the Marinsky to see Sleeping Beauty on Day1, but she was game for it, said she’d catch up on her sleep when she was back home!

 

We’re doing the Millennium Southbound in July and the Apex Iberian Peninsula next May, so two more cruises coming up. But I think this time mom won’t be doing as much with us in the ports, she’ll pick the excursions she’s interested in and sit out the others.

 

Our dad passed when we were young adults, so he was never part of these family vacations, which makes the time with our mom even more precious... 😍

 

 

It's great that she can find the energy to do so much - I'm not eighty, but sometimes it is hard for me to find the energy to do multiple day long tours in a row.

 

I liked your list of moms on cruises, but don't forget the one who missed the scenery because she was playing the slots, the one who can't wait to cruise with her new knees and the one who loved her balcony despite the threat of pirates! 🙂

[prish]

15 minutes ago, vtcruising said:

 

I liked your list of moms on cruises, but don't forget the one who missed the scenery because she was playing the slots, the one who can't wait to cruise with her new knees and the one who loved her balcony despite the threat of pirates! 🙂

 

Of course, three cheers to all our moms! Mine likes to play the slots too BTW. And she’s always taking pictures on her camera, a regular one too, not a cell phone...😂

[CGTNORMANDIE]

2 hours ago, vtcruising said:

Amazing story - I'll admit I got choked up. What a tribute to her to cruise on her 100th birthday (and to you two for including her on so many cruises)! I now have a new goal: 100th birthday in Celebrity's top suite at that time!! 🙂

 

Thanks Vt...the story gets better:  

We flew to Barcelona from Boston and the stewardesses on Iberia could not believe Ida was 100 years old...complimentary Champagne and cocktails all the way.  When we got onboard the Liberty Of The Seas the cabin steward decorated the Grand Suite with streamers etc.  when we got to the MDR the Maitre D’ asked Ida how old she was she explained she was 100.  The MD almost fainted...Ida looked so good and moved so well without a cane the MD could not believe it.  He gathered the waiters and they brought out a big cake then the MD walked out to the center of the MDR and announced in a booming voice that Ida was celebrating her 100th.  The entire dining room on TLS, a three story dining room, sang Happy Birthday to Ida.  Two nights later we were treated to dinner with the Captain.  I had alerted our roll call on CC to say hello to Ida.  When we arrived in the C Lounge more than fifty people said hello to Ida and offered their congratulations.  It was a cruise to remember for all of us.

 

 

[alliecruiser]

Mom and I just got back from Celebrity Solstice 14 night New Zealand to Sydney in April. She is 87 and I also brought her friend we have not seen her for 10 years. We had and awesome time. We have been lucky to do multi cruises, I think this was our last one together. I sure wish she was 20 years younger. We have a lot of fun together but it gets pretty hard to travel. We will still continue to go on some gambling junkets together. We like to gamble also! :)

[sunnydays456]

we have taken 3 generation cruises - they are some of our best memories

[prish]

 

We try and do at least one three generation vacation every year, usually a cruise as that’s what mom likes the best. Getting harder though as my nephew is now working and his vacation time is getting shorter. But he usually joins us for the cruise part, not the land tour we usually add on.

 

CGTNORMANDIE, what a wonderful 100th birthday Ida had, and how lucky she was to have a family which made this possible. Brought tears to my eyes!