Your favorite memory

[OnTheJourney]

Hmmm..tough question. Different types of cruises hold different feelings and memories. So many good ones. I'm going to expand on the title of the thread in offering several thoughts rather than just trying to pick one. I apologize in advance for the lack of brevity in doing this. 🤭

 

In a typically sentimental vein, probably a very special memory is our first (ever) cruise when our daughter was quite young. It was only a few days - and in some ways certainly not the best cruise experience I've had especially in terms of interesting ports - but with it being the first time as a family, that made it quite unique and made for some memories that were impossible to duplicate.

 

Next was probably our Alaska cruise (sorry, not with RCCL) since, again, it was with our daughter. Both of those trips carry memories of some things that have gone the way of the dodo relative to cruising in general; e.g. ice carving demos (older cruisers...remember those??)  and also midnight buffets. You'd get to take pictures of it like an hour before it opened. I just talked about this on another thread somewhere. Some for chocolate buffets. 

 

Outside of those trips, I'd have to say B2B trips we've done hold a special memory. There is something really cool about watching all the people getting ready to disembark at the end of the first week while you're just leisurely biding your time waiting for the ship to go back out again.

 

Our first cruise that began in Europe was also great in that it was again just another 'first' of many different types of travel experiences.

 

Then there are cruises - undoubtedly special to so many here - that truly held unique adventures to some amazing places. For us, that would be Antarctica and the Northern Lights trips.

 

I think each cruise, though, IS unique in its own way. Everything about it comes together to form an overall impression - itinerary and ports (and anything special about those that happened along the way...wow....I could devote paragraphs to that one), crew, captain, special meals, etc. I have to second what others have said about just being out on the decks - sunrise, sunset, late at night -  that affords an opportunity to be part of something so much larger than ourselves. The quiet and solitude of communing with nature at such times is pretty unforgettable and one of the key things that has drawn me back to sea over the years. 

 

Edited May 24, 2020 by OnTheJourney

[Newleno]

6 hours ago, mugtech said:

Going through the Panama Canal on the NCL Sun, seeing the path between the seas that I had been hearing and reading about since I was a kid.  Close second was pulling out of San Francisco in the fog reminded me of my father's stories of doing the same, but I was headed to Alaska while his 1944 trip was headed to the Philippines.  I was on a nicer, faster ship, better food. 

do you know the name of your father's ship

[Newleno]

6 hours ago, Mallefiscent said:

 

I have always thought about cruising through the Panama Canal. Is it really beautiful or is it all concrete and dirty?

it is something you may want to do once, we went from east to west, the anticipation, seeing the locks in the distance, having the walls so close to the ship you could just about touch them,  once was enough, usually some pretty good deals but the taxes are crazy.

[lswilmot]

My favorite moment on a previous cruise has to be our family Thanksgiving cruise out of NOLA. Our family is separated by many miles (New York to Hawaii).  Original plans called for us all to meet up the day prior to the cruise in NOLA and travel to the ship together.  Flight delays and other obstacles had us all worried that some of us would miss the ship.  But we all made it and made plans via numerous phone calls to meet on the pool deck.  Just prior to sailing we finally saw the rest of the family approaching from the opposite end of the deck..Two of my great- nieces dropped their carry-on bags and took off running the length of the deck and jumped into my arms, nearly knocking us all to the floor.  Soon we were all in one place at the same time.  A fantastic vacation for all of us.☺️

[molsonschooner]

It seems like all of our cruises have been special in some way but I think my favourite cruises have been the last 2. Our young granddaughter has been with us and we had so much fun. I don’t know how many times we went on the carousel.

[mugtech]

7 hours ago, Newleno said:

do you know the name of your father's ship

Don't know the name of the ship, but he was with the 25th Infantry Division, landed from Lingayan Gulf, headed towards Manila.  

[DaniDanielle]

My favorite memory is seeing the look on my granddaughter’s face when we took her on the Explorer.  She couldn’t understand how we got to cruise a lot but she didn’t.  We surprised her with the Explorer and she has now been on eight cruises with us and her mom.

[OnTheJourney]

I could have also mentioned something as simple as watching the wake either from the stern or on either side. Our family auto repair business included selling outboard motors and other power boat-related equipment, and so boating is what we did - every vacation. As a kid, I was always fascinated watching the wake and so every cruise finds me spending some time either aft or just from our balcony. Takes me right back to an earlier time. 

[Newleno]

1 hour ago, mugtech said:

Don't know the name of the ship, but he was with the 25th Infantry Division, landed from Lingayan Gulf, headed towards Manila.  

ok thanks, my father served in the navy, one of his awards was the "liberation of the Philippines" (dont know the details, i would have to go to the family archives to look, aka my brothers house 1000 miles away)

[OnTheJourney]

18 hours ago, JohnSpo said:

Going out on deck on a clear night and look out at the ocean and up at the sky.  It is so quiet and peaceful.  This is when you really know you are on the ocean.👍

 

 

 

 

I'm with you on this all the way.... 😉 

Edited May 24, 2020 by OnTheJourney

[OnTheJourney]

2 hours ago, mugtech said:

Don't know the name of the ship, but he was with the 25th Infantry Division, landed from Lingayan Gulf, headed towards Manila.  

Cool. Got me interested so I looked it up. As you likely already know, the 25th ("Tropic Lightning"!) was based at Schofield Barracks and was the first to see combat when the Pearl Harbor attack occurred. My dad was in the 99th - captured during the 1st day of the Bulge. 

[Kelli0927]

Although I consider the beach my happy place, I'd say my favorite memory on a cruise happened in Alaska.  Standing on one of the top decks cruising into Hubbard glacier watching and listening to the calving. Then my husband, son and I went to our balcony and sat quietly just watching. It was pretty awesome! 

[johnjen]

First cruise, Grandeur, 2004. Seeing DW's face light up when she saw the flowers from me in our first cabin, an inside.
At the midnight buffet, wanted to try one of the chocolate covered strawberries, Jen never had one before, watched the woman in front of us take the last six of them for herself....head waiter took note, next night at dinner, brought the table a platter of them....remembering the wonderful lit up ice sculptures and watermelon carvings, the port visits we had in the Caribbean....magic.
- 

[mugtech]

46 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

Cool. Got me interested so I looked it up. As you likely already know, the 25th ("Tropic Lightning"!) was based at Schofield Barracks and was the first to see combat when the Pearl Harbor attack occurred. My dad was in the 99th - captured during the 1st day of the Bulge. 

My dad was in the 106th but got sent to college, but when they scrapped the college program he was reassigned to the 25th.  The 106th was surrendered at the bulge, the biggest US surrender since Bataan in the Philippines.  Was Kurt Vonnegut's outfit, he got to live through the firebombing of Dresden, write about it later. 

[mugtech]

1 hour ago, Newleno said:

ok thanks, my father served in the navy, one of his awards was the "liberation of the Philippines" (dont know the details, i would have to go to the family archives to look, aka my brothers house 1000 miles away)

Probably in Leyte Gulf, the biggest surface battle of the war.  The real heroes were the tin can sailors on the destroyers.  My dad did not get his Philippines campaign ribbon until about 1996, presented by the current congressman at the time, my wife (native born Filipino) was thrilled to attend the presentation.

[ONECRUISER]

On 5/23/2020 at 4:45 PM, Mallefiscent said:

Let's lighten stuff up a bit.  What is your favorite cruising memory?  Tell all of us newbies what makes cruising so special to you.  It gives us something to look forward to.

Skeet Shooting and hitting Golf Balls off side of Royal Ships. Was kinda Kool thing that was done away with even before 9/11... Now, getting on board the ship and Exploring! Try new things but dont feel like have do everything. Also dont forget to Relax, its a Vacation! Cruising on Royal since Mid 80's, hooked first day. Then can learn a lot on here, been on Cruise Critic myself since 1997...

Edited May 25, 2020 by ONECRUISER

[ONECRUISER]

4 hours ago, mugtech said:

Don't know the name of the ship, but he was with the 25th Infantry Division, landed from Lingayan Gulf, headed towards Manila.  

My Grand Father joined Guard in 1940, they were Activated in 1941. Was re-assigned to 25th Infantry Division and went ashore in Philippines. Was a E-6, Awarded the Silver Star and a Commission. Was part of Occupation Japan 1945-46. Stayed in until 1974 retiring as Colonel. Passed away 6yrs ago at 95. Growing up around him and my Uncles that were flying B-52's in/during/after Vietnam convinced me to join up and serve...

Edited May 25, 2020 by ONECRUISER

[mugtech]

1 hour ago, ONECRUISER said:

My Grand Father joined Guard in 1940, they were Activated in 1941. Was re-assigned to 25th Infantry Division and went ashore in Philippines. Was a E-6, Awarded the Silver Star and a Commission. Was part of Occupation Japan 1945-46. Stayed in until 1974 retiring as Colonel. Passed away 6yrs ago at 95. Growing up around him and my Uncles that were flying B-52's in/during/after Vietnam convinced me to join up and serve...

Wow, great story, great history.  My dad was also with the occupation forces, told me of sailing into Nagoya, something I would like to do.  Right now the Norwegian Sun in April, 2022, has the ultimate 1945 cruise rt Tokyo going to Nagoya, Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Kyoto plus a stop in Busan, South Korea, for some 1950 exploration.

[ONECRUISER]

35 minutes ago, mugtech said:

Wow, great story, great history.  My dad was also with the occupation forces, told me of sailing into Nagoya, something I would like to do.  Right now the Norwegian Sun in April, 2022, has the ultimate 1945 cruise rt Tokyo going to Nagoya, Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Kyoto plus a stop in Busan, South Korea, for some 1950 exploration.

Nice, always wanted do one of the Veteran site tours in Pacific and in EU. Few yrs ago was all set do one at a give away price but life happened. Hope able get another shot. Think of the Tens of Million's US Veterans alive in our Lifetime, really is surprisingly a small World. My Grand Father, Step Dad and my Best Friend, Different Generations, all stayed in same ARMY Barracks in Germany... Did NCL Sun's sister the Sky 20yrs ago, was really nice Cruise and Ship size. Figure 95% all my Cruises were on the Sovereign, Vision and Radiance Class's

Edited May 25, 2020 by ONECRUISER

[maxcat910]

Last year we had an aft balcony and one morning it was clear enough and we could actually see far enough that the ship sailing away from us disappeared from the bottom up. Round earth + relaxing, amazing wake.

[Daytonasailor]

11 hours ago, mugtech said:

My dad was in the 106th but got sent to college, but when they scrapped the college program he was reassigned to the 25th.  The 106th was surrendered at the bulge, the biggest US surrender since Bataan in the Philippines.  Was Kurt Vonnegut's outfit, he got to live through the firebombing of Dresden, write about it later. 

I was in Dresden in Feb. I didn't know it was the British that caused the fires from the air raid. The next day the US bombed them also, but the majority of the damage was from the day before. Seems like the US got all the blame. It's amazing to see the before and after pictures they had on display there. It's a beautiful city now.

[Daytonasailor]

Woops, kind of got away from this thread with my last post, sorry. My favorite cruise was our first one. My DW was afraid to cruise in the open ocean. Probably relates to the time we got caught in the tail end of a hurricane while sailing on our catamaran. I was about 45 minutes from Port Canaveral and always wanted to cruise. I saw a special on a 3 day sailing to Nassau and return to PC. A great price and I told her about it, but she still refused to go. I put on my man pants and said OK, I'm going and I'm taking our 16 YO GD. DW finally relented and said she would go. The ship was the Monarch of the Seas and it was the last sailing as RCI had sold the ship. We didn't know it till we were on board. We had the best time and DW stated any time someone puts a napkin in her lap, cooks dinner and brings it to her, she is all in. I guess the only mistake? was being picked for the Love and Marriage game. Our 16 YO GD said she would never look at us the same. Jeeze, they kept playing the show on the TV over and over. But, we all say when we talk about our cruises, that this was the best one.

[OnTheJourney]

11 hours ago, mugtech said:

Wow, great story, great history.  My dad was also with the occupation forces, told me of sailing into Nagoya, something I would like to do.  Right now the Norwegian Sun in April, 2022, has the ultimate 1945 cruise rt Tokyo going to Nagoya, Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Kyoto plus a stop in Busan, South Korea, for some 1950 exploration.

 

Amazing stories indeed.....the "Greatest Generation" to be sure. My dad, after being captured at Honsfeld, spent the rest of the war in several German prison camps. The most fascinating part of his story is that he was finally liberated near the very end of the war by his own division! He later described it as a "joyful and often tearful reunion with a lot of good buddies". The 99th was highly decorated. Though young and totally inexperienced (hence the nickname "Battle Babies"), while outnumbered 5 to 1 they inflicted casualties at a rate of 18 to 1 during the early days of the Bulge, and was the first complete division to cross the Rhine at Ludendorff Bridge. On a personal family note, my Mom was expecting (my older brother) at the time and had no idea if my dad was alive or not. And people today are upset about something as simple as having to wear a mask????   

 

Thanks to all vets today - everywhere - for their service, those both living and no longer here. 🇺🇸

Edited May 25, 2020 by OnTheJourney

[OnTheJourney]

11 hours ago, ONECRUISER said:

Nice, always wanted do one of the Veteran site tours in Pacific and in EU. Few yrs ago was all set do one at a give away price but life happened. Hope able get another shot. Think of the Tens of Million's US Veterans alive in our Lifetime, really is surprisingly a small World. My Grand Father, Step Dad and my Best Friend, Different Generations, all stayed in same ARMY Barracks in Germany... Did NCL Sun's sister the Sky 20yrs ago, was really nice Cruise and Ship size. Figure 95% all my Cruises were on the Sovereign, Vision and Radiance Class's

 

Yeah...my parents had an opportunity - through the various army reunion activities that he attended following retirement - to go on a battlefield tour in Europe. Having never been inclined to do any international travel overseas, they didn't go. I wish they would have since I'm sure it would have been enjoyable and meaningful. 

 

Agreed that many vets are still alive from the various wars - especially those more recent - but with it being the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII, the number of those survivors are dwindling. 

[OnTheJourney]

11 hours ago, mugtech said:

 Right now the Norwegian Sun in April, 2022, has the ultimate 1945 cruise rt Tokyo going to Nagoya, Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Kyoto plus a stop in Busan, South Korea, for some 1950 exploration.

 

You should definitely plan on going. 

Edited May 25, 2020 by OnTheJourney