Great Cruising Memories

[CGTNORMANDIE]

10 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Thanks for an interesting post!  I need to put my "thinking cap" on, as my 6th Grade Teacher would say, and remember more of my experiences.  

Which is exactly why I wrote about the Linguini a la Vongole RK!

[CGTNORMANDIE]

13 hours ago, marco said:

While hunting though cruise memorabilia, I came across a record album of the Zielli band.  They played on the Home Lines "Oceanic".  I listened to it while looking at the Limoges plates, hanging on the wall in our dining room.  They were gifts for repeater passengers, as well as a delft plate, the size of a salad plate, depicting the "Oceanic". (Hanging on a wall in our den, along with many cruise photos, a Normandie and Titanic poster) an alabaster thermometer, coasters, a change purse, key chain, scarf, and cologne  (the cologne is long gone, now).  All gifts for being Home Lines repeaters.  A real class operation!

Hi Marco,
Home Lines was certainly a class act.  You are so lucky to have been able to sail on all those storied ships.  Home lines had the secret of success because they knew how to create the mood and rhythm of a great cruise.  In a word...quality.

[rkacruiser]

23 hours ago, marco said:

 I came across a record album of the Zielli band.  They played on the Home Lines "Oceanic"

 

I have done a search for your record thinking that such a record might be available "somewhere, out there" just as I found several years ago for Romy Formica and the Favolosi who performed on the S. S. Oceanic in 1973.  No luck.  Amazon had a record for sale by such a group of that name with a notice that it was not available and may not be available.  Unsure that it's the same group, actually as yours.  

[rkacruiser]

A short memory at the end of a cruise that led to a decision for my next one.

 

Sunward II, sitting on an aft deck having coffee and some pastries prior to disembarking in Miami after a 4 day cruise in the next to bottom category of inside cabins, I was so pleased with this "rather inexpensive cruise experience" that I made a cruise decision that I had been considering for months prior to that February cruise.

 

A June, 1980 cruise aboard Royal Viking Sky:  a 10 day trans-Atlantic crossing from New York to Copenhagen followed by a 14 day North Cape Cruise, round trip from Copenhagen.  The cost for my traveling companion and me would be the largest either of us had spent on  a cruise.  But, for a RVL cruise (probably due to the re-positioning of Royal Viking Sky), the price we would pay would be a bargain for the quality of the experience received.  I would have to convince him to join me.  I would have to get my vacation schedule (with the cooperation of my colleagues) re-arranged to allow me to have a 6 week vacation time period.

 

The vacation time period was the most critical piece of the puzzle.  Returning to work, I was able to more easily get it resolved than I expected.  Time to "sell" my friend.  I obtained another Cruise Atlas from my travel agent prior to us going out for dinner at a very upscale restaurant in Cincinnati.  (I thought that would be an appropriate venue to make my "sales pitch".)  During dinner, we talked about my proposed plans.  A few days in Copenhagen to visit the city, take a train to Odense for the Hans Christian Anderson sites, a train/ferry to Hamburg with an overnight at Hamburg, and finally a train to Bremerhaven with an overnight and a visit to their Maritime Museum for the return to the United States on Queen Elizabeth 2.  (Dates matched for the sailings, we would have to sail on QE2 in Tourist Class--First Class was beyond both of our bank accounts, however.)  I gave him the Cruise Atlas and a few days later, he agreed.  I quickly made an appointment with my travel agent (was using a local agency at that time) and arrangements/bookings were made.  

 

While the return trip on QE2 was the most disappointing part of the trip because of labor issues at that time on the ship, (we knew some people in First Class and they were as displeased as we were in Tourist Class), that trip remains my #1 cruise experience of all time.  

 

And, to think, that the decision to "let's do it" came about as a result of a 4 day, inexpensive cruise on NCL's Sunward II.  (Memories of my previous cruise experiences up to that time certainly helped:  two on Rotterdam V, Oceanic, Statendam, PFEL's Monterey.)

 

 

[rkacruiser]

A 2006 November Caribbean cruise from New York aboard Queen Mary 2:

 

I flew to New York a couple of days early because I wanted to see the city decorated as the Christmas season was approaching and had tickets for the Radio City Music Hall's Christmas show.  The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree was just being erected when I was there and that was interesting to watch the day to day changes.  The Christmas show at Radio City was everything that I expected.  Just wonderful!  I worked in a Circle Line boat trip around Manhattan as well.

 

Sailing day dawned overcast and cold.  Uneventful transfer from hotel to pier to ship; with the different foyers/elevators aboard the ship, getting to my within the hull veranda stateroom was "different".  Very nice stateroom and my Steward introduced himself soon after I arrived; did not expect this, but found that sitting on one of the deck chairs on the veranda provided only a great view of sky above and steel looking straight ahead.  Lunch in the King's Court which was, as is usual on all ships during Embarkation, a zoo.  

 

At sailaway, I was on the upper open deck overlooking the bow enduring the wind and the cold.  I was determined that I was going to stay out on deck until we had passed under the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge.  Quickly after that, I headed to the Commodore's Club for a warming drink.  

 

Dinner that first evening in the lower level of the Britannia Restaurant found me at a round table for 6 next to a large porthole.  Just the perfect sized table in a great location with 3 other guests--a very pleasant well traveled couple from Boston and an equally pleasant single woman from ? (I don't remember).  The table "jelled" immediately.  The dining Stewards and our Wine Stewardess provided expected Cunard service.  The Assistant Maitre d' overseeing our table was officious to the point of being obnoxious.  Whatever, it was an excellent dinner and the following night was a repeat.

 

Dinner three was a different story, however.  Because we had two empty seats, Mr. officious Assistant Maitre d' seated a Mother and Daughter in those seats.  The 4 of us had been having a pleasant conversation that was interrupted by the arrival of these 2 ladies.  Their rear ends had not yet "hit the seat of their chair" when they barged into our conversation with absolutely nothing relevant being discussed.  That evening's dinner went downhill from that point.  They blabbered on and on about whatever they wanted to say and cared nothing for what the 4 of us had to say.  Dinner four was no different.  After they left that evening, the four of us discussed our "disgust" at how our table had "changed".  Dinner five, it was a repeat performance of Dinners three and four.  Mr. officious Assistant Maitre d', during the dinner, made a visit to our table asking:  "How are you enjoying your dinner?  Is everything alright?"  I looked him square in the eye and said:  "NO!"  "Why not?" he replied.  I said:  "I want to speak with you before I leave the dining room."

 

When I spoke with him, I told him about how the addition of these two women had changed from a delightful table to a much more unpleasant one.  And, that none of the four of us appreciated his "attitude" when he made his nightly "visit".  

 

The next night's dinner found those two seats vacant again.  Mr. officious Assistant Maitre d' became "sweetness and light". 

 

We found out that our table was table #3 that these two women had been seated because the previous two tables objected to their presence.  They were subsequently seated somewhere in the Restaurant at a table for two which is where they originally should have been assigned.  

 

The last night at sea, I handed additional gratuity envelopes to my Wine Stewardess (who was among the best I have experienced) and my two dining Stewards.  Mr. officious Assistant Maitre d' was nearby when I was doing this and he saw me giving my envelopes to these three crew members.  As I walked by him, I said "good-bye"; there was no envelope for him.

 

The cruise itself was very good.  Their planetarium shows:  amazing.  Main Theater performances:  great.  Tea in the Queen's Room:  an event.  Pub Lunch at the Golden Lion Pub:  so much from which to choose and what I ordered was good.  (But, "mushy peas" aren't on my really favorite veggie list.)  Bar service/deck service:  very good.  Dinner one evening at the Todd English Restaurant was OK; would not have considered a repeat.  The Library:  what isn't there to like?  The decor of the ship:  I liked it.  What I felt was the odd way to get to the very aft Night Club discouraged me from attending more than once.  I found the King's Court's arrangement of stations to be difficult to which to become accustomed and chaotic at prime meal times.  (Dining whenever at "off times" provides a more "civil" experience on whatever ship I sail in a dining venue of that type.)  

 

The ports that we visited?  Well, after all of these years, I can't tell you any that we visited for certain.

 

Regardless of the ports and the other "drama", it was a very good cruise.  I'd return to QM2 or one of the other Cunard ships without hesitation.    

Edited October 26, 2020 by rkacruiser

[shipgeeks]

I can relate to your story of the re-assigned tablemates!

On a transatlantic sailing a few years ago, we lucked out with a very compatible international group at our dinner table; so much so that two of the men cancelled their plans for a meal at a specialty restaurant in order to have every night with the group.

Then, several nights into the sailing, a new couple were brought to the table.  Smiles and welcomes.  After introductions, they promptly announced "We voted for xxxxx, twice", and continued to loudly express their political views without regard for the ongoing conversation.

I imagine they were booted from their first table assignment.  You're right, they should have been put at a table for two, where they could entertain each other.  I regret that we were not more pro-active in expressing our displeasure.

 

[rkacruiser]

7 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

After introductions, they promptly announced "We voted for xxxxx, twice", and continued to loudly express their political views without regard for the ongoing conversation.

 

They committed one of the two major sins of cruising:  No conversations about politics.  No conversations about religion.

 

7 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

I regret that we were not more pro-active in expressing our displeasure.

 

It was "out of character" for me to do what I did in confronting Mr. officious Assistant Maitre d'.  But, his attitude and failure to appreciate the dynamics of our table before afflicting us with those two women was something that I could not ignore.  What really "set me off" was his question when he visited:  "Is everything alright?"  If he was capable of the position he held on QM2, he would have observed that "everything was not alright" and should have been proactive in doing something about it.  

[George C]

Speaking of politics we did a cruise four years ago , 12 day cruise from Barcelona we had a great group from our roll call that did many excursions together, two couples were from Canada including a recently retired Mountie , we were saying there will be lots of people moving to Canada if someone would win, I would have considered it but hate cold weather.

[rkacruiser]

31 minutes ago, George C said:

Speaking of politics we did a cruise four years ago , 12 day cruise from Barcelona we had a great group from our roll call that did many excursions together, two couples were from Canada including a recently retired Mountie , we were saying there will be lots of people moving to Canada if someone would win, I would have considered it but hate cold weather.

 

In recent years, when I have conversations with people from Europe or Australia or New Zealand during my cruises, I frequently have been asked the question:  "what were you people thinking?" 

[CGTNORMANDIE]

I knew if I could get RK to remember a few of his myriad cruise experiences that we would be provided with ample entertainment.  While we are on the subject of seating assignments...

 

Some table arrangements have been great and some not so good.  I find that you need to rectify any problems quickly.  I can remember sailing on the Bremen in 1971.  DW and I were on our honeymoon and we were seated at a table for 2 and we must have drawn the most inexperienced waiter on that ship.  We immediately asked to be assigned to a table with other people...just to get away from our young waiter.  As fortune would have it we ended up at a table for 8 for lunch the next day.  We quickly found another couple at that table who truly enjoyed the excellent dining experience on the Bremen.  We then changed tables once again this time for a table for four for dinner that night.  What followed was one of our most memorable cruises.  Our table mates were a doctor and his wife from NY City.  They were older than we were but they loved life and they loved fine dining.  The doctor turned out to be one of the funniest comedians I have ever encountered.  We laughed so much my stomach was sore!  Breakfast, lunch and dinner turned into epic events.  Our cruise ended with our sharing a bottle of Champagne at the pier in New York.  This jovial couple gave us a ride to La Guardia to catch our flight back to Boston...truly memorable.  

 

 

[shipgeeks]

Indeed, in spite of a few unpleasant "blips", dinner tables have been one of the best parts of almost all of our cruises.  We've frequently been the last group to leave the dining room, due to ongoing conversations.  (Our waiter:  "May I bring you the breakfast menus?")  We've enjoyed knowing people from Germany, Norway, Belgium, Argentina, UK, Colombia, as well as cruisers from closer to home.  

[rkacruiser]

8 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

We've frequently been the last group to leave the dining room, due to ongoing conversations.  (Our waiter:  "May I bring you the breakfast menus?")  

 

🤣🤣  I am laughing out loud!

[CGTNORMANDIE]

Ahhh yes...lingering table conversations.  I think the Brits and the French got it right.  The British ships would serve a savory with the port and cheese after the meal was over.  The French would serve fruit, cheese and wine after dessert.  
 

We made many friends over the years.  We sat down as strangers and parted as friends.   Why is it that the ambiance and conversation is always better onboard a ship at sea?  

Edited October 29, 2020 by CGTNORMANDIE

[rkacruiser]

2 hours ago, CGTNORMANDIE said:

We made many friends over the years.  We sat down as strangers and parted as friends.   Why is it that the ambiance and conversation is always better onboard a ship at sea?  

 

Remember the old TV game show:  The $64,000 Question?  That's this cruiser's $64,000 question.

 

Participating on CC Roll Calls has provided me with long lasting friends, some of whom I have sailed with after that initial contact.  I have been blessed to visit with two couples several times at their homes.  

 

My most recent experience was aboard Volendam during the Christmas/New Years Cruise 2019/2020.  While patronizing the Ocean Bar at HH, a couple from Hollywood, Florida kept finding seats near me.  Conversations began and continued throughout the cruise.  We have remained in touch since.  

 

2 hours ago, CGTNORMANDIE said:

Why is it that the ambiance and conversation is always better onboard a ship at sea?  

 

Is it because we, guests, are participating in an event (i.e. CC, HH, whatever) in which we enjoy and is meaningful to us as part of our cruise?

 

All three of my recent cruises aboard Volendam, Eurodam, and MSC Meraviglia saw me looking forward to my interactions with some of my fellow guests during the day.  Not just HH, but dinner and during the regular day.  Other than with some of those with whom I met on Eurodam and Volendam, further contact has not happened.

 

There just must be "something" about a cruise that encourages this ambiance and conversation.

Edited October 30, 2020 by rkacruiser

[CGTNORMANDIE]

29 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Remember the old TV game show:  The $64,000 Question?  That's this cruiser's $64,000 question.

 

Participating on CC Roll Calls has provided me with long lasting friends, some of whom I have sailed with after that initial contact.  I have been blessed to visit with two couples several times at their homes.  

 

My most recent experience was aboard Volendam during the Christmas/New Years Cruise 2019/2020.  While patronizing the Ocean Bar at HH, a couple from Hollywood, Florida kept finding seats near me.  Conversations began and continued throughout the cruise.  We have remained in touch since.  

 

 

Is it because we, guests, are participating in an event (i.e. CC, HH, whatever) in which we enjoy and is meaningful to us as part of our cruise?

 

All three of my recent cruises aboard Volendam, Eurodam, and MSC Meraviglia saw me looking forward to my interactions with some of my fellow guests during the day.  Not just HH, but dinner and during the regular day.  Other than with some of those with whom I met on Eurodam and Volendam, further contact has not happened.

 

There just must be "something" about a cruise that encourages this ambiance and conversation.

Words to ponder.  I think that the elevated emphasis on good food along with the beautiful dining rooms do a lot to promote a certain joie de vie.  Coupled with the irresistible romance of the sea.  It is an atmosphere of a luxurious cocoon ministered by wonderful waiters and Maitre D’s.  This creates an amenable isolated atmosphere where conversation can flow.  All of this heightened by fine wine...pure bliss.  

[rkacruiser]

18 hours ago, CGTNORMANDIE said:

Words to ponder.  I think that the elevated emphasis on good food along with the beautiful dining rooms do a lot to promote a certain joie de vie.  Coupled with the irresistible romance of the sea.  It is an atmosphere of a luxurious cocoon ministered by wonderful waiters and Maitre D’s.  This creates an amenable isolated atmosphere where conversation can flow.  All of this heightened by fine wine...pure bliss.  

 

All that you said along with someone to make my bed, laundry that I don't have to do, no annoying robo calls, often with better entertainment than what is on TV, etc.,, etc.....

 

In short, a cruise is "different" from one's normal existence!

[CGTNORMANDIE]

2 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

All that you said along with someone to make my bed, laundry that I don't have to do, no annoying robo calls, often with better entertainment than what is on TV, etc.,, etc.....

 

In short, a cruise is "different" from one's normal existence!

Let’s hear it for all those wonderful people who take care of our cabins and do the daily bed making, cleaning and polishing.  Going back to a made-up cabin is certainly one of those cruise luxuries.  Let’s hope that we will be able to resume these delights in 2021.  

[rkacruiser]

55 minutes ago, CGTNORMANDIE said:

Let’s hear it for all those wonderful people

 

May I add a cheer for those personnel who are the cruise line's M&G folks at the airport and at the cruise terminal who try to make the start of our cruise vacation as pleasurable as possible?  The cruise lines' shore side staff, whether it is at the airport, at the port, or at a pre/post cruise hotel, have unfailingly been helpful, welcoming, and knowledgeable.

 

Most--if not all--of these people are direct employees of the Port Agent, I think.  Yet, if so, they manage to well represent the cruise line on which I am patronizing.  

 

During this cessation of cruising, I do think about these folks because they are surely unemployed.  I wish them well.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

Amen RK...

I think of lol the folks who work in the industry.  It irked me when I heard some people grumbling because there were talks of govt. aid to the cruise lines.  The grumblers claimed that the cruise lines ships weren’t registered here and didn’t pay taxes.  The reality was and is that the big three are registered on the stock exchange.  Their main offices are here in the US and the stockholders and management pay their taxes here in the US.  Let’s hope we get to cruise in 2021.

Edited October 31, 2020 by CGTNORMANDIE

[CGTNORMANDIE]

Another memory...THE WORST CRUISE EVER.

This was a Transatlantic from Southampton to New York on QEII in 1978.  RK can attest that there were labor problems in that era.  We had the two worst waiters we ever had at any restaurant.  The first waiter wore much of what he was serving and his assistant didn’t seem to do much of anything.  Neither one was the brightest bulb on the string.  They couldn’t get orders right at our table for 6.  Every meal was a bigger letdown from the one before.  It got to the point where we would just order wine and hope for the best.  
 

To top this off we were assigned a cabin on the lowest deck and it was right next to a mechanical thing that made so much noise day and night that you couldn’t converse.  To make matters worse you could see light at the corners of the cabin when the lights were off!  LOL!!  I filed a written complaint with the Purser and that same afternoon the Hotel Manager called on us at our cabin.  He came with his assistant.  They came into the cabin with DW and me.  He asked what was wrong and just as I started to respond the machine thing started up and the racket was so loud we couldn’t hear each other...LOL.  Long story short...they moved us to a very nice cabin on an upper deck...great cabin...lousy waiters.

 

[shipgeeks]

12 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

May I add a cheer for those personnel who are the cruise line's M&G folks at the airport and at the cruise terminal who try to make the start of our cruise vacation as pleasurable as possible?  The cruise lines' shore side staff, whether it is at the airport, at the port, or at a pre/post cruise hotel, have unfailingly been helpful, welcoming, and knowledgeable.

 

Most--if not all--of these people are direct employees of the Port Agent, I think.  Yet, if so, they manage to well represent the cruise line on which I am patronizing.  

 

During this cessation of cruising, I do think about these folks because they are surely unemployed.  I wish them well.

A very good observation!

We regularly sailed from the Port of Baltimore over many years.  Everyone there, from the guy who asks "park or drop off?" to the greeters in the terminal and at the checkin desk, is helpful, patient, and friendly.  We've seen many of the same faces year after year.  Even the "welcome home" greeter helps alleviate the sting of the end of the cruise.

No option of working from home for any of them these days.

[ryndam]

The earlier posts about dining table-mates made me recall a couple of memorable past cruises.

 

Volendam from Sydney-Singapore. First evening at dinner at our table of 6. One couple from Los Angeles (a retired LAPD officer, mostly on the illicit drug patrol; very interesting stories), the other couple from Adelaide, a bit older than the 4 of us. Mrs. Adelaide wouldn't let Mr. Adelaide (or anyone else) have a word in edge-wise. After listening half the dinner about her "peerage" (she was 3rd or 4th generation Australian), our astute retired LAPD officer replied: "oh, then your ancestors were criminals?" Since we were not obviously impressed with Mrs. Adelaide's perceived self-importance, she excused herself (and hauled Mr. Adelaide with her) before the dessert course. For the rest of the cruise, the two empty seats were occupied by a roving group of ship's officers, the ship's doctor & his wife, the cruise director, etc. And of course, when seated with officers, they always bought the wine for the table! Turned out to be a very fun journey.

 

Noordam round-trip from New Orleans. First evening at dinner at our table of 6. One elderly couple, late 70's/early 80's, and two gentlemen who we assumed were father/son or uncle/son due to their age difference. Not even halfway through the meal it was revealed that daddy and his boy-toy were onboard in a "financial/companionship" relationship. The elderly couple were horrified. Which started a row with daddy and the boy-toy who was making goo-goo eyes at half the dining room waiters. We endured the meal and promptly had ourselves reassigned to a table for two for the rest of the cruise.

 

Rotterdam transatlantic Ft. Lauderdale-Rotterdam. First evening at dinner at our table of 6. The two other couples obviously knew each other already. Introductory pleasantries exchanged. The two couples were from "Jerzey near Filly", winter in "da sun in Miami". All with too much make-up, too-tanned, too much jewelry, too much cleavage...do you get the image? Most of the meal was inter-couple whispering, with a periodic "that b**ch" or "I'll f***in' kill that SOB" thrown in. We endured the meal and promptly had ourselves reassigned to a table for two for the rest of the crossing.

 

Rob

[marco]

Compared to most others, our dining experience has been pretty boring, though lots of fun.  We take a "Friends and Family Annual Winter Caribbean Cruise", and have for almost 40 years now,  and the "friends" are mostly folks we've met over the years on cruises, from all over the country and it's our "reunion".  Over the years we've all visited back and forth, attended weddings, anniversaries, christenings, bar/bat mitzvahs, and unfortunately....... funerals.  Until just a couple of years ago, one couple we met LONG ago on the "Oceanic" (it was the Empire State Masons Annual Cruise) that we took 5 or 6 years in a row came regularly with us.  Unfortunately, the Mrs. passed away a couple of years ago and Mr. no longer travels.  We look forward the cruise every year, but alas.....there will not be a 2021 winter cruise.  One very interesting couple we dined with years ago on a TA on the QE2 were Lord and Lady something or other.    We expected them to be quite prim and proper and a bit "stuffy"....NOT the case. Great conversation and lots of fun after dinner every evening.   And surprisingly, were dining in the the "regular" 1st class restaurant and not in one of the "Grills". 

[rkacruiser]

18 hours ago, CGTNORMANDIE said:

Another memory...THE WORST CRUISE EVER.

This was a Transatlantic from Southampton to New York on QEII in 1978.  

 

So the labor problems that I experienced in 1980 were still going on.  Now, I wonder why my travel agent did not know of this.  

 

Was your dining experience in the Tables of the World Restaurant?  

[rkacruiser]

6 hours ago, ryndam said:

Mrs. Adelaide wouldn't let Mr. Adelaide (or anyone else) have a word in edge-wise. After listening half the dinner about her "peerage" (she was 3rd or 4th generation Australian), our astute retired LAPD officer replied: "oh, then your ancestors were criminals?" Since we were not obviously impressed with Mrs. Adelaide's perceived self-importance, she excused herself (and hauled Mr. Adelaide with her) before the dessert course

 

I had a good laugh when I read what the LAPD officer said!

 

Ryndam, your other two stories made for interesting reading as well!