Hello old friends, and new! I miss cruising. Share some memories?

[zimmerjulie]

Hello, it has been some time since I have been on cruise critic and was waxing nostalgic about all my old friends on the boards and wondering how you are all doing. 

Like most of you, I miss cruising and hope for the best for crew members, ships, the industry, and all my fellow passengers.

 

I'll share a humorous memory:

Checking in for a January cruise and notice something strange...I am looking around for the hidden cameras, as there must be some kind of gag... There are Santas everywhere in the embarkation line in full dress. Turns out we were sailing with the Fraternal Order of Real bearded Santas.

You should have seen the look on the comedian's face when the curtain opened and the first three rows of the show lounge were occupied by Santas. There was some serious improv and audience participation in that show!

 

Anyway, thinking of you, the cruising community and wanted to chat.

 

Happy sails,

Julie

[nhtravels]

Thank you for sharing such a fun cruising memory!  It brought a smile to my face on this dreary day!  

 

 

[hallux]

Not on NCL, but I remember a couple nights on my cruise on Royal's Anthem of the Seas, sitting with my dad in an area called "The Via" and listening to the guitarist from the theater show We Will Rock You playing various songs without vocals, and playing "Name That Tune" between ourselves.

 

On NCL, my first true solo cruise, I met some great people through this site and kicked off the cruise with an embarkation lunch with some of the solo folks from the roll call, it couldn't have been a better idea than to gather right away to meet and "break bread" (and the ice).  That night, at the solo gathering, I connected with a group that had met on the previous trip and had a large dinner reservation for Cagney's and needed some additional people to fill it out.  Had a GREAT time with them that night, 2 more nights of specialty dining and various other times through the cruise.  From both groups, it was great to have people I could see around the ship and strike up a conversation having already met them.

[farmersfight]

32 minutes ago, hallux said:

On NCL, my first true solo cruise, I met some great people through this site and kicked off the cruise with an embarkation lunch with some of the solo folks from the roll call, it couldn't have been a better idea than to gather right away to meet and "break bread" (and the ice).  That night, at the solo gathering, I connected with a group that had met on the previous trip and had a large dinner reservation for Cagney's and needed some additional people to fill it out.  Had a GREAT time with them that night, 2 more nights of specialty dining and various other times through the cruise.  From both groups, it was great to have people I could see around the ship and strike up a conversation having already met them.

 

Thanks for sharing your first solo cruise experience. Early this year, I was about to "embark" (pun intended) on solo cruising but then, Covid 19 hit and cruising shut down.

 

Your solo cruise experience sounds great and is just the kind of solo experience I hope to have once cruising resumes. Thanks again.

[farmersfight]

After a long period of time, I went back to Florida and looked up an old high school friend. We ended up going on a day cruise (can't remember what the company was) from Miami to the Bahamas.

 

Since it was a day cruise, we only had 4 or 5 hours in port. My friend and I went directly to a beach that of course, had a beach bar. We spent the whole time at the beach catching up on old times and drinking lots of beer.

 

On the ship during the return to Miami, we went to a show (I think a comedy show?) in the main theater and because there weren't a lot of seats available, he ended up sitting on a stool that for some reason was positioned right on the right side of the stage.

 

Anyway, due to the quantity of beer he had consumed all day at the beach, he ended up "falling asleep" (more like passing out, lol) as he sat upright on the stool. The thing was, there was a spotlight being used for the show and he ended up being lighted up in the edge of the spotlight.

 

I'll never forget the visual of him perched on that stool, up on the side of that stage, passed out with his head tilted over to one shoulder and the spotlight lighting him up like he was part of the show. And there were a lot of people at the show and they all had a perfect view of him all lit up in the spotlight.

 

I'll never forget that sight...

Edited August 28, 2020 by farmersfight

[Oceansaway17]

I did the Epic back in 2011 and one night we had an announcement at midnight from Captain that ship had lost partial power and was slightly leaning. Very odd to have NO motion suddenly.

I got dressed and went up to pool area. Things were calm until folks heard a rumor about us taking on water.

Quickly the Captain reassured us untrue.

 

Then around the pool bar this teenage guy was holding court telling about a cute girl he met from another country. He was asking advice from folks at bar. 

 

Now of course I spent the rest of the cruise trying to find him to see how things went. Never did. But we all did watch libe Prince William get married on large atrium screen.

 

As a side note,  I was on the Bliss for the inaugural Panama Canal cruise when Prince Harry got married. Cool both times on an NCL ship.

 

Looking forward to Encore next year in Alaska and doing Iceland on NCL Star in 2022.

Toodles all.

 

 

 

[farmersfight]

2 hours ago, Oceansaway17 said:

that ship had lost partial power and was slightly leaning.

 

Ever find out why the ship lost partial power (I'm assuming propulsion, not electrical power?) and also why the ship was slightly leaning (listing)?

[ckmedsec]

Try to keep a straight face.  We were on a Caribbean cruise (sea day), lounging on the pool deck and listening to the violinists play the theme song to the movie Titanic!!!! Maybe not so funny if we were on a ship that lost power and was listing.😬

[zimmerjulie]

 

So fun!

Hallux, your solo cruise story brings back so many memories of cruising solo and meeting wonderful people to share great times with. Farmersfight, I think you are in for a treat when your opportunity opens up again!

 

I have found a kinship with the late night crowds on the ships. I love being on the sea at night, looking out to try to find where the sea meets the sky. On one such trip our group of about 5 new friends who all met in the "disco" decided to explore the ship stem to stern at about midnight. We were walking on an upper outside deck and I was ahead of the group and ducked into a doorway to the interior. There were four crew members in that entry area talking hurriedly and holding a pieces of paper. One approached me and handed me the paper, asking, "have you seen this woman? She is reported missing from her cabin by her father who is looking for her". 

I looked at the picture, looked up at them, and said," She's right behind me". Right on cue, she opened the door and walked through. The crew members were elated to have found her. They called to report her "found" in excited voices and then spent about 15 minutes taking pictures with all of us.

The woman, who was 30 years old, was quite embarrassed, but if the worst thing about your night was your Dad loving you and worrying a bit too much, that's a good night.

 

[zimmerjulie]

Farmersfight, I hope you got a picture of your friends impromptu performance in the spotlight 😁 and I hope he can remember the fun he had with you!

 

Oceansaway17, what is this magic you speak of... Iceland on the Star!!?? Sign me up for THAT! Iceland is one of my favorite places in the world! I got an 18 hour layover taste and I want more.

 

ckmedsec, I have that incredulous feeling when I hear that song on a ship like...wait, can they play that here? That and the formal photo backdrop of the stairway of Titanic have me scratching my head in puzzlement.

 

[lepidoptera]

2 hours ago, zimmerjulie said:

Farmersfight, I hope you got a picture of your friends impromptu performance in the spotlight 😁 and I hope he can remember the fun he had with you!

 

Oceansaway17, what is this magic you speak of... Iceland on the Star!!?? Sign me up for THAT! Iceland is one of my favorite places in the world! I got an 18 hour layover taste and I want more.

 

ckmedsec, I have that incredulous feeling when I hear that song on a ship like...wait, can they play that here? That and the formal photo backdrop of the stairway of Titanic have me scratching my head in puzzlement.

 

 

Yes Iceland is going to be a port in the summers! I have a 10 day Iceland and Greenland booked on the star for July 2022. There are also 11 day cruises that go to 1 more port in Greenland. Those cruises are round trip out of Reykjavik and hit several other ports on the way back from Greenland. 
 

Also there are cruises from Reykjavik to South Hampton/London and vise versa. Those are also super interesting itineraries going to Scotland, Ireland, Norway etc.I had a

hard time choosing but went with the Iceland/Greenland because I can have time in Iceland on either end and the 10 day because I am limited on the amount of time I am allowed to have off from work at one stretch. I booked using a cruise next certificate right after the itinerary was released-and when I booked I got all perks including free airfare even though I am sailing solo in an inside. I expect I may have to pay for air deviation, they couldn’t put a deviation in when I booked. 

 

Sooo excited for Iceland where I’ve not been and for the Star which I have fond memories of.

[farmersfight]

9 hours ago, zimmerjulie said:

Farmersfight, I think you are in for a treat when your opportunity opens up again!

 

Thanks! I joined CC and mainly "hang out" here on the NCL board because I have heard about and looked into NCL's solo-friendly program(s), i.e. dedicated studio cabins/studio lounge on their newer/larger ships, etc. That being said, I love me a balcony so I'm also going to look into RCL's ships that have studio balcony cabins.

 

9 hours ago, zimmerjulie said:

Farmersfight, I hope you got a picture of your friends impromptu performance in the spotlight 😁 and I hope he can remember the fun he had with you!

 

Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of him and that was definitely a "kodak moment", lol. As far as him remembering, I'm sure he remembers the fun he had with me but I doubt he remembers the "nap" he had on that stool up on the stage, in the spotlight (too much beer, lol.).

 

Edited August 29, 2020 by farmersfight

[Oceansaway17]

23 hours ago, farmersfight said:

 

Ever find out why the ship lost partial power (I'm assuming propulsion, not electrical power?) and also why the ship was slightly leaning (listing)?

It was propulsion on one side.

Was very slight but losing movement at midnight as well as the Captain announcement in staterooms was bit jarring.

[farmersfight]

1 hour ago, Oceansaway17 said:

It was propulsion on one side.

Was very slight but losing movement at midnight as well as the Captain announcement in staterooms was bit jarring.

 

Thanks. The slight list could've been just the Captain shifting (transferring) some ballast water. Regarding the loss of propulsion, I can understand why such an announcement from the Captain would be jarring.