Which were your favorite cruises ?

[scubacruiserx2]

Most of us have been on a number of cruises . So which were your favorite cruises and ports ? Please feel free to share photos and videos . We would prefer that we share here on CC and not blogs from elsewhere . 

[www3traveler]

Without a doubt, Panama Canal Crossing from the Pacific Ocean side to the Atlantic Ocean side.  Puts the actually Canal Crossing toward the end of your cruise not the beginning.  If possible on one of the smaller ships going through the "Original Canal"-- much different experience.  Whichever direction or which ship, I would strongly suggest that you read David McCullough's book: "The Path Between The Seas---The Creation of the Panama Canal 1870-1914".  Like all of David McCullough's books, this one is very well researched and VERY detailed.  Worth the time and effort to read. 

[ChiefMateJRK]

All of them?  Hard to choose.  Hawaii for the ports/excursions.  AK for the wildlife and scenery.  Bliss/Encore/Joy for the ships.  My April B2B Bliss to AK was certainly one of the best.  Outstanding music on board and a lot of time to just relax and chill.  I also got to meet @graphicguy, which was great.

 

All that said, perhaps my favorite is my next cruise.  They can't come soon enough.

[laudergayle]

First cruise post pandemic, October 2021.  NCL Jade to the Greek Isles.  Athens, Mykonos, Patmos, Rhodes, Crete, Santorini, Athens.  We were blown away with the ancient history.  We did Athens on our own pre and post cruise.  We stayed in Platka and everything was within walking distance.  Favorite excursions were Delos in Mykonos and the ancient Olympic grounds and museum in Olympia (Katakolon).  Here are a few pictures:

 

Acropolis at night from rooftop of Hotel Plaka

Bridge of Lions on Delos

Nike, Greek Goddess of Victory in Olympia

Blue Roofs of Santorini 

Parthenon at the Acropolis in Athens

 

 

 

Edited October 6, 2023 by laudergayle

[graphicguy]

16 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

All of them?  Hard to choose.  Hawaii for the ports/excursions.  AK for the wildlife and scenery.  Bliss/Encore/Joy for the ships.  My April B2B Bliss to AK was certainly one of the best.  Outstanding music on board and a lot of time to just relax and chill.  I also got to meet @graphicguy, which was great.

 

All that said, perhaps my favorite is my next cruise.  They can't come soon enough.

Awwww ….shucks.  Thanks!  Got to be inducted into the Rat Pack.  Loved cruising with you and your beautiful wife.  Made it a great cruise!!!! 

[ysolde]

Oh, my . . . NCL Sunward or Skyward (can't remember which one).  A Caribbean cruise in 1990, when I had just graduated college, and therefore my college sweetheart (and first true love) and I had gone our separate ways.  I was heartbroken and at loose ends that summer, and my parents took me on a cruise toward the end of summer (I had been working several summer jobs), officially to celebrate my college graduation, but mostly, I think, to try to get me out of my emotional doldrums.

 

It worked.  Cruise ships back then were nothing like they are now.  No race tracks.  No escape rooms. No virtual reality game rooms.  No specialty dining.  There was early and late seating at each meal, and you had to dress for dinner (including one formal night  on a one-week cruise).  There were midnight buffets with ice sculptures, and during the day there were lectures and lively dance classes put on by local musicians. The islands were much less commercialized then, and the night before we disembarked in San Juan, the Cruise Director made a light hearted (but completely serious) remark about how any illegal substances people had purchased along the way they should smoke or otherwise dispose of discreetly that night, as the sniffer dogs in the port of San Juan were pros.  I had spent the week lying quietly on a lounge chair, Diet Coke by my side, reading magazines or a Stephen King novel, as the days slipped on by.  I enjoyed the food, spending time with my parents, even a harmless flirtation on board (that let me know that yes, I was ready to move on and meet new people -- dammit, my parents were right).  Our cabin had a porthole and bunkbeds -- I think this was considered "outside view" or something like that back then.  The bathroom was just functional.  But like I said, it was a glorious time.  My introduction to NCL.  And a cruise that helped end a bittersweet time in my life on a completely sweet and happy note.

[Cruising Lynne]

48 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

All of them?  Hard to choose.  Hawaii for the ports/excursions.  AK for the wildlife and scenery.  Bliss/Encore/Joy for the ships.  My April B2B Bliss to AK was certainly one of the best.  Outstanding music on board and a lot of time to just relax and chill.  I also got to meet @graphicguy, which was great.

 

All that said, perhaps my favorite is my next cruise.  They can't come soon enough.

Agree about Hawaii. It was a favorite for me. Even the sky seemed to have a magical quality. Rainbows every day, and even high up on our pre cruise hotel balcony, we could smell the plumeria flowers. We have not done Alaska. I prefer warm weather cruises and live in New England where the cold winters make me bump Alaska down on the bucket list. 

[hallux]

My first NCL cruise - Bliss April 2019.  It was my first solo cruise, first NCL experience, first time in an NCL Studio cabin and I had a GREAT time!  I've since had other great cruises on NCL (2 solo but only one more in a Studio), but you never forget your first, right?

[yakcruiser]

I will have to pick my most recent cruise this spring that went from Trieste to Lisbon. 14 ports in 14 days and every port was different and amazing.

[wil e coyote]

Wow - it's hard to pick just one - so here is a short list:

 

Our first cruise - 1992 Southern Caribbean on the Starward - because neither of us had ever been on a vacation like a cruise ship where you could eat as much as you wanted, and we loved all the islands.

 

2015 Mediterranean (Barcelona to Venice) on Princess - this was how we saw lots of Europe with our kids - amazing history and great memories.

 

2023 Alaska on the Jewel - again with our kids (now grown up!) - incredible scenery!

 

Our next cruise...

[MagnoliaBlossom]

Oh, so many.   But I think our first Baltic Capitals n the NCL Dream, who could traverse the Kiel Canal because it could flip its lid (stack) to pass under the canal bridges.  It was shortly after 911 and local folks lined the bridges waving American flags and after dark would also wave candles and tea lights.m it brings tears to my eyes still when I th No of that day.   We overnighted in St Petersburg and had two unforgettable days tour Catherine’s Palace, Peterhff, and the Church on Spilled Bld and so many more ther sites.

 

one of our British Isles cruises where we did the Overlord Tours Normandy Beaches tour that ended with a long visit to the American Cemetary.   I’ll never forget that day.  As a matter of fact we are taking our grandchiodren there next June so they will fully appreciate the sacrifices of their forefathers.

 

hawaii, sailing past the glowing lava as it spilled into the sea, the afternoon sailing by the Napoli Coast and helicopter flights over beautiful waterfalls.

 

iceland and Norway with their thundering waterfalls and geothermal wonders.

 

The Hgh Crosses in Ireland, the burial term at Newgrange, Canterbury Cathedral, Michael in Florence, the Pieta in the Vatican.  the beauty of cruising is you have so much choice in one sailing if you choose and plan wisely.  I could never have seen all these things on land trips only.

[CaptainBazz]

Pretty much every cruise but if I have to choose:

 

Pride of America 7 night (around Hawaiian islands)

NCL Sun - 15 night Panama Canal - Miami to LA

NCL Jewel - 7 night Alaska - Vancouver to Seward

NCL Jewel - 19 night Australia / Asia - Sydney to Singapore

NCL Spirit - 15 night South Pacific - Sydney to Papeete

 

I of course could go on and on 😎

[ontheweb]

Baltic cruise for our 30th anniversary. St. Petersburg was such a fantastic port, and it is truly sad that no one will be going there as a tourist any time soon or possibly ever. Tallinn, Estonia is a gem. We truly enjoyed Oslo a destination most cruises did not go to. And the only problem with Stockholm was there was too much we wanted to in the short time we were there.

[Anoynmous Phoenix]

South America, Buenos Aires all the way to the USA.

Hawai'i to Sydney

Yokohama to Seattle.

[scubacruiserx2]

4 hours ago, MagnoliaBlossom said:

Oh, so many.   But I think our first Baltic Capitals n the NCL Dream, who could traverse the Kiel Canal because it could flip its lid (stack) to pass under the canal bridges.  It was shortly after 911 and local folks lined the bridges waving American flags and after dark would also wave candles and tea lights.m it brings tears to my eyes still when I th No of that day.   We overnighted in St Petersburg and had two unforgettable days tour Catherine’s Palace, Peterhff, and the Church on Spilled Bld and so many more ther sites.

 

one of our British Isles cruises where we did the Overlord Tours Normandy Beaches tour that ended with a long visit to the American Cemetary.   I’ll never forget that day.  As a matter of fact we are taking our grandchiodren there next June so they will fully appreciate the sacrifices of their forefathers.

 

hawaii, sailing past the glowing lava as it spilled into the sea, the afternoon sailing by the Napoli Coast and helicopter flights over beautiful waterfalls.

 

iceland and Norway with their thundering waterfalls and geothermal wonders.

 

The Hgh Crosses in Ireland, the burial term at Newgrange, Canterbury Cathedral, Michael in Florence, the Pieta in the Vatican.  the beauty of cruising is you have so much choice in one sailing if you choose and plan wisely.  I could never have seen all these things on land trips only.

 

The NCL Dream was our first cruise to Europe ( and South America ) and a band that we picked up in the canal would play every time that we sailed under a bridge . T -shirt from the cruise .

 

 Turning on the water fountains at Peterhof to the music Hymn of a Great City in St. Petersburg , Russia .

 

 

 

The Church on the Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg

 

 

 

Interior mosaics of the Church on the Spilled Blood 

 

 

Our video clip of the Faberge Eggs in St. Petersburg each worth more than a million dollars each !

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabergé_egg

[Ellis1138]

My favorite cruise was the Star Trek cruise. Not for the ports, but for the sheer fun of having the entire ship done up in all Star Trek themes. The entertainment was top notch. And having all the other passengers being Trekkies made the cruise so much more fun. 

 

Photo is of one of the elevators, decorated for the cruise.

 

[BirdTravels]

Two favorite destinations are Alaska and the Greek Isles. We love Barcelona as an embarkation port. 

[sprint180]

Favorite.  Baltics.   Russia was beautiful and Estonia I loved also.  Of course seeing the rest of Europe  was amazing.  Alaska was also my favorite.  Such natural beauty.   Going for the third time in June.   My least favorite, hands down, Panama Canal.  Very Boring!

[Lois R]

As others have mentioned, just too many to name them all. But a couple that stand out.......the first time I sailed out of Europe back in 2011.  It was very bittersweet.......I went to Greece, Italy and Turkey. The cruise was on Celebrity Equinox.

My dad had recently passed away about a month before this cruise and he loved to travel. I dedicated that cruise to him. I had a simply marvelous time but of course was missing him every day (all these years later I still think of him every day). 

 

2017, my first time visiting Florence........FANTASTIC😀First time on a smaller vessel, Silversea SPIRIT.

I sailed from Barcelona to Rome........just amazing. 

 

And I will put the first time I consider my start of cruising was on Celebrity's CENTURY (no longer in the fleet). This was back in 2003 to the Caribbean and it got me to fall in love with cruising and I have never looked back. I had been on a couple of cruises back in the 90s but this cruise is what really got me hooked.

 

[PATRLR]

Bliss to Alaska 2018.  Inaugural of that ship to Alaska.  Great weather, great excursions, a bonus that it was inaugural so had fire boats and such meeting us.  Wyland onboard (the artist who did the bow work).

If we include non-NCL, then it was a B2B on the Dolphin Lines Oceanbreeze that included a Panama Canal transit.  Captain invited us (and a few other couples) to the bridge for the transit.  San Blas Islands was a stop that was incredibly interesting.  

[Hlitner]

Hard to choose after 49 years of extensive cruising.  But one of our favorites was a 62 Grand Med cruise on the Prinsendam.  Only about 550 on that voyage that included two TA crossings.  I still recall we had 23 sea days.

 

Hank

[navybankerteacher]

On 10/6/2023 at 10:08 AM, scubacruiserx2 said:

Most of us have been on a number of cruises . So which were your favorite cruises and ports ? Please feel free to share photos and videos . We would prefer that we share here on CC and not blogs from elsewhere . 

[Shmoo here]

On 10/6/2023 at 7:08 AM, scubacruiserx2 said:

Most of us have been on a number of cruises . So which were your favorite cruises and ports ? Please feel free to share photos and videos . We would prefer that we share here on CC and not blogs from elsewhere . 

Hawaii/Tahiti on HAL

Mediterranean & Westbound Transatlantic on DCL

Hawaii, Princess & DCL

Panama Canal, HAL & DCL

Sea of Cortez, Princess

 

 

[ldubs]

If I had to name only one, I think it would be the British Isles (Crown Princess).  The Baltic, Norway/Iceland, Australia/New Zealand, and any number of Mediterranean itineraries would be right up there.  

 

I have to stop otherwise I'll be naming almost every cruise we have been on!  😀

[champagne123]

So difficult to choose...but it would have to be on The RCCL Explorer to Bermuda.  Why? Because it was my new husband's very first cruise and I was PETRIFIED he wouldn't enjoy cruising as much as I do.

His words to me on day 3....."I have never felt so relaxed in my life"

Hence....dozens of cruises followed. He is addicted.