Best cruise you have ever gone on

JohnG · January 28, 2006

Royal Clipper of Star Clipper Line, Windward Islands r/t from Barbados Dec 2001.

The 284 passenger ship is a 7 year old replica of a 1900 ship. It has 4 masts, 32 sails, and it does sail. Every time they get underway and hoist the sails they play the theme music from Christopher Columbus 1492. Food every bit as good as the big ships. Marble in the bathrooms in cabins. Teak decks. The entertainment is around the bar on deck, dancing, games, and occasionally a steel band in port. The ship went to smaller harbors and tendered us to the beaches. Excurisons by those tenders to snorkel and even banana boat rides were no extra cost.

Visited Barbados, St Lucia, Anguilla, Isle de Saintes, Antigua, Dominica and Martinique. In Martinique we were able to berth downtown.

The last day, enroute from Martinique to Barbados was rough and they fell way behind schedule, arriving about 12 hours late. While still at sea they arranged to put everyone up in a hotel with dinner an breakfast, rescheduled airline flights even for those of us who had done our own air arrangements, and had open bar on the ship for hours and hours.

They did it right.

KeithnRita · January 29, 2006

Our best was probably our first cruise by ourselves, on the Veendam. It was to celebrate our third anniversary.

Mebert · January 29, 2006

I'm sorry. I must be out of my mind. People are correct when they say there's no such thing as a bad cruise.

My favorite cruise was on the Carnival Liberty, a 12 day Mediterranean cruise out of Rome (Civitavecchia). The ports of call were Naples Dubrovnik, Croatia; Venice; Messina (Sicily); Barcelona, Spain; Cannes, France; and Livorno (Florence).

I loved my first cruise but I enjoyed the Mediterranean even better, but remember it was my last cruise.

jbcruisers · January 29, 2006

I've only been on 2 cruises, and they were both on the Carnival Destiny, so I guess that's my favorite. But really, it was wonderful. Like Mebert, I loved the itinerary. The catamaran snorkel trip at Barbados, the beach in Aruba, dinner at El Gaucho's in Aruba. Sometimes I can close my eyes, and be on that catamaran, sun on my face, great music playing in the background, a drink in my hand......

Oh well, I only have ONE WEEK until we board the Miracle for another adventure. Already looking forward to a snorkel tour in Belize, the beach in Grand Cayman, exploring Cozumel and Costa Maya. ......catamaran.....sun on my face.....great music.....DRINK IN HAND!

Mebert · January 29, 2006

jbcruisers,

I'm glad to see you posting. I hope to see more posting from you regarding your cruise adventures.

The Carnival Destiny is an extremely exciting cruise. I'm glad that I did it first. It's the cruise that got me hooked on cruising.

boba · January 29, 2006

:smiley: We've only been on 3 cruises, but I guess our 2nd on Voyager of the Seas with our two teen dd to western caribbean was our best. I'll never forget their faces at some of the sites. Here's to the search for a better cruise. :cool:

jsme · January 30, 2006

I love to see when people respond to a question I post. I love to hear stories of cruises. I was bored at work Friday and thought I would post this question. I hope more of you will respond.

matchstickxx · January 30, 2006

Our first cruise was on the Tropicale. We had no idea about cruising or what to look for in a ship. We chose a 5 day cruise in case it wasn't our cup of tea. Boy were we wrong. We had a great time and couldn't wait to book another cruise. We had no idea why so many of our fellow cruisers were complaining about how there was nothing to do. We had a deck chair and good company on sea days and lots to see and do on port days. Of course, now, having been on the bigger and newer ships, I understand what they were talking about. I'm so glad Tropicale was our first cruise. We had the best time.

Shari2 · January 30, 2006

I have to mention two cruises, first, the Inaugural cruise on the Zenith. For us, everything went perfectly. The ship was brand new, we received a great send-off, the food and entertainment and service was excellent. The food was truly gourmet back then. We booked this cruise within 10 days, and it's just amazing how everything went so well. I got a cold right after we booked, and that even cleared up the day I had to get on the plane, so, no ear problems.

The second, I would have to say was my last cruise to Hawaii on the Infinity. We did have some rough seas for a couple of days, and I got sea sick, but after that it was a fantastic cruise, and we were with my SIL and her DH, and we had the best tablemates which made it so wonderful. I also celebrated my birthday at sea for the first time, and everyone got me a card and sang Happy Birthday to me. My DH got me a white roses corsage, (it was formal night) and gave me a beautiful garnet and diamond ring. I was really surprised. I'll never forget that! And Hawaii...what more can I say!!! :grin:

Mebert · January 30, 2006

NYCruiser,

This is a gem of a story and is similar to how I felt on the Regal Empress. It was an old rusty ship but I thoroughly enjoyed sailing her.

This initial post is already funny, especially where you write about introducing friends to cruising and being greeted by that sewage smell. Let me tell you, that odor is not limited to old ships. I don't know where it comes from, but on the ships I've been on it's been intermintent. I noticed it as I passed certain sections of the ship. Many people didn't seem to notice it or pretended that they didn't notice it like myself.

I can't wait to hear some of your funny stories. Why don't you post them as a new topic.