Cruise holidays are made up of millions of tiny moments — some of them are ordinary, but some live with us for the rest of our lives. This, I think, is why we cruise — to experience these cherished, precious moments and share them with others. In recognition of this, we have asked some of our favourite cruise bloggers to share their most treasured cruise moments with us.
Jane Archer – The Telegraph Cruise Correspondent:
“Walking down the aisle in the chapel on Princess Cruises’ Grand Princess has to go down as my most amazing experience on a cruise ship — or so my husband tells me!
Seriously, it was a brilliant way to get hitched. No fuss or hassle as the on-board wedding team organised everything, from decorating the room to providing the captain to marry us.
The ceremony was performed at sea, somewhere between Denmark and Sweden, and after the formal stuff was over we segued into our honeymoon — a Baltic cruise with our daughter, who had been my beautiful bridesmaid.”
Harry Cotterill – Cruise Cotterill:
“My most memorable and cherished cruise moment is from my 18th Birthday on board Queen Mary 2. I spent 5 nights on board with my Dad. On the day we departed, Cunard’s Three Queens were docked in Southampton together to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty The Queen. On the following day, whilst in the English Channel somewhere, I was given the opportunity to sound the ship’s whistles at noon. It is a moment I will never ever forget and something I had always wanted to do!”
John Honeywell – Captain Greybeard:
“Cruising in Alaska on Diamond Princess, I was invited onto the bridge by the Captain as we sailed up College Fjord and was able to get just the best view of several of its 13 glaciers. At the head of the waterway we were surrounded by miniature bergs — just ahead of us was the wide expanse of Harvard Glacier and the ship turned through 360 degrees to give everyone on board the best chance to see it. The wall of ice looked almost close enough to touch — it was only when the ship lowered a couple of photographers in a rescue boat that we could see that it was at least a mile away. The afternoon was made complete when we saw chunks of ice. They looked like they would be handy for cocktails but they must have been as big as a house — a magical moment.”
Becky – English Mum:
“During a visit to the bridge on the very beautiful Hapag Lloyd MS Europa 2 on our way to dock in Casablanca, we were joined by a lively pod of dolphins who leapt and whirled in front of the bow of the ship, leaping high out of the water, flashing beautiful white flanks in the sunlight — first singly and then in pairs, seemingly trying to outdo each other with their displays! It was such a magical moment. I’ll remember it forever.”
David Fiske – Ports of Call:
“My amazing moment was when the cruise ship docked in St Thomas in the Caribbean. It was the first port of call on my first cruise booked to celebrate my honeymoon. It was also the first time I was able to stand on the pier next to Explorer of the Seas and look upwards. She was simply massive and a marvel to look at — how could something this big pack in so many things to do on-board and still effortlessly float? This was also when I was first bitten by the cruise bug and I haven’t looked back since.”
Danielle Fear – Cruise Miss:
“I have many favourite cruise moments, after all, cruising is a massive part of my life, but if I had to pick one it would be my very first cruise because that voyage started it all for me. It was aboard P&O Cruises ORIANA and it was the best 12-nights I had ever had. The ship was wonderful, I met some great people and I developed a passion for something that would eventually become my whole life. I now eat, sleep and breathe cruise, and I do mean that quite literally. My P&O Canary Islands Voyage opened a door that I would not properly step through and investigate for another 4 years, but 33 cruises later and I still go back to my time on ORIANA in 2007 because without that cruise you wouldn’t be reading this.”
Emma – Emma’s Travel Tales:
“My most memorable cruise moment was sailing underneath the Great Belt Fixed Link Bridge, which connects two Danish islands. It’s the third largest bridge of its type in the world and seems to stretch forever. We sailed underneath it just as the sun was setting and the sky was an array of vibrant pinks and purples. That was during my favourite ever cruise, a Baltic cruise in 2011, and this serene, beautiful moment, as we sailed effortlessly through the waters and under this hulking bridge, was a wonderful memory of an incredible trip.”
The first step to making new treasured cruise memories of your own is booking a stunning holiday with Cruise1st. For a full range of stunning exclusive deals, visit our homepage or call us now on 0808 2746 777.
Images sourced via Flickr Creative Commons, Cruise Cotterill and EnglishMum. Credits: El Coleccionista de Instantes Fotografía & Video, Harry Cotterill and EnglishMum.
