What do you miss most about being out at sea?

I miss the diverse people I meet, the food, culture.

You guys are all making me wish I could run and reenlist right now. I always remember sleeping better than I do at home even now. There's nothing more fun than standing a Mid Watch on the Quarterdeck while your anchored out. Watching those that had too much fun on liberty trying to climb out of the Liberty Board and up the ladder. Some of the best and funniest times. There's also no better feeling of brotherhood with your shipmates who out to sea with you.

The whine of the turbines, the gentle whooshing of the ocean as she cut through the still quite waters on a cloudless night with the sky so lit up with stars you could read a book in their light.

I miss being way out to sea and laying on the fantail late and night and just watching the stars pass over the ship

I miss that one cold spot on my grill where I used to crack an egg and it would move with the ship. It would make the new guys sick as hell. Oh and the SEA BATS

Pretty much everything SHIPMATES, PORTS OF CALL, THE ROLL OF THE SHIP AT NIGHT, THE VIEW, DOLPHINS, PORPOISES, FLING FISH, BIOLUMINESCENCE WAKE AT NIGHT, rough seas.. After serving on USS ENTERPRISE CVN-65 as an ABH-3, i NAVET program to GMG PLANKOWNER ON USS VINCENNES CG-49 as first AEGIS in Pacific we were damn proud we did a lot of underway tests including CINCPAC CHANGE OF COMMAND on board for ADM. ACE LYONS. We used to bag on our sister the USS VALLEY FORGE CG-50 FOR BEING WELDED TO THE PIER AT NAS CORONADO. It was amazing that you didn't notice the noise the ship made but if something shut down it would wake everybody up, wondering what was going on lol. My last ship was USS ELLIOT DD-967,I have to say while proud to serve on CVN-65 give me a small boy any day loved it. One of the best parts was hearing set the Sea & Anchor Detail and as the aft line gunner the excitement of seeing new places for the first time or anytime for that matter. But the new foreign ports were exciting as hell. I don't know why but Pusan Korea always sticks with all the rock islands stick up reminded me of "The man with the Golden Gun." Yeah I miss it all, kick myself for getting out, always wanted to serve on an ARLEIGH BURKE never got to. You can take the sailor from the sea but you can't take the sea from the sailor. once it is in your blood it never leaves you. I miss it everyday.

I'll agree;the best sleep ever. Also, the monotony! Yes, really. Although I wouldn't want it indefinitely, not having to face traffic and run errands and go to appointments was a nice break. Most of all though, pulling into a foreign liberty port was the absolute best part. I never went to Starbucks or McDonald's or Hard Rock Cafe though. I figured, I didn't cross an ocean to go somewhere I could go at home. I sought out the little mom and pop shops and restaurants. Loved it!

How great I felt going ashore, by brow, landing craft, or helo.

Served on 3 destroyers FTG - steamed over 150,000 nautical miles and have been on all major oceans - enjoyed the salt air the quite, the routine (most of the time) and open views while at sea - plus we knew that there was always something new ahead. Enjoyed the Stars and seeing satellites at nite.
So we learned to cooperate and get our jobs done. It was a mutual effort! Enjoy the other posts...

I just changed a terrible diaper. Nuff said. The *****SHIP***** used to be called a big steel prison, now the only prison is the country of Japan and its horrid liberty rules. Take me back to the *****SHIP***** ASAP.