Ilene and I have just returned from our 7th cruise since cruising was opened up after the pandemic. During the past year, we’ve heard a lot of pros and cons about cruising especially concerning health protocols, vaccines, boosters, testing, etc. We have friends and family who would never get on a “floating petri dish” before the pandemic, much less at the tail end of it. So why did we decide to get back to cruising with so many variables last year?
We Love to Cruise!
Each cruise is in and of itself a new experience and no matter what the risks may be, we decided early on that we were going to live our lives and not be relegated to living in fear. This was entirely our choice and we were and are willing to live, or die, with the consequences.
Why?
How can I describe the joy and affection of the crew of the Carnival Breeze last August when they were finally
back to work after over 500 days of no income? A typical cruise ship will have over 60 countries represented JUST in the crew. Men and women of all races, colors, and religions working together to give customers what for some will be the experience of a lifetime. We enjoy talking with crew members and finding out about their families, their homes, and what they love…or don’t particularly love, about their chosen professions. It is mind-boggling to us that in a world where we’re told everyone is at each other’s throats here on these ships, for the most part, we are one race…the race of man.
We enjoy the ships but we’re also travelers who love to go onshore and explore new cultures, meet new people, and see new things. Learning about how native Mayans dyed their clothing, how tequila is made, or how the Panama Canal was dug is fascinating to us.
Each trip is a chance for us to meet new people and begin new relationships. On a recent cruise, we met the last American to be hot down and captured in Vietnam. We’ve met other travel agents from around the USA and cruisers from all around the world. On our last cruise, we met couples from England, Scotland, Italy, and Brazil! We’ve hung around the pool with folks from Morocco, South Africa, Australia, and Germany. What a life!
Cruising this past year we’ve met people who have been on over 60 cruises, their first cruise ever, and folks like us who’ve cruised somewhere in between. We’ve compared notes on places like Bali, the Mediterranean, the Galapagos Islands, Iceland, and even Antarctica.
It’s the people, the places, and the things to do and see that excite us and it’s why we decided to help others “see the world”. Why don’t you join us on an adventure? We’re sailing out of Galveston, Texas next year on the newest Carnival Cruise Line ship for 2023, the Carnival Jubilee in November 223. Or join us on our 50-year wedding anniversary cruise around the Hawaiian Islands on the only US-flagged cruise ship in the world, the Norwegian Cruise Lines Pride of America in August of 2025. We’d love to have you.
Have you cruised before? What’s your “why” for cruising? If you haven’t cruised before, what’s holding you back? Comment below.
