Wow, I had no idea!

The first rule of perennial cruisers is flaunt it. I'm not referring to couture but something way more outlandish. Cruisers seem to think the rest of us ordinary people care how much time they've spent on the high seas.

Case in point. There was a private, elaborate champagne reception during our first week aboard celebrating a couple's cruising milestone. They were celebrating their 14,000 day cruising! WHAT! ARE YOU SERIOUS?! I'm afraid so. I would have thought they owned the cruise ship by now, but no. They did get their laundry done for free though.

Throughout the cruise we had random people ask us how many cruises we'd been on. When I said this was our first they choked on their breakfast, lunch or dinner. The standard comment was, "You're so brave." "Really, I'd say. We pretty much enjoy everything we do. So there is no reason to think otherwise."

So for the remainder of the cruise people were trying to impress us. But why should we have felt anything more than pity for the woman who said, "At the end of this cruise we'll have been aboard 300 days. I hate being home."Or the woman who'd been on this exact cruise four times. Or the couple who never got off the ship.

Our life is rich; woven of many fabrics. While the cruise was fantastic, I don't see ourselves turning our sole purpose in life over to Holland America, Princess, Norwegian, Windstar, Carnival or any other cruise ship line.

At least not yet.

Timing is everything....

How many times have you heard this old adage? Probably a zillion. Never has this statement been more true than on October 29th.
     Our travel agent arranged for everyone to arrive in Ft. Lauderdale two days before the cruise ship was scheduled to depart. You know, just in case a flight is canceled (not that this ever happens).
     So we arrived on October 28th. The next day we loaded onto a bus and headed out for an air boat ride. We weren't on the road very long before traffic became snarled. Great! As we crept along, traffic came to a standstill parallel to the airport. Someone yelled, "Look, there's smoke coming from that plane on the runway!" Now, if I was the superstitious type I'd turn around and take the 1st plane back home. Pronto! But.....I'm not.
     According to the newspaper the next day a Dynamic Airways plane's engine burst into flames during taxing for takeoff. Apparently there was a fuel leak. Unfortunately, 15 people were injured while evacuating down the emergency chutes. Yikes
     As I said, timing is everything.


    
     

What can I say, I was enchanted...

We have several friends who have taken cruises recently and they all rave about a particular travel agency that specializes in cruises. The owner sends out emails every week with a "special" cruise package highlighted. I signed up for said emails late in the summer but seldom read them.
     Then in September I opened one. I'm pretty sure my Fairy Godmother took aim at that minute and zapped me. Each time I reread the list of cities the cruise would visit, I was overcome with a feeling of enchantment. I didn't breath a word of this to anyone.
     Finally after a couple of weeks of pondering I realized the "enchantment" factor had not abated so I printed the email and sheepishly handed the list to my husband. It took all of 30 seconds for him to utter, "Sounds great. Let's do it." OK
     Next I had to find a house/dog sitter. Did I mention the cruise was 50 days? There is no way I'd board Tucker dog for that long. But where would I find someone responsible that liked Tucker dog and Tucker dog liked back? Hmmm.....
     Monday morning I was at physical therapy and mentioned my dilemma to my therapist. She chimed in, "I bet my daughter would do it". Are you kidding? No she wasn't. I just about flew home with the news but still didn't call and make a reservation. A couple of days later we met the would be house/dog sitter. She was terrific! The next morning I called the travel agency to see if there was room available and to my delight she said, "Yes".
   Three weeks later, our bags packed, we boarded a plane for Ft. Lauderdale.