My First Cruise

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I thought I'd be bored. I thought I'd have a panic attack. I thought I wouldn't find anything I liked to eat. I thought I'd get sick. Maybe the boat would sink! All of these thoughts ran through my mind as my husband was telling me that we had been invited to his cousin's vow renewal aboard a ship.

A ship? Like in the ocean?

Well, yes! He said. Where else would a ship be?

Oh, I don't know about that.

And, then I told him my thoughts and fears. He thought I was silly, and told me that cruising is nothing like what I feared.

I went to my doctor for a prescription for the motion sickness patch. I was sure it would come off as soon as I took a shower, and I would spend the rest of my vacation vomiting into a toilet! I had many fears.

When we checked in on our ship, my husband's uncle gave us a tee shirt announcing the celebration of the couples' 10 year anniversary and vow renewal. I still have it today. No, I don't fit in it anymore, but I like to look at it! The shirt brings back great memories.

While on the ship, I swam in the pool. I stared for hours at the beautiful Caribbean. I snorkeled (yes! me!) in Belize. I "taste tested" all the food--how could I resist, right?

Each morning, we would sit on our balcony and drink a cup of coffee. The view touched my heart. I will admit that I was somewhat nervous the first time I stepped out on the balcony. (I've watched too many shows about people falling overboard. I did try to picture how this could have happened, but I had no intention of climbing/leaning to the degree that could be perilous. It wasn't necessary.)

Each evening before dinner, we would sit on our balcony with a glass of wine. For just a moment, I thought this was my private yacht with hundreds of people there to wait on me hand-and-foot.

During that week, I relaxed--a lot! I was never bored as I had feared. I found that I didn't want to get off the ship. I didn't care about shore excursions. I felt too relaxed to move.

I never did get sick, but I thought I could feel the movement of the ship when it would prepare to go. My husband couldn't feel a thing, but there was always at least one crew member closeby who validated that we were indeed preparing to leave one beautiful port for tomorrow's surprise.

I slept like a baby in a five-star hotel on a dreamy body of water. I loved my first cruise! We never had any problems at all. 

Since then, I've learned that problems at sea don't typically happen, but when there is a problem, it's publicized to the extent that you would believe problems happen all the time.

My first cruise showed me that you're never too old to conquer a fear or two. My first cruise opened up a great new way to vacation. 

And, I experienced that piece of heaven where the ocean and the sun meet.

Thank you for reading my blog. I would love to hear your thoughts too!