Cruising through life

Muses of a reluctant cruiser

Well, I’m rocking gently in my bed as the sun turns the sky pink outside my balcony- I’m on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship.  It’s been an interesting ten days.  If asked, I would say that I had a wonderful time on this cruise and I can’t I image every wanting to take another one.

It fulfilled most of my expectations – it really is like being trapped at sea on a floating mall- on senior citizen day.  With a touch of Los Vegas- complete with a smoky casino.  There was more food than one could ever eat and much of it was pretty mediocre. After eight days, Janet and I trudging, not bounding up the stairs.  There was no end to the entertainment but it was only entertaining because it was funny; I am sure that was not the response they wanted from the ice show, in particular. We decided the show producers skipped their meds the day they picked the music. Some wildly inappropriate lyrics and 90% of the audience did't notice.

My sister, our mother and I were a threesome and, along with very fun dining companions, have had a great time together. No, Janet and I did not coordinate our clothes- we just found ourselfves doing the same thing and wearing the same colors. Another post!  We have seen beautiful New England ports, played card games, soaked in some nice pools, and walked the decks in lovely sunsets.  

Janet has discovered her inner artist and, of course, is better than me in all she puts her hands to. I should be jealous but it is such a pleasure to see her dabble in paint and love it. She and I also discovered we love windy decks and wild seas, only yoga before breakfast made us queasy. 

Janet is a great travel companion and an astute observer of people and life.  And her observation of cruises is that they are designed to give people a vacation where their comfort level is increased, not diminished.  So the ship promenade feels like an upscale American mall but with limited shopping. There are little bars everywhere for those who need to self medicate.  The food is restaurant fare that wouldn’t offend the majority but tastes like Olive Garden.  Janet and I could hardly climb the stairs after ten days of heavy cruise food.  It makes sense- this is an American ship with mostly American passengers.  I do wonder why other nationalities would chose to travel with us but then seasoned travelers tell me that this cruise ship has some of the best food.  Hmm…. that’s scary.

But mostly it is the noise of the place that makes it so unappealing.  Waves slapping the side of a ship is a most pleasant  way to fall asleep but one cannot stay in a small stateroom for ten days.  The rest of the ship is a steady murmur of noise – the babble of voices lining up for everything from dinner to shows to departure gangplanks to dinner to shows to the chocolate buffet (see a pattern here ?).  The music in the promenade drifts from decent Latin to truly awful Caribbean.  The announcements start each morning with our cheerful cruise director telling us just what we are doing today and continue through to the evening announcement of Bingo.  If we could have found that woman with her annoyingly chipper voice, we would have gladly thrown her overboard. Wrapped in our sheets.

Well, that didn't get posted . And now I am home and I am reflecting on our time.  We did have so much fun together but my sister and I could have fun in a closet.  We had some wonderful times with my mother and that doesn’t usually happen- she is often left out of our inside jokes and weird humor but this time we all made more effort than usual. We  ALL found the folded towel animals endlessly amusing – wow, that sounds incredibly shallow.  Maybe cruising does decrease your brain cells. Could it be something in the water that makes a hanging towel monkey funny?  Or lead us to dress it in a pink push-up bra and sunglasses, with bling earrings?

On reflection, I would probably cruise again- perhaps on a small ship with a group of like minded people, a history tour or even an artist group. A focus on learning, not entertainment.  And a ship with a decent library or cheap wifi!

All this made me realize the value of silence, of solitude, of contemplation.  All the quiet pieces of my life that I have take for granted.  Yes, I could have found quieter places on the boat and hid from the world.  But I’m too drawn to the crowd, to the party and I only realize the cost in the end.  I in the past, I  was the one who stayed up too late and kept going too long- all with the irrational fear that I would miss  something fun, something stimulating.  I haven’t realized how much alone time I have built into my world now until it was removed and replaced with the noise of the world having a good time.  

Turns out I wasn’t  missing much after all.