The Joys of Cruising

US United States

My first cruise was in 1962 aboard the US United States as I traveled to Germany. Jim had ordered to go to Germany with the US Army. We drove to New York City and stayed with good friends of my parents, Bill and Lillymae Crosswhite. They showed us around the city for a couple of days. We took our car to the port to be shipped and then dropped Jim off for his military flight to Frankfurt. Several days later I boarded the United States. How young, how travel unworldly we were. The ticket was in Jim’s name so Lillymae and I made our way to the cabin in 4^th class or steerage. What to our shock appeared 3 men who were my cabin mates. We went to the Purser and got changed to a cabin with 3 old women (no doubt they were about 40 years old and that seemed old to me as a 22 year old.) The whistle blew and Lillymae went to shore.  Standing on the deck to wave good-by I met a young woman who was traveling 1^st class with her mother. They were Americans going back to Paris where they lived. They invited me to stay in their cabin for sleeping purposes. Once again to the purser and I got a pass to move at bedtime from one section of the ship to another…BUT when the dawn came I had to be back in my area with the budget travelers.  Nevertheless it was a great trip and I immediately wished that Jim and I could travel this way sometime…

Our first cruise together was in 1994 on  NCL's Sunward and we loved it!!! Traveled with good friends, Bill and Lucy Kemp, who had been on their first cruise the year before. Ours was a bargain 3 night cruise to the Eastern part of the Caribbean. We had an inside cabin that was so small Jim remembers “you could sit on the john and take a shower at the same time.” I remember that I wouldn’t sit on the end of the twin bed and put my pantyhose on without the other end of the bed flipping up. We had a great time and it certainly introduced us to a wonderful way to travel.

We are enjoying our 46^th cruise at the moment. We have cruised on Regent, Oceania, Holland America, Royal Caribbean, Crystal, Silverseas, Empress, Viking River, and one other line I can’t remember. Each trip has been terrific- from the C class cruising on Empress to the A+ class cruising on several of the others. Each trip has had something that made it unique and special- whether it was the traveling companions, the ports or the accommodations….or a combination of it all. Nothing like sitting back, leaving the driving to the Captain, the cooking to the Chef and the Cleaning to the Cabin Stewards.

Penthouse Suite B  865 on Voyager

We have cruised with the Kemps, both of our Moms, both sets of our children and the grandchildren, Mac and Linda Burris, Tom and Carol Brown and now Kathy and Bos Irvine. Sharing the cruise experience with family and friends adds a depth of richness and fun to the time. For ports the 49-day Oceania cruise that we took from Beijing to Athens was the most memorable. For the people experience, our 50^th anniversary cruise with our children and grandchildren was one never to be forgotten.

The biggest improvement we think in cruising is the quality of the beds. They have gone from not so comfortable platform beds to comfy beds with linens of top quality. On this ship the bed is called “The Suite Slumber Bed” and is supposedly exclusively aboard Regent Seven Seas Cruises. The ship claims “Your suite is your private retreat, a haven in which we invite you to luxuriate, relax and rejuvenate. To ensure the most restful, sumptuous sleep experience, every suite features out custom designed Suite Slumber Bed. A plush euro-top mattress capped with a double layer of memory foam and dressed in the finest, most exquisite linens assures you will awake refreshed and relaxed each and every time.” Seems to work great for us!!

Communication is something that has in many ways improved. On my first cruise to Germany I changed my plans and was getting off a day earlier than planned and needed to get that word to Jim. I went to the radio room and they send a ship to shore telegram. Was a bit nervous after I rode the train from Paris to Bad Kreuznach, Germany not knowing if Jim had gotten the message or not. BUT he had and he was there to meet me. This trip we have communicated regularly with family and friends via email and through this blog. We have even been able to have several face-to-face iChats on the computer with friends and family.

Prime 7 Restaurant

The option to dine where, when and with whom you choose has also greatly enriched the time. We are all grateful that the dress codes are much more relaxed and formal nights are just a suggestion. We like it this way!!!

Around the ship can be found beautiful fresh arrangements of flowers. We learned on a cruise last summer from a tour Christopher and Will took of our ship, that flowers are most often stored in the morgue so they remain fresh. There are fresh flowers in all suites and on all tables in the restaurants. Gives such a nice touch to life aboard this excellent floating hotel.

So today we are sailing along toward Salalah, Oman on our second day at sea, what a life!