With our 40th wedding anniversary approaching in October, we have been trying to decide where we would like to go to celebrate. This takes me back 10 years, when we took our first cruise to Bermuda as a 30th anniversary celebration. Neither of us had ever been on a cruise before, so I decided to do some research so as not to seem like utter novices. What I eventually found out, was that when on a cruise, you become acclimated very quickly to the ships routine, and are pretty much guided throughout the trip by a very accommodating staff.
Now you have to understand what mindset I was in at the time when shopping for the trip. ‘Titanic’ was the big movie out at that time….the book stores were filled with everything and anything that you wanted to know about it...coincidence, I think not! When I passed the shelves filled with Titanic books, I turned my head and wouldn’t look directly at them, for fear of jinxing our trip. When I shopped for a windbreaker, my thought process went something like this…’If I buy the black jacket, I won’t be seen floating in the water, so I’m best to buy the hot pink….much easier to spot’...I was convinced we were sailing on the Titanic 2!!!!
Our trip started by driving to New York city to see our son, Todd. He would have use of our vehicle for the week while we were out of the country. We would spend a day visiting with him before embarking from Chelsea Pier to Bermuda
The day we were to sail was a Sunday, and since we didn’t have to be at the dock until afternoon, I wanted to go to Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. We called for a Town Car to take us to the church, the day was rainy. The Town Car arrived right on time, and we were off.
The streets were very busy, as is the norm for New York City. The driver went down some small side streets, and finally I could see St. Patrick’s on the block ahead of us….we were so close….’there it is, I can see it!’. It was slow going for such a short distance that was left. All of a sudden we heard sirens behind us. A fire truck was trying to make his way down the same street that we were on….a one way street. Our driver edged his way down the street and slowly into the intersection, trying to give way for the fire truck to pass. He kept inching further into the intersection….as I looked to the left, I saw a cab coming directly for us, not slowing down, just moving in our direction. I knew at that moment that he was going to broadside us, and sure enough that’s exactly what happened! We were so close…..why didn’t we get out and walk??????
Stupidly, Jerry and I did not buckle our seatbelts. When the cab hit, it was a major jolt! I hit my head really hard on the ceiling of the Town Car. Next thing I knew the door was being opened and a police officer was asking us if we were alright. We pretty much were, but decided to get checked out at the hospital.
So there we were, just a few hours from sailing to Bermuda, in an emergency vehicle, on our way to the hospital. We never got to St. Patrick’s for mass that day.
I decided to call Todd and gently tell him what had happened, since I didn’t want to get him all shook up…’Hi Todd, Dad and I are fine….we were in a slight accident on our way to church. We’re in an emergency vehicle, but we’re ok, on our way to the hospital just to get checked out, we’re ok...we’ll see you at the dock later.’...gentle enough?
We checked out fine, but they gave us some pain killers to take along, just in case. Great start to our trip!!
We arrived at the dock, said our ‘Goodbye’s’, crossed the gangplank, and were immediately ambushed by the ‘Cruise Photographer’...S-M-I-L-E!!!!!! Little did I know that this would be only the first of the thousands of photographs that they want to take of you….and oh yes….SELL TO YOU!!!!!
My first thoughts as we entered the main concourse was, ”Wow, Vegas TACKY”!!!! This was not one of the new sleek mega ships. It was older, with less passengers, and so much smaller than the floating cities that are now offered.
We got to our cabin well in advance of all of our luggage. Once everyone was onboard and settled in, we were called to our ‘muster stations’!!! ‘I KNEW IT!!!’!! So with life vests on, we headed to the deck that we were assigned to for our emergency instructions, ‘EMERGENCY?? WHAT EMERGENCY???’…..we weren’t even out of the dock!!!!! OK, I know this is the usual procedure, but when you think that you’re on the Titanic 2, not such a good feeling!!!
Our outer cabin was small. They pushed the twin beds together for us, and believe it or not, there were also 2 fold down beds on the walls. This cabin was barely enough room for us, let alone two more people in here...they’re kidding, right? Well at one point, I hit my head on the folded bed, yet another head injury! The bathroom was pretty much just a ‘do your business and get out’ kind of place. Anyone of large girth would definitely have a problem, I could actually see them having to come and pry someone out of there. The shower was barely enough room for one, let alone two, we had to turn in unison (hey, it was our anniversary!).
We opted for our own excursions. One of which was to a Bermuda beach. We had heard so much about the pink sand, not really pink, that we wanted to spend at least one afternoon there. We decided to take a bus to the beach since the ship was docked quite far away….cabs & scooters were also available….cabs were expensive, scooters dangerous. Little did we know that the bus ride would also be dangerous!!! The roads were really narrow and extremely winding. The bus must have been going 90 miles an hour, at least it seemed that fast. You had to hang on for dear life!! I can remember thinking that if you were a pedestrian, and stepped out into the road when the bus was coming, just kiss your ass goodbye...you didn’t have a chance. The driver packed the bus beyond capacity, and at one point let an entire class of little school children board, they ended up sitting on our laps….the little boy on Jerry’s lap commented to him that he had a curl on his forehead...very observant child. Jerry told the driver that he would be a great New York city cabby, he said that that’s where he came from!! We found the beach very nice, but when you’re in a strange place, how could we both go into the water and leave our belonging? We went in one at a time...no fun in that!
Now you have to understand what mindset I was in at the time when shopping for the trip. ‘Titanic’ was the big movie out at that time….the book stores were filled with everything and anything that you wanted to know about it...coincidence, I think not! When I passed the shelves filled with Titanic books, I turned my head and wouldn’t look directly at them, for fear of jinxing our trip. When I shopped for a windbreaker, my thought process went something like this…’If I buy the black jacket, I won’t be seen floating in the water, so I’m best to buy the hot pink….much easier to spot’...I was convinced we were sailing on the Titanic 2!!!!
Our trip started by driving to New York city to see our son, Todd. He would have use of our vehicle for the week while we were out of the country. We would spend a day visiting with him before embarking from Chelsea Pier to Bermuda
The streets were very busy, as is the norm for New York City. The driver went down some small side streets, and finally I could see St. Patrick’s on the block ahead of us….we were so close….’there it is, I can see it!’. It was slow going for such a short distance that was left. All of a sudden we heard sirens behind us. A fire truck was trying to make his way down the same street that we were on….a one way street. Our driver edged his way down the street and slowly into the intersection, trying to give way for the fire truck to pass. He kept inching further into the intersection….as I looked to the left, I saw a cab coming directly for us, not slowing down, just moving in our direction. I knew at that moment that he was going to broadside us, and sure enough that’s exactly what happened! We were so close…..why didn’t we get out and walk??????
Stupidly, Jerry and I did not buckle our seatbelts. When the cab hit, it was a major jolt! I hit my head really hard on the ceiling of the Town Car. Next thing I knew the door was being opened and a police officer was asking us if we were alright. We pretty much were, but decided to get checked out at the hospital.
So there we were, just a few hours from sailing to Bermuda, in an emergency vehicle, on our way to the hospital. We never got to St. Patrick’s for mass that day.
I decided to call Todd and gently tell him what had happened, since I didn’t want to get him all shook up…’Hi Todd, Dad and I are fine….we were in a slight accident on our way to church. We’re in an emergency vehicle, but we’re ok, on our way to the hospital just to get checked out, we’re ok...we’ll see you at the dock later.’...gentle enough?
We checked out fine, but they gave us some pain killers to take along, just in case. Great start to our trip!!
We arrived at the dock, said our ‘Goodbye’s’, crossed the gangplank, and were immediately ambushed by the ‘Cruise Photographer’...S-M-I-L-E!!!!!! Little did I know that this would be only the first of the thousands of photographs that they want to take of you….and oh yes….SELL TO YOU!!!!!
My first thoughts as we entered the main concourse was, ”Wow, Vegas TACKY”!!!! This was not one of the new sleek mega ships. It was older, with less passengers, and so much smaller than the floating cities that are now offered.
We got to our cabin well in advance of all of our luggage. Once everyone was onboard and settled in, we were called to our ‘muster stations’!!! ‘I KNEW IT!!!’!! So with life vests on, we headed to the deck that we were assigned to for our emergency instructions, ‘EMERGENCY?? WHAT EMERGENCY???’…..we weren’t even out of the dock!!!!! OK, I know this is the usual procedure, but when you think that you’re on the Titanic 2, not such a good feeling!!!
One thing about cruising that is truly against my grain, is eating dinner with strangers…..although, Jerry, being the social guy that he is, loves it. So there I was, wanting a table for two, and Jerry ready to tell our fellow cruisers our life story, and hear theirs. We had a mixed bag at our table…..from really friendly young attorney’s, to newly weds who didn’t always make it to dinner, ...to a crabby old dentist who wasn’t very happy when the table hopping pirate put the parrot on his shoulder…”ARG!”. I have to say that the conversation did actually take my mind off the storm that was happening at sea with lightening that we could see out the windows. Don’t let anyone ever fool you and say that you don’t feel the ships movement….sometimes, ever so slight, and even on a calm day, once in awhile you feel it, like someone is moving the floor beneath you.
The food was amazing, and you could pretty much eat until they rolled you back to your cabin. The entertainment provided by the waiters was also good….the getting everyone involved, not so much! Breakfast was my favorite because we were on our own and always sat at the bow next to the huge windows...it was relaxing and beautiful! I was very disappointed with the shops onboard….everyday, they would fill the upper concourse with sellable items, and I can’t forget the art sale….if you want to call it that! The shops were few and the merchandise was not great. The ships excursions were very pricey , and if you didn’t sign up as soon as you boarded the boat, you were out of luck.
The food was amazing, and you could pretty much eat until they rolled you back to your cabin. The entertainment provided by the waiters was also good….the getting everyone involved, not so much! Breakfast was my favorite because we were on our own and always sat at the bow next to the huge windows...it was relaxing and beautiful! I was very disappointed with the shops onboard….everyday, they would fill the upper concourse with sellable items, and I can’t forget the art sale….if you want to call it that! The shops were few and the merchandise was not great. The ships excursions were very pricey , and if you didn’t sign up as soon as you boarded the boat, you were out of luck.
However, while we were in Bermuda, our car in New York city was towed because Todd parked in the wrong place, and we had two deaths in the family, my Uncle from my Mother’s side, and my Aunt from my Father’s side. Cell phones were not used all that much yet 10 years ago, and I felt so out of touch with home.
I felt better that evening after a long nap, and we met Todd for dinner. The next day, we were on the road back to Elma. The first thing that I did when we got there was take flowers to my cousins, and go to the cemetery. When I got back home, me legs became weak, and buckled under me. My heart started to pound heavily, I felt faint, and I broke out in a cold sweat…..I thought for sure that I was having a heart attack. I went to see the doctor and she thought that it just might have been from all the excitement of the trip, and she sent me for blood work just to be safe.
The next day I went to get the blood work done. The technician asked me about the trip and if I got seasick. I told her that before we ventured on this cruise, I had asked my doctor to give me something for sea sickness. Not that I had ever been seasick, but I have had severe motion sickness which was horrible, and I didn’t want my trip to be ruined. She gave us small patches to be put behind the ear. Before we boarded, I stuck mine on, and figured that I was good to go. When my patch fell off, I would put on a new one...I did this three times. When I finished telling her this, she asked, “WHAT?”. She then told me how potent these patches are and that I overdosed on the seasick patch and that’s why I felt so sick once we came home, I was going through withdrawal. She said that one patch would have taken care of me for the entire trip….huh? Who knew!!!
Well, I guess that we didn’t sail on the Titanic 2, but we certainly did have some misadventures…..”so what do you think Jerry, another cruise????”!!
