Cruising Revisited
Today we are going to visit old friends, one of whom is in Hospice. She is exactly my age. We haven’t seen her since she married her wife more than a year ago, at which time she was not ill. We have the privilege of bringing her the exact lunch she requested. I expect this will be a pretty emotional visit.
I planned to write about cruising and the ideas were flowing. Then I checked some previous KTKs and discovered that I had already written that diary two years ago. No wonder it seemed familiar. So I’ll cut and paste some from that diary. Since many of you had read it (I checked the comments) I’ll see if y’all are still on the same wavelength:
“I was fortunate to be on a cruise ship many years ago, 65 years to be exact. I have a few memories of the trip, across the Atlantic, mostly about the quantity and quality of the meals, and the fact that my brother and I could go to the lounge and order as many orange drinks as we wished. Moving ahead 45 years, we were able to take not one, but two Mississippi Riverboat trips. These trips were wonderful, and quite inexpensive, as we booked two for the price of one specials, which are often available near departure time. Music and shows were great, and the food was dazzling. From morning till late evening I established that it was possible to eat 14 times, from main meals to afternoon teas to evening desserts to hot dogs and sausages anytime.
Anyone who watches PBS has seen advertising for Viking Riverboat and Ocean Cruises. We might take one of the European riverboat cruises in the future; we don’t have all that many years left for the old bucket list. We get the catalog frequently so it offers fuel for dreaming. The latest catalog has an offering I had never before noticed. That would be The Viking Ultimate World Cruise, 245 days, 53 countries, 112 ports. This is offered at the bargain price of “from $89,990 per person”. When they say from, that means that’s the low end, cheap room. You might be snubbed by the more well-to-do passengers. This works out to be about $365 a day per person, not to mention the inevitable tips. Sort of comparable to a nice hotel, exclusive of meals. Average price of assisted living in the US is $123.
Would any of you be interested in such a trip, even if money were not a consideration? Would you be comfortable absenting yourself from your quotidian life for that long? Have you taken ocean cruises? How many days in length? What are some of the downsides of a long cruise? Would you go again?
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With further research I have found the perfect bargain cruise for KTK readers: Viking World Treasures, 127 days, 61 ports, 29 countries, only (from) $45,995 per person. Such a bargain; now you have no excuse.”
The reason this old diary content is pertinent is that our kids have taken the “S.F to Alaska and back to S.F.” Princess cruise and highly recommended it. We had been to Alaska on a land trip which included 3 days on a tiny ship (30 people) and we enjoyed it, but we scoffed at the sight of the giant cruise ships. Now we’re older and, as I mentioned above: we don’t have all that many years left for the old bucket list. So we may do this if the stars align in harmony.
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