The Sister Cruise (nothing institutionalized, just 4 boomer women taking a cruise together) was a test in patience last week. Fog delayed our departure by 24 hours but before the Coast Guard and Carnival decided on that delay, we sat in the Mobile (Alabama) Civic Center for 7 hours. We finally bailed to Holiday Inn without waiting for the cruise line-arranged hotel discount. That was good because we paid $88/room and at least some who waited for the arranged room paid $130 (same hotel).
Our shortened cruise to Cozumel was cloudy. Not a problem for us: we preferred the beach without sun. And with a partial refund promised, The Sisters were satisfied that the salvaged cruise would suffice.
Ah, we spoke too soon. Our Fun Day at Sea back to Mobile saw 12' to 15' waves and 50 mph winds. Part of the crew became ill. Lots of passengers were ill. Two Navy sailors near us felt ill, too.
One Sister was particularly aware of the clock and reported that the waves quieted at 3am, about 4 hours before our scheduled docking.
Of course, we didn't dock on schedule. The Coast Guard had closed the channel again—due to bouys blown out of position. More patience as we waited for the all clear.
You might think that we would wish for a different week for the cruise, like this week with its beautiful weather at sea and at the ports. The question is put in perspective with one fact about the cruise following ours: 900 children on board. That makes our experience on The Sister Cruise a tad more tolerable.
© 2009 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. The content of this blog or related web sites created by Mary Bold (www.marybold.com, www.boldproductions.com, College Intern Blog) is not under any circumstances to be regarded as professional, legal, financial, or medical advice. Or education advice. Or marital advice. Or even a tip.
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