Well, I’ve been back from the cruise for a few days and needed some time to process everything that happened before writing this.
The cruise was so much fun, I made a bunch of new friends and it was truly amazing, it had its moments though. To say people were gawking and whispering to one another and then looking up at me would be an understatement. It was a lot. I did notice that in general, “people watching” was a past time for most involved, including me, so I totally got it.
I had a few harsh comments thrown at me and one guy refused to ride the elevator with me and took the stairs instead. I had to force myself to block out those looking my way. I remember walking onto deck 9 in the main pool area, the sun was in my face, I had on pink shirt and shorts, and when I looked up I can’t even describe how many people were looking at me. I was like, “girl, chin up, chest out, and own this moment and keep moving.” lol
I mostly hung out on deck 10 and started making friends right away. My shipmates had lots of questions at first, which I politely answered, and in the ensuing days we drank, laughed and had fun together. I even dropped my discover card accidentally in one of the couch cushions and didn’t realize it. A man wearing rebel shorts came up to me the next day and said, “Hey darlin, our group thought this might belong to you” and handed me the card. I thanked him and his friends repeatedly!! What amazing people!!
I tried to be back in my cabin around 11 pm before everyone got drunk and crazy. Since the gawking and staring part was kind of never ending, retreating to my cabin and being able to take a deep breath and just chill out alone on the balcony really helped. Though there was two nights I stayed out until 1 am and then 3 am and I had no problems and had an awesome time.
I became close to one of our servers and went into Belize with she and her girlfriend. She later confided that several people made negative comments about my presence, two of which she refused to serve because of what they said. I knew damn well that such things were happening and my server simply validated my suspicions. In the end, people have a right to their opinions and honestly, I would rather not know, but nonetheless I appreciated her telling me.
So, to wrap this up, I give my experience an eight out of ten. I had the best time and truly met the most wonderful people. I am in contact still, and Facebook friends, with about fifteen or so fellow cruisers and others I met on the different excursions. There were wonderful memories made and it was one of the best vacations I have ever had!!
Since returning home I’ve thought about everything that happened and I would indeed like to go again. The good people outweighed the bad by far and at the end of the day, laughter, smiling and good conversation overcomes most hidden prejudice, which allowed us to see each other as human beings and become friends which made this trip one for the record books !! ❤️❤️❤️