tedwords

"I haven't been everywhere, but it's on my list." Susan Sontag

[WRITTEN FRIDAY NIGHT]

We slept a bit late this morning (hey, I woke up at 3 to type), but by 11, our Uber was waiting for us and we were on our way to Pier 18 in Fort Lauderdale, where our home for the next ten days was waiting for us.

I wish I could say I was overjoyed to be back on a cruise, but honestly, the initial feeling I had was...well, kind of anxious. There were so many people and even though we purchased The Key with Royal Caribbean partly because in the past it expedited the onboarding process, we discovered that isn't the case for smaller ships in the age of Covid. (You do get free internet, still, so that's a perk).

Another perk is a welcome aboard lunch from Chops, but when we arrived at the dining room, they tried to sit us with other people and I said, possibly a bit too loudly, "Can we please sit alone?" Which made Corb laugh for about fifteen minutes, hearing the desperation in my voice.

But we both agree: we really prefer not to sit with other people during cruises. Our goal is not to make friends, but to get away from it all. To be alone with each other. Not to have to make the effort for small talk and feigned interest. And besides, during our first cruise, years ago, when we didn't know you could choose to sit alone, we had one horrible dinner where we sat next to this one lady from the South who half an hour into the meal said, loudly, "Are you a gay couple?" And then proceeded to spend the next ninety minutes going on about her gay son and how hated and reviled he was by his family. I smiled and nodded and turned to Corb after the meal was over and said, "We are never doing that again."

Don't get me wrong. Traveling with friends can be lovely. But it is never the main reason that we travel.

The ship is really nice. It's a smaller older boat, but I am coming to the conclusion I like it when the ships are a little smaller. The big ones are cool and have more entertainment options, but also have a ton more kids and even after a week, you still need a map to find your way around. This cruise is at about half to three-quarters capacity, so it's not jam packed and there is actually room to breathe in a charming space.

The ship set sail later than expected: 5:30, when it was supposed to leave at 4. I believe the problem stemmed from the new emergency procedure process: two people neglected to complete it and they spent an hour paging them every five minutes until they were located.

It didn't matter. By then I was in my cabin and starting to feel the blissfulness I had been hoping for. I was back and the voyage was about to begin.

One thing I noticed this first day: some people are so much angrier than they used to be. Maybe that will mellow out as this cruise goes on, but at night, as were watching the latest Spider-Man movie under the stars, an older black women came by to sit out and enjoy the warm weather. Yes, she was talking a bit loudly and not paying attention to the fact that other people were watching a movie, but totally unreasonably, this older white guy stands up near us with his eyes on fire, as if he was looking to beat the crap out of someone. An attendant tactfully sat him down and said she would deal with it, but even so. The woman was 85 if she was a day. Is it really appropriate to act that way over a Spider-Man movie?

I think that is the most unfortunate aspect of five years of the Trump delusion. People, particularly old white men, now think it's okay to act like assholes for the most trivial of reasons. No sir, it's not really speaking your mind, it's just simply acting like an obnoxious turd nugget, and just as smelly. Just sit the hell down, chill out, and try to enjoy your vacation.

Anyway, despite the anxiety I felt at first, by the end of the day I was totally at peace and having a blast. And, I won $200 on the slots!

All in all, this is a heck of a good way to begin a journey.