I have to admit, its been hard to find things to write about this past year and a half. We’ve had so many things cancelled. It’s not like we haven’t traveled at all, because we have. But I miss cruising, and I miss the ocean and its calm.
We’re not among the afraid, although I have to admit that the paranoia from the media hits once in awhile. I’ve barely watched the news since this started, but still you hear everything somehow. And just when you think you’re going to be able to have your life back, it all starts back up. This cruiser has stocked up on toilet paper and Clorox wipes this time! But tell me, why is Gatorade Zero so hard to find?
MSC? No way!
So, what are we hopefully going to do? We had planned on cruising on the MSC Divina for Halloween this year. However, MSC added a $1,000 charge to our cruise and would not honor the $310 Future Cruise Credit that we had, so we cancelled that one. We’re still waiting for our refund. Thankfully it’s only $98 because lots of people are waiting for more. And MSC has lost a customer.
Carnival? Hopefully!
After that we found a good deal for a six day cruise on the Carnival Magic, again for Halloween. We sailed the Magic five years ago on Halloween, and had a wonderful time. And now we’re hoping and praying that we will actually be able to cruise. We got our vaccines back in the Spring because we had a feeling that cruises would be vaccine only.
Carnival has just changed their policy again so that everyone but those with medical exemptions and under 12 have to be vaccinated. That’s fine with me because that’s the safest way. We’ll also have to wear masks. Now, I hate masks! But we wore them to Disney, and I’m willing to wear one so I can cruise. I’m that desperate! But we did book a balcony just in case.
I understand that there is a risk in cruising, but truthfully, there’s a risk in living. We can’t avoid everything. We can’t hide forever, and frankly, I don’t want to. I’ve said from the beginning that what we all need to be doing is taking care of our immune system. Eat healthy, exercise, take probiotics, avoid stress. That way you have a better chance of not having complications if you do get sick. The stress of the pandemic and the news media is enough to make anyone sick. We’ve traveled many times this past year and stayed in many hotels. Just use common sense.
And the future?
We’re also hoping to sail on the Carnival Pride in April to the Panama Canal. This is one of our cruises that got cancelled during the pandemic. We’ve always wanted to see the Panama Canal, and hopefully we’ll get to sail this time. I’ve learned this past year and a half that you really can’t count on anything, but we’re trying to stay optimistic.
After that, who knows. We’ve had cruises cancelled, and two trips to Disneyland in California cancelled. Maybe we’ll try Disneyland again in the Fall of 2022. We’ve learned not to plan too far ahead. What will life be like a year from now? We never would have imagined what went on this past year. Will we finally get our lives back, or will there be another virus mutation that starts it all over again? Like I said, you can run, but you can’t hide. Maybe we just need to face this virus head on.
The Quiet Cruiser 