How I Ended up on a Cruise Ship

There are a lot of things in life that I don’t understand.

For example people who respond with “the ceiling” when asked, “what’s up?”, those who can’t see the benefits obvious of the metric system and…

Cruise ships.

So while I’m sitting by the pool, with my towel over my head trying not to burn (because I’m Australia and I’m sun smart), I’m going to explain how I got here.

Never, ever, in my wildest dreams did I think I would be here, at the age of 21, drifting between islands in the Bahamas with Dan.

Sure, perhaps I visualized us doing this in our mid sixties and after the bitterness of not having shared my life with Natalie Portman makes me a grumpy old woman.

After travelling for months on end, my bank account and my physical body have become exhausted.

The rate I can write all these experiences down before my memory twists and changes them has diminished. I would previously stay awake an extra couple of hours because I find it soothing.

Basically, I was tired ALL of the time.

I was too tired to write, too tired to shake the writers block I’d developed and wasn’t sleeping.

Dan heard from a friend’s sister that there were all-inclusive cruises that cost roughly $34 a day. This included accommodation, entertainment and food. It was an opportunity to save a bit of cash.

I wasn’t instantly sold (travelling has NOT helped my commitment issues).

For the next 24 hours, Dan told me only of how amazing the weather was. Clear skies, between 25 and 28 degrees all day long.

“You can write in you diary,” he tells me.
I’m quick to correct him; “it’s a journal… or, a collection of personal essays if you prefer.”

I think it might be nice because I’ll actually have time to read some of these books I’ve been carrying around.

Also I miss the ocean.

If there’s anything I really, really miss it’s my dog and the sound of waves crashing on the shore from my bed late at night. I eventually agreed because I recognized that a rest is really what I need.

We felt out of place because we don’t have matching outfits and were first on everyone else’s packing list.

We also made up 66.66% of our demographic.

To do nothing for the next three days proved to be difficult for me… well, at first anyway.

Before I knew it I was sleeping in for too long, participating in music trivia and laughing with Ethel from 3032 about her husbands uncontrollable snoring.

Cabin fever had obviously set in.

Also, it turns out cruise ships are a great place to resume my favorite hobby; people watching/listening to other peoples conversations.

I’m enthralled in ALL of Debora’s relationship problems with Steve and why he won’t commit to her and Shaun’s obvious cocaine addiction, which he just refuses to get treatment for.
Not to mention rumors of divorce and children and infidelity floating around the place.

My tolerance for Titanic jokes has vanished all together.

We did get to stop at Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas which was nice but sadly the weather just didn't hold up for us. 

The best thing though, is that it has given me a time to enjoy Dan’s company before we leave each other and move onto the next chapter of our lives where I can continue attempting to shape the person that I want to become.