In 2000, my parents mentioned that they were taking a 14-day transatlantic cruise on Splendor of the Seas. Weâd never cruised before, but my husband and I invited ourselves anyway. It was love at first sight, and cruising became one of our favorite vacations.
(Side totally-random story follows... âșïž)
My parents cruised a lot after my dad retired in the late 80s. They were never really "loyal" to any specific cruise line, and their favorite size ships were âthe-smaller-the-betterâ class, so you can imagine the size of the staterooms. And always interiors. Always. They really enjoyed Commodore, and I remember how surprised to find out they were something called âDiamondâ on Royal Caribbean! Anyway, which ship may not have been important, but they were always very clear about how they never saw any reason whatsoever to pay for anything but the cheapest cabin since after all, they were rarely in it. (I heard that speech more than once!)
After my aunt retired in the 90s she started cruising with them. And I mean with them⊠together in one interior cabin! They cruised and traveled the world as a âthreesome,â which gave a lot of people a lot of laughs - and the three of them milked it for everything it was worth. Their joy in meeting new people and just living was something to behold, and we were blessed to join them on many occasions. My parents have gone on now, and my dear aunt is 96 years old. She still laughs when she reminisces about their adventures.
When I grow up, I want to be just like them.