What does THIS cruise means to you???

[Molly BPOE]

Wow, such touching stories! I pray each of you have the cruise of your life.

This cruise is a celebration of our 12th anniversary and my graduation from college.

[saltmom1]

What a great idea for a thread ! I hope that all of you have the cruise of a lifetime.

As I was reading the stories, all I could think of was There but for the grace of God go I

 

This thread should be required reading for all the whiners and complainers.

[Tapi]

So this will most likely be our last vacation together (at least one that he knows who we are).

 

I'm sorry to hear about his diagnosis. My grandmother also had Alzheimers. However, don't think that this may be your last vacation together. For years, our grandmother was still able to participate in family gatherings and outings. It took her almost ten years from the moment she was diagnosed until her mind was completely shut.

 

Do cherish the little moments though. One of the most wonderful things that I treasure about my grandmother is something she said when she couldn't remember who I was anymore.

 

I walked in one day, and she gave me a big hug and a kiss. I asked her: "Do you know who I am?". She paused for a second, smiled and said: "I don't know who you are. But I know that I love you...."

[MacysMimi]

WOW.....loved reading all these stories....they are great!

 

My reason for cruising is I need some "ME" time......I've been a single parent for the last 21 years...raised 3 wonderful munchkins all by myself, Ex was a total washout and disappeared....anywhooo......They are all raised, married and having kids....at one point they've ALL lived with me and I just woke up and realized I was tired of taking care of everyone else, it was time for ME to live my life.....I went on a cruise back in 09 with my widowed dad and never married sis......and while it was a great cruise, it was just like being at home....we all ate together, went ashore together, etc etc etc.....So, I booked this cruise all by myself and didn't tell anyone....:D I'm looking forward to 5 days of pure bliss....being able to get up when I want, do what I want, and answer to nobody if I don't want...LOL......I have joined up with a wonderful group of folks that I've been chatting with on the boards, so I have some "built in friends" to eat with.....I'm really, really, looking forward to this cruise:D...

 

My kids are all for this cruise, they think it's great....My dad and sis, not so much.....I've had to listen to some griping and little snips since I told them, but I'm not listening:D

 

Keep the stories going.....it's just what I needed to read today!

[Willie T]

Wow. I'll be looking at my fellow cruisers with new eyes from now on. I always feel like the other passengers are care free and happy-go-lucky, and that's so not true. It's amazing how going on a cruise can lift spirits.

[richbum]

This is our first "family vacation". We had planned on a going on a family vacation with our friends and their family in 2008. About a week before final payment was due, my son decided that he was struggling with school, and needed to really focus so that he could graduate...he did graduate that year (YEA), then he went off to basic training. He is now in the Nationalo Guard, and his unit is supposed to deploy next year, so I decided that this is it, no matter what, we will be going!!!!! We are booked on the Destiny for January, and can not wait! I plan on taking tons of pictures, and making many happy memories, because, who knows when we will be able to vacation together again!

 

Thank you all so much for your stories! I pray that each and every one of you have a wonderful time, and get everything that you want out of your vacation!!!

 

Happy cruising everyone!!:D

[Cobra1365]

This next cruise will be the first time we've managed to get our whole circle of friends together on a cruise. We will all be celebrating 30 yeras of marriage (one couple will be celebrating 25 yrs).

 

Our circle of friends have been together since we were 18 yrs old...not so uncommon you say? Well, we are all military and despite re-assignments across the globe, have managed to get together for EVERY Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day. Our kids have all grown up together too.

 

We are now all retired and have migrated back to the same town and get together EVERY Friday for dinner at the same Italian restaraunt.

[dannymissy]

Yeah, I pretty much am in love with this thread. Thank you for sharing your stories. To MacysMimi...I commend you. I am a single mom of just one wonderful little boy, who is 5. It's not easy, and it sounds like you did a wonderful job.

 

Several other of these stories have brought tears to my eyes. I, too, will look at my fellow cruisers in a different light, and wonder what makes this cruise special to them.

[Tapi]

Next cruise: Our son's 1st birthday and 1st cruise!

[Desiree D]

My cruise was last month, and I feel very fortunate and blessed to be able to spend time with my mom, taking my mom on our Mother/Daughter cruise, something I have wanted to do for a long time. My mom is very special, had some difficulties in life- but always had a great attitude and smile through it all. My hours at work were cut recently and realized, as hubby encouraged me- now is the time to do this with my mom, if I were ever going to be able to do this. It was very hard to leave my husband of 34 years behind (my soulmate, cruising partner), knowing he loves to cruise as much as I do. But, he was so supportive, knowing how much this would mean to my mother and to me, while we are both healthy and energetic to enjoy it, in this time of life. Normally, I would have never gone without him, would have felt too guilty to enjoy without him. But I knew what this would mean to my mom and me.

 

It turned out to be the most amazing, perfect cruise. I'm glad we have pictures and memories, to last a life time. I'm so glad we didn't put it off. I'm so thankful for a wonderful, supportive and loving husband, and a really remarkable and wonderful mom, and the time we had to enjoy a vacation together.

[pkrchkr]

I just started typing a response to another thread and thought about how there are so many reasons that THIS cruise might be important. So many weddings, anniversaries, proposals and different celebrations..

 

This cruise to me will be one to remember because my father has moderate alzhiemers. When we booked the cruise he wasn't even included. But we all really needed a vacation because he was very sick this summer. Heart Attack, Stomach cancer and three week hospital stay. But he came through it all and was even better physically than before. But after we booked he was diagnosed with Alzhiemers and we knew we couldn't leave him behind - but we still needed a vacation.

 

So this will most likely be our last vacation together (at least one that he knows who we are). I hope to take a million pictures. I hope I can see him enjoy just one or two things. I hope to see him enjoy his youngest (and probably last) grandchild. I hope to get a great picture on formal night of my parents together. I hope the sea calms his jitters and he sleeps well. I hope he remembers the dozen or so other cruise he has taken with my mother. I hope he hits a Royal Flush while playing video poker (that would make him so happy!)

 

It's not JUST a cruise. It's a chance to stop time and enjoy what we have even if it's only for 7 days.

 

I'm sure there are alot of other people planning a very special cruise! Why is this special for you?

OMG I can so relate to what you are going thru. My DF is 74 and was diagnosed with AD in 2005.We had our 1st family reunion cruise ever in 08 and are booked on another one , that I fear will be the last with the patriarch of our family)

M&D live in a condo that look right over the Pacific Ocean and dad will sit out on the balcony and ask what the next port is that they are going to. He loves to cruise so we tought we would do one more. We don't expect it to be long before we lose him and I lose my best friend...

This will be the best cruise ever as I get to spend one more day with my dad, one more hour, one more minute.. one more hug and kiss...I hope they one day find a cure for the horrible disease.. My heart goes out to you.

We are going on the Carnival Glory in Feb 2011.. 3 generations ona cruise ship round 2

[kcroxyoursox]

Mine isn't quite so emotional. I am cruising with about 20 friends that all volunteer with me in a Boxer rescue group in DFW. The holidays are the worst time of year for people to dump their dogs, so before we get overwhelmed (as in, more than the ~30 we usually see in shelters at any given time) we're going to take a break so we can come back and hit the ground running.

[MacysMimi]

Yeah, I pretty much am in love with this thread. Thank you for sharing your stories. To MacysMimi...I commend you. I am a single mom of just one wonderful little boy, who is 5. It's not easy, and it sounds like you did a wonderful job.

 

 

Aww thanks! I think they did turn out pretty good....and they've blessed me with 7, soon to be 8, wonderful grandkids.....Hang in there, yours will be grown before you know it, and I'm sure you are doing a wonderful job also!

[bonniemari]

We will be celebrating our 16th wedding anniversary next week on the Elation. My DH & I work together and although he works many more hours than I do, cruising is our way of getting away from the stresses of running a business. No phones and no computers.

 

I have told this story a few times so if it sounds familiar that's why. Almost 14 years ago we had planned our first cruise on the Sensation for Jan. 1997. The month before my DH found out they would be closing the business he had worked at for 27 years. While we had a nice little nest egg saved and had a great severance package, anytime one knows that in 2 months they will be out of a job it can be a stressful time. We debated whether or not to cancel but decided to go anyway. Funny how things turn out cause 14 years and 32 cruises later we are blessed. A few months after our first cruise we opened our own business and 13 yrs later it is still going strong and making a profit-which in these hard economic times is saying something. We are blessed with wonderful employees that make our cruising so much easier cause we don't have to worry while we are gone.

[spacewoman]

wow - what a great thread. It all puts things in perspective.

 

My dear sweet grandfather had alzheimers. It robbed a 65 year old man from enjoying his retirement years. When I got married he pulled my Dad aside in his own home to ask him who was getting married (I'm the oldest grandchild). His mother also had it. It tormented my father that he, too, would get it. Enjoy every second you have.

 

Every time I look out at the water from my balcony I think of my grandfather and wish he could have cruised. He loved the water. He taught me how to fish and sail. He was a quiet and gentle man who I miss terribly.

 

My husband and I did several Florida vacations before opening our own business. Then vacation was put aside for over 10 years before we took our last Disney vacation in 2000. In May of 2002 my husband had a terrible chainsaw accident. Somewhere there was an angel with him that day as the saw just missed his eye and quite possibly his carotid artery. He needed facial reconstruction and he cut every facial nerve on the left side of his face. He has a lengthy scar and a droopy face to this day. When he frets seeing that scar in pictures I tell him it's a reminder to be thankful he is alive. We started cruising in 2003 (for our 20th anniversary) and have been lucky enough to cruise every year since. We renewed our vows on board the Miracle in 2008. That same cruise we wanted to take DH's best man and his wife. Unfortunately, she developed a blood clot a week before the cruise and could not go. We then planned on taking them again in 2009 and it was a close call with other medical issues for her to finally get that cruise. She had to be pushed around in a wheelchair and they managed with just the balcony room (didn't know until last minute of leg issues causing her to need a wheelchair or we would have booked a handicapped cabin). My DH nudged me several times during the shows to look at the smile on her face. Barely two months after the cruise she had a terrible fall, broke her leg in two places and a compound fracture in the ankle as well. She never left the hospital. She died of sepsis in February. We are so thankful that she made it on that cruise.

 

So, while I can B*** and moan with the rest of them, it's stories like those on this thread that make you stand back, take stock of the trivial crap you're complaining about, and just be grateful for those around you.

 

Kathy

[Mary Ellen1]

Ok you guys are making me cry.

 

I hope each and everyone of you have wonderful cruises.

 

 

Ditto what bonniemarie said!!! What amazing & inspiring stories!

 

Mine is very simple: I've dragged DH onto many cruises with my extended family, but in 11 days (woo hoo!) we're cruising with his family for the first time -- his 2 brothers, their wives & 5 kids. Fun family Thanksgiving cruise!!!

:)

[marshhawk]

What a wonderful thread....our last cruise was our honeymoon cruise, when we celebrated our marriage and the fact that my DH had survived cancer surgery. (the doc had told me that one more week, and he wouldn't have been alive) hint:when something looks wrong, it is. All of these life stories are about love and hope, and many a tear has come to my eyes since I started reading this. This next cruise is a just because, because life is too short not to do what you want with who you want...there are so many places to see in this world and so many memories to make. We made great friends on our last cruise and they will be with us on the next one, and everyone is correct in acknowledging, we do not know what is going on with someone unless we walk in their shoes. My prayers go out to you all.

[CruisinManiac]

I just started typing a response to another thread and thought about how there are so many reasons that THIS cruise might be important. So many weddings, anniversaries, proposals and different celebrations..

 

This cruise to me will be one to remember because my father has moderate alzhiemers. When we booked the cruise he wasn't even included. But we all really needed a vacation because he was very sick this summer. Heart Attack, Stomach cancer and three week hospital stay. But he came through it all and was even better physically than before. But after we booked he was diagnosed with Alzhiemers and we knew we couldn't leave him behind - but we still needed a vacation.

 

So this will most likely be our last vacation together (at least one that he knows who we are). I hope to take a million pictures. I hope I can see him enjoy just one or two things. I hope to see him enjoy his youngest (and probably last) grandchild. I hope to get a great picture on formal night of my parents together. I hope the sea calms his jitters and he sleeps well. I hope he remembers the dozen or so other cruise he has taken with my mother. I hope he hits a Royal Flush while playing video poker (that would make him so happy!)

 

It's not JUST a cruise. It's a chance to stop time and enjoy what we have even if it's only for 7 days.

 

I'm sure there are alot of other people planning a very special cruise! Why is this special for you?

 

Two weeks ago, I could have been the author of this thread.;)

 

Although my Dad has not been a sick as yours, he is going downhill very rapidly, and has also been diagnosed with dementia. My DH, my sister, BIL, and I took my parents on the Glory this past week for the same reasons as you took your Dad.

 

Unfortunately, the cruise did not go as smoothly as we had hoped, but I think my parents still had a good time. My Dad was able to eat many things that he is not allowed to at home, he slept well, and even got in the hot tub once. This done without any of us knowing. :eek: Had to have two women help him out. I am thankful to those two women for being there at the right time. My Dad can barely stand or walk long distances, so it was quite a feat for him to climb into the hot tub, not thinking how he was going to get out. lol You have to laugh about these things, or you will cry. :(

 

Dad also fell twice while on the cruise. Once in the dining room, and once in his stateroom. He fell between the bed and the wall, and my mother got a stewardess to help get him up. He was banged up pretty good, but thankfully, nothing was broken. We ended up getting a wheelchair for him to make the long walks from stateroom to dining room, but he refused more times than accepting the help. He did use the wheelchair in Nassau, and we were able to take the private tour that he wanted. Although the rest of us were bored (been there, seen that) my father loved it! :)

 

Like you, we will cherish the memories of this last cruise, and our last vacation together, as I am sure there will not be others. :( However, I prefer to remember some of our past vacations/cruises where my father was happier, more fit and more "with it." ;)

[MochaZen]

Wow. I'll be looking at my fellow cruisers with new eyes from now on. I always feel like the other passengers are care free and happy-go-lucky, and that's so not true. It's amazing how going on a cruise can lift spirits.

 

 

Thank you for this beautiful thread and ALL of your courageous stories. I am at work bawling like a baby... totally unprofessional. (Like reading cruise critic while at work is, either? LoL)

 

Willie T, I totally agree with you. You never know the story behind your fellow cruisers.

[madelish87]

Wow..I really love reading everyone's stories!

 

This cruise is special because I am marrying the man of my dreams. When I first met my soon to be husband..we were only dating for two months before my health took a turn for the worst, at such a young age (20) and the first year and a half of our relationship was mostly him taking care of me. He moved in with me to help pay my rent and my bills, worked super early at 3 am or late till midnight to flex in time to take me to doctors appointments and did all of this while we lived on expensive Hawaii...still had time to treat me like a princess...since my medication and treatments could cause me to sleep through the days or have a nasty attitude...

 

And after all that...he still proposed...and its the most wonderful feeling in the world to know that in less than a month I will be his wife...it's going to be a very good time! Plus..seeing my family (Australian/Black and very libreal) mix with his family (White and very Conservative) is going to make for such interesting conversations during this cruise!

[carmel]

This is special to us because it will be our last vacation as a family of 4. I think we will FINALLY get our daughter we've been waiting for almost 5 years for next fall. We have been in line for an adoption from China since July of 2006.

[RMM34667]

Thank you for this beautiful thread and ALL of your courageous stories. I am at work bawling like a baby... totally unprofessional. (Like reading cruise critic while at work is, either? LoL)

 

Willie T, I totally agree with you. You never know the story behind your fellow cruisers.

 

I too am sitting at my desk crying. But I am happy at the same time. I am so in awe of people's spirit!

 

Thank you everyone for sharing!

[spacewoman]

Wow..I really love reading everyone's stories!

 

This cruise is special because I am marrying the man of my dreams. When I first met my soon to be husband..we were only dating for two months before my health took a turn for the worst, at such a young age (20) and the first year and a half of our relationship was mostly him taking care of me. He moved in with me to help pay my rent and my bills, worked super early at 3 am or late till midnight to flex in time to take me to doctors appointments and did all of this while we lived on expensive Hawaii...still had time to treat me like a princess...since my medication and treatments could cause me to sleep through the days or have a nasty attitude...

 

And after all that...he still proposed...and its the most wonderful feeling in the world to know that in less than a month I will be his wife...it's going to be a very good time! Plus..seeing my family (Australian/Black and very libreal) mix with his family (White and very Conservative) is going to make for such interesting conversations during this cruise!

 

While it will make interesting conversation, they all need to think first and foremost that two people who seem to be complete opposites put each other first despite all differences between them because they love each other. Beyond that nothing really matters.

[zaknzoey]

WOW! You got me hook, line and sinker with this thread!

 

Here's my story.

 

The last cruise I went on was in November, 2008, on Fantasy out of NO to Progreso/Cozumel. I took my mom for her 75th birthday.

 

Ironically, her birthday is November 8th, today.

 

She passed away in Feb of 2009. It was her last birthday and her last cruise.

I am SOOOOOO thankful we went and made so many memories.

 

We were in Cozumel the day of her BD. We all ate lunch at Margaritaville. They made such a time of her BD, putting a balloon hat on her, singing to her and yelling and all. It was great!!

 

This cruise (January 15, Elation!) is in remembrance of mom. We will go to the same places. I can't wait to visit the beach where she sat and enjoyed the sunny day on her last BD. It will be bitter sweet to eat at Margaritaville and remember her laughing on her last BD.

 

But every place we visit on this cruise will bring back a wonderful memory! It is so much more than "cruising" and the memories made will last.

 

I can't wait. Happy Birthday, mom.

[Java1234]

This next cruise in December is a cruise to escape from Christmas. My DD14, my DH and my mom are also going. Our oldest DD17 died in a car accident on June 14th of this year and Christmas was one of her favorite holidays. Things have been very difficult for all of us and we know to stay in our house during Christmas without her will be impossible to get through. We have cruised many times in the past with our beautiful angel so we will feel close to her and we will hopefully have a little peace.