Cruising – Val’s Perspective

Hi, I’m Val Benn (John’s other half)

Yes, I thought that I should contribute to this trip seeing as we are away for almost three months and I,therefore, cannot claim lack of time. However, if you can believe it or not, time does fly when you are having fun. I’ve been asked by several people, who have never cruised before, what there is to do on board and how one is occupied. Truth be told, there is much to do if you want to and it can eat up time. quite quickly.

John and I play table tennis, a facility provided on board most cruise ships. Usually you play a friendly in the morning and you join the competition in the afternoon, The same applies to Quoits, Shuffle Board, Short Tennis, Golf and Yoga and stretch classes. There are also activities that concentrates the mind ie quizzes, Bridge, card games,Yahtzee, Scrabble and such like You can also avail yourself of their Library, attend various classes like line dancing, folding napkins (!!), watching movies and some great live entertainment.

There is also the fabulous food…..24hr availability! There are options – you can have a formal breakfast or a buffet. Lunch is the same and dinner is either casual (buffet available) or formal (in a restaurant setting). You tend to dress up for dinner and some evenings are themed eg Rock n Roll Night, Nautical Night, 60s and 70s Night, Valentine’s Day and a few more. On top of this you also have formal nights – Black & White Ball, Masquerade Ball and the Roaring 20s. This is not everybody’s cup of tea but those who do not participate get equal enjoyment watching those who have joined the spirit. What is also comforting is that they cater for your dietary needs. What impresses me most is their ability to feed over a thousand passengers with extremely good, tasty hot or cold meals without any problems and on cue You can eat as much as you like by ordering anything you want for any number of times

Most cruise ships also make available hair and beauty salons and Spa services. I’ve only used this service on two occasions – acupuncture to solve my motion sickness and having my hair cut as I did not have time to do so prior to boarding the ship. The former did not deliver and the latter, I’m sad to say was very expensive considering the end result.

I am well prepared for the cruise and my expectations are also well managed. However I still find packing very difficult and more so as this time we move across the Equator and the Tropic of Capricon. What has this got to do with my packing difficulty, you may ask. Well, I need at least a week (two is best) to get my clothes, shoes and jewellery right. Whilst there is no restriction on the number suitcases you take on board, I’m aware that someone has to transport them to your cabin and you’ll have to unpack and put them away along with the empty suitcases. Bearing in mind that cruise ship cabins are mostly small, we’ll be facing new challenges on this trip as I’ll be taking a wheel chair and enough of my Parkinson’s medication for three months. This includes vials of a drug, two pumps, fusion lines with needles which help me manage my condition and other tablets. This new procedure has helped my mobility enormously and I am hoping it will sustain me over the entire holiday. So can’t leave home without them.

Each time we go on a cruise I promise myself that I will be sensible, John constantly reminds me that “they have washing machines so you can have them swashed whenever you want” or ” if you need something, we have the (credit) card”, I’ve tried to make John understand that women like dressing up. They also like wearing different outfits when dining out. Of course you can wear an outfit two or three times but if you watch celebrities, they wouldn’t appear wear the same thing. It matters if you are seeing the same person(s) at dinner as women generally remember what you wore, more so if it was very pretty or beautiful. You don’t run the risk if your dinner colleagues are not the same people every night.

I am comfortable if I have more than enough clothes. I do try to mix and match when possible. Even so my tendency is to pack for activities – so sports clothes, excursion clothes, formal wear, casual wear, swimsuits, night wear. Mustn’t forget the need to pack outfits which supports themed nights. Then there is the question of what kind of clothes – suitable for hot, warm, cool or cold temperatures alongside the need to take T-shirts to stay cool or jumpers to keep the cold out. I’m told for this trip to South America I will experience all of the temperatures mentioned above and so the best thing is to wear layers. Wish me luck! Till the next time………