Life Lessons Aboard a Cruise Ship 0
Aloha. Welcome to another episode of Joyous Journeys over 60. I'm Jane Rae, uh, recording today from the beautiful cruise ship, the Ruby Princess. Uh, sailing to and from the Hawaiian Islands. My podcast partner, Andrea Stine, is back in Fort Myers. Uh, so a lot of life lessons, uh, that you can observe and learn while aboard a cruise ship. This is a really interesting cruise. Uh, particularly because we left San Francisco and sailed for five days towards the Hawaiian Islands and then spend four days, uh, touring the islands in Hawaii. And now we're on our five day at sea journey, uh, back. And my husband and I love to cruise, particularly since we've retired. Uh, cruising for us is an easy way to see a lot in a short period of time, and your hotel and your luggage travels with you, as well as your restaurant and your entertainment. So for us. Developing a cruise lifestyle, particularly after after retirement, has been really beneficial for us and frankly, reasonably economical compared to the cost of taking a land tour. Uh, we've sailed through Europe. We've, uh, planned to sail through Asia. Certainly. We've done the Caribbean and Alaska now where, uh, we've just accomplished Hawaii. So it's a great way for retirees in particular, uh, to be able to visit a bunch of ports, uh, sample the world. We call it speed dating the world, uh, and getting a taste for places that you might want to go back to. But that's not really what I want to talk about. Uh, today, again, those of you of cruise know what I'm talking about. Those of you who are reluctant to cruise, uh, maybe because you're concerned about motion sickness. Uh, obviously. it's is something unique to each individual. But, you know, I've had an advantage of being at sea for several days. And and when you're at sea and you're much more relaxed and you're not racing around trying to do a tour or seeing as much as you can while you're on land, you get a chance to kind of observe passengers and talk to people and learn about their lives and, and the different regions of the country or of the world that they come from. And so it's a wonderful way to, uh, to, you know, engage with other people in a much more relaxed, uh, kind of environment. I mean, truthfully, where are you going to go? You're on a you're on a cruise ship. So there's very few places that, that, uh, that you can go where you're not going to run into, uh, into other people. And one of the reasons we particularly like Princess Cruise Lines is that the demographic of the passengers is our age group. We we've been sailing Princess now for several years and and you find the, I would say the over 50, uh, crowd, uh, you know, ranging all the way up. There was a woman, uh, that was, uh, announced at the theater the other night that was celebrating her 98th birthday on this cruise ship. But but generally, you see folks in the call it 50 to 75 ish, uh, range, uh, mostly retirees. Princess is not really known for big family cruises, even though they have kids clubs. So you kind of feel like you're with your tribe, right? That that, you know, you're with a bunch of passengers that are active, that are interested, that are going where you're going and are happy to be, uh, to be doing so. And so when you engage with different people on a cruise ship, you get to learn a lot. About their lives before retirement. Uh, you get to learn a lot about their lives after retirement, and you get to learn a lot about the motivation to do and see as much as possible in whatever time we are all blessed with, uh, that's remaining in our lives. One of the things that I think is really fascinating about cruise passengers is the the percentage of people that cruise that have mobility issues. I mean, on this ship, we have, uh, folks in walkers, we have folks that have, uh, obviously spine issues that are walking with canes. Uh, there are scooters galore. Uh, you know, you have to watch out that you're not being run over by, uh, by a scooter on the ship. And and these are folks that I have a particular admiration for because despite their mobility issues. They are still out there and doing things. They are out there on this cruise ship the same as I am, and I'm very blessed at 70 to be fairly able bodied. But they're going on excursions, and there was a woman with two canes on our excursion into the lava tubes that, uh, you know, made it down into the lava tubes. And she had had knee and ankle surgery and and, uh, she was slow, but she was going, uh, you see, people that are have been married for a long time. You see people that have been married for a short time, you see people, uh, again, remember, of an age who are, uh, new couples. We met a couple who, uh, have been together for about a year and a half after each of them had lost their spouses and were introduced to each other, uh, through mutual friends and a love of football. And you find out a lot about their journey and their lives together and how they're moving forward. Slowly, uh, but happily. Uh, you see, uh, women on a girls trip. You see men on a manned trip, you see families of, you know, brothers or sisters, uh, that are doing a family trip. Again, we don't have a lot of kids on on this ship, but but you see all sorts of combinations of people that are, uh, enjoying their lives and not allowing themselves to be held back because of, of issues in their lives. Uh, regardless of what those issues were, they're facing the challenges head on and not allowing them to to be held back. And I have so much admiration for those individuals who are on this ship, uh, despite their mobility issues in particular, or their health issues. Uh, so a woman the other day, she has her oxygen tank and, uh, she's in a wheelchair, but, man, she was getting off that ship and getting on a tour. Um, these are folks who are not feeling sorry for themselves. They are not. They are not looking at their life. Uh, at this later stage, as, uh, as they're being victimized by it, they are, um, they are refusing to be held back. And in some ways, I think, you know, cruising makes it a little bit easier because the cruise lines like Princess, um, accommodate, uh, folks with, uh, mobility or health issues, and there is a doctor on board and, uh, they actually have a mini hospital. So there's a certain comfort in that. There's a comfort in knowing that there are accessible cabins and, uh, that, you know, the scooter life on board is is not unusual. You won't be the only one in a walker or cane or, um, or on a scooter. And, and at some point, you're, you're meeting other people that are having those type of, of issues. So what's the life lesson here? To me the life lesson is regardless of where you are in your journey. Um, and despite some obstacles that you may face, uh, particularly medical obstacles or, uh, life obstacles, there are folks that we've met that travel alone and and they, they prefer the cruise life traveling alone because they're not alone. Uh, they may be sleeping alone in their cabin, but it is fairly easy to engage in conversation at the dinner table or at the bar, excuse me. Or in the theater. And so there's a certain safety in, in traveling on a cruise ship by yourself. But but again, the life lesson here is take the trip, eat the cake. Right. Um, it's more of a what are you waiting for type of of mentality. And even if you're handed challenges or obstacles, uh, you know, whether it's life obstacles or medical obstacles, these are folks that are still embracing life. And and I would like to think that, um, that if that challenge faces me or my husband, we would not be sitting home feeling sorry for ourselves. We would not be confused about what we should do there, and whether it's a cruise ship or or something else. Finding ways to still enjoy life, to be able to have amazing experiences and and being able to celebrate your life thus far. Um, is is something that we should all be thinking about. It is really easy to fall into the trap of, I can't, I can't do this or I can't do that, or I'll feel silly or I'll be embarrassed. Um, you know, it's so easy to fall into that, particularly as we age when life is going to hand us challenges. Uh, the couple that we met that had lost their spouses, I mean, they very openly talked about, um, you know, their life before they lost their spouse. And these are all very long, um, long marriages. And then they talked about kind of their life now that they've met each other and, and kind of the, the steps that they're taking, slow steps and each understanding their, you know, their families concerns about, uh, having a new relationship after a long marriage and, uh, particularly after somebody deceased. But you find folks that are still doing it, they're still embracing, they're still exploring, they're still experiencing, um, and, and for me, kind of sitting back and watching this on a sea day on a beautiful ship in the North Pacific Ocean, it is encouraging. Because I again, I would like to think that whether I go on a sister trip with my sister or with my husband, or with a close friend, or if I'm in a scooter or a wheelchair or an oxygen tank or whatever, that I am still going to find ways to have a joyous journey over 60. So with that, I would like to I miss my my podcast partner Andreas, and we'll be back to a recording when I get get home in a few days. But with that, if you, if you come away from this with any message and I think I've said it now several times, regardless of what life throws at you, there is still time to have joyous journeys. There is still time to plan those joyous journeys. One of the things about cruising that's really fun is you start planning your next cruise and you start looking at, you know what? What are the opportunities to speed date the world? And again, maybe cruising isn't your thing. That's okay. It's it's making a conscious effort, planning, um, being excited about, uh, you know, experiences that are or within your comfort zone, but not allowing yourself to be held back, uh, because of other things that are going on in your life. And of course, you know, I would be remiss if I didn't, you know, kind of end this talking about the financial aspect of it. Experience doesn't necessarily need to cost a lot. Um, you would be amazed if you found out what we ended up paying for this cruise. It was relatively inexpensive, given, uh, you know, 16 days, all the food, entertainment, drinks and and tours. But that's not the point. The point is, there are lots of ways to celebrate and have joyous journeys, uh, on a budget. Um, you know, uh, free. Uh, but but it requires a conscious effort to be able to, uh, be able to do that, um, and feel excited and motivated and not afraid and not a shame. So with that, um, I want to say aloha again. Or is they. I learned in in the Hawaiian Islands, it's aloha. Um, and, uh, and to thank you all for listening, I'm Jane Rey. This is joyous journeys over 60. Have a great day.