This is a cruise I wish I could take again. Not only was it the first cruise I had taken in over 20 years without a travel partner, but it was a cruise on which I made a new friend.
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In my old blog, I documented this cruise in more detail than I will detail here. Not only did I mention issues related to cruising with my former cruise partner, but the details of this cruise now seem to have melded with details from other cruises. Instead, I'll note the highlights, and remember this cruise fondly.
In the past, FCP would either have someone drop us off at the cruise terminal, or park at the terminal herself. This can be cost effective for short cruises when two or more people are traveling. But it is not so for someone traveling alone on a long cruise. For someone like me, it makes more sense to take the train into NYC, then taking a cab to the cruise terminal. If I spend $60 each way to get to/from NYC Pier 88, I have still saved $160 that I could spend on drinks onboard the ship. Until I am traveling with someone again, I expect that this is the way I will go between my apartment in Croton and the Manhattan cruise terminal.
On this cruise, I met two people, one of which I still communicate with. First is a singer, Katy Setterfield, with whom I had several great conversations before she left my ship to perform on another ship. Sadly, we lost contact, and I haven't heard of her performing in public venues since then. The other was my pen pal, LKC from Canada. Although we haven't seen each other since this cruise, we've stayed in contact in the 3 years since.
There is a part of me that wishes that I did the cruise in Mario Mode. That would have made it possible for me to visit the islands of St. Kitts, Barbados, St. Lucia, and Antigua. But many of the islands hold LGBT travelers in disdain, and I didn't want to risk getting trouble in a foreign land. So traveling as Marian eliminated some of the places where I'd have liked to get off the ship and walk around. But if I had done this, I'd never have met the two people who made this trip enjoyable.
