Hurricane Almost Cancelled My Cruise

I don't recall the exact year, but I was living near Boston and had booked a cruise to Mexico. I was supposed to catch a flight to Florida and depart on a Carnival cruise from the Port down south.

Going on a cruise in September is always an iffy situation during hurricane season but it was a first time experience and nothing was going to stop me from getting off on the Ship. It was my birthday present to myself.

When the airports starting canceling flights, I phoned my friend Renee and asked if she could take me to Logan Airport immediately so I could catch the last flight out. I was younger and more daring in those days.

We threw some clothes in a bag and Renee dumped me at the airport in time to catch the flight to Miami. When I arrived, there were only a few hotels still open and I got a room for the night at a local hotel that was within walking distance to the Port where the Ship was waiting to embark.

I have to admit that it was a frightening experience as the winds were picking up and I even considered, only briefly, not getting onboard the Cruise Ship but I left anyway. One of the first people that I met on the Ship was a girl named Sandra and oddly enough, she was also alone and celebrating her birthday. We became a duo of birthday gals and pals.

We quickly became the talk of the Ship and others joined the pack and suddenly there were a group of us getting free drinks and doing the Macarena on the dance floor.

I have to admit, there were some frightening moments as the cruise ship headed out to sea and several of my cruise mates became overcome with the waves pounding us and seasickness was rampart on the deck.

When we arrived at Cozumel Mexico, I was overwhelmed by the calmness of the beach and the serene lure of the ocean. It was where I first swam with the dolphins - although I have to admit, I thought they were sharks at first and screamed when they approached. One of them screamed back at me and it made for a wonderful memory.

All in all, that first cruise turned into a wonderful memory. I'll never forget that holiday on board the cruise that almost wasn't. All because I phoned a friend who drove me to the airport and saved the day.

Sources:

http://www.carnival.com/

and my memories