The captain's wife
Life's a Journey, not a Destination
By Leah Marie Armstrong . Leah’s from Canada and lives in Portofino, Italy. She’s married to an Italian Captain, who presently works on cruise ships. She is an avid Blogger, Painter and runs a Bed & Breakfast on Portofino Mountain. She spent her earlier career in the cruising, travel and hospitality industry and has a passion for photography, olive picking and Slow Cooking.
Whoever coined that phrase must have been an avid cruiser. I've sailed so many times, for so many years, to the same ports of call, that I no longer look at the itinerary. Not because I'm crazy about cruising but because it's a big part of my life. I'm married to a sailor, so perhaps I should change my name to Olive Oil.
Back in 2002, I was a lounge singer onboard the Carnival Celebration. I'll never forget my first voyage to Mexico. The ship bounced the entire way there and back and I was led to believe that that was normal! I met my husband on that ship and as they say, the rest is history.
It's now 2015 and we've come a long way baby. I'll be honest, I have a love/hate relationship with cruising. It has tossed us two lovers apart more times than I'd like to recall and put our romance through the paces. But here we are, 13 years later, and I suddenly see myself married to a Captain! Wow! How did beach dates in Cozumel and a zillion boat drills end us up here?
For years, we were outranked for shore leave and although I retired from ships in 2007, I still enjoy going ashore when I sail with my husband. The problem was we didn't always have the opportunity to go off the ship if someone more senior wanted to get off too. You can just imagine how frustrating that is.
Now, my husband finally outranks everyone and what did we decide to do when we docked in Cozumel on a sunny day in 2015? Yes, that's right. We stayed onboard! Don't get me wrong, we both love Cozumel, but when you have been there as many times as we have, you can imagine the scenario with your eyes closed. Besides, all those years of not being able to get off the ship forced us to look for other ways to make the best of our port days onboard.
So here were our options...
Option A, go to the beach. This is nice, however you have to drive pretty far out from the ship before you will find a quiet beach that isn't full of crew or passengers (now that my husband is the Captain, it's like hanging out with a rock star...he gets recognized everywhere we go);
Option B, go for a nice lunch or dinner. This is also something we enjoy immensely, in fact our first date was in Cozumel, however, good luck finding a nice restaurant that isn't full of your fellow crew members. It's not that we don't like them, but we see them every single day, for every single meal...so, it would be nice to eat, ahem, alone;
Option C, stay onboard, get a hot stone couples massage at the spa and order room service in the cabin...throw in a siesta and viola, you've got a perfect day!
Back in 2002, I was a lounge singer onboard the Carnival Celebration. I'll never forget my first voyage to Mexico. The ship bounced the entire way there and back and I was led to believe that that was normal! I met my husband on that ship and as they say, the rest is history.
It's now 2015 and we've come a long way baby. I'll be honest, I have a love/hate relationship with cruising. It has tossed us two lovers apart more times than I'd like to recall and put our romance through the paces. But here we are, 13 years later, and I suddenly see myself married to a Captain! Wow! How did beach dates in Cozumel and a zillion boat drills end us up here?
For years, we were outranked for shore leave and although I retired from ships in 2007, I still enjoy going ashore when I sail with my husband. The problem was we didn't always have the opportunity to go off the ship if someone more senior wanted to get off too. You can just imagine how frustrating that is.
Now, my husband finally outranks everyone and what did we decide to do when we docked in Cozumel on a sunny day in 2015? Yes, that's right. We stayed onboard! Don't get me wrong, we both love Cozumel, but when you have been there as many times as we have, you can imagine the scenario with your eyes closed. Besides, all those years of not being able to get off the ship forced us to look for other ways to make the best of our port days onboard.
So here were our options...
Option A, go to the beach. This is nice, however you have to drive pretty far out from the ship before you will find a quiet beach that isn't full of crew or passengers (now that my husband is the Captain, it's like hanging out with a rock star...he gets recognized everywhere we go);
Option B, go for a nice lunch or dinner. This is also something we enjoy immensely, in fact our first date was in Cozumel, however, good luck finding a nice restaurant that isn't full of your fellow crew members. It's not that we don't like them, but we see them every single day, for every single meal...so, it would be nice to eat, ahem, alone;
Option C, stay onboard, get a hot stone couples massage at the spa and order room service in the cabin...throw in a siesta and viola, you've got a perfect day!
Home port - Miami Beach from a cruise ship
Cruising is more than just ports of call jammed in between long sea days. I have always believed that if you really want to experience the magic of a ship, try staying onboard on a port day. There are no queues at the buffet, you can take your pick of padded deck chairs under shady umbrellas and they offer amazing discounts at the spa. To me, a perfect holiday is a balance between fun and adventure and relaxation.
After all, it's the journey that matters most, not the destination.
Happy cruising!
After all, it's the journey that matters most, not the destination.
Happy cruising!