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Originally posted by Barryboat:
a cruise truly changed your life dramatically, therefore being therapeutic? Post your stories here, I think it would make interesting reading......
Thanks...Barryboat

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My first cruise was at the age of 9, on the TSS Olympia. It was 11 days long and my first long trip away from home. I was fascinated by everything, including the live band. It was so much fun to get lost in all the corridors and stairwells. The food was far better than anything my mother could cook. I recall getting onto the tender and seeing her get farther away in St. Thomas harbor admiring her handsome profile. I did get seasick the first day, but got used to the motion quickly. The water movement in the swimming pool emulated the oceans. It was much fun to dodge the waves.

I thought of it every day for months. Next year we had a less memorable cruise on the Queen Anna Maria. Aruba's landscape and Martinique's rain forest was fascinating, especially riding around in a Citroen DS 21.
My family always had Buicks.

2 years later we sailed the Canberra, loved the ship, my father hated the people. 2 years later the Stella Oceanis.

As an adolescent in the late 1970's there was not much do do on a cruise. Thru my college years and beyond, I took land based vacations; got to know Europe and the USA.

In 1996, I was driving down Oregon Ave in Philadelphia. A dreary street in a working class nieghborhood. At the END OF THE VISTA WAS THE SS-UNITED-STATES . She is the skyline of South Philly. I pulled into the
dock parking lot as many others sid, and looked in awe at this beautiful object. It was like seeing the great pyramids of Egypt for the first time.
It rekindled my interest in ships

My dad died in 1998, and took a weekend cruise on the Regal Empress which I had not seen in 28 years. I recall the smell of the ship the minute I boarded. Memories came back of my family, who I was back then and who I am now, How different the world is, how much smaller the ship seems. Left the ship relaxed, showered and filled with a good breakfast as I headed to Penn station for the train back to Phila. Opposite of an airplane flight.

I took a real cruise on the Rembrandt last summer to New England. The New York leg was chaotic and stressful. The minute I boarded the ship, I was in a different world. Even on deck in NYHarbor, I was removed from the chaos and on my vacation. The Rembrandterdam has a magic no ship can duplicate. It is Feng Shui, kharma, zen. A shipboard romance starting on the anniversary of my de-coupling, with a perfect 10, 17 years my junior made the trip special. I did not mind missing half of the midnight buffets. This meal was better I pinched myself on board to see if I was awake. It was the nicest vacation I ever took.

My wife and I were stationed in Saigon 1962-1964, and Bangkok 1965-1969. [spouses were booted out of Vietnam when the US involvement became more significant!]

The lovely white passenger-cargo ships of the MM lines, the "Vietnam," the "Laos," and the "Cambodge" became our refuge from the somewhat hectic life we were living in Southeast Asia at the time.

Once up the gangway we were in France. Superb food, wines, very good cabins with "balcons" even then awaited us. For two or three weeks, the "voyage" (not "cruise") brought us to Bombay, Singapore, Hong Kong, Ceylon (it was not Sri Lanka then) Osaka, Manila, and Yokohama.

Gone was the thump of nightly artillery outside the city (Saigon). Gone was the polluted air of Bangkok. Relaxation was absolute.

And there were many days at sea, with total freedom from port calls. We loved that too.

This is the "Cambodge" taken from the "Laos" as we sailed the Bay of Bengal en route to the Singapore Straits. Memories!!

Will you be sharing these during your broadcast?

I asked WMAL what they wanted me to talk about specifically, and they told me I could say what I want. I was on the Charlie Warren show several years ago as a guest cruise expert, and the spot went to well that they wanted me back again.

We booked a Deluxe Suite which was beautiful and had a really wonderful time. We met lots of really nice people and still keep in contact with a couple we met on the cruise.

This year we are off again on the SS Sunbird in September and really looking forward to it - 213 days to go....

Norma xxx

PS: My cardiologist is also the Scottish Football Team Doctor so I'm in good hands..