To Cruise or Not To Cruise: That is the Question

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A  couple of weeks ago I embarked on a NYC to Bahamas 7 day cruise. I took my Mother in Law with me for our birthday celebrations. What happened while were on this particular cruise was not anticipated, nor were are issue immediately addressed to our satisfaction. They could have easily been avoided if the cruise company did their diligence with guest stateroom assignments.

Despite injuries incurred on night one, and not being able to  be fully immersed into the experiences aboard the ship, we made the best of the trip enjoying each other’s company.

We did get a room change with a very high upgrade fee, even after both being injured in the first aft handicapped stateroom.

Our second room was much more convenient,comfortable, and accessible for a wheelchair and walker. This room however had several issues as well. The toilet was broken, issue was addressed with maintenance. Shower flooded every night, maintenance came in but problem was not fixed. Flooded rug near verandah doorr ( due to leaking from rain and storms)maintenance again was called, but issue was not addressed until several days later, and room odor  was awful from wet rug. Finally, the rug was fixed near the end of our cruise. But changing staterooms again was not an option, we had been through enough.

First time cruise or 6th time cruisers like us, here are some of my takeaways from this particular cruise:

To Cruise or Not to Cruise | FaveMom.com

Let us start with the pros:

1. Beautiful large staterooms with incredible decor.

2. Enchanted Broadway style shows on several nights( three on our cruise).

3. Excellent dining choices.( We only ate at a sit down dinner one evening due  to injuries, we couldn’t sit for very long) so we ate on Deck 9 quick serve options.

4. Friendly shipmates and crew, most willing to help out, yet not all.

5. Fun excursions, planned yet we couldn’t get to go on.

 

Cons:

1. Handicapped room not adequately equipped with handicapped accessible equipment, hence the fall and the second injury incurred due to handicapped “emergency “ help cord not being activated by room host. I  had to lift my Mother in Law off tiled floor and back injuries were caused for us both. Hers from the fall, mine from lifting her up to get her into wheelchair, to get to Medical Center to see doctor.

2.Excessive room upgrade charges, when first room didn’t adequately fit our needs.

3. Medical Center diagnose was that “nothing appeared to be broken”…..big problem;gave pain meds to help,and sent us off to sleep for 6 days, mostly my Mother in Law. My injury veered it’s ugly head while cruising and continued to get worse when we returned home.

4. Rough Seas during this time of year can ruin your cruise before and after injuries occur.

5. If you are promised something, you expect to get that promise fulfilled, it was not.

 

It doesn’t matter what Cruiseline you choose to voyage on, but it does matter that you do your homework regarding the above.

We made the best of a bad situation.  What else can one do when stuck at sea for a week?

Will we cruise again?  This is the million dollar question. For one of us the answer is absolutely never…. for me, of course I will.

One less than perfect cruise vacation,can not ruin my zest for life, or dull my dreams of tropical destinations and incredible sunsets.

Wounds heal and I will hopefully get that magical feeling again in my heart.

I’ll be back…..For this.

 

FaVeMom

FaVeMom

I live between our Nation's Capital and North Carolina, love daisies, giraffes, purple, polka dots, Diet Mountain Dew, Doritos, and guns. Not necessarily in that order. I know that I’m very unoriginal and fit most cliches. I won’t try to deny it if you ask me. Ill-advised, indiscreet, and injudicious individuals infuriate I.