The Magical Mystery Tour

The magical mystery tour is coming to take you away

Coming to take you away...

A magical mystery tour. Yep...that seems like a suitable description for this cruise! The itinerary has changed...and changed again...and changed even again. Up until just days ago, the Holland America website was showing we were going to St. Croix...the same island that was still under a curfew following the devastation of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, the same island that was under a boil order because drinking water wasn't safe...and the same island that was still mostly without power. The governor himself had announced that the port wouldn't be open until mid-November at the earliest and we were scheduled to stop there on November 1. I don't think so. 😕

Finally a few days ago, I got the following email message from my travel agent...

Due to slower than expected recover of Frederiksted, St. Croix, the 11-1-2017 call has now been replaced with a call to Amber Cove, Domincan Republic.

With the cruise just 6 days away, the itinerary map still hasn't been updated and there are still no shore excursions for Amber Cove posted on the Holland America website. Surely our itinerary can't change again...can it? (Please...don't answer that question.)

Yes...this is a first world problem. I know I am so fortunate just to go on a cruise. And I am not going to gripe about going on a cruise that doesn't go to the ports we wanted. Or at least I won't gripe too much. I was just so looking forward to enjoying a food tour while walking the streets of Old San Juan. Or sitting in the shade of a palm tree on a white sand beach looking out at the bluest water ever in Grand Turk...just steps from the ship. Such an easy day for me while Bob was to go off scuba diving in one of the top diving destinations in the Caribbean.

But instead we will now be making TWO stops in the Bahamas and TWO stops in the Dominican Republic. It is sort of like ordering a lobster dinner in a nice restaurant and being served canned tuna. I really like tuna sandwiches, but it would be a disappointment if I were paying for and expecting lobster.

Ok, ok...its maybe not really the same thing at all. It is time for me to adjust my attitude and count my blessings. I will be spending a week in the tropics with the love of my life being treated like royalty. Life is good...very, very good. (And I will be thankful and enjoy my tuna!)