LIVING LIFE

Over 20 million people travel on cruise ships for vacations each year. These adventures can be as short as three days or as long as several months, depending on the individual’s finances, availability, and resistance to seasickness.

I am a card-carrying member of the “if it moves, I lose” club, which means that I am in the rare 15 percent of passengers who experience some form of seasickness. When people tell me that it is all “in your head”, they are accurate since this uncomfortable feeling is technically the result of a long-standing malfunction in my inner ear.

Most people in my position would probably avoid cruises. Last week, in spite of having no success with prescription medication, bands, patches, etc. on two previous cruises, I defied the odds and left for a three-day cruise. Let’s just say that I ended up in the medical clinic on the second day, and was given some medication which was strong enough to ease the majority of the symptoms, along with the advice to stay in the middle of the ship whenever possible.

In spite of the setbacks, I learned some interesting things about cruises. First, in the future, we need to choose a cabin in the center of the ship. Second, look for ducks. Not real ducks but little plastic ducks with tags hanging round their necks. Passengers bring them onboard and hide them around the ship. I was lucky that our cabin steward found two for me when I asked him about this amusing tradition. Three, in spite of my inability to always maintain my equilibrium, cruises can be wonderful. I would do it again armed with strong prescription meds and a mid-ship cabin.

As I am sitting here at my desk, looking at an adorable two-inch purple rubber bird with a beautiful tag around its neck, a thought crosses my mind.

I am a very lucky duck.

The information written on this blog is for informational purposes only and does not endorse or permit any actions taken by individuals as a result of reading this information, including any and all comments received on this blog. I do not encourage any actions to be taken based on all the information on this site.