To Cruise or Not To Cruise: No Question

 What a journey this has been already. Let me start at the beginning.

Back in 2019 we booked a World Cruise of 116 days and then decided we didn't want to spend half of January in the snow so we added twelve days on to the beginning. And then came COVID. We waited anxiously and watched as cruise lines were shut down. Hope was ignited again as the cruise industry began to gear up for a restart. Would the World Cruise happen?

As COVID spread over the world, countries shut their borders. When it was obvious that Australia and New Zealand, a large part of the WC, would remain closed through the time that our ship was due to visit and in addition, India was experiencing an extreme rate of infection , the WC of 2022 was canceled. We were down but not out.

The cruise line got creative and designed a whole new cruise and called it a Grand Voyage of 116 days. Because of our WC booking being canceled, we were offered a Future Cruise Credit that covered the new cruise offer plus some. There was no question. We were going. 

The ports were not the same and with the extra twelve days added on, we would be cruising the Caribbean for quite a while at the beginning. My answer--It's 128 days where someone will make my bed each day, clean my room, cook three excellent meals for me and entertain me each night. Who cared at that point where it went? Not me.

And then came the Omicron variant and the holiday surges.

As we watched the cruise boards and the Facebook feedback, we saw quite a discussion on whether to cruise or not to cruise. Some began canceling their bookings. Should we?

We had cruised in November before the holidays for a week to see what the protocols were like and felt very safe with everything that was in place but now we were hearing that there were some outbreaks on our ship during the holidays. Still those on board reported that they were having a wonderful time despite some venues and ports being closed. Does this sound stressful?

Well, to make a long debate short, we decided there was no question. We were cruising. The only question left is can we avoid COVID long enough to at least start our cruise and then be able to continue without any positive tests (we will be tested throughout the cruise)? 

My mother loved the song Que Sera Sera (Whatever Will Be Will Be). That's our attitude for now. We have made it to Florida three days early. Our plans to spend those days with our Florida kids were dashed by their having COVID (thankfully mild). We are being careful not to be around people too much before we are tested at the dock. Whatever will be, will be. We're sticking to it.