Well folks, in a Valentine’s twist, Adam and I are on opposite sides of the country today…and soon, just a bit farther.
He’s skiing in wintry Taos, New Mexico for the weekend…and I’m in South Florida awaiting the launch of my first big-ship cruise. I’ll soon be sailing the Western Caribbean on the real live Love Boat!
Princess Cruises was kind enough to invite me along on their special week-long Romance Summit cruise through the Western Caribbean aboard the Crown Princess, aka The Love Boat. Word is, there’s a wedding chapel onboard, the real Captain Stubing (Gavin MacLeod) will be in attendance, and our cruise director’s name really is Julie. With any luck, Charo or Paul Williams shows up, or Isaac will pop up from behind a bar to make me a mojito.
Post-Aruba and Jamaica (lately, my travels sound like the soundtrack from Cocktail), there was no way Adam could take another week off to sail into the sunset by my side. We celebrated our Valentine’s this past Tuesday, with flowers, a Santa Barbara pinot noir, delicious Armenian food and (in keeping with the TV show theme) the latest episode of Lost.
I invited my mom to join me for the Romance Summit, but she and my dad are moving this weekend. Well, in theory, anyway: Much of my family is presently trapped in the DC/MD/VA Snowpocalypse. Bummer.
Lucky for me, third time’s a charm: My dear friend Samantha (of recent Singapore posts fame) said she could come along. This is a woman who not only made me homemade pizza the night my beloved cat died, but shares my love of wine and sense of humor to an almost pathological degree. I’m grateful to her husband Eddie and their brand new puppy for waiting patiently back home in L.A. while she and I join Princess in this celebration of mutual adoration.
Neither of us has ever been on a big-ship cruise before. We both tend to gravitate towards a little relaxation and a lot of exploration while we travel, so we’re curious to see what’s it’s like to bring a spa and hotel with us everywhere we go.
As for exploration, we’ll be visiting a turtle farm in Grand Cayman; touring the Mexican ruins of Tulum; taking a hike through a botanical preserve in Roatán, Honduras; and seeing many of the sights on the Bahamian island of Eleuthera (a word that reminds Samantha of a skin condition, but that actually means freedom in Greek).
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Please follow my and Samantha’s cruise adventures on the TWT Facebook page
or on Twitter with the hashtag #RomanceSummit !
And here I am, missing you so much I’m resorting to leaving little love notes all over the Social.
Hope your travels are easy and fun , my love. Looks likewe’re sticking closer to home and skiing Santa Fe this morning. Looking forward to the adventure, but it certainly isn’t the same without you.
Enjoy your Travel With Two without me. Just not TOO much!
Xxxxx:a
I’ve never been on a cruise (except a short one from Miami to the Bahamas). But I did grow up watching The Love Boat!!! Looks like a fun time for you and your friend! Can’t wait to read more of your experiences!