You know me, I’ll never pass up a free cruise. Last August, I went to Alaska, or should I say, attempted to go to Alaska. Well, I made it as far as Ketchikan before the ship broke down. I won’t bore you with the details again, but if you want to catch up, here’s the post about it. In any case, Celebrity gifted us stranded cruisers a credit in the amount of what we spent on our cruise. Sadly, I had cheaped out on an inside cabin with a roommate, but fortunately, it was just enough to cover my own cabin with a balcony (score!) on a shorter cruise later in the year. Well, guess what? The time has come for me to sail away into the sunset on said free cruise. Technically, it cost me a little over $100 for tax and tips, but come on – how amazing is that?

If you read the link above, you see that, despite our Groundhog Day experiences in Ketchikan, I still had a blast on the stranded cruise. I landed a little romance that extended past the cruise and has, in turn, turned into a nice friendship. I’ve also maintained quite a few of the friends I made both through social media and in person. Some of them still message me daily on whatsapp to plan future trips. I even organized a reunion in NYC, and yes, the invites went out by whatsapp too. So, it has really felt like a win-win. Luck is hopefully on my side as yet another major snowstorm is about to strike New England on Thursday, but my plane leaves tomorrow – Wednesday – so I am crossing my fingers that, by the time the first snowflakes hit the ground at my condo in Watertown, I’ll be sipping my first drink at the back of the ship as we sail from Ft Lauderdale to Nassau. A friend just sent me a whatsapp message reminding me to pack sunscreen, which made me laugh.

I’m traveling again with a singles’ group – it is called Amazing Journeys, and I want to give them a proper shout out. They aren’t paying me to mention them and they won’t know I am until I send them a link to this blog post. But this will be my third trip with AJ. Coincidentally, they’ve all been cruises, though AJ does many land trips as well. I think I stick with the cruises because they are more affordable for me, but what I like about traveling with them is that they’re organized, fun, and Jewish. Yes, it’s a Jewish singles group. See, you all know this, but I’m Jewish and although I’m not a religious person, I like to date Jewish guys, so traveling with Jewish singles makes sense to me. In fact, one of the guys I met on a previous AJ trip still checks in via whatsapp to see if I’m sailing again. But I have to be honest here. In the past, I’ve secretly fantasized about meeting someone on an AJ or other singles trip, and having a cruise romance. And it’s happened for me on both AJ trips. This time – to be frank – all I want to do is collapse in on a chair, partially shaded to protect my pale skin, with a book and music in hand, and let the friendships fall where they may.

Of course, I’m not going to lie. It’s wonderful to meet someone, but for now, I just need a few days in the sun to rejuvenate and come back to my life energized, focused, and ready for the next chapter. If I do meet someone interesting, I imagine we’ll exchange whatsapp numbers before the ship even docks. I bid you adieu as I sail off into the sunset and hope that wherever you are, you are setting yourself up to be energized and focused as well (if you need it). Don’t be surprised if my next blog update is typed after a late-night laugh-fest on the ship and posted only after I’ve shared it first with friends on whatsapp. Ironically, I’ll be spending Valentine’s Day on this cruise with a group of singles. How interesting, silly, fun and inviting. I’m sure our group whatsapp chat will be buzzing with inside jokes before the second day at sea. Can’t wait to tell you all how it went!