During this time when we are tuned to the things we are grateful for, I feel grateful for the experience my husband and I had a few weeks ago as we celebrated our 50th Wedding anniversary by going on our first cruise. It didn't go as planned and yet my husband and I felt like we were on an adventure and each time we supposedly had a setback, we were able to look at it calmly and kind of with a feeling of excitement wondering what was going to happen next! First, our flight to Paris where we were to get a connecting flight to Rome where our cruise was to begin, was late and we missed our connecting flight and missed the opportunity to go to the Rome Temple, one of the highlights we were so excited to do. But though we felt disappointed, we didn't feel anxious or upset about it. We were able to get another flight that got us to Rome the same day, but too late to even drive by the Temple.
We went on and enjoyed our tours of Rome and then of Greece and Turkey and just before we got to the Holy Land, the greatest purpose for our cruise, I started to get sick. I spent a day in our cabin, resting and then the night before we landed in Haifa, I took a Covid test, just to make sure I didn't have that. It was negative, so we just donned our masks and set out with our tour group and enjoyed seeing the Holy Land. I felt so grateful for the opportunity and in certain places such as in Capernaum where Jesus walked and in the Garden of Gethsemane I felt something sacred there. While we were in Israel, my husband started to get sick too. He was pretty miserable for much of our tours there, but since my test was negative, we assumed we just both had colds.
We got back on the ship and went to the Island of Cyprus where we got off briefly and toured an old Castle museum. When we got back to the ship, we had my husband take our last Covid test since his cold seemed worse than mine. His was positive! So then I went down to the ship's doctor and was tested as well. This time my test was positive! This meant we had to isolate for 5 days. However our flight home was in 3 days and Rome wouldn't let us off the ship within 5 days of a positive Covid test. Again we just looked at each other, shrugged our shoulders and laughed! Of course we felt sorry that we had exposed our tour group to Covid unknowingly, but we also felt relieved that we were able to enjoy all of the tours we had planned.
So for the next 5 days we had to stay in our cabin and actually got moved to another cabin in an area for those who were sick. Our cabin looked the same, but we didn't have the daily visit of the steward who would make our bed and leave a chocolate on our pillow every night. We adjusted and didn't really mind spending so much time in the cabin. We got room service for all of our meals and got a complimentary laundry service and premium internet. We enjoyed listening to a few audio books and looking out the window at the sea and watching the crew take the life boats down and ride them around to test them out. We felt relaxed and not anxious at all until I started figuring out how we were to get home. The cruise line invited us to stay on for the next two week cruise which would be stopping in Spain and the Bahamas and end up in Fort Lauderdale. It would be complimentary. We only thought about that briefly because many of those days would be Sea days and since we aren't swimming pool people, it didn't sound very appealing. But getting off the ship in Spain sounded very exciting!
So on Monday, our 5th day, we were allowed to get off the ship in Valencia, Spain where we took a train to Madrid. The next day we got to go to the Madrid Temple! I had wanted to go to Spain some day and this was a dream come true! So we felt like God had given us a tender mercy. In place of not being able to go to the Rome Temple, He let us go to the Spain Madrid Temple. At one point as we were coming back in the evening to the hotel after our session, we got off the bus too soon and found ourselves lost, but I still felt calm and we soon encountered a friendly couple who guided us to a place where we could get a taxi. They were so nice that we didn't feel anxious or abandoned. Luckily we both speak Spanish so we were able to communicate with them just fine. Again we felt watched over and protected.
The next day we got to the airport early for our flight home. All went well until we got on the plane. There was just a slight delay because one of the doors wouldn't shut completely. Finally we got underway, but after about 30 minutes in flight, we were notified that the flight had to return to Madrid because there was no oxygen on board. Apparently there had been a leak in the system. Again, we just felt excited to see what was going to happen next! When we got back to Madrid, we stayed on board for awhile while the technicians studied the issue and finally they told us that the flight was cancelled and they would be putting everyone up in a hotel and the flight would go the following day!
It took awhile for us all to get on the buses with our luggage and get checked in to the Marriot Hotel but we did and we all got complimentary meals which were delicious! We got lunch and dinner that day and breakfast the following morning and then headed to the airport again, and this time everything went well and we made our flight and our connecting flight in New York and got home safe and sound!
What could have been a traumatic and disappointing and frustrating trip turned in to an adventure for us. We truly enjoyed the conversations we had with our fellow passengers through this whole experience and were happy to see that many of them had the same feelings we did about it. Others however felt anxious and upset and angry. I felt sorry for them and the stewardess who had to deal with them.
I am grateful for a husband who is able to take things in stride and not stress over them. I am grateful for the understanding I have that one of the main purposes of life is to learn and gain experience. I am grateful for the peace and calm we were able to feel that allowed us to relax and just enjoy the ride. Our lives are not always so peaceful, so I feel especially grateful for this experience.
