Caribbean Princess at Princess Cays

Occasionally I go back and reread past blog posts. I started the blog seven years ago to help me get through a rough patch of life. Then we had a good patch. Then a bad patch. Then a good patch. See a pattern? If not for documenting our lives in writing I would have forgotten the details of the bad patches. And the good patches. I know we need both. If not for the bad times we wouldn't appreciate the good times. If not for the good times we wouldn't be able to continue during those bad times.

I think we're in a transitional phase right now. Hubby's latest fall has landed him in a bad spot. He's needing help to even get out of a chair right now. He's become one of those cruisers he doesn't want to be. Those cruisers he sees who struggle to talk or move or walk. Those cruisers who are dependent on a traveling companion to take care of their every need. Usually those cruisers are in their 80s and 90s. Hubby is only 58.  It's a gorgeous day at Princess Cays and he's flat of his back in bed and I'm close by in Skywalkers doing some work. I see the blue water down below and it breaks my heart that I can't be snorkeling in it right now and am instead having to stay close so I can keep going back to the cabin to check on him. But it breaks my heart even more to know what he's having to go through.

These kinds of moments are when it's time to dig deep. To truly live by the words on my tattoo.

The view up here in Skywalkers helps.

Look at that color of water. It matches the colors on the ship. So beautiful!

Having a cabin steward that uses the mailbox I made for our door helps. Look at the mail we had when I took hubby back to the cabin after his coffee. I guess I'll need to be filming this new steward for a towel animal tutorial, too!

Hearing from blog readers also helps. Thank you for the kind emails. I'm so glad you find this blog helpful in preparing for your travels.

Delivering the encouraging word money pockets helps, too. Today I left it in a sugar container at International Cafe. I met someone who reads the blog (hello, T!) not long after I left it there, so someone on the ship knows exactly where to find it.

And actually, doing the Medallion™ updates help, too. Writing them each day has given me the chance to go on a little treasure hunt, searching out new construction and screens and features. (It also helps that I have a bit of insider info.) It really has been fun to watch the progression of the roll-out over the last few weeks. I've also enjoyed listening to new passengers as they talk about it.

As you know, to make the progression of the roll-out more clear I've grouped the posts by week. You can find today's post here.

Want to see the progression of the roll-out? I started on Caribbean Princess back on August 18. Check out how we got here:

Sept 1-8 updates can be found here.

August 25-Sept 1 updates can found here.

August 18-25 updates can be found here.

Tomorrow is a sea day and then we're off to St. Thomas the day after. Based on the current tropical storm/soon-to-be hurricane out there I suspect we may need to change our scheduled itinerary sometime in the next few days. We are blessed no matter where we go.

As usual, if you have any questions or comments, please click on the envelope icon at the top right of this screen.

Caribbean Princess Embarkation Day, Sept 8

Unfortunately, it happened again.

Three weeks ago hubby had a fall in the Fort Lauderdale airport. Today we had planned on being back in the same airport to fly home but decided to stay on for one more cruise. Since we weren't planning on being gone another 10 extra days we needed to walk over to Walgreens to stock up on supplies. And it was on that walk where it happened.

He fell. He's pretty darn sore and has a couple swollen body parts. The outside looks to be in better shape than the fall three weeks ago but he's feeling like this time he's in worse shape, especially when adding in the back that is acting up. We are so very thankful for the two crew members from Princess who were walking by and stopped and helped him up off the ground. They told us they worked in the engine room but we sure wish we had gotten their names. Anyone have any idea how we could track them down?

We also had another kind gesture happen today. When we were leaving our cabin this morning, the supervisor on our deck stopped to arrange the move of our things. I mentioned that we had received flowers during the week and wanted to bring them with us. They were looking a bit sad so he said he'd take care of it and get us new ones. When we arrived at our new cabin, by golly we had a new bouquet.

We also had something exciting today. I'd heard rumblings this past week about another special guest coming onboard today (no, not another member of the Love Boat cast). While Captain Stubing's visit was a highlight last cruise, this week we had a visit from Jan Swartz, President of Princess Cruises. She stopped by our Medallion meeting.

Jan and John. (Apologies for my fuzzy picture taking.)

She joined John Padgett on stage to talk about the Medallion roll-out. Like I've said before, the folks heading up the project, as well as those on the ship working on the project, have been nothing but gracious as I've been asking questions. I feel extremely fortunate to have them willing to give me some of their time. Thanks, everyone! (You know who you are.)

Again this cruise I'll continue to post daily Medallion updates. To make the progression of the roll-out more clear I've grouped the posts by week.  You can find today's post here.

Want to see the progression of the roll-out? I started on Caribbean Princess back on August 18. Check out how we got here:

Sept 1-8 updates can be found here.

August 25-Sept 1 updates can found here.

August 18-25 updates can be found here.

Encouraging Word Money Pocket Drop Off:
I haven't decided where I'm going to place it yet. I was going to do it this morning but with hubby's fall, then the Medallion meetings, then getting hubby medication and tucked into bed I haven't been back out. I'm guessing I'll find some super-secret place later tonight.

Tomorrow is another attempt at Princess Cays. After the conversation hubby and I had today, this week may be one of him staying on the ship and me going off and doing my own thing. After this last fall, he sees the writing on the wall and is feeling a bit down. It's either give up traveling or find some type of walker a one-hand man can use.

As usual, if you have any questions or comments, please click on the envelope icon at the top right of this screen.