The Last Cruise – 2016

The Last Cruise (February 2016)

“A Thousand Stars” by Kathy Young

Even though every night Connie and I would look at the night sky and see Thousands of Stars, there has never been but one star for me and that was Connie. She is and was and always will be the STAR of my life.

Connie and I did not know it would be our last cruise but also our last trip together.  This cruise started back in June of 2015 when Connie was admitted to the hospital for the first time. She would remain in the hospital for 17 days. I do not recall who came up with the idea, but as she started getting better we decided we needed something to look forward to.  I mention that the place we lived was having a cruise in February to Key West and the Bahama. Key West was a place she always wanted to go to, so we decided to go. I put the money down for the cruise even before she had been dismissed from the hospital. That held meaning for both of us because at that time one of the doctors was for us to give up, and that she would probably never eat again. But we decided we were going for it.

Finally, February 21st rolls around and it is time for us to go on the cruise. The Saturday night before we had gone to mass and came home to finish packing and to get ready for tor the cruise. We did not get to bed to around 11 and I set the alarm on my cell phone for 4:55 and that setting is still on it even though I have never gotten up that early since.

After brushing our teeth and getting ready we had our luggage out in front of the house around 5:20 AM. The people organizing the trip had drivers going around to pick people up at their homes and take them to the clubhouse where they would board one of the two busses that were going to take us to Houston for the cruise. We were supposed to be picked up at 5:30 but it was closer to 5:40 before they picked us up.  They had limited us on bags we could bring, so there would be enough room on the bus for everyone’s bags. Connie had also another bag for us to carry on. I remember trying to tell her it was too big for us to hold on the bus, but she would not believe me and insisted that it would.

The bus was supposed to leave at 6 AM and we had assigned seats. Connie and I were on the second bus in the second seat just behind the coordinators who were responsible for the second bus.  Guess what, after we got on the bus, the bag was so big it was going to be very uncomfortable for us. We would be on the bus for 5 to 6 hours and there was no way the bag could stay. Luckily there was room underneath the bus, and we put it there. We left almost on time pulling out around 6:10 AM.  On the ride, Connie and I were so happy not about the cruise but that the cancer was in remission and that we were going to have more time together.

I remember thinking as we drove by our local church, while the service does not begin for another two hours. I must have dozed for a few minutes because when I woke, we were way off course. Rather than going directly south, we had gone west. We later found out that there was a major accident that had traffic back up, so we went west, then south and finally back east to get on the road to take us to Houston. They had given us a bag with  a cookie, water, candy etc., in it for the trip.  It was around ten that morning that we stopped at a Buc-ee’s for a little rest. Buc-ee is a giant 7-11 store with what it seems endless gas pumps, a huge store that sells everything and the cleanest restrooms around. Not only are the restrooms clean there are a lot of them for travelers, buy it also seems like there must be fifty each for men and women.

 Connie and I share a bacon, egg and cheese croissant that morning and we each got a cup of coffee, the croissant was huge and we both agreed that it was one of the best we ever had. We only had 20 minutes before the busses were going to leave. I remember how lovely a day it was as Connie and I sat outside Buc-ee and ate our breakfast. After boarding the bus to continue our journey to Houston, they put on a movie, but I cannot remember what it was. So, we settled in for the rest of the drive.

We arrived at the Houston port about 11:30 or so and by the time we got our luggage and went inside where they had just started letting people board the ship. I am not sure how, but we were able to get in a line and almost immediately get the credentials to board the ship. Connie and I both use wheelchairs that day and got on almost immediately and were in our room by 12:30. We had booked a mini-suite and while it seemed much bigger than the regular cabin and the balcony room we had before it still was only about 275 feet.  Connie and I immediately went to the deck where they were serving food and had us a bite to eat.

After lunch, we went back to the room and our luggage had been delivered and Connie begins unpacking.

I just checked the time on the photo, and it was 12:33 when we were in the room and Connie is unpacking our carryon luggage. Afterward, we headed up to get a bite to eat. When we arrive back to the room, they provided us with some champagne to celebrate the cruise. 

 

Connie is planning what we are going to do.

It turned out to be a nice day, as we relax in the afternoon and just strolled around the ship to get familiar with it. That night we were at a table of 8 and it was a great table as we all got along ok. The next day was a day at sea, it was a beautiful day and Connie found a place on the deck that you could walk around the ship and was quiet. She sat there soaking in the beauty of the ocean and listening to a podcast of Joel Osteen.  We had a late breakfast that morning up on the deck and sit with some people from Canada, who were doing two cruises in a row. As soon as this cruise got back, they were staying on the ship and take its on it next voyage which was to Mexico. We had decided that we would eat a late breakfast and skip lunch most days, so we would not overeat. It was just a nice relaxing day that the two of us got to spend together.

Tuesday was another beautiful day. This morning we had a late breakfast again but this time we went to the ship’s dining room. We also were sat at a table with a couple of more Canadians, who were doing the two cruises back to back, but they did not know the other Canadians. The breakfast to order was out of this world. Connie relaxed on the deck again that morning then at one pm we headed out for a tour of Key West.  We really enjoyed seeing Key West from the trolley but wished we had more time to spend there.

Connie relaxing before our trolley ride around Key West.

Before boarding the ship, we walked around all the shops looking for souvenirs to bring people back home. We settled on T-shirts as that is something everyone can use. But here is a couple of pictures of us with the shark.

Connie and Sparkie in the mouth of sharks.  I am enjoying remembering the fun we had that day.

But, my favorite picture of the cruise was this one taken after we had returned to the ship and before we headed down to dinner. We had stopped to get a coke and relax and had Connie had just gotten off the phone with Lizzie. This is the screen saver on my phone.

In this picture, I can still see the effects of cancer and the chemo treatment, but I also see the smile, the happiness and the hope we had for the future. Oh well, I am glad that you had that moment of happiness Connie.

We had a wonderful evening after spending the afternoon in Key West.  The next morning, we arrived at Freeport Bahamas. Connie and I had not planned on getting off the ship at all but after looking at all the shopping going on, we decided to go ashore and just look around. I remember there were two or three more ships in port and the place was buzzing with activity.  We got off the ship a little bit before ten that morning an spent over and hour just walking around looking at everything. Finally, Connie’s settled on buying some perfume or cologne.  We finally sat down in front of one of the shops and could not believe it. We had been walking for a little over an hour. What as truly amazing about this was that Connie was getting her strength back but what was more amazing was me. I had not been able to walk more than ten minutes without my feet going numb and having to rest them. I had back surgery in January only 5 weeks before and we could tell it had worked in relieving the numbness in my feet. We were both so excited as we were going to be able to do things that we had not been able to do in a long time. We returned to the ship so happy and I remember how happy we were that day.  It was a great day in Freeport.

That evening at dinner we found out they were having trouble with one of the engines on the ship so they were not going to Princess Cay our stop on Thursday instead they were going to start back and stop at another place on the way. I just cannot remember where that was.  That night I was snoring so badly that Connie went and slept part of the night on the balcony. That will always bother me.

On Thursday we arrived at our new destination and while a lot of people got off and went shopping, Connie and I decided to stay on the ship. I remember that day so well as we walked around the whole ship and just enjoyed ourselves so much. That morning Connie bought me two silver chains for my neck so I could wear the miraculous medal on one and the medal of Saint Philomena on the other one. The afternoon was filled with fun as I lived up to a promise I made to Connie. I promised her that when she got well, I would go get a facial with her. We had it scheduled it for Thursday afternoon and we both enjoyed it. Here a couple of pictures of me as Connie would not let them take any of her.

Even though we knew they were going to try to sell us a lot of stuff when we left, we decided that we were not going to buy any. I finished a few minutes before Connie and out she came out with a bag of some items she bought. Then she convinces me to buy some things (I think they were things she wanted) but she kept telling me they would be good for me.

That evening going to dinner felt so good. I think both of our faces were glowing from the facials that we had just gotten.

The next two days, Friday and Saturday were days at sea and we mostly just relaxed. We started up to the open deck to play some Phase 10 (a card game), but when we got there, I had lost the cards somewhere on the way.  I retraced my steps but could not find the deck of cards. For some reason, I have always felt bad about that. Connie decided to take a nap and relax around 1 pm while I went to see a movie at the theater. Guess what I fell asleep in the movie. Something happened at dinner that night that still brings tears to my eyes. As we were eating dinner, I turned to Connie and saw tears, in her eyes and she said Sparkie am I dying, and I said no.  I had no reason to believe that at the time because we thought she was in remission.  It was the next week when we went to see the doctor that she told him she had blood in her stool. Even then he did not think it was related to the cancer as it as fresh blood and they thought it was coming from a hemorrhoid. Never found out if that was true or not. I wish she had shared that with me at the moment, but I know Connie did not want to worry me.

On Saturday I took this picture for shock purposes.

This is mine and Connie attempt at being a little risqué. We took this picture and sent it to a couple of our friends. I know you cannot tell it, but I do have my swimming trunks underneath the robe. Well, only the birds and fish know for sure.  Just another thing I miss about her, her sense of enjoying life and her laughter.

Saturday was just a very relaxing day. We were ready to get home. Connie was still feeling good that evening as she did all the packing and got everything ready for our leaving the ship. The next morning, I got up a little early and went upstairs to get something to eat, as Connie finished getting ready. I brought her back a coffee and a little something to eat. Cookie our cruise planner had arranged for us to have wheelchairs when leaving the boat. Connie got one about 10 minutes before I got one. When I got there, she had our luggage set aside. We were a long way from the bus that was going to take us from Houston to back home but luckily Rod and Toni came by and took our luggage for us.  It was around noon that we pulled into Buc-ee’s for a bit to eat. They only gave us 20 minutes, so we had to hurry. After using the restrooms, we both got a barbeque sandwich that Connie thought was great. She was still eating well and finished the whole sandwich. Connie then went back to the bus as it was getting time to leave to make sure as it did not leave without me as I had to take one more trip to the bathroom. Connie had also bought some Southwest Trail Mix for us to share on the rest of the bus ride back and while we watched a movie they were playing on the bus.

At arriving it was a madhouse with everybody being tired and trying to get their luggage and get home. I remember knocking over another lady’s luggage accidental and boy did I get an earful. Luckily, we did not have to wait too long as Cookie had someone here to take us home. While we were not ready to go another cruise for a while, I cannot help but think back and be grateful for the great time we had.