Dear Captain,
Ihope you don’t mind my writing out of the blue, but I just wanted to let you know how much we’ve been missing you over these past few months. My husband Harry and I can’t wait to step aboard your wonderful ship for our next cruise adventure with Seabourn Cruises. know some people who’ll feel like giving cruising a wide berth – if you pardon the pun – because of the coronavirus outbreak, but I also know that if there’s one type of holiday where safety protocols and precautions will be rigorously imposed, it will be onboard your ships.
Such is our love of cruising, along with our confidence in the high standards of hygiene, we have even persuaded a couple of friends who have never set foot on a ship before to join us on our next holiday, sailing in the Caribbean. That’s happening in February, just when we’ll all be craving some winter sun.
It was easy to convert our friends from their ‘cruising’s not for us’ mindset. It all happened soon after lockdown restrictions were being eased. They came round for tea one Sunday afternoon and we showed them photos of our last cruise around the Med. They were smitten.
‘Where do we sign?’ they said.
To be honest, Captain, they didn’t take much convincing. It wasn’t just the pictures of where we went. True, they were amazed at the number of interesting places we visited in just two weeks, but we also showed them one of your brochures. They saw how they could go anywhere in the world they fancied, with several destinations already on their wish list. Harry, typically, had the clincher:
‘You only have to repack once,’ he told them.
But, and I hope this doesn’t sound like I’m blowing my own trumpet, our photos really seemed to capture not only where we went but also the very essence of the cruising experience. Okay, so there may have been one too many shots of Harry on a sunbed by the pool, sipping yet another piña colada, but they loved seeing us dressed to kill, having dinner in one of the speciality restaurants, as well as the photo of us both making a delicious pad thai in the cookery class. There was also one of us at the gin-tasting event, but it was rather, well, ‘blurred’!
It wasn’t all eating, drinking and loafing about, though. I have a nice shot of Harry practising his golf drives in the simulator (I called it his ‘stimulator’, since he spent so much time there). But could I persuade him to join me for salsa lessons? Fat chance. Of course, we both went to all the shows. The theatre was plusher and more comfortable than those in the West End, and we had drinks brought to our seats (oh dear, it’s beginning to sound like we’re a couple of lushes).
On a more serious note, we did go to lots of the talks by some impressive experts. We particularly enjoyed those that covered our various ports of call. When we decided not to go on one of the organised excursions, we could at least wander around a town knowing what we were supposed to be looking at. Oh, and I loved my facials and massages in the spa. Harry would ‘drop me off’ and go to the gym for an hour. At least, that’s what he said he did and, well, I do believe him really because a) he didn’t put on any weight, despite the round-the-clock eats, and b) he kept talking about the amazing equipment and panoramic views of the ocean (the gym was above the bridge, so the same view as yours, Captain).
I’m sure you already know this, but you have such a wonderful crew, who are always smiling, wishing everyone good morning or afternoon, and even remembering our names. We wanted to put Maria, our cabin steward, into a suitcase and smuggle her home, but Harry said that it would put his back out. And we’ll never forget Sergio and Ulrik, who were our waiters in the main restaurant. I have never given a waiter a hug, but our goodbye to the boys was like parting sweethearts.
Now to some bad news. It’s confession time: as well as the Caribbean, we’ve already booked another cruise for next summer… to Alaska. But I’m afraid we’re not only going with a different captain but also a different ship. It belongs to Holland America. But then, I was so pleased to read somewhere, Good Housekeeping probably, that Holland America is Seabourn’s big sister. Same parents, in other words! So, I have no doubt that it will be happy families all over again.