Nov 07.2009 - Fourth Day At Sea in the Atlantic

DKP : The sea swelled and the dark skies loomed this fourth day at sea, but it was all very good. It was a great day for catching up on this blog and getting some things done that have been sorely lacking.

The cloudy moody days are a nice balance to the sunny blue days. For me it gives me the permission necessary to focus inward, to tune down the stimulus for a while. This is something I've been struggling with since the 49 day South America Cruise. 49+ days of stimulus and sun and high seas drama is enough to burn our even the most tenacious souls, but for some it becomes highly addictive.

For Sandy and I, it's been one of the most challenging aspects of our experience of living almost half of 2009 traveling via the sea. I would imagine that part of the reason that Carnival has such a high rate of repeater guests (2600 out of 3600 onboard this trip alone). I almost see the concept of THE WORLD, the Cruise Ship that sells 3,000 sq ft designer cabins as living spaces at sea, as the wave of the future.

I believe that cruise ships, with their massive capacities are becoming small town communities. I also believe that it's speaking to Americans and Global Travelers alike who are lacking this in their on land experiences. The ship's are small enough to provide many gathering places day and night for a variety of folks' needs, yet they are big enough to get lost on and find your own private space.

The cruise ship life now is totally customizable, hence the growing variety in age and income levels even on the longer trips like this Transatlantic Crossing. In fact, I am writing this from my back corner seat in the Aft Lounge where an Arts & Crafts class is taking place. Yesterday, there was a talk on self-publishing from an author, and before that there was a drawing class. I could be in the comfort and quiet of my own balcony cabin but here I sit, in the indoor piazza of the cruise ship. I could order room service each and every morning, but I wake up at 8:15 am, without an alarm, to meet my Dad and the Dodero's for breakfast in the Dining Roomwith our servers Martina and G, from the night before. It's comforting, it's family, the family some of us never had and I love it.

I think this is the good part of the addiction to the "ship's life." I think that even though people are mainly here for vacation or the crew comes mainly to make money, the feeling of community and relating is addictive and necessary and in many ways sorely lacking in the modern world. We try to remedy this with our online global communities with our internet radio stations, the cruise ships rememdy this by being a floating village... either way, we as humans always tend to gravitate towards feeling a part of. It's a good feeling for me.