A short post tonight, because even bloggers need a vacation day now and then. Today we spent on the Norwegian Cruise Lines private island, a small volcanic burp in the Bahamas named “Great Stirrup Cay.” It has an idyllic beach, with warm aqua waters, enough shade for those of a fair-skinned persuasion, and enough sand for the kids to build an empire’s worth of sand castles.
The bad news is that we are only spending one day here, not the scheduled two. The ship is having problems with an engine, and will take longer than usual to make its way back to New York. We’re therefore pulling up anchor and starting back tonight.
Yes, it would have been nice to have had more beach time, but for my partner and me, the trip is about community more than destination. If we really wanted to explore a place, we’d plan our own vacation, not take a cruise. The attraction of a cruise, for us, is the people. It’s unlikely we’d ever take a non-LGBT cruise, because that bond of community just wouldn’t be there. If it’s not, we’d rather do our own thing. We’ve taken two Olivia cruises now, however, plus the R Family cruise, and thoroughly enjoyed each one. They nail the community aspect and make the whole experience worthwhile. Even for those of us who live in blue states with other LGBT families in the neighborhood, there’s something amazing about being immersed in an environment where no one looks twice at a child walking down the hall with two moms or two dads, or a parent of any gender who is of a different ethnicity.
Yes, it’s an illusion that the whole world will be like this. Having experienced it, though, even briefly, gives us the strength to set our expectations higher when we go back to the real world.
Besides, the bartenders here make a mean mojito. An extra day at sea won’t be so bad.