What It's Like to Cruise When You Can't See

This is episode number 19, which also is the fourth episode in our series all about cruising.

If you find yourself feeling a little seasick with all this cruising, no worries, because next week we wrap up the series and then we will switch things over to a little bit of uh something for the land lovers in the crowd.

I'm super stoked for today's episode because I get to answer questions like as in every time I've ever gone on a cruise.

Why in the world do you go on a cruise when you can't see?

Literally, without fail every single cruise I have ever been on.

At some point, at least one person is going to come up to whoever I'm with and ask this question.

Or if they don't ask that question, they say the statement that really kills me is they come up to them and say, oh my goodness, it's so wonderful that you guys bring him out on the cruise.

That one drives me up.

And you know, I always want to say it, but I never do because I don't want to embarrass somebody.

So instead I'll just embarrass them on the podcast.

Is I always want to respond by telling them, Oh, I know it's so wonderful, I just get so excited when they let me out of the cage every once in a while.

I'd love to get to go play with the rest of the family.

But I don't, like I said, because I've realized people don't know what they don't know.

And a life of somebody who can't see is completely foreign to them.

As somebody who is blind, who is disabled, you know, whether I like it or not, it's my job, my responsibility, to help educate people.

Because, like I said, if they don't know any different, and if I'm say the first blind person that they've ever met, then you know what?

I want to change their mindset on what it means to be disabled.

Because here I am out cruising, enjoying life when maybe they thought, you know, I don't know, that I sat home and uh twiddled my thumbs and read braille books.

So, anyways, that is where we're headed with today's episode.

Alright, before we dive into the fun stuff, I gotta get one thing straight.

I gotta answer that first question I told you about.

The people ask, why in the world would you go on a cruise when you can't see?

I've come to realize that for those who can see, it's hard for them to imagine life without sight.

It's really not their fault.

I mean, of course not.

But it's just because that's all they know.

If you think about it, their entire world revolves around the ability to see.

The car they drive, they picked out because they like the way it looks.

The clothes they are wearing, they picked out again because they like the way they look.

And matter of fact, I bet their spouse was picked out because they saw them and thought they were pretty good looking.

So again, like I said, their entire world revolves around sight.

And so to think of being able to live in a world and enjoy a life where there is no sight, it's just baffling to them.

And I get it.

I mean, I lived the first 17 years of my life in a world just like theirs where I could see.

But now, in the year 2020, I've lived another 17 years without sight.

And the truth is, I've come to realize that there's so much more to the world and to life than just what the eye can see.

And like a cruise, which is loaded with activities and sounds and tastes and smells, something that appealed to all the senses.

To be quite honest, when I'm on a cruise, I never even think of the fact that I can't see anything.

Well, that is until somebody comes up and reminds me that I'm different than everybody else.

But hey, you know what?

That's okay.

I love it.

I always encourage people.

If you have a question, you're curious about my world, the way I live it, come up and ask.

Talk to me.

Because I'd love to share it with you.

My whole goal is to open the eyes of not just the blind, but to open the eyes of everyone, to realize how much more to this world there truly is.

So, with that said, let's go ahead and go on a cruise.

For myself, boarding a cruise ship is so much like walking in the front doors of some awesome hotel located right on the Las Vegas Strip.

The energy is absolutely electric.

All the people, the other guests boarding the ship, are of course also excited.

Everybody's happy.

Everybody can't wait to get on the cruise.

And of course, you have all the crew members there cheering you on, super excited to have you on board.

It's truly a sensory loaded experience from the inner parts of the ship that I would almost compare to something like a shopping mall where it's multi-levels with railings that you can look down towards the bottom, or you can look up at the upper decks and see the people walking on the different floors around you, going to the different shops and restaurants and everything that the cruise ship has to offer.

To then there's the outside decks where the pool deck is, and they have, of course, the music blasting, everybody's partying, and let's not forget to mention, of course, you have the buffets, you have all the food, you have all the smells, the tastes, the sounds.

It's literally just almost overwhelming if you think about it.

It's just absolutely out of this world.

Especially right at the beginning of the cruise, many people end up finding themselves in the what I would call like the main atrium area of the cruise ship, where the concierge desk is.

That way, in case you have any issues or anything, people are going there to try and get it resolved.

I talk about this area because it almost reminds me of some hotels that I've stayed at in the past.

Is you have at the top, the ceiling is open all the way to the top of the cruise ship with generally some type of glass dome window.

So the sunlight is shining in.

And then you have downstairs, you have the entire, like I said, the concierge desk.

Generally, you have in the evening somebody on piano playing.

You have the nice bar set up, you have people sitting on comfy couches talking, and you have other people at the different cocktail tables just mingling and having fun.

And for myself, it's one of those areas of the ship that I actually love to just go hang out at during the day because there's just so much happening around you.

And it's just kind of this nice relaxed atmosphere.

I'm an early riser.

So this is actually a place that I also love to come in the morning with a cup of coffee, to sit down on one of the big leather, comfy sofas, and just chill out and relax as everybody's starting to wake up in the morning.

And matter of fact, talking about early morning, that's actually my favorite time of the day to be on a cruise.

I guess it's no surprise because it's my favorite time of day when I'm at home.

But on a cruise, it's for a whole nother reason.

The cruise is just like a completely different place in the morning when everybody else is still sleeping.

You get to experience the cruise ship without all the hustle and bustle.

It truly adds this whole new element.

And I absolutely love it.

When I think of the early morning hours on a cruise, I always think of getting woken up to the sound of the ship revving its motors as you're pulling into port.

It's always then.

That's kind of my morning wake up call.

Because then I like to go ahead and get dressed and head on up to one of the upper decks.

And standing at the railing, I love to just stand there and listen to the sound of the workers down on the port below, loading and unloading materials from the cruise ship.

It's one of those opportunities when you get a chance to really understand just how high in the sky you are.

Because down there you hear the forklifts and the people talking, and you can barely even hear them because they're so far below.

They sound like little ants down there.

It's just one of those parts of the cruise that I always enjoy.

It's also nice because you're up there generally, there's nobody else on the decks besides the workers hosing it off and setting out all the chairs around the pool.

Like I said, you know, it's the same for like the inner parts of the ship.

It just gives you this opportunity to really appreciate the ship itself.

And I just I can't tell you how much I enjoy these early morning hours.

The other part of cruising that I feel like doesn't get enough attention is the crew.

To be honest, the crew is what makes the cruising experience so amazing.

I'll be honest, I never really paid attention to just how amazing the crew is until after I went blind.

Because before I went blind, the crew was, yeah, awesome.

They took care of you, they made sure everything was clean, they were there at your beck and call, just getting you everything you needed and a whole lot more that you wanted.

But after becoming blind, I realized they play an even more vital role to the entire cruise experience because they truly make cruising a vacation.

It's something so far out of my reality.

It's going into a world where, you know what?

Even though I'm blind, I'm not any different than anyone else.

And they help me feel just that way.

I can't tell you how many times when I've come out of my cabin early in the morning.

And okay, let's face it, these cruise ships are huge.

They're massive.

And ordinarily, I probably wouldn't go venturing off by myself for fear that I'd be lost and wandering the hallways.

But I don't have to fear because there's always been a crew member walking the hallways who is out doing their duties, who always stops and they see me, obviously having the uh the white cane in my hand.

They identify me as being blind and they will always come up and ask if they could help me.

And they are always so eager to help when I ask them, you know, oh, well, could you just assist me?

I'm wanting to get up to the deck to have some breakfast or to the lobby area to sit and have a cup of coffee.

And they are more than willing to help me.

It's just absolutely amazing.

To be honest, on a cruise, I receive better service than I've received anywhere else in America.

I mean, let's face it, that's just kind of sad in a way.

You would think here in America, everything is about the, you know, the ADA, the Americans for Disability Act, and all that.

But I'm telling you, the level of service offered on the cruise is just out of this world.

I feel as though the wait staff in the main dining room, they totally excel at this.

I mean, okay, so when I go to a restaurant at home, it's hit or miss if the waitress or waiter is going to recognize the fact that I'm blind and help me out in that regard.

Some of them, they recognize it.

They let me know that they're setting a drink down in front of me, or that they've just put my food down, or that they've taken my drink away and they're getting me a refill.

Sometimes they don't.

Sometimes they just set it down.

I have no idea that they've just set it on the edge of the table.

And um, you know, there could easily be an accident with a drink.

But I'm telling you, on the cruise, they take it to another level.

Every cruise we ever go on, when we sit down at the main table, they obviously see that I am blind and they are there eager to help me.

They offer to read the menu to me, which I'm always able to decline because I'm always cruising with somebody else who has cited, so they're able to read the menu to me.

But I'm so appreciative of them being willing to do that.

They even go as far as when my food is served.

I've had the waiters ask me if they would like to go ahead and cut up my steak for me.

I can't say enough about the wait staff.

They're just awesome.

I mean, it's like, I don't know if the cruise lines do specific training for them on working with people who are blind, but whether they do or not, they nail it.

They know when they come in, they either talk or they tap my shoulder, just letting me know that they're there and they're getting ready to set something down.

It's just little things that may not seem like a lot, but it means so much to me.

And that's where I just love it.

We end up at the end of our cruise.

I feel like we end up with an even stronger bond with our waiters than other people because they've been there.

They've been helping me out.

And I just think it's so awesome.

There's nothing like walking up to the table and them calling you by name like they do everybody, but they automatically know, hey, he's blind.

And so we don't have to explain it.

That's one reason I love cruising where you sit at your same table every night.

I know anymore, that's not really the popular thing with the anytime dining, but it's one reason why I really love having that assigned dining time.

That way you get to know your weight staff.

They get to know you.

And I feel like it just makes it so wonderful that I don't have to worry about each time I go to dinner, okay, am I gonna get really good service?

Am I not?

How is this gonna go?

Because they're just over the top amazing.

A couple other examples of the crew members that I think of fast cruises of mine that have just gone above and beyond are like the ladies in the massage place.

Oh my goodness, I had one of those insanely amazing hot stone massages.

And while I was doing that, my mom and sister, who I was cruising with, they were out doing something else.

I can't remember now.

But the lady was awesome.

After I had the massage, the lady at the front desk of the spa, she was able to walk me back to my cabin.

No questions asked.

There was no hesitation.

They were so willing to help me out.

It's just wonderful.

And then, of course, anybody who's been on a cruise, you know you love the stewardess who take care of your cabin.

They're always making those awesome towel animals.

Well, if they're still doing that anymore.

I personally love the towel animals.

But it's just their personality.

I remember this one cruise.

Every time we walked out of our cabin, there was the stewardess, no matter what time.

And he always greeted us with, hello, I say hello.

And by the end of the cruise, everybody in the entire hallway that he was working on was constantly saying to everybody, hello, I say hello.

It was just absolutely awesome.

While we're talking about our cabins, let's talk about it.

So if you've ever been on a cruise before, or I guess better said, if you've not been on a cruise before, I'll tell you that there's three main types of cabins.

You have your interior, which means you're gonna be on the inside of the ship, so no windows.

You're gonna have an ocean view, so you're gonna either have a large picture window or one of those big, large porthole windows, or you go up to having a balcony.

Of course, after that, you go up to the various different levels of suites.

But for this case, I just want to tell you about the three main types of cabins.

And for somebody like me who's blind, it kind of helps narrowing down of which cabin do you want to use.

Because if I want to go on a cruise for as cheap as possible, well, I'm obviously going to choose the interior.

It makes no matter to me that there is no window, because obviously I'm not standing there looking out of the window.

And for those who travel with me, they've actually found that it's really nice for them sleeping at night because it's extra dark without the window there.

So they also enjoy it.

Now, if we want to really splurge, I'm gonna go ahead and go for a balcony.

Because, like I said, the ocean view cabins, I might as well just skip over that category.

Because for me, windows are basically a waste of glass.

I would rather have the balcony.

And that's what I choose nine out of 10 times.

Because, like I said earlier, I'm an early riser.

And I'm telling you what, there's nothing like walking out and sitting out on your balcony early in the morning as the sun's just starting to come up as you're pulling into port.

Oh my gosh, it's out of this world.

So whether it's me cruising or it's one of my clients who I'm booking a cruise for, I always try to encourage them, spend a little bit extra.

And I'm telling you, the value that you will receive by getting a balcony is absolutely out of this world.

Heading out of my cabin, which of course, if you've been on a cruise, you know you don't want to sit in your cabin.

That's not where the fun is.

So outside of the cabin in amongst the ship, I tell you, I'm actually one of those people who likes to skip the main pool area.

I mean, the main pool area is cool if you're ready to party it up.

They always have the loud music blasting and everybody's partying and having a great time.

For me, the loud music is almost overwhelming and it's kind of distracting.

To be honest, that's one reason why, even at home, per se, when we go out to restaurants and restaurants have live music, I generally am always disappointed to find out that the band is playing tonight because the band is always so loud that you can't even talk.

And so, just like me on those main pool decks, the music is so loud that I can't talk to those who I'm with because no one can hear each other.

And since I can't see anything, I literally feel just alone, attract, you know, in that situation right there.

And so I generally avoid the main pool area.

My favorite spot on the cruise ship is to find one of the decks where there's not many people, up generally one of the top decks of the cruise ship or off the side over near one of the cabins or something, where it's a quiet area and you can just sit, relax, and actually hear the ocean going by, not just the crazy dance music.

I love just sitting there and listening to the ocean.

You feel the breeze, you hear the birds flying by.

It's just absolutely wonderful.

And that's where I generally like to hang out on days when we're out at sea all day, rather than back at the pool with all the craziness going on.

Something pretty interesting is when you lose one of your senses, the other senses have this amazing ability to take over.

And for me, when I became blind, my sense of hearing, my sense of touch, all of that came in to really take over for me.

While I'm on a cruise, that's so evident.

Because while everybody else thinks that you're on the cruise and that let's face it, the cruise ships are so huge that most people they don't even feel the ship moving.

But me, that's totally not the case.

Because I feel every movement, no matter how big the ship is, I can feel it rocking and swaying along to the ocean's waves.

It's always funny because those who I'm with who are sighted, they don't even feel like the boat's moving at all.

And meanwhile, I'm like, whoa, settle down, Betsy, as I'm feeling like we are rocking and swaying way too much.

That is one reason why I have started wearing a C-Sick patch.

It's nothing more than a prescription you get.

And it's a little band-aid you put behind your ear.

It doesn't make it where I can't feel the boat moving.

It just helps me from uh not actually getting sick, which is a good thing.

But it is just really wild how when I'm out there on the boat, I can really feel it moving.

Now, I'll let you know, before I went blind when I went on a cruise, I was like everyone else.

I never felt the thing move.

Whether we were in the middle of the ocean or pulled up at the dock, the boat didn't move to me.

But now that I can't see, literally I can feel, like I said, every movement.

And it's just wild.

And it just shows me one of the things where my body, my brain has adapted it.

It's put all its focus into other senses.

And so, like I said, everybody else is they're all distracted on the visual elements that are helping them to not even notice.

Meanwhile, I notice every little movement.

When I notice the boat moving the most, is when we're up walking around.

Because when we're seated or laying down in the cabin or just at dinner or whatever, it just for some reason it doesn't bother me as much.

I do still feel the boat moving, but for some reason, you know, I just I don't really feel sick or anything.

But it's when we're up and we're walking around and and oh my goodness, heaven, heaven forbid it actually be rough seas and you're kind of walking sideways as much as you are walking forward, then oh my goodness, I can really feel that baby moving.

And it's times like that when I'm like, oh my goodness, I cannot wait till we pull into port tomorrow and we can get off this rocking boat.

As grandiose as the cruise ships have gotten, sometimes we forget about even worrying where it's actually going to.

I mean, let's face it, with go-kart tracks, roller coasters, restaurants.

I mean, why do you really need to get off the boat?

But that's what you're going on a cruise for.

You get to unpack once, yet you get to go to multiple destinations.

And so that's one reason why I always highly encourage people to get off the boat, get into the island or wherever your cruise is going and experience the destination.

And the best way to do that is spending the extra money and booking a shore excursion.

I'm telling you, they are so worth it.

Matter of fact, coming up next week, I'm going to really dive into this and really convince you that you have to do the shore excursions.

I had the most out-of-this world experience when doing a hike through the rainforest in Puerto Rico.

It literally changed my life.

I'm telling you.

But until next week, just remember, no matter what abilities you do or do not have, the world is waiting for you to come explore.

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