They say there’s a first time for everything;. Well, this was something I had absolutely no desire to experience, but it was bound to happen sometime. I’ve never had a cruise be canceled on me, until now.

Damn you, COVID-19.

I was scheduled to go on Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody of the Seas on a 7-night cruise to the Western Caribbean. I’d be visiting Key West, Grand Cayman, and two of my favorite ports in Mexico, Cozumel and Costa Maya. I had scuba dives planned for Grand Cayman, Cozumel, and Costa Maya, and was going to go parasailing in Key West.

I’d even booked myself into a Junior Suite - I’d never sailed in one on a larger ship. I was in one on Royal Caribbean’s Majesty of the Seas, but since that ship was very small, and their Junior Suites are like a standard balcony room on most other ships, I don’t count that as the same experience. My travel agent had found me a great deal on this when I’d booked the cruise so long ago, so I couldn’t pass it up.

Even if they hadn’t suspended their cruises as a result of the pandemic, they’d been taking ample steps to ensure the safety of the passengers and crew on the sailings that were still going. I’ve always had faith in Royal Caribbean with regards to safety, and still do. I understand why they made this difficult decision because it was most likely for the sole reason of safety.

I’m not happy about my cruise being canceled, but I am happy about what it will mean for my next cruise. Thankfully Royal had a reasonable “perk” which they made available to those whose cruises had been canceled. They offered either a full refund, or a future cruise credit and onboard credit, each with a 25% bump in value. Naturally I took the cruise credit option, since I fully intend to take this cruise (or one very similar to it when the opportunity arises.

My plan now is to work with my travel agent to come up with my next cruise plans. I love going to the Western Caribbean, and would gladly take a cruise going to that region. The only requirement, is that I have a Junior Suite (or better), because I want to experience “The Suite Life.” Since I’m traveling solo, I’d get 3 points per night sailed toward my loyalty level, so that’s nice, but I just want that experience for once since I’d never really done it before. I deserve it, and I’m definitely going to get it, even though it means I have to wait just a bit longer.

Dealing with cruise cancellations is never an easy thing, so I just wanted to call out a few folks that have been instrumental in helping me out both with processing this recently canceled cruise, and other cruise-related things. I want to thank my travel agent, Stephanie Hudson from MEI Travel. She’s fantastic, and if you ever need an agent, be sure to click on her name and you’ll be taken to her profile where you can connect with her. Oh, and be sure to tell her I sent you!

I also wanted to thank my good friend Matt Hochberg over at Royal Caribbean Blog - apart from having created a wonderful community of cruise enthusiasts, he’s also been a great source of news and updates regarding all things Royal Caribbean. Check out his blog if you have any questions about cruising, or would like to join in the fun by tuning in to his daily live streams on various platforms. He definitely makes the time between cruises, or “drydock”, much less arduous, and a lot more fun.

I’ve been lamenting over my canceled cruise to a few friends, and have received some mixed replies. Some offered sympathy and reassurances, others said I was better off not going. Either way, it is what it is. It certainly could have been worse. This too shall pass, just like the pandemic itself. The ships will sail again, just as the sun will rise, it’ll just take me a little bit longer to set foot on that ship.

They say good things come to those who wait, so if I’ve waited this long, what’s another few weeks or months? Whatever cruise I book to replace this one, it’s going to be good.

No… it’s going to be great.