Dr. Roopali takes us on a cruise, to a glittering floating palace. She describes the mood and colour of that journey. An exclusive for Different Truths.

“Hey, let’s go on a cruise.” I wrote to my two dear friends who are inveterate travellers and cruise people. They travel every year to exotic places, taking sea and river cruises. 

We had never been on a cruise before. The spouse had only been on Naval war ships. The disastrous Titanic had always loomed large when we thought of ships and cruises. 

So here we were in California to take a four-day vacation on a cruise ship called Crown Princess. Two balcony state rooms were booked for us. Side by side and connected. We could meet for a chat after dinner. We even got a veteran’s discount!

Quality Time

The idea was to have quality time with our friends Bob and Barbara. This way they would not tire themselves out with their special brand of old-world American hospitality. Barbara needed a break, after all her Thanksgiving cooking and cleaning.

Cruise travel veteran’s Bob and Barbara now filled us up with information on cruise vacations. We scoured the Internet and read eagerly. Cruising as vacations we learned began in the 1960’s. The advent of air travel as a means of transportation had diminished the value of ships as a travel necessity.

Come evening, music from the dance clubs on board permeated the ship’s atmosphere. We peeped to find crowds swaying to the DJs’ music. Theatres next door presented Broadway-style musicals. We were able to pick and choose which show we attended, which theatre we patronised. We knew this was to be an experience that was un-repeatable.

Strolled all Night

We strolled around all night and caught a wonderful piano recital. From there we walked straight into a rock concert. There was something for everyone. Small, elegant restaurants with a dance floor played music from the sixties. A high-end mall catered to compulsive shoppers, a library for the bibliophiles and a movie theatre for cinema buffs.

We had at our fingertips, international cuisine, polite stewards and waiters, beautiful rooms with the softest of beds, wine, exotic food, entertainment, and a balcony on the sea. What more could one want? We had sneaked the wine in our luggage. It was very expensive onboard.

And outside there was the vast open incredibly mysterious blue ocean. The rising and setting sun. Its reflecting rays bobbing like pieces of gold on the churning waters. As night fell the waters turned unfathomably dark and deep. Only a few twinkling stars. 

Something whispers you are just a nobody. You are only somebody with a credit card. That’s all. The sea makes you speculative. 

Docked Ship

Some days you wake up and everything seems less uncontrollable. A docked ship and a bustling skyline of a new city beckoning you. 

Food seemed to be the only reason to live. The only real thing in an unreal world. The tongue and the stomach vaster than the ocean…the swaying bobbing ship churning the tummy like the mythological saagar manthan (churning of the seas). All emotions centered around the food counter. 

Large bodies dragged themselves around the food stations. Giant oval-shaped platters in hand. Filling them up fast and furiously missing out on nothing…sometimes you meet the same people in elevators carrying large plates of food to their floating abodes, or just simply sipping wine as the elevator went anonymously up and down and down and up.

There were a few dogs too…. caregiver dogs. People with disabilities on mobility scooters. Groups of women friends. Couples with naughty children. An Indian family with visiting parents. The mom thought I was a television star. We met up on our Mexico and Santa Barbara offshore outing. You could participate in local offshore entertainment by paying extra. We shopped some and returned to the ship on a scheduled bus.

For four days we ran from one floor to another from one elevator to another….and the conversation was always around food…

Vast Cunning Ocean

That we were on a vast cunning ocean we hardly knew. Only when the plate on the table slid to the side and fell off did one realise that Sea God Neptune can get quite angry. Beware. “Man” does not live by bread alone!

The ship’s staff hailed from 50 countries…. Thailand, the Philippines, Croatia, Mauritius, India, Bosnia, Brazil, Armenia, Barbados, Chile, Argentina, Mexico, the USA, Wales, Italy, and too many others to name. They were polite, humorous, helpful, and super-efficient. The passengers from 45 countries travelling together were not so friendly. 

One night Derek the black standup comedian laughed at the passengers, who came with their bags and baggage of biases thinking, “Oh, I hate these fellows and those fellows!” He wanted to know what they were going to do with these fellows and those fellows? “In the end the cruise will teach ya that these fellows and those fellows are great fellows.” He giggled.

The audience laughed aloud…he had through comedy put up a mirror to us. We looked foolishly and sheepishly into the mirror and at each other. 

Fun and Laughter

Soon dinner, breakfast, lunch, and teatime were full of fun and laughter. Where are you from? We asked each other. And so many stories rolled out. Happy ones, sad ones, inspiring ones, and heartwarming ones. That’s why it is said, “Travel maketh a Man…” in this case, a woman too.

Today, we are with apologies to Walt Whitman, “Out of the Sea Endlessly Rocking”.

Photos by the author

Dr. Roopali Sircar Gaur

Dr. Roopali Sircar Gaur is a poet, travel writer, and social justice activist. A former professor of English Literature at Delhi University, and a creative writing professor at IGNOU, she is a widely published academic and creative writer. Her book Twice Colonised: Women in African Literature, is a seminal text on women’s socio-political empowerment. In 2020-21, she co-edited two poetry anthologies – In All the Spaces: Diverse Voices in Global Women’s Poetry, and Earth Fire Water Wind.

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