Our eldest son and his wife of barely 2 years just returned from a one week Caribbean cruise. They'd invited us to join them but we were unable to go. Wasn't that kind of them to invite us? Her parents did go with them and I will admit to be a smidge jealous.
Before they embarked on this adventure my son gave me their itinerary and the name of their ship - just in case. We're "just in case" kind of people. Always let family know when and where you're traveling so that we know where you are in case of an emergency. Christopher is great at letting us know these things. And guess what? Now I can follow along virtually. Cruise lines post their itineraries online and provide a live satellite location.
This was all fine and good until Hurricane Earl decided to make landfall on Belize on the day our son's ship was to make port there! I only found out about this because of a news posting on Facebook. Thank goodness for Facebook!
With my son out of communications range, I couldn't call or text to find out what was going on. Except for getting the Norovirus on a cruise, this is the worst thing that could happen. Heart palpitations ensued.
I scoured the internet for news of their ship's plight. Within two clicks I discovered that as a result of Earl, the ship had been rerouted to another location out of harm's way. What a relief!
But then I checked the live satellite and it showed the ship in Belize! So which was right? The cruise line's announcement that they were going to Nassau and Freeport instead or the satellite feed which showed the ship already in Belize?
It turns out that they did indeed go to Nassau and Freeport. So what's up with a supposed live satellite feed that showed them somewhere else? I guess it wasn't trustworthy.
When my son arrived back in Miami he texted me to let me know they were back in the U.S. He confirmed that they did not make it to Belize and were rerouted. My mother's heart beat a little slower with this news.
You don't stop worrying about your children even when they're grown, married, and cruising with the in-laws.
We may be 2000 miles away, but staying in touch - just in case - is always recommended and greatly appreciated.