Pinnacles made me feel sad

DW and I went to the theatre; Captain, free sugary drink thingy

At the end when they call out the people that have spent years (literally years) travelling with RCI and give them yet another certificate and their umpteenth photo with the loyalty ambassador, I suddenly felt a wave of sadness

Only one made it up the steps to the stage, the others were a little too infirm. It set me thinking about my travels and the fun we have on them, and how these people with obviously similar travel and enjoyment aspirations, were nearer the end of their travels than many in the auditorium

One was alone, having lost their partner and travel companion of many decades. I don't know if he had family, but all the staff seemed like family, and while that is a great shout out for the always brilliant cruise ship staff, this also made me sad

While I threw my little Diamond badge in the trash in a recent junk clearance, I liked how these folk wore their little Pinnacle pins with pride. They felt it was an honour earned and bloody good luck to them, and boo to you if you want to criticise them for it (I saw someone in an elevator s******)

These wonderful people all still seemed to be enjoying their twilight experiences, and I truly hope they have many more, but when I looked around the audience it made me feel very old (even though I was probably in the 20% youngest there)

There is no moral to my tale, just two pieces of advice:

1. Enjoy every minute if you can, while you can. Especially if you can share it with loved ones

2. Don't order the French Onion soup every night on every cruise - by the time you reach 1,500 cruise days, I think you might regret it

DW and I went to the theatre; Captain, free sugary drink thingy

 

At the end when they call out the people that have spent years (literally years) travelling with RCI and give them yet another certificate and their umpteenth photo with the loyalty ambassador, I suddenly felt a wave of sadness

 

Only one made it up the steps to the stage, the others were a little too infirm. It set me thinking about my travels and the fun we have on them, and how these people with obviously similar travel and enjoyment aspirations, were nearer the end of their travels than many in the auditorium

 

One was alone, having lost their partner and travel companion of many decades. I don't know if he had family, but all the staff seemed like family, and while that is a great shout out for the always brilliant cruise ship staff, this also made me sad

 

While I threw my little Diamond badge in the trash in a recent junk clearance, I liked how these folk wore their little Pinnacle pins with pride. They felt it was an honour earned and bloody good luck to them, and boo to you if you want to criticise them for it (I saw someone in an elevator s******)

 

These wonderful people all still seemed to be enjoying their twilight experiences, and I truly hope they have many more, but when I looked around the audience it made me feel very old (even though I was probably in the 20% youngest there)

 

There is no moral to my tale, just two pieces of advice:

1. Enjoy every minute if you can, while you can. Especially if you can share it with loved ones

2. Don't order the French Onion soup every night on every cruise - by the time you reach 1,500 cruise days, I think you might regret it

Why would someone "regret" it?????????:confused:

I believe it has been scientifically proven that eating the same item every night for five years will turn you into that food item (or something like that. I can't honestly say I always paid full attention in science class) :')

DW and I went to the theatre; Captain, free sugary drink thingy

 

At the end when they call out the people that have spent years (literally years) travelling with RCI and give them yet another certificate and their umpteenth photo with the loyalty ambassador, I suddenly felt a wave of sadness

 

Only one made it up the steps to the stage, the others were a little too infirm. It set me thinking about my travels and the fun we have on them, and how these people with obviously similar travel and enjoyment aspirations, were nearer the end of their travels than many in the auditorium

 

One was alone, having lost their partner and travel companion of many decades. I don't know if he had family, but all the staff seemed like family, and while that is a great shout out for the always brilliant cruise ship staff, this also made me sad

 

While I threw my little Diamond badge in the trash in a recent junk clearance, I liked how these folk wore their little Pinnacle pins with pride. They felt it was an honour earned and bloody good luck to them, and boo to you if you want to criticise them for it (I saw someone in an elevator s******)

 

These wonderful people all still seemed to be enjoying their twilight experiences, and I truly hope they have many more, but when I looked around the audience it made me feel very old (even though I was probably in the 20% youngest there)

 

There is no moral to my tale, just two pieces of advice:

1. Enjoy every minute if you can, while you can. Especially if you can share it with loved ones

2. Don't order the French Onion soup every night on every cruise - by the time you reach 1,500 cruise days, I think you might regret it

Your post is beautiful....thank you. We have been Pinnacle for 4 years and our goal is to enjoy the heck out of it. We go to the gym every day, go out to dinner often, play by the seashore, roll around in the snow, enjoy our family, and party like a rock star when on a cruise ship (which is very often).

Our pledge to each other is to have as much fun as we can, enjoy life, be kind to others, and cruise-cruise-cruise. We plan to always say, "Glad we did" and not "Wish we had".

Your post is beautiful....thank you. We have been Pinnacle for 4 years and our goal is to enjoy the heck out of it. We go to the gym every day, go out to dinner often, play by the seashore, roll around in the snow, enjoy our family, and party like a rock star when on a cruise ship (which is very often).

 

Our pledge to each other is to have as much fun as we can, enjoy life, be kind to others, and cruise-cruise-cruise. We plan to always say, "Glad we did" and not "Wish we had".

Love your post!

Your post is beautiful....thank you. We have been Pinnacle for 4 years and our goal is to enjoy the heck out of it. We go to the gym every day, go out to dinner often, play by the seashore, roll around in the snow, enjoy our family, and party like a rock star when on a cruise ship (which is very often).

 

Our pledge to each other is to have as much fun as we can, enjoy life, be kind to others, and cruise-cruise-cruise. We plan to always say, "Glad we did" and not "Wish we had".

That post should be the advertising campaign for any cruise line - I hope you continue having fun for many years to come

Your post is beautiful....thank you. We have been Pinnacle for 4 years and our goal is to enjoy the heck out of it. We go to the gym every day, go out to dinner often, play by the seashore, roll around in the snow, enjoy our family, and party like a rock star when on a cruise ship (which is very often).

 

Our pledge to each other is to have as much fun as we can, enjoy life, be kind to others, and cruise-cruise-cruise. We plan to always say, "Glad we did" and not "Wish we had".

Wow,wow,wow what a fantastic attitude.

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Wow,wow,wow what a fantastic attitude.

 

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And a delightful couple as well :D

Your post is beautiful....thank you. We have been Pinnacle for 4 years and our goal is to enjoy the heck out of it. We go to the gym every day, go out to dinner often, play by the seashore, roll around in the snow, enjoy our family, and party like a rock star when on a cruise ship (which is very often).

 

Our pledge to each other is to have as much fun as we can, enjoy life, be kind to others, and cruise-cruise-cruise. We plan to always say, "Glad we did" and not "Wish we had".

Wonderful! Keep cruising! I will probably never make pinnacle, but I agree and love your attitude.

My husband died 3 years ago, and we were diamond plus at the time. I decided to keep cruising solo. It has been tough, not the cruising part, more the traveling alone to the ports. I don't really relax until I am on board, have my bag, etc. Have cruised three times solo.

I knew I had made the right decision on my first solo cruise. Happened to have the same bartender in the diamond lounge that we had sailed with; he remembered me, and my drink! That's another story, either I drink too much Chardonnay or he is a heck of a good bartender memory wise! Probably didn't hurt that we had always asked about his home/family and tipped him. He asked if my husband was coming - kind of like he's on his way - I will get his drink too. When I told him he was gone, he was genuinely sorry. Came out from the bar to give me a hug. Great guy!

That's the reason I can keep cruising - he truly wanted me to have a good time and enjoy my memories. So, keep making memories!

Your post is beautiful....thank you. We have been Pinnacle for 4 years and our goal is to enjoy the heck out of it. We go to the gym every day, go out to dinner often, play by the seashore, roll around in the snow, enjoy our family, and party like a rock star when on a cruise ship (which is very often).

 

Our pledge to each other is to have as much fun as we can, enjoy life, be kind to others, and cruise-cruise-cruise. We plan to always say, "Glad we did" and not "Wish we had".

Not Pinnacle, but my SO and I had the same goals and pledges as you do. He died very unexpectedly just weeks after I retired and we moved to his home in Ocala in April, and I will be eternally grateful that we found the time for twenty cruises in the four years we enjoyed together instead of just talking about what we would do after I retired. I hope your post gives others something to think about before it is too late for them.

Love your post. I agree that everyone should enjoy everyday. My parents were very frequent cruisers on many cruise lines. They are who we owe our cruising addiction to. Unfortunately my father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's several years ago and their cruising came to an end. My mom preaches to us "if you can afford it, cruise as often as you can". We have followed her advice for many years but have cut back recently to help her care for my dad. Unfortunately, he is now in a nursing home and not very aware of things. I have finally talked my mother into going on a cruise with me in a few weeks to relax a little. We never know what tomorrow brings, so do what you enjoy as long as you can! I personally love meeting the pinnacles and hearing about there travels. No way I will ever make it, but I will give it my best shot!

"Pinnacles made me(you) feel sad"...really?........I am happy for them, RCI, has provided a great experience.

The improvements on ships and availability of experiences for all individuals old or young with limited mobility, special needs and diets is incredible, did you know with special arrangements dialysis can be arranged?

I have always been an itinerary gal, so RCI has only retained my loyalty for mostly repetitive "Family Fun getaways" since my first cruise with them 30 years ago.

So on second thought maybe I do feel sad for some "pinnacles" having missed out on some really incredible itineraries...by staying loyal to Royal.

But, I certainly can see why one would stay loyal, if for them it's all about the beautiful ships and special treatment.....

"Pinnacles made me(you) feel sad"...really?........I am happy for them, RCI, has provided a great experience.

 

The improvements on ships and availability of experiences for all individuals old or young with limited mobility, special needs and diets is incredible, did you know with special arrangements dialysis can be arranged?

 

I think you missed the point (and the beauty and humor) of the original post

(or as the OP would say, "humour.")

I think you missed the point (and the beauty and humor) of the original post

 

(or as the OP would say, "humour.")

So you didn't get my humour;p keep on searching you might find it?

Enjoy!

Your post is beautiful....thank you. We have been Pinnacle for 4 years and our goal is to enjoy the heck out of it. We go to the gym every day, go out to dinner often, play by the seashore, roll around in the snow, enjoy our family, and party like a rock star when on a cruise ship (which is very often).

 

Our pledge to each other is to have as much fun as we can, enjoy life, be kind to others, and cruise-cruise-cruise. We plan to always say, "Glad we did" and not "Wish we had".

I love, love, love your comment!! We have the exact same philosophy in life!!!

Our favorite saying is “we are going to travel as much as we can for as long as we can. And when we can no longer travel we are going to sit on the front porch, hold hands and talk about all the times we did”.

Life is short.....enjoy it while you can!!!!

Your post is beautiful....thank you. We have been Pinnacle for 4 years and our goal is to enjoy the heck out of it. We go to the gym every day, go out to dinner often, play by the seashore, roll around in the snow, enjoy our family, and party like a rock star when on a cruise ship (which is very often).

 

Our pledge to each other is to have as much fun as we can, enjoy life, be kind to others, and cruise-cruise-cruise. We plan to always say, "Glad we did" and not "Wish we had".

We've made that pledge too but I guess that means I need to up my gym visits. Great attitude and happy sailing. :)

I didn't see beauty or humor. Seemed quite snarky to me.

And for the person who said itinerary was repetitive, sure, but 2018 brings us to Singapore, India, Dubai, Suez Canal, St Petersburg, Copenhagen, Scotland, Iceland, Greenland, etc...

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Thanks for your great post. My wife and I discovered cruising late in life but we enjoy every moment we are together on a cruise.

Happy sailing wherever you go!

Wishing any/all Pinnacles a great next cruise!

So you didn't get my humour;p keep on searching you might find it?

 

 

Enjoy!

What? Did you say hummus? I LOVE hummus! Can I share? Please?

Enjoyed your post. Very kind. Especially after several I have read tonight

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Yep, as they say, "Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention to arrive safely in a well preserved body, but to slide in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body thoroughly worn out and screaming...Woo whoo a ride!"

Of course that day will probably come for me well before we make Pinnacle:')

And a delightful couple as well :D

Thats lovely.

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Wonderful! Keep cruising! I will probably never make pinnacle, but I agree and love your attitude.

 

My husband died 3 years ago, and we were diamond plus at the time. I decided to keep cruising solo. It has been tough, not the cruising part, more the traveling alone to the ports. I don't really relax until I am on board, have my bag, etc. Have cruised three times solo.

 

I knew I had made the right decision on my first solo cruise. Happened to have the same bartender in the diamond lounge that we had sailed with; he remembered me, and my drink! That's another story, either I drink too much Chardonnay or he is a heck of a good bartender memory wise! Probably didn't hurt that we had always asked about his home/family and tipped him. He asked if my husband was coming - kind of like he's on his way - I will get his drink too. When I told him he was gone, he was genuinely sorry. Came out from the bar to give me a hug. Great guy!

 

That's the reason I can keep cruising - he truly wanted me to have a good time and enjoy my memories. So, keep making memories!

It's wonderful to hear stories of genuinely​ nice people.

Love Graham & Pauline x

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Not Pinnacle, but my SO and I had the same goals and pledges as you do. He died very unexpectedly just weeks after I retired and we moved to his home in Ocala in April, and I will be eternally grateful that we found the time for twenty cruises in the four years we enjoyed together instead of just talking about what we would do after I retired. I hope your post gives others something to think about before it is too late for them.

Very true never procrastinate do it now when you can.

Our sympathies to you for your loss and best wishes for the future.

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