HAVE YOU TAKEN THIS CRUISE BEFORE
by Neo Blaqness
Imagine walking into your workplace and running into a brand ambassador for GWF Cruiselines. He or she was professional and described a great fantasy cruise with an undisclosed destination at a great bargain price. They accepted any form of payment and any deposit you could afford right there on the spot. There were some rules. You had to be flexible about the date because the ship sometimes was a little early or a little late. And the ship could be docked at any number of ports within 100 miles at the time of departure. You were up for an adventure so you book the cruise.
It gets to around the week of your cruise so you call. After 25 attempts someone answers. They said they would call around to see where and when the ship will be docking. About 2 days later they call you and tell you the ship will be ready to depart in an hour from a dock 45 minutes away. You drop everything, grab a cab and get there. When you get there the ship isn’t tied to the dock. It just drifts back and forth with the waves. You are told you will have to time it and jump. Even though you see in the water the remains of others who have missed, you jump anyway… and make it.
You get on the ship and a lady reading a magazine hands you a map and tells you that the best available room you can find and claim within 5 minutes is yours. You hustle through a pack of people with the bags you didnt drop during the jump. The hallway is so packed that within 5 minutes; you all had to settle for the small cramped interior cabins in front of you.
Everything was clean and the staff was professional. But still there was something weird about this cruise. They had a top chef but meals were whatever they could catch overboard a few hours before. Entertainment had some great headline acts but it was whoever had an opening and could helicopter to the ship. After the tug boats had pushed the ship out of the harbor, you noticed there was no wake of waves behind the ship. That, in fact, sometimes the ship even appeared to be going sideways. You asked the captain about it and the destination for the cruise and he shows you a map and says according to his knowledge of ocean currents, you could end up in any one of 7 glorious destinations within 7 to 14 days. You said you only had a 7 day vacation. Then the captain reminded you of your contract.
You were so excited about the cruise because you had been on so many and this one seemed so different that you finally sat down to read your GWF Cruiselines Brochure. GO WITH the FLOW. To my dear sistah on my friends list who asked on her page, what the difference between going with the flow and having a sense of direction in a relationship, this is the clearest example I can give you. Anyone unwise enough to accept the terms of such a cruise gets the experience they deserve.
Going with the flow is the lowest form of commitment. Even lower than casual sex because you could end up investing much more than your body with no obligation that the other party be responsible. Do not mistake a strong sense of direction as moving too fast. It is more often a sign of maturity- sometimes too mature for you. So instead of going with the flow, perhaps it is best to consider someone more your speed. That fabulous ship with no engine you are considering could take you on a destination cruise that is not quite the adventure you had in mind.