You’re bound to have heard a story about people who meet while on holiday, exchange addresses and phone numbers, and hope like hell that they never hear from each other again.
Then, there are those cliched holiday romances — none more romantic than those forged on a sea voyage — that always end in tears (although not always due to an iceberg).
Well, I can’t say that I’ve had either experience, but I’ve had something in between: nice, friendly, no-pressure relationships with all sorts of people that I’ve met on holiday, mostly on cruise ships.
I know I may never see those people again — although I did catch up with one couple I met onboard a ship at a bar in Abu Dhabi — I do keep in touch with quite a few of them, mostly, as one does these days, over social media
Cruise ships lend themselves to instant friendships (and, I suppose, romances) because a whole lot of people are instantly bound together by the fact that they are required to spend days, or weeks, together in a relatively confined space. (Even when the ships are huge, with thousands of passengers, you will run into the same people again and again.)
Some ships still have fixed seating at dinner time — meaning that, unless you are travelling in a large group, you are likely to be among strangers when you eat.
I do opt to eat alone when it’s possible, but this arrangement has generally worked out for me. I once sat with a group of train drivers from London and, on another occasion, with two couples who didn’t know each other but turned out to live in adjacent towns. I also shared a table with a gay man who was travelling with his sister’s girlfriend.
The only problem I had was when I was sat among a Brazilian family and there was a communication issue — they didn’t speak English and I don’t speak Portuguese. On the second night, they moved to be with others from their group, and I was left at a large table with a very pleasant chap from Jordan, who also didn’t speak English.
Mostly, I meet people in the bar. I’ll talk to anyone if they’ll talk to me, so I’ve met some fairly interesting (and generally extroverted) folk. I’m still in touch with a family from the United States, and a couple of couples from Britain and Australia. On Facebook and Twitter, I follow their life events — birthdays, charitable endeavours, an upcoming wedding and, of course, other cruises they are taking.
The other day, one friend who is on a cruise to the Bahamas (I think) noted that my “Cruise Ship Song Bingo” theory — that there are certain songs you will always hear on a cruise ship — was breaking down. She said only short portions of YMCA and Sweet Caroline were played during a quiz, and that (Take me Home) Country Roads was nowhere to be heard.
The upshot? Travel really does broaden the mind and can shape new friendships. The internet has made it so much easier to keep in touch, without having to invade other people’s real personal space.
