Saturday, May 06, 2017

Still here - just.
 
Serves me right .  I forgot to say goodbye before leaving for my seventh and - I have decided my last cruise.  In brief it was ill -fated;  at least three helicopter rescues and an ambulance in Sicily then one stopped counting.  When I was confined to my cabin with a hacking cough  - along with many other passengers, it occurred to me that the only time I have felt really ill in the last four and a half years was when I was on board and at my lowest point I was scared I could be dumped in a foreign hospital to peter out alone.
 
  Safely back home, drugs finished I'm getting back on track and ready to welcome my various family visits.
 
Sicily, Amalfi and Cartagena were all memorable but please forgive me if I concentrate on getting back to normal.
 
Love,
Pat

19 comments:

DUTA said...

Sicily, Amalfi, and in fact the whole of Italy are lovely places to visit. So what happened? Why helicopters and ambulance?
I know I get seasick so I never go on cruises, but there are people who greatly enjoy this kind of recreation.
Anyway, feel well soon!

Rog said...

Phew! Glad you're back safe Pat! The Isle of Terra Firma has a lot to recommend it.

Pat said...

Duta: people were being taken ill - for various reasons and some were too ill to stay on board - hence helicopters and ambulances. Once they left ship we were given no info about them unless we were next of kin. At my lowest ebb I imagined ending up in a foreign hospital far from home. Fortunately it was at the end of the cruise and my faithful driver was waiting to whisk me home her bless her.

Rog: quite right. It will be my chosen berth from now on.

angryparsnip said...

Oh Pat, I am so happy to hear you are back home and safe.
What a terrible trip. For now just take a charming river cruise in the UK.
Again, so happy you are home safe and healthy again.

cheers, parsnip

PixieMum said...

Was this the same Olsen cruise about which Tregear Vean has blogged? Hope you recover soon and will be continuing with your autobiography.

Pat Mackay said...

Parsnip: thank you for your good wishes. I'm relieved to have made the decision and wish I had done it earlier. Just been doing light chores and feel whacked. Fortunately I can afford to take things easy for a while.

PixieMum: It does sound remarkably familiar. I think many of us didn't realise the full extent of the chaos. Scary!

Exile on Pain Street said...

The sordid details might make for an interesting post. Your readers like a good voyeuristic adventure. Aside from that, hope you feel better SOON.

rashbre said...

Helicopters! Ambulances! Drugs!

I trust you are finding your own good health and that the various casualties from the trip are also recovering.

I'd never really considered that the cruise ships could see such an amount of action, especially all from a single trip.

I'm also looking forward to Chapter 21, so I'm now torn whether to anticipate the voyage dossier or the next chapter more.




Pat said...

Exile: forgive me - no sordid details- its all too painfully fresh in my mind. Hope to be back on track with the next chapter. Thank you for your kind wishes.

Rashbre: thank you for your kind wishes and I certainly second them for the many other passengers. Hopefully chapter 21 will be along soon.

Revjeanrolt said...

Gosh two of us both with bad experiences ....I was never so happy to be back home.....but I am now improving....
Strange , two bloggers on the same ship....what a pity we didn't meet! But with no wifi it's no wonder!
I hope you feel well soon. I'm back with Cunard for the next one....not yet ready to give up!

Pat said...

Jean Rolt: what a shame we didn't meet. I was one of the few non - Cornish people. Good luck with Cunard - you are braver than me but - I suspect younger also. I have some good memories and I'm glad I found the courage to go alone after years of being a very happy other half.

Jack Bush and Elaine Bell said...

Dear Pat,

I'm sorry you've had such poor experiences. I hadn't realised that you'd been taken ill on previous cruises. We're booked for a June cruise on Cunard which we had to delay for a year. We figured out a few years ago that the times I got sick were in cold/flu season, so we now only cruise in the "safe" times. Haven't caught a thing since we started following that routine. Like Jean Rolt, we're not about to give up on it yet. Have a Southampton to New York transatlantic booked for September as well. Time to check out the Queen Mary.

I'm especially sorry you've had to give it up because you always sounded as if you'd enjoyed it so much, especially life on board.

To healthier days,
Jack

Mage said...

How wonderful that you were able to go. We all had that awful cough here, and perhaps I would have been less miserable on the Amalfi Coast. Get well, and keep us posted.

Pat said...

Jack and Elaine: I'm so glad that you and Elaine are still enjoying your cruises. You have had a lot of experience and are very knowledgeable about it but also there are two of you which makes all the difference in the world when one is ill.
Enjoy your future cruises. I have a theatre trip to London to look forward to.

Mage: I'm concentrating on getting fit again and seeing 'well nurse' doctor etc. I've lost the 5lbs I've been trying to lose for years and feel fine apart from a bit of lassitude. Good excuse for a quiet read in the garden.

Granny Annie said...

I am very late getting here to comment and, as with the others, I wish you an amazing recovery. Perhaps it has already arrived.

Pat said...

Granny Annie: all well again thank you. Had a session with the nurse and then the doctor to check results. Her conclusion "you're in good shape." I'm reluctant to cruise again but don't intend to be a recluse.

neena maiya (guyana gyal) said...

This particular flu virus is especially vicious. My cousin, visiting Guyana, came with it in December, then had a relapse.

I'm so glad you've decided to not go on cruises again. It used to worry me.

Ms Scarlet said...

So sorry to read that you were unwell on holiday, Pat, and hoping you are back on form now.
I'm back to catch up on my chapters.... I have two new ones to enjoy!
Sx

Pat said...

Scarlet: I'm better but decided my cruising days are over. Still having fun tho'.