Getting out of the funk
Today marks my 51st day of travel since I left Grand Junction, Colorado, on November 20th, meaning I have 37 days to go before I fly home on February 16th.
Pinch me—I don’t want it to end.
The majority of my time has been spent onboard Carnival ships, while this week’s voyage has been aboard the award-winning and Forbes Four-Star-rated Celebrity Apex.
To say the experiences between cruise lines are different is an understatement, but I’ve found myself enjoying the variety more than favoring one brand over the other. Sure, Celebrity offers a premium experience, but I’m not at all disappointed about getting back on a Carnival ship this Sunday and living the “Fun Ship” life.
What I’ve enjoyed most this week onboard the Apex is the ever-changing menu and variety as menus largely remain the same from sailing to sailing regardless of what line you sail on, and then of course, the company has been an absolute highlight.
The boys of the Celebrity Apex have been wonderful. A wide variety of backgrounds have come together in ways that probably wouldn’t happen on land, and we’ve found common ground, all while thoroughly enjoying each other’s company. I’ve been invited to homes in the UK over my upcoming summer travel, spoken to several about becoming travel agents and getting paid for their own travel, I may have even found a mortgage connection for a couple looking to buy a house in FL. Friendships are around every corner, you just have to stick your neck out.
Life onboard a cruise ship feels like a giant social experiment, and what I’ve observed is that we are far more similar than different. It’s the same realization I had in 2023 about life in general when I set foot on all seven continents in a single calendar year. Life is largely similar. Sadly, the world we live in is very good and highlighting the differences and tearing us apart.
In true cruise ship fashion, I’ve met my match 4–5 times over in Joseph and his travel partner, David, who will spend the next four months onboard a single ship whereas I will have been on seven different ships over my eighty-eight day journey.
Joseph, David and myself are similar in age. Their story—our shared story—is that we enjoy cruising because it’s less expensive than life on land in the U.S. Our collective thought is this: we’re going to enjoy this while we can because tomorrow isn’t promised.
I’ve been in a bit of a funk for a while now, trying to answer questions that don’t have answers. In talking with my dear friend Christine back in Grand Junction yesterday, I realized I’d stopped living in the moment. I’d been trapped in thoughts of figuring out life: What does the future hold? Is this what I want to be doing in another year or two? Do I want a relationship? Am I even capable of being in one?
Then it hit me. What makes me me is my ability to live in the moment and enjoy what I have. It’s a lesson I learned from Macie and Mario but one I had forgotten. I got lost in the grind. Maybe that’s because life on a cruise ship has become the norm and is no longer the exception. The opportunities for growth had temporarily closed while the rinse-and-repeat of cruise life had set in.
So here I sit on Friday, January 10th, feeling a bit reborn, with a new sense of excitement. I’ve snapped out of it.
I don’t have the answers. I don’t think any of us do. Life isn’t a flowchart—it’s meant to be lived in the moment. Embrace today. Live the YODO lifestyle.
For those of you newer to the blog, YODO is a flip of YOLO—“You Only Live Once.” With YODO, it’s “You Only Die Once.” You get to live every day. Make the most of your time here, each and every single day. To only live once would be a waste of every other day we’re given.
YODO is tattooed on my leg. It shouldn’t have been so easy to forget. As cheesy or corny as it sounds, it’s what keeps my mind fresh and clear of the unknowns of life’s future.
Over and out,
Cole from Colorado—now Cole from the Cruise Ship (this is my home, after all).
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